A Companion's Journey

Chapter 10 - The Deal

The next few days were a somewhat trying experience for both Rachel and Karson. Karson found that in his weakened condition he was more dependent on Rachel than he first realized. Rachel did not mind tending to Karson, but sometimes she was a bit overbearing trying to anticipate his every need, even insisting that she feed him.

Rachel mentioned to him that she needed to go to an appointment and that she arranged for Bobby to come over to help him out.

"It's only for the day, so I'll probably be back late in the evening. You two can behave that long can't you?"

Karson was secretly glad for the break, but also reluctant to have Rachel leave.

When Bobby arrived early the next morning, Rachel kissed Karson sweetly and told Bobby to keep an eye on him. She left shortly with Molly who agreed to ferry her to the airport. Before long the two Companions were up to their usual antics, and Karson enjoyed the time with his friend as Bobby shared stories about his vacation.

Meanwhile, Rachel met with Roger to discuss the book deal. She was impressed with the company and equally impressed with how much Roger wanted to sign Karson on as one of their published authors.

"This is an excellent time for Karson to get his book out. With Companions having much more economic freedom, we anticipate there will be a large influx of new readers, especially with a book looking at the topic of Human/Companion interactions."

Rachel had to agree with Roger's assessment.

"Now is the part I'm sure you've been waiting for. I am prepared to offer Karson $25,000 for the first run of his book, along with royalties and an open offer to publish his next book. There are some other fine details we can discuss later, such as an exclusivity bonus if he publishes his next book with us, but I digress."

Roger looked at Rachel as she sat in stunned silence. He smiled having seen this reaction a number of times in the past.

"I can give you some time if you need to think about it?"

Rachel shook her head to snap out of the state she was in.

"No, I'm fine, just surprised that's all. I accept the offer on behalf of Karson."

"Excellent, I'll get the notary and our contract lawyer to go over the finer points with you. Let me be the first to extend our congratulations to you and Karson. Welcome aboard!"

Rachel met with the lawyer and got all the paperwork taken care of with the notary, and was given a full copy of the contract to keep on file. She in turn gave Karson's full manuscript to Roger.

"How long do you think it will take for the book to get onto the shelf?"

Roger laughed.

"Very soon I hope. We need to pass this by the senior editor, but I suspect very little will need to be fixed. After that, we basically just need a cover design and start printing. I think we could get copies to stores in as little as 4 weeks!"

Rachel was indeed impressed and asked for Roger to contact her as soon as he knew the first shelf date. When her visit was concluded, Roger said to give his regards to Karson as he escorted Rachel out. She hoped she could hold on to the surprise for Karson and used the flight home to contemplate ways to reveal it to him.

She surprised everyone when she entered the apartment unannounced. Molly hopped up and helped her with her bag as she berated her in a friendly manner.

"You should have called me; I would have picked you up."

"Nah, it's okay," she said.

She walked over to where Karson sat on the couch next to Bobby. She winked at Bobby as she knelt down to kiss and snuggle Karson.