Dear Reader- Taylor Swift

Part 2

Six Years Later- Present day

"Bambi, will you stop hiding in a corner? This party is for you. Everyone is here for you. They want to meet you," Thumper, formally known as Christopher, grumbled as he grabbed my wrist and pulled me away from my safe little corner of the bar.

I don't think I have called him Craig in three years, though. TJ very kindly named him Thumper when he introduced himself as Christopher before saying you can call me Chris if you want. TJ originally wanted to call him Flower, but after an hour-long debate with a two-year-old, Chris settled from being called Thumper on the condition that he could call me Bambi. How I got dragged into their little argument is beyond me, but the nicknames have stuck, much to TJ's pleasure.

I would literally like to be anywhere but here right now.

"I could fire you, you know that, right? As my agent, you work for me, not the other way around. You are supposed to make my life easier, not harder. Do you know what being here makes my life? Harder!" I complain, forcing a smile on my face as he directs me to a bunch of hoity-toity dudes who own the publishing company that my work is distributed under, technically making these guys my bosses, I guess. That's what Thumper says, anyway. I personally like to think I work for myself.

"You could, but you never would. I'm the only agent who would put up with your crazy ass, Bambi. And I know you don't want to be here, but it's important. You are on the cusp of becoming something legendary. Your books, this trilogy you have just completed, are breaking records. An event like this will help you. Everyone who can make you a legend is in this room right now, and they are begging to meet you. You. Everyone here is here for you," Thumper shrugs off my comment, which earns him an elbow to the ribs before I start ignoring him, listening to the old white dudes in front of me introduce themselves to me, their names instantly falling out of my head.

It's ironic, really.

My first hit is all about someone not knowing the character's name, yet these days, I don't bother learning anyone's name either.

I guess that's what happens when someone thinks they've made it, whatever that means. They just stop caring about the herds of people they're introduced to regularly. Not that I've made it. Nah, not in the long run. I just know that Thumper will remind me of these guys' names if I ever have the displeasure of meeting them again.

Thirty minutes of boring ass kissing later, Thumper finally takes the hint, from the repetitive elbows to his ribs, and moves me onto the next group of apparently essential people that I just have to meet.

"These are some Disney executives. They're interested in buying rights to make What's My Fucking Name into a show or a movie. There are also talks of them wanting the rights to Fucking New York and then Dirty Fucking Secret after they see how well it sells. Although you are already at the top of the charts from pre-sales alone, I have no doubt that they will buy the whole trilogy. Make nice with them," Thumper whispered before I was yet again introduced to people whose names I once again forgot.

"Netflix team next," Thumper mumbled, making me freeze as I was pushed around the bar, "wait, why are they here as well?" I asked, my eyes squinting in confusion. Why would I have to talk to a team from Netflix if I just spoke to a team of Disney executives? That makes no sense. None at all.

Not that any part of my life really makes sense these days.

"Amazon is here too, and a team from HBO and a bunch of other platforms I won't make you meet because their offers aren't as good. They all want to get the rights to What's My Name and the rest of the trilogy. Disney is even mentioning making your other books into their own limited series. One for each book. They are all in the middle of a bidding war for the rights. They think kissing up to you will help them because you get the final say. Some want to make it a movie, and others want to make it a series. All of them want you on board and are willing to give you the final say on artistic direction, so play nice because it's going to be a multi-million dollar deal. Like hundreds of millions," Thumper explained, making me even more confused.