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Chris’s phone rang, and Daphne thumped to the pillow with a groan.
“Let me answer it quickly.” He glanced at the screen. “It’s Milner.”
She lifted her head. “Why’s he calling you?”
“I have no idea.” He hit the Answer button and then Speaker. “Mr. Milner. It’s Chris. You’re on speaker with Daphne.”
Silence. Then, “All right. If that’s what you want.”
Chris frowned, and Daphne shrugged.
“Is Lawrence on the line?” Chris asked.
“This isn’t a police interrogation,” Milner said. “You don’t need representation. I wanted to speak to you in advance of the official call. I’d like to work this out if we can.”
“I’d still ask…” He trailed off as he caught Daphne’s look. While he did want Lawrence there, it could delay this call, which would delay her learning her fate with the publishing house.
“Fine,” Chris said. “We’ll loop him in later. But I’m going to step back now and ask you to speak to Daphne. It’s her book. I really was only the face of it. I know that means I’ll need to make a statement, and I’m prepared to do that. Otherwise, it’s all about her.”
“No one is blaming you for this,” Milner said.
Chris squeezed the bridge of his nose. “I didn’t say that, and I hope I didn’t imply that. I knew what I was getting into, and I fully support Daphne.”
“Good,” Milner said, which eased the ball of tension growing behind Chris’s eyes. “That’s going to be a huge help here.”
“I hope so,” Chris said. “I want it to be clear that I support the book and Daphne.”
“I am very happy to hear you say that. I believe you are going to be our silver bullet here, Chris. You’re articulate, intelligent and—as the female members of my staff tell me—very photogenic.”
His hackles rose. What did it matter if he was articulate, intelligent, and photogenic? Daphne was the author, and she was also all those things.
“Thank you,” he said slowly. “While Daphne hasn’t been taking center stage, I think you’ll find she’s equally articulate and—”
“But you have been the face of the book, and as such, you have done an excellent job. Like good cover art, if that’s not insulting.”
“It’s not,” Chris said. “Because that’s an excellent analogy. What Daphne did was like picking a cover that may have attracted extra attention. That’s marketing.”
Daphne finally spoke up, saying, “It’s not quite the same, and I understand that, but yes, Chris has been a great ambassador for the book.”
“He has been,” Milner said. “Which is why I would like to see him continue in that capacity.”
“What?” Chris said.
Daphne said slowly, “Are you suggesting paying off this influencer and continuing to pretend Chris wrote the book? That won’t work long-term. Suspicions have been raised.”
“Which is why we—all of us—need to take control of the story.”
Daphne visibly relaxed. “Thank you. Are you asking Chris to stay on as the face of Zane? Openly admit that the real author is a woman who would prefer to remain anonymous, but Chris will continue acting as Zane in public?”
“No,” Milner said. “The problem you’ve created, Daphne, is that the person they think wrote the book—this intelligent, articulate, photogenic man—did not. That’s going to be disappointing to readers in a way I don’t think you understand.”
“I don’t understand it, either,” Chris said. “And I think readers would find it insulting to imply that they care what Zane looks like.”
“They will be disappointed. However, I think we’ve come up with a way to fix this mess, which is why I’m running it past you before we involve agents and lawyers. I believe that if handled correctly, we might even be able to turn this fiasco into a publicity win.”
“That… would be good,” Daphne said as Chris silently seethed.
“And, to be clear, I have spoken to one of our lawyers, and he has no concerns with my proposed solution.”
