Page 23 of Modern Persuasion

"I am sure they will learn from their mistake," I said as I sighed, not sure they would. "But this is all about money."

Ted nodded. It was something we both knew perfectly well. "A few of us smaller publishers have been talking. The bigger cities are doing more annual book fairs like Miami has done for years. Why can't we do that in different cities if PubCon shifts from an industry conference to a public event? Why not on another coast? New York does a Comic-Con that gets almost as many people as San Diego, but it doesn't diminish how large San Diego's is. What if we could pull in the tiny graphic novel publishers, all the special presses out here, and maybe even get the big New York City companies to attend? Think of all those who don't go to PubCon because of the travel: librarians, bloggers, bookstore owners, celebrities who want to write books, and more!"

His energy was infectious, but I forced myself to think clearly about this. If an event was planned from the ground up, that could work. "That's a great vision, but I can't help with that," I reminded him. "I might be great at planning a book tour, but I don't think I could take on a large convention."

Ted shook his head. "I need you here. I need your help with the authors we have. I just want you to see that publishing isn't all in New York anymore. It can happen anywhere. Plus, I hear the rumors. People will follow you when their contracts are complete."

Ted had opened the exact door I was hoping he would. "Sure, people would follow me eventually, but not many and not the big names," I reminded him.

"I know what people are saying. Tom Scott is almost done with his contract and told me he wants to work with you. Layla Dryfuse wants to bring both her academic and fiction books to the same publisher," Ted said, mentioning the authors I suspected he was speaking to.

Layla Dryfuse had been a friend of my mother. She had lived in New York with her chef husband until he burnt out, and they moved their family to Boston. Their kids were about a decade younger than me, but I remembered spending time with them when we were kids. She wrote academic work but had a pen name for her fiction. No other publisher was in a position to manage all her books, but Ted may be in a unique position to do just that.

While I was thinking, Ted continued. "I know that authors and agents are anxious they will be assigned to another editor and write details in their contracts that allow them to break the contract if you leave or another editor is assigned."

"How do you know about that?" I asked, wondering how many authors and agents had been denied access to me.

Ted put his hands up, hoping to ease my anxiety. "It's not something I have ever heard of people doing before, but that's how much people like working with you. Then there's something I heard about this book tour you're on. I know you're here because Christi got hurt, but there is a rumor you secretly edited Fredrick's novel. Do you know this?"

I was shocked, and I'm sure Ted could tell. My defensiveness rose, and my head was spinning with how little I knew. "First," I said, "maybe two authors have asked for that contract detail. It's not an epidemic, and those contracts have been signed recently. There has been no investment in those books yet. Don't count on that as a way to build your company around me. I have fifteen other authors who don't have that in a contract."

Ted pushed a box of tissues to me, and I took a breath. If anger was the only emotion I allowed myself to feel, then all the feelings were going to come out.

I took a tissue and wiped my eyes. "Second, and as far as Fredrick's novel goes, I happened to edit it years ago when we were at Northwestern together. We knew each other, I edited that literary journal, and he asked me to read it. How does anyone know that?"

"From what I overheard from your own colleagues at PubCon, his manuscript still had your notes on it," Ted said in a low voice.

That was the last thing I was expecting to learn. I thought back to Christi's interactions with me at PubCon. I hadn't recognized her snippy and territorial behavior at the time. I hadn't even registered it. That would explain some of why I was the one on this tour.

Ted narrowed his eyes and waited for me to respond. I remembered I wasn't really here for a job interview, no matter how I had tried to frame or pretend it was. I was here for advice from someone outside of my bubble. I was here to see a man who had been part of my life since I was born.

"I don't understand anything anymore," I whispered and took another tissue to blow my nose. "My career is stuck, I feel like this assignment is a punishment, and these weird rumors are spreading. Karen's no help anymore, and my father's in a tailspin."

"You can't carry the weight of all this responsibility, Emma. Your father and Karen are adults. I know she doesn't want to lose you, and I don't blame her, but you're an editor running the book tour for a man you rejected eight years ago."

"How do you know that I rejected him?" I abruptly interjected.

He raised his eyebrow and tilted his head to the side. "Your father told me."

Ted got up, sat in the chair next to mine, and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I was surprised anything about Fredrick had registered for my father. For the first time in years, someone who has always loved me was available to comfort me instead of focusing on their own needs.

"If the rumors are true," Ted said as we sat together, "Karen cost the company some big titles and is on thin ice with the executives. She's keeping you close to cover her ass. You should be leading a team of editors. You should be running your father's imprint already. The story going around, directly from Fredrick's agent, is that they wanted you to be his editor, especially since you had already worked on it. Karen refused to let them even talk to you and sent them to Christi."

My mind was spinning but so much made sense if this was true. What shocked me was that Fredrick had wanted to work with me on this book. It would have been easy for him to run through the manuscript to make the corrections I suggested before sending it to agents. I wanted to know why but that would require talking to Fredrick about it. I was afraid he did it to make me uncomfortable. Had he insisted I travel on the tour with him when the opportunity came up? I couldn't think about it until I processed what Ted was saying about Karen and what it meant for my future in publishing.

"You make it sound like she is deliberately holding me back," I said as I lifted my head from his shoulder and wiped a tissue over my face.

"Oh, dear girl, no. I am sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Ted said and patted my hand. "She can't let you go because of your mother. She really thinks she is doing the best thing for you. That this is what your mother would have wanted. She means well, but you're thirty years old. Your mother wouldn't want you to be living like this. From the way your father talks, nothing has changed in your life since you came home from Chicago. You deserve so much more. Come here, work with me, be my partner, and we can make this company as big as Scholastic, Random House, and all the others. We could even be bigger than your father and I were in our heyday. Plus, you can bring anyone you want with you. My team needs new blood and a kick in the pants."

I couldn't say yes. There was too much information I needed to process and an author I still needed to babysit.

Chapter Sixteen

Our last night in Los Angeles was spent at a small dinner party at Patrick's house. Fredrick was there this time, as were some of his closest friends, specifically those who had gotten along with me. Dinner was enjoyable, but I was anxious to get to Chicago and finish the tour. After Chicago, we would go home, and I would be done. Christi had emailed me to let me know she was ready to take on the last leg of the tour. Patrick pulled me aside after dinner to talk about Chicago.

"I'm not going," he said when I asked him what he knew of the morning shows.

I was confused but smiled. "Not going to the morning shows? Louisa did a good job here, so I am sure she can take over. She could do a book tour in her sleep now."