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He shrugs one shoulder, his public good-boss persona forgotten. “It was fine. These new authors, they think their shit doesn’t stink. Always angling for more money, threatening to go to another publisher. Same old bullshit. They want us to wipe their asses before they’ve even proven they’re more than a one-hit-wonder.”
“Hey, Levi’s last book was a big success,” Ralph offers.
Cameron rolls his eyes. “Yeah, it was. You’re right. But you know how few people can repeat the success of their first book?”
Thus, the constant search for new and better talent. Although from what I read in the trade pubs, Levi’s pretty much the current golden child of publishing and people are acting like he’s earned a permanent position at the top. But Cameron has a point. Once you reach the pinnacle, it’s all about staying there.
“So, Amalia, you were looking for me? Need something?” Cameron asks.
I throw a stink eye in Ralph’s direction, hoping he’ll catch the hint and get back to his own shit. He sheepishly sits back down.
I take a deep breath and consider telling Cameron nothing. For a moment, I want to keep all my hopes and dreams to myself. He doesn’t deserve to be part of them. But, problem is, I can’t realize them without him.
My BFF Daisy better be around later because I need to vent big-time. And that’s after the brutal workout I plan on having at the gym. Kickboxing was never as much fun until I started working for a jerk.
“So, Cameron,” I say, lowering my voice, “I found something very interesting in the desk I just moved into.” I tap my envelope.
He looks down at my tapping finger and frowns. “You found something in your desk? What do you mean? These desks were supposed to be cleaned out.”
“Yeah, but we know that never happens. Anyway, I was emptying the last person’s crap to make room for my own, and this envelope was stuck in the back, hooked on the upper drawer.” I keep a finger pressed on it, as if someone might snatch it away.
He tilts his head, looking up at the ceiling with a big sigh, then looks back at me like I’m the most annoying person he’s ever known. “Are you gonna tell me what it is? Or do we have to play guessing games?”
Such. A. Dick.
“Cam, it’s a manuscript. An erotic romance manuscript. And from what I’ve read so far, it’s hot as hell.”
I cringe at the thought of discussing gang bangs and daddy fetishes with my boss, but if it saves my job, I’ll suffer through it.
He pulls a pocket watch out of his perfectly pressed pants, looks at it for a moment, then turns back to me as if he forgot I was there. “Oh. Sure. Yeah, it’s probably from someone’s rejection pile. Probably a dog of a story.”
“Cam, the envelope was sealed. No one had ever looked at it.”
I’ve got him. His eyebrows rise, and his head tilts. He’s all ears.
“No shit,” he says, watching me remove the manuscript from the envelope.
I deliver it to him with two hands and he accepts it with his own, showing it the proper reverence.
“Flip through the first chapter, Cam. Tell me what you think.”
While he speed-reads, I fiddle with the stack of pens I swiped from the supply closet, trying not to think of how creepy it is to give your boss something racy to read.
As he progresses, he nods his head slightly.
Oh my god. He sees the potential. Just like I do.
Finally, he looks up. “Where did you say you found this?”
I take the manuscript back from him. Sorry not sorry.
“Right here in my desk. It had never been opened. Also, it has no contact information.”
He sucks his breath in and rocks in his shoes. “Interesting. It might be written by one of our big authors. Or not. If you can’t figure out who wrote it, we could ask one of our heavy hitters to claim it as their own.”
Okay, I haven’t worked in publishing long, but I’m pretty sure you can’t do that.
“Tell you what, Cam. Give me some time with this,” I say. “Let me try to find this author, Ryder Night.”
