I furrow my eyebrows, frowning at her obvious mirth. “I don’t understand. What exactly is fanfic?”
“It’s fanfiction. You know, where fans take your work and create something else of their own from it. It’s fun. It’s a way to showthat they love what you do,” she explains as if it’s not plagiarism of some kind.
Lily keeps typing, the sound of her long fake fingernails on the keys sending a shiver of irritation up my spine. Then, I realize, she just saidfans. As in plural. As in there were most likely hundreds, or even thousands, of fake Barretts sleuthing around on the internet.
“You mean there is more of this?” I feel the vibration of frustration as the question trails up my vocal cords.
She finally stops typing, looking up at me fully for the first time since I walked into the small space that consists of her front desk, a bathroom, and my office. Her short blonde hair is fashioned in waves, and her brown eyes narrow on my own. “Are you serious? Have you never heard of fanfiction? Of course there is more.”
More.There is more.
I take a deep breath through my nose.
I don’t make it a habit to get lost on the internet. I hate social media. Fan sites. The works. It’s all full of people trying to be something they aren’t. It’s why I don’t do any of it. I don’t want people to think I’m someone I’m not, and I don’t want to get sucked into believing someone is better than they really are. Facades are endearing. Reality is usually disappointing.
“Who is this username BarrettBeyondTheBadge?” I ask, rolling my eyes when I voice the moniker out loud. The name is ridiculous. Barrett isn’t anyone different beyond his badge. He isn’t easily seduced by the charm of a woman. He’s decisive, determined, and direct. He’s not distracted. I would know.
Lily shrugs her shoulders, resuming the click-clack rhythm of her fingernails on her keyboard. “Someone with talent, that’s for sure.”
I feel my jaw begin to grind. I cross my arms. “That’s your opinion. She’s using my character for her own benefit.”
Curiosity stretches out on Lily’s lips into a wide grin, and it’s at this point I notice my mistake, but before I can open my mouth to argue, she says, “How do you know it’s a woman? And, for the record, it’s not just my opinion. Whoever it is has a huge fan base.”
She flips her computer screen around, revealing the hundreds of thousands of people subscribed to this nonsense. Do people really have nothing better to do with their time?
I look at the screen. There’s no photo attached to the username, but then my eyes snag on something else on the corner of the screen.
LilyLovesLit.
“Are yousubscribed?” I mutter between gritted teeth. I can feel the frown lines on my forehead bunching.
Lily rolls her eyes as if she thinks I’m what’s ridiculous in this scenario. “It’s good.”
She turns the screen back around, moving her mouse to click something new, and then her phone does a dance on her desk. She scoops it up quickly, somehow able to reply in milliseconds even with those ridiculous purple daggers on the ends of her fingers.
“I thought, maybe, and just hear me out, Evan. I thought we might be able to figure out who BarrettBeyondTheBadge is and invite them on your book tour this summer. It’d be fantastic publicity, potentially creating a viral tizzy.”
My stomach tightens. “Excuse me?”
I snatch the papers inked with unethical words back up from her desk and deliberately crumple them into a ball before throwing them into the nearest trash can.
But my reaction doesn’t faze Lily, except for possibly continuing to encourage her need to annoy me as I watch her brown eyes glitter more brightly even though she’s still hyper-focused on her phone, rapidly replying to someone else while having this belittling conversation with me.
“I’m not sharing my tour with a fanfiction writer,” I growl, trying to gain her attention.
She finally puts down her phone, and when she looks up at me, I know.
I know this isn’t just a suggestion. I know it’s already been planned. Melanie, my publicist, and Lily are always figuring out ways to spin my career into something more marketable, more likeable, more viral—and unless I decide to join social media, which is never happening, I’m forced to endure whatever they come up with.
“The answer is no, Lily,” I add. “It’s not happening.”
“Melanie loves the idea, Evan, and if we’re honest, you need something fresh to promote this book. Your last two book tours haven’t exactly been…great.”
I hate what she’s saying because it’s the truth I don’t want to say out loud. Lily, on the other hand, is never afraid to say the truth out loud.
My last two book tours weren’t the best. They weren’t bad, but the thrill hadn’t been there…for me or for my fans. I’d seen it in the way they looked at me. It was like the disappointment that had been building up inside of me was reflected in their eyes.
I hate book reviews. My policy has always been to stay away from them, but six months ago, I clicked over to Amazon, typed in my name, and tortured myself with what other people had to say.
