“You’ll add him,” I said. “Co-author, contributor. Pick one. His name is going on the front cover.”
Right next to mine.
“Henry—”
“Make it happen.”
She didn’t even try to hide her displeasure. “I’ll pass it along to your publisher, but you know this isn’t in your contract.”
“Am I supposed to give a shit?”
“You’re scheduled for a full summer circuit, Henry.” She said through her teeth. “Universities, panels, interviews, book signings. You’re presenting this as your research. Your name is already attached to everything that’s been printed.”
“Hedidthe work, Victoria.”
“That isn’t the point.”
“It is to me.”
Her expression didn’t change, but I could see the calculation behind it now, the way she was already moving pieces, measuring fallout. “You don’t get to change the terms after delivery. That’s not how this works.”
My hand flattened against the desk, then pushed the pages forward an inch like that would make the point land harder through the screen.
“I’m not putting it out without him.”
That got her attention. Not visibly—Victoria didn’t do visible—but something in her posture shifted a fraction tighter.
“You’re prepared to hold the release?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“And what exactly are you expecting them to do, Henry? Rewrite marketing? Reprint materials? Add him to the tour?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes held mine through the screen. “You’re asking them to add Archibald to something that’s already been sold. You’re askingme.”
“I’mtellingyou.”
The laptop snapped shut with a sharp crack that echoed through the room.
My hand stayed where it was on the desk for a second, fingers splayed against the wood, then they curled.
The pencil between them bent before I registered the pressure.
A second more, and it snapped.
I stared at the broken halves in my hand for a beat, graphite dust smearing faintly against my fingers, then dropped them onto the desk without looking.
My phone lit up against the desk, vibrations sharp enough I somehow felt them in my teeth.
I picked it up. “Rothwell.”
A breath hit the receiver, followed by a sound that didn’t quite make it into a word.
My posture shifted before I consciously registered it. “Hello?”
“D—Daddy?”
