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“ ‘Today had been the first cold day of the season. It was also the first day of Roark Slade’s life as an adult. Without ceremony or sacrament, he had undergone a rite of passage. Whatever remnants of innocence he had awakened with this morning had been stripped from him. After today, trust was only a word, a remote ideal that would never have a practical application in his life. From today forward, any belief he entertained would be contaminated by skepticism.
“ ‘Roark wasn’t aware of this transition until years later, when he leafed back through the pages of his personal history, searching for the defining moment when his life had ceased being charmed and became cursed. His search always ended on this day.
“ ‘For months following that Tuesday before Thanksgiving, Roark would think about Professor Hadley and what he could learn from that embarrassing experience. He would reflect on all that he had learned from Leslie about himself as a man and a writer. He would think on that quite a lot.
“ ‘But what he had learned about his best friend Todd, he avoided thinking about altogether.’ ”
When Parker finished reading the final page, he stared at the last sentence for a time, then let the sheet slip from his fingers and drift down to join the others. By now the floor around the wheelchair was littered with pages of manuscript.
Quietly, and without looking at Maris, he said, “That’s it so far.”
She slowly unfolded her legs and lowered her feet to the floor. She slid her palms up and down the tops of her thighs, then clasped her hands loosely, raised her shoulders around a deep breath, and released it gradually.
“All right, Parker. It goes against the company’s policy as well as my own, but I’ll give you a ten-thousand-dollar advance just to finish the manuscript. When it’s completed, we’ll negotiate the terms of a contract. If you decline our terms and sell the book elsewhere, the ten thousand must be repaid from the first proceeds you receive from the other publisher. If you accept, that initial ten thousand will be applied to the advance we ultimately agree upon. In the meantime, I suggest you get an agent.”
“I suggest you get a grip on reality.”
“That’s a no?”
“Twenty-five thousand. Which barely covers my expenses. I’ve got to buy cartridges for my printer, paper.”
“Mighty expensive paper,” she said drolly. “Fifteen. That represents an act of good faith, considering that I don’t even have an outline.”
He mulled it over for several seconds. “Fifteen, no first-proceeds clause, and the fifteen is not applicable to the advance finally agreed upon. In other words, the fifteen’s mine no matter what. If Matherly Press can’t afford to gamble fifteen grand, you should padlock the doors tomorrow.”
He was right, of course, and, except for saving face, she saw no point in arguing it further. The fierce deal-making could be reserved for the final contract negotiations.
“Deal. As soon as I return to New York, I’ll have our legal department draw up a letter of agreement. For now, we have a gentlemen’s agreement.” She stuck out her hand.
He took her hand and used it to draw her closer to him. “By no stretch of the imagination are you a gentleman.”
She leaned even farther forward, bringing her face very close to his and whispering, “Neither are you.”
Laughing, he released her hand. “Got that right. Do you want to take the rest of this with you?” He indicated the pages scattered over the floor.
“Please. I’d like my father to read it.”
“What about your husband?”
“Noah usually handles the business concerns and leaves the editorial to me, but since I’ve become so personally involved in this book, I’m sure he’ll want to read it, too.”
Parker wheeled his chair backward so she could kneel down and gather the manuscript pages. “I’d help, but—”
“No bother.”
“—I like it this way. I’ve actually entertained fantasies of you on your knees in front of me.”
“Groveling?”
“That, too.”
She looked up at him but wished she hadn’t. He wasn’t smiling, wasn’t teasing. The remark went beyond his typical innuendo.
“Dirty fantasies,” he added. “In some states I could be arrested.”
“Stop it, Parker.”
“Okay, I will.”
