Page 10 of Modern Persuasion

"So, Christi was arrested?"

Karen shook her head and leaned closer to me. "No, a couple of attendees got really aggressive and ganged up on her. They broke her arm and a leg. We will have a meeting in an hour to discuss Fredrick's tour. She can't manage the tour now."

I sighed and hoped this meant that Fredrick could travel on his tour with just his publicist like other authors do. "Do you need me at the booth while the meeting is going on?"

Karen pointed to the woman talking to people and waving her arms as the man next to her handed out boxes. I looked around and saw people beginning to pull books off the displays and start offering them to people. I wasn't accustomed to the sense of urgency for this conference.

"No, we're packing up early because of this," Karen said with a sigh. "We may have a lawsuit against the convention organizers for lack of security. We'll deal with that later. I need you at the meeting."

"What? Why?"

She leaned closer to me and whispered. "You know Fredrick, and you know book tours for popular authors."

I bit back all the things I wanted to say. I was sure Karen would keep me away from whatever happened with his tour.

The impromptu meeting was a mess. Some executives wanted to talk about legal action against the conference organizers. Others wanted to talk about Christi's responsibilities, primarily Fredrick's book tour. As they all talked over each other, I sat in the background, barely paying attention until I heard my name.

"Emma should do it," said some executive I didn't know.

"Excuse me?" I asked, shocked to hear my name.

"You should take Christi's place on tour," he said as I tried to recall his name without success. "You've done tours in the past. Fredrick is important, and we want to make sure we have a presence on his tour."

"I have my own authors to handle," I added barely after he had finished speaking. I could feel the panic rising as my body got warmer.

"I am sure Karen can help pick up those duties," one of the other executives said, and the rest nodded in agreement.

"Um," I said and turned to Karen for help, who sat there with her eyes closed.

"I can help finish those projects that require help," Karen said after taking a deep breath. "But I know Emma can do the work while on tour."

I was stunned into silence. She knew exactly who Fredrick was to me and should be fighting to keep me home.

"We've spoken with Fredrick's publicist, Patrick," Christi's boss said. "He was already going on the tour. We're going to send Louisa with you since she helped Christi through the conference."

I realized I had been set up. The decision had been made before the meeting had started, maybe even before I had arrived that morning.

"Is he really that important that we need an editor and an intern to help his publicist?" someone asked.

I looked around the room but didn't see the lone voice of reason.

"Yes!" was the response, and all conversation ended.

My mind spun as I fought to keep my panic and anxiety from overwhelming me. I didn't know how I would spend a month with Fredrick Wentworth, making sure everything was to his satisfaction.

"I am so sorry," Karen said when we left the convention floor.

"I need to get home and pack," I said, not ready to have this conversation with her. "I guess I should go see Christi tomorrow and make sure I'm ready for Monday," I said, trying to take control of the situation.

I plowed through the crowd, weaving my way through the clusters of people still collecting free books or talking to vendors. Karen rushed to keep up with me, but I didn't wait for her.

"Emma, do you want to talk about this?" she asked, making sure she was heard above the crowd. "I recognize that yesterday was difficult, seeing Fredrick after all this time. I'm worried about you spending a month with him."

I didn't say anything. I was too busy planning things in my mind.

"Emma, please talk to me," Karen said when I didn't respond.

"For all your concern, you didn't stop them from forcing me to spend a month traveling with him," I said, turning my head for a moment. "Also, I had dinner with him last night."