Page 10 of Not on the Same Page

But right now, I’m hungry. I duck into a convenience store on my way home and buy some crackers. And as I pull a sleeve out to munch on as I finish my walk back to my apartment, I send a small prayer to the universe that wherever she is, my mom is doing okay.

4

CASEY

“I think that sets us up nicely for our spring season,” Anastasios says from his end of the conference table. He pinches the bridge of his nose for a moment, then shakes his head as if trying to release some pent-up stress. “Meri, are you good to work up some publicity for our first round of preorders?”

“Yes, sir,” Meri responds, flicking her long, dark hair over her shoulder. “I’ll have the final plans on your desk by close of business Tuesday.”

“Excellent.” Anastasios eyes Ryan and me. “The Writers and Agents Conference is in two weeks. Casey, you’re still taking Ryan’s place, correct?”

I nod. “Yes. I’ve prepared notes for the editorial panels I’ll be sitting on, and I’ve made plans to network with a couple of new agents who are shopping around some interesting projects.”

“Very good. The rules for expenses have changed, so make sure you see Craig before you leave. I’ve asked him to include a per diem for the three authors we also have attending. Are you okay setting up lunches or dinners for them as well?”

“Yes, sir. That shouldn’t be a problem at all.”

Anastasios regards me for another moment, his blue eyes shrewd and narrowed on me. But it’s only a moment, and then he lowers his gaze to his laptop. “Good. Unless anyone has any other concerns, that’ll be all.”

Ryan glances over at me and raises his eyebrows in silent question. I shrug. I have no idea what that was about, and I’m not planning to stick around and find out. But as soon as I gather my notebook and laptop in my arms, ready to follow everyone out the door, Anastasios clears his throat.

“Casey. A moment, please?”

Trying not to sigh audibly, I put my things back down on the table. Ryan claps me on the shoulder on his way out, and as soon as the last person has left the conference room, Anastasios waves his hand, indicating I should sit.

So this is going to take a while, then.

“No need to be nervous,” he assures me as I lower myself into the chair. “An interesting opportunity has presented itself, and I think you might be just the man for it.”

“Oh?” I tick an eyebrow up just slightly, keeping the rest of my features carefully neutral. I’ve done enough negotiations that the poker face comes naturally, and while I don’t know what any of this is about, it feels like a good time not to give anything away.

Anastasios leans forward on his elbows, clasping his hands in front of himself. “Your hard work here has not gone unnoticed,” he says. “You have taken on more titles this year than any other senior editor, and each one has done better than projected.”

“Thank you, sir.” Praise from Anastasios is hard-earned. Not in a bad way, just in the way that when he says something positive, it feels even better because you know he means it. It lights something up inside of me, and I sit a little straighter.

“Have you heard of Starlight Press?”

I rack my brain for a moment, but I’m drawing a blank. Slowly, I shake my head. “No. Should I have?”

He huffs a small laugh. “No, not necessarily. They’re a very small, digital-forward press. They don’t currently have offices anywhere—most of their staff works remotely. But they’ve had some trouble in recent years.”

“What’s their focus?”

“Young adult. Some middle grade, but mostly upper YA.”

I hum, still unsure of where this is going and unwilling to give too much curiosity away. “YA is a great market right now.”

“It is,” Anastasios agrees. “Which is probably why JMP has acquired them as their new young adult imprint. Because of our success in recent years, they’d like us to merge with them. We have extra office space and a host of junior editors who are hungry for more senior positions. I think many of them would do well making the switch from literary fiction to young adult.”

A few puzzle pieces start sliding together. He’s likely going to ask me to be one of those editors to make the switch, and I quickly start looking for reasons not to do it. I like literary fiction, and a lateral move to a new genre isn’t exactly something I want to invest time in at the moment.

“The plan is that Starlight would keep as many of their current editors as want to stay, but we’d fill the gaps with a few of ours and add our distribution to the mix to get physical copies into bookstores,” he continues.

“Makes sense,” I say. “Not a ton of young people are using e-readers.”

Anastasios nods approvingly, and I get the feeling I just passed some unspoken test. “JMP is happy to set up a hybrid work situation, but they feel that the office space along with the association with us would help Starlight improve their image and attract a higher caliber of author.”

“That’s probably true.”