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She kept calm during the seemingly endless ride down in the elevator. She breathed and ignored the twisting in her gut that screamed to find a bathroom. She was going to hold it together. For Chris’s sake. Yes, her career was in more danger than Chris’s was, but Sakura’s comment targeted him, and that was all Daphne could think about.
They’d barely stepped outside into the cool Seattle morning when Sakura murmured, as if to herself, “Chris Stanton.”
When Daphne said nothing, Sakura looked over. “That’s his name, isn’t it?”
Daphne stifled panic and mentally scrolled to her conversations with Nia, who’d led her through every imaginable exposure scenario, coming up with solutions until Daphne’s nerves had settled.
“Zane Remington is a pen name,” Daphne said. “That has been clear from the start, and he is entitled to his privacy.”
Sakura held up her phone. On it was a digital-archive page for an accounting firm, with a photo of Chris that looked a few years old. Underneath, it read “Chris Stanton, BSC, CA.”
Daphne pressed her lips together in annoyance she didn’t need to feign and repeated, “He is entitled to his privacy.”
“Well, he’s not going to get it.”
Daphne looked over sharply, bristling. She liked Sakura, who’d been nothing but helpful, but if she was threatening—
Sakura continued, “I’ve known lots of authors with pen names, and usually, the only time it’s a problem is if they pick up a stalker or get a huge following. The huge following probably won’t happen after one book. But stalkers?”
She glanced at Daphne as they walked. “You have seen Chris, right? You two are obviously more than author and assistant, so you know exactly what I mean. He’s not my type—at all—but I can still objectively see that he is a very good-looking guy. If he were an actor, he’d be a dime a dozen, but as an author, he stands out. A lot. I was going to discuss it with you guys because, hot single author under forty? He’s going to have problems.”
“Okay,” Daphne said carefully.
“But he’s not just young and hot. He’s not just an instant bestseller. He’s also gone viral for facing down a grizzly bear.”
“Minor-league viral,” Daphne said, and at Sakura’s look, added, “I know. Not the point.”
“This is the point, Daphne.” Sakura held up her phone again.
“Is that—is that a website?” Daphne said.
“Yep. Someone put this up yesterday.”
Daphne read the URL again.
WhoIsZaneRemington.com
She asked if she could see Sakura’s phone and took it with trembling hands. The website was just one page, done through free web design software. It was a horrible design, covered in photos of Zane overlaid with hard-to-read text.
Who is Zane Remington?
Calling all Zane fans. And if you’re not a Zane fan, have you seen this guy??? Get out your fire extinguishers, ladies… and gents, if that’s your thing :)
Check out that face. Those arms. Those abs (anyone with a shot of his ass please send it in because I’m sure it’s just as hot!!!) And he’s smart, too. He wrote a book! I haven’t read it—books are for English class, amirite?—but it’s supposed to be good.
So who is Zane Remington?
That isn’t his real name. I know because I’ve looked everywhere, and my friend—who does read books—says it’s called a pseudonym. A fake author name so we can’t track him down and offer to have his babies. Is that fair? No, it is not.
You know what to do.
Find Zane Remington.
“That’s…” Daphne began.
“Concerning?”
“I was going to say creepy. Really creepy. But yes, also…” Daphne took a deep breath. “So people are trying to find out who Zane is, and that’s a concern for the publisher. They’ve added managing it to the million tasks stacked on your plate.”
