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“Have you promoted yourself as a principal of the company?”
“My name and bio are in some of the documents,” I muse.
“As an employee, not an executive, right?”
“Right.”
“Okay, listen up,” Harper says. “Only the executives get picked apart by investors. They want to know everything about who’s running the company they invest in, not necessarily who works there. And as for clients, they typically don’t have the time or inclination to go digging into everyone’s background. And let’s say hypothetically someone did, they wouldn’t find any books under your name. There is virtually zero reason for anyone to have the interest or resources to connect you to your romance novels.”
“Then why is Chris worried?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Harper asks. “He’s insecure. He’s intimidated. He’s afraid he can’t live up to your fantasies.”
“He is my fantasy.”
“Does he know that?”
“Yes…I think so,” I stutter. “He knows I love him.”
“That’s not the same thing. Look, I’ve never known a man to complain about what a woman is willing to do in the bedroom. I’ve never known a man to complain when a woman takes the initiative. I have known a man to complain about romance novels simply because he couldn’t separate fiction from reality. He assumes the fiction is better. If you love Chris, if you want to keep him in your life without giving anything up, you need to let him know the reality is better than fiction.”
“Is that what happened with Jason?” I ask. “He assumed the reality wasn’t as good as the fiction?”
“We didn’t get that far,” Harper says softly. “He left without listening to what I had to say. He never tried to understand.”
“I don’t think Chris tried to understand.”
“That’s probably my fault,” Harper says. “He doesn’t have any love for me, and he probably lumped your perceived transgressions in with mine.”
“It did kind of feel that way. So, what do I do now?”
“That depends. Can you forgive him? Do you want to?”
I think about the wave of emotions crashing inside me. Part of me is hurt by Chris’s reaction and wants nothing to do with a person who can’t accept me completely. Part of me doesn’t blame him, because I harbored the same doubts about what might happen if my two worlds collided, and those doubts are his way of looking out for Charlie. But given the way he put others before himself, given how hard he worked on behalf of those around him, I know deep down he’s a good guy. I admire him. I love him. And I have to believe that’s enough to make things right. Otherwise I’m in the wrong profession.
“I can forgive him. I want to,” I tell her. “What do I do?”
“What you always do,” Harper replies. “You finish the story.”
I knock on Charlie’s door Monday morning, surprisingly calm given that the next few minutes will likely determine my future. I wish it hadn’t come to this, but I can’t see a better option.
Even though I think Chris is overreacting, I respect his opinion about the potential conflict between my novels and Engage. This is his forte, not mine, and if he’s that concerned about my romance novels harming Charlie, then I can’t put his dream at risk without his knowledge.
“Got a second?” I ask.
Charlie looks up and smiled. “Of course. Everything okay? You don’t look like yourself today.”
I smile weakly and take a seat. “Actually, it was a rough night. I wanted to talk to you about it.”
Charlie’s eyes grow big. He shrinks back into his seat. “Don’t you have the wrong brother?”
“Not this time,” I say, placing a book on his desk.
Charlie looks at it then looks at me with a raised brow. “What’s this?”
“It’s mine. I’d like you to read it.”
Charlie looks back at the book and chews on his lip. “It says Michele.”
