AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Joy nods and stands. “Come on, I’ll give you a tour of the place.”
The first room she takes me to is just as sunny as her office, but it’s longer and more narrow. Delia stands behind a big drafting table, a desk with three monitors behind her.
Another woman sits at a desk next to Delia’s, her attention so focused on the screen she doesn’t even hear us come in. She looks younger than me, maybe just out of college, with long, curly brown hair and olive skin.
“Hi,” Delia says with a wave. “You going to take the job?”
“I haven’t been offered the job yet.”
“I’m just showing her around to give her an idea of what she’ll be getting into if she joins us,” Joy says. “You’ve met Delia. She handles formatting, cover design, and promotion. She’s an amazing graphic artist.”
“Thank you,” Delia says with a small bow and a flourish of her right hand.
The woman at the other desk finally drags herself away from the computer screen and smiles shyly up at me.
“I’m Lulu Bertram. I help Joy with acquisitions and I proofread. Sometimes, Gloria lets me do some copy editing.”
“Lulu’s only been with us for six months,” Joy says. “Her attention to detail is practically supernatural, and I expect she’ll take acquisitions over from me entirely before too long.”
“That’s great.” First meetings in a workplace are so awkward. I stick my hand out to shake hers, but she’s already returned to her screen. “It’s nice to meet you both.”
Delia smiles as we leave, and it feels like an accusation. Is she being overly nice because she thinks I’m up to no good? Is she onto me?
“Winston Boyd handles our publicity, and he’s out of the office today.” Joy stops in front of a closed door. “He often works from home or meets authors at bookstores for signings.” She pushes open the door to reveal a cubicle-sized office with one window and a small bare desk. Not a personal item in sight.
“Looks like he’s never here,” I say.
She shrugs. “He’s young and single.”
I follow her down a narrow, dim hallway that runs along the back of the house and out onto a screen porch. It’s set up just like Joy’s office, but there’s only one monitor on the desk and piles of papers stacked around it. It’s warm for May in the mountains, but there’s a space heater glowing warmly in the center of the space.
At the desk sits a white-haired woman with a beak-like nose and papery white skin, who’s talking into a phone. “I understand you prefer the word cock, Maryella, but you can’t use it thirty-six times in one chapter. You don’t have to use penis. Try phallus or member, hell use pork steeple, just use something other than cock.” She sighs heavily. “Yes, or change the wording all togetherso you don’t need to repeat the word… I understand, just do your best.”
She hangs up and shakes her head. “Everyone thinks they’re smarter than the editor.”
“Gloria,” Joy says. “I’ve brought Miss Weston in to meet you.”
Gloria startles than laughs, before she turns and stands. She’s very, very tall. I’m only five feet, so most people are taller than me, but she’s possibly the tallest woman I’ve ever met. Her eyes sparkle and she’s got a firm handshake. “The New Yorker. I’ve been exceedingly curious to meet you.” Her words aren’t rude and her tone is jovial, but she squeezes my hand a touch too tightly and there’s a sharpness to her smile I recognize, from growing up in the South, as dangerous.
“It’s nice to meet you,” I say as she lets go of my hand. I wish I was good at acting sweet when I’m not feeling it, but that’s never been a talent of mine. If Noah were here, he’d charm her in an instant. He charms everyone he meets. “I’m looking forward to working for such a successful boutique publisher.”
Gloria raises her finely shaped eyebrows and looks over my head at Joy. “Boutique publisher? Is that what we are?”
Joy steps up next to me. “This is Gloria Mitchell. She’s been our editor here at Lovemore Publishing for nearly fifteen years.”
Gloria doesn’t take her sharp gaze off me. “I know everything there is to know about Lovemore, so ask me any questions you’ve got.”
All I want to know is how to get in touch with Cynthia Bennett. “I appreciate that. I look forward to working with you.”
I expect that to be the end of the meeting, but her gaze sharpens. “Pretty major move from a big five publisher in the most exciting city in the world. What brought it on?”
My cheeks warm and I just know I’m going to make a mess of this. “I was passed over for a promotion for the fourth time and I decided I’d had enough. I have family in Catalpa Creek.”
“Uh-huh.” Gloria looks me up and down and narrows her eyes. “But if you could get that promotion, you’d go back in a heartbeat?”
Speaking of my heartbeat… It feels like it’s about to pound right out of my chest. “Seems unlikely they’ll change their minds about me.”
Gloria crosses her arms under her impressive chest and taps her be-ringed fingers. I wait, but she doesn’t say a word.
