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“The poor thing. Did you take him to a vet?”
“Yes. I freaked out, Kris. I found other spots of blood on him, and he whimpered when I picked him up. He’s never going to trust me again.” Her voice hitches.
I lower mine, trying to calm her, worried she’s working herself up. “Honey, of course he will. He’s just as shaken as you are. What did the vet say?”
“That he’d been in a fight, but other than a few cuts and some bruises, he’ll be okay.” She pauses for a minute, and I can hear her murmuring, “I’ve cleaned him up. He's here with me, lying on the couch. He's not budging from my arms. He's being affectionate, but not purring.”
“He needs to feel safe again.”
“The vet assured me that other than a round of antibiotics, he won’t need much looking after. I also had them implant a chip in case he gets out again.”
“That’s a good idea.”
I listen to Joy take a long, deep, shuddering breath. “How is your mother?”
I can change topics if that’s what she wants. “She's making great progress. She’s talking now and getting some movement back. Dad spends every day with her. We’re hoping she can leave the home by Christmas and move in with my father.”
“She’s very lucky to have you, Kris. You’re a good son.”
“You never talk about your family, Joy. Tell me about them.”
“Not much to tell. My parents are great. And I have lots of cousins, though we don’t see each other as often as when we were kids.”
“I know Kismet is a family business. Do they all work for the company?”
“Some do. My father and my uncles still run everything. I’m sure they’re hoping to retire someday, but none of us are ready yet to step up and take over. Each of us has to put in a stint though.”
“Don’t you like it?”
“I do. But not like you do, Kris. This is your dream job. Not mine.”
“What do you want to do, then?” She’s surprised me. I’m not sure I’d want to go to work every day if I knew Joy wouldn’t be there.
“Well, I admire you. I think you’d make an outstanding agent. Have I told you that?”
I laugh. “I’ve never seen myself as an agent. I’ve always wanted to be in marketing.”
“Nope.” I picture her shaking her head as she scratches behind Jinx’s ears. “You care too much about the author to be an editor. You can certainly do it, but I think you’d make a much better agent.”
I’m not sure what to say to that.
“You know that Kismet employs a group of agents, right? They’re in a subsidiary part of the company. Kismet gets first right of refusal on any projects they pick up for their authors, but they aren’t committed to only working with Kismet.”
“I do.” There are currently more options available in New York—that’s why it’s always been part of my plan.
“Do you still have the game I gave you?”
She’s changing subjects on me again, so catching up takes me a minute. “I do. Why?”
“Let’s play.” Her voice switches to flirty, and just like that, the tone of our conversation changes.
“Now?”
“Yup. Truth or Dare?”
“Um… truth.”
“Oh, I like that.” She laughs. “Mr. Hedgehog doesn’t mind binding.”
