Page 4 of Modern Persuasion

I rejected his proposal, ended the relationship, moved back to NYC, and assured myself that I would soon meet someone. The only problem was that I never did. Oh, I dated, but I never met anyone who made me feel the way Fredrick made me feel. Karen didn't consult me when she turned down the chance to work with Fredrick, but I understood why.

I tried to ignore stories about Fredrick after the breakup eight years ago, but it proved impossible to do that. Three years after we broke up, he wrote a hit movie about it. I didn't realize he was the screenwriter until I saw his name on the opening credits. Friends dragged me to the theatre, swearing it was funny, cute, and the girlfriend was a bitch. The movie focused on a man who proposed to his actress girlfriend only to be rejected. The girlfriend left him to be with someone famous. The man finds out his life is better without the ex-girlfriend and rejects her in exchange when she begs his forgiveness. In tears, I left the movie early because it took me all of one minute to realize I was the inspiration for the girlfriend. She may not have been named Emma or looked like me, but this movie must be the story of what Fredrick wished happened after our breakup. I kept all of this to myself and insisted to my friends that I walked out because I hate romantic comedies.

After that, it was impossible to avoid news of Fred, now known as Fredrick. He was everywhere in popular culture. He dated a string of famous actresses, wrote popular television shows and movies, started producing popular television shows and movies, and more. Then, about six months ago, the press coverage got excessive after proposing to his current girlfriend (coincidently a struggling actress). As if in a movie, she turned Fredrick down and started dating a very famous actor, soon after married him, and was already getting divorced. People thought his hit movie had become reality, and the press couldn't get enough of the parallels. That's when he decided to write a book for middle school boys. It was due to come out in two days.

Chapter Three

Early in the morning, I met Louisa outside the Javits Center. It was the first day of PubCon, and she was anxious about what to expect. I had seen plenty of people get overwhelmed by just the building alone. It took up six city blocks. Inside it was three and a half floors primarily of open space for conventions. It was challenging to find the right place to be, and the lines of attendees were already forming at the exhibit floor entrances. Sometimes two or three events were going on at once. I had even attended graduations here.

After much whining and cajoling, Mary convinced me to buy her a ticket to PubCon too. Her plan was to walk around aimlessly, getting free books from the publishers. I used the opportunity to get her to pick up books for me. Mary, like me, had been going to PubCon most of her life. We had grown up in a family of publishers and readers. My father's book collection was technically smaller than his art collection. That's because he has actual knowledge of what's valuable with books, so he's more selective with that collection. When Mary and I had first talked about raising money, we quickly nixed the idea of selling his books. We both had memories of those books being read to us at night and learning to read using them. At PubCon, we always went through the books we picked up and bet on what would be the most successful. Mary had a knack for knowing which book would sell the best, but I knew which would get the awards.

Working in the publishing industry meant that I was at PubCon as a professional, so I didn't have much time to walk around. I had appointments almost all day. The first day was critical because I had two authors doing signing events at our booth. One author was new and had no idea what to expect. The other was a publishing veteran and a popular draw to our booth. While she didn't actually work with me, Louisa spent most of the first day following me around.

"This is insane!" Louisa said, her mouth agape, as we walked into the Javits Center. "Is it always like this?"

There were people everywhere. Louisa was dressed like a party in ugly high heels, a cute dress, and full makeup. I had told her to dress comfortably but professionally. Her choice of shoes was always a problem. I, meanwhile, wore jeans, boots, and a blouse. I didn't have to spend my day staffing the booth, but Louisa was going to be on her feet the entire day. I expected her to complain after a few hours.

I focused on the crowds while Louisa looked around at the banners hanging from the rafters, all advertising the major releases being featured. "These are librarians, authors, agents, and publishers," I said, holding on to her wrist so we didn't get separated. "They don't get too crazy. Security is at the entrances to ensure everyone has a badge to get in. You don't have to worry about a mob at the booth. These people know how to queue for autographing."

Our badges allowed us to enter the exhibit hall ahead of the crowd and the security guard waved us through when she saw the bright orange stripe on our name badges. I let go of Louisa's hand as we walked together through the empty exhibit floor.

"This place will be a zoo in about thirty minutes when it opens," I said as we got to the quiet booth, and I showed Louisa where to stash her things. "Your job is to stay there, handing people books, managing lines, and all of that. There is someone who will tell you what to do and when."

Louisa looked around, still in awe of the booth our company had set up. "Am I going to have free time to walk around?" Louisa asked without looking down at me.

I shrugged, looking to see who was around. "I don't know, but don't expect it."

"Will you be at the booth?" Louisa asked, finally looking at me with a bright smile.

I suspected she had heard Mary's stories of what it was like when we were children and wanted to have a friend to hang out with. I smiled, wishing I had at least a few hours to give to her today. "Only when my authors are signing. If you need me, I will be in our meeting areas," I said and squeezed her arm.

Louise leaned closer and whispered. "Who are you meeting?"

"Authors and agents," I said with a slight chuckle.

"Why can't I do that too?"

I shook my head. "You're an intern, not an editor. Your job is to work at the booth."

Louise pouted. "Oh. Well, maybe someday then."

Neither of us knew at the time how quickly her role would shift.

I should have paid more attention to the booth schedule, but I was only interested in my authors. I was pleased at the end of the first day. My new author had generated quite a bit of attention and interest. The line had been steady through her signing, and she didn't seem worn out. My veteran author was a powerhouse with a line wrapping around the exhibit floor. I'd asked the booth staff to manage the line with a ticket system so that people didn't wait needlessly. It was a good call since there weren't enough books for those who wanted them. It was good that we were giving away un-autographed copies the next day. This was a test of one way to manage the giveaways that could quickly get out of hand. We expected a crowd on the last day when the general public could attend. This was the first time the conference organizers were allowing this. None of us knew what to expect.

"So, you signed a new author?" Mary asked over dinner later that night.

Louisa had bowed out of dinner because her feet were so blistered from standing in heels all day. Mary and I ended up at a small and busy Italian restaurant in Midtown by my apartment.

I leaned into the table, closer to my sister, to share this news. "Yes, what's interesting is that her agent specifically wants her to work with me. He actually wants it written into her contract that if I leave, then she can leave with me."

Mary leaned closer and kept her voice as low as possible. "Is that a thing?"

"I have no idea," I said with a shrug, "I've never had anyone ask for it before."

Mary blinked a few times as she processed this. "Are you looking for a new job?"

"No," I said as I rapidly shook my head.