Edinburgh is for Lovers (l.s.)

xxxi.

Harry hadn't called Louis the night before. He'd made it home from the pub, locked the door, and laid down in the dark. He rubbed his eyes sleepily from the restless night he had as he made his way into Camden Press that morning.

"Morning Mr. Styles." his boss greeted him as he nudged the door of the conference room open.

"Morning sir."

"Come in. Take a seat wherever."

Harry sat at the end of the large conference table, a cup of coffee in hand and he waited.
Mr. Oliver and a man from the legal department joined him, and they got right into the meeting.

He turned to Harry. "You mentioned the contract for Mr. William's book yesterday."

"Yes, sir."

"Original contract stated that 500 copies of Mr. William's book, Only for the Brave, had to sell by 31st December 1983. A second contract was written between Camden Press and Waldron Books in Glasgow, Scotland in August to retail Mr. William's book."

"Yes."

"This contract between Camden Press and Waldron's Books is null and void, and the original contract between Camden Press and L. William is null and void as of 8th January, 1984."

Harry's stomach dropped, he felt sick. He wanted to cry, opting instead to close his eyes and wait for what was coming next.

"Two new contracts need to be drawn up. One between Mr. William and Camden Press, making him a permanent author on Camden's publishing record. And another between Camden Press and Waldron's Books to retail 500 copies of Mr. William's book on a second print run, beginning 20th January 1984. As well as additional restocking in the future."

Harry sat back in his seat, eyes wide.

"Does that sound sufficient, Mr. Styles?"

"Yes sir." Harry nodded.

"Good. Mr. Collins will have the new contracts drawn up this afternoon. You'll be in charge of faxing them and getting signatures from the men at Waldron's and Mr. William. Understood? Contracts must be on my desk, signed, by Friday morning."

"Yes, Absolutely." Harry agreed.

"Alright. Thank you Collins, that's all."

The man from legal stood and shook both of their hands before leaving the room. Harry gathered his bag and stood to follow.

"Mr. Styles?" Mr. Oliver called before Harry stood.

"Yes, sir?"

"Sit for another minute if you would."

"Alright." Harry relaxed into his seat again.

"I'm sure you're aware of how rare this situation is for Camden."

"Yes, I am."

"This wouldn't be happening if any other person were Editor in Chief. Or if any other person had tried to convince me to publish a book like this. I'll be honest with you, I'm surprised at how hard you fought for this book and how well it did. Didn't expect it."

Harry furrowed his brows.

"You should know that I admire the effort you've put into this book. As your boss, as your business partner, and just as a man, I respect the hell out of your determination to get it published and the first and second time around."

Harry's eyes widened. "Uh, thank you sir. I appreciate that."

"I spoke to Mr. Waldron on the phone yesterday afternoon, he had a lot of good things to say about you. I assume you spent a good amount of time at the book shop on your last trip?"