Louise
The next morning I get up early and wait for a call from Mr. Barker. Though I don't dare keeping my hopes up. He didn't sound too convincing when he said he'd sleep on it.
When the phone rings around noon I fully expect him to tell me he doesn't think the book's good enough to be published.
"It's risky, but I think with the right marketing it could be a sucess. Why don't you come by the office so you can meet your publisher?" He exclaimed.
"Sure, absolutely. I'll be right over."
A wave of confidence washed over me. Maybe this is the turning point.
Inside the elevator I pushed the button to the 12th floor and took a few deep breaths. I had already tried to contact Jeff and Mike, the writers from L.A., right after hanging up with Mr. Barker but all calls went straight to voice mail.
I knocked on Mr. Barker's office door and entered shortly after. He wasn't alone. With him was that woman I met in the elevator yesterday, Andi.
"Hi. Andi, right?" I greeted her with a smile.
"You remembered! See I told you you'd be getting that deal."
"You two know each other?" Mr. Barker chimed in.
"Louise and I met briefly in the elevator after your meeting yesterday."
"I see. Well it's a good thing Andi is your publisher." He directed his words at me.
"That's great!" I blurted out. At least she was nice and friendly. I could see myself getting along with her.
"Any word from the writers?"
"I tried to contact them earlier but they must be busy." I offered. It was a weak excuse I barely believed myself. Somehow they managed to vanish off the face of the earth. I dug a little in my memory. Indeed, the last time I saw them was a week before I left for London. Back then they were both excited about me getting involved in promoting the book.
"Anyway. I guess I'll leave you two to it then. You have a lot of work to do." Mr. Barker's voice brought me back to the here and now.
"Thanks again, Mr. Barker. You won't be disappointed."
"It's Tom."
He offered a smile and excused himself. Both Andi and I nodded, then Andi led me out of Tom's office and into her own, which was down the long corridor.
Her office was small and stuffed with all kinds of books, a writing board that took up almost an entire wall's space and a wooden desk that looked way too big for the small office.
On it were tons of papers, office supplies and framed photos. I didn't wanna seem intrusive but one particular photo caught my attention.
It was of a younger Andi and a young man, maybe a relative? Both definitely looked alike. Was it a cousin? Or even a brother? Either way he looked very familiar but I couldn't put a name to his face.
"Nice office you got here!"
"Please. It's a broom closet compared to the other publishers' offices. I'm new to this so that's why I got the tiny office."
"Tom must trust you enough then if he assigns you the task of publishing a book."
"This needs to stay between us, but do you know what he said to me before you came in? He said if I mess this up I'll lose my job. He also thinks the book's gonna flop."
"Wow!"
"That's why we need to make this book a sucess. Get everyone to talk about it. We also need to provide a face people can relate to. I know you're pretty much anonymous in the book but don't you think there's a reason the writers won't claim their work?"
