Page 96 of The Fed Sex Man

Jo

Lost in a daydream,I answered the phone without so much as looking at the screen. “This is Jo.”

“Good morning, Miss Watson. I’m Jessica, SD Hildreth’s wife. How are you?”

“I’m doing well, thank you,” I responded. “How are you?”

“I’d be a lot better if my husband wasn’t such an ass. He told me about the conversation he had with you, and I’ve called to apologize for his narrow-mindedness.”

“Oh, that’s okay,” I said. “I started reading his memoir, and I kind of understand now that he’s a little different than most. It’s part of what makes him unique, I guess.”

“Different?” She laughed. “You should try living with him. It’s interesting.”

I reached for Hildreth’s memoir, which was sitting at the corner of my desk. “From what I’ve read, you two get along really well though, don’t you? I mean, I’m not done with the book, but it sure looks like that’s where everything’s headed.”

“Oh, we get along great. He’s a wonderful man, if he knows you and likes you. His problem is that he doesn’t trust people. Anyone. So, he goes through life with this crappy look on his face, convinced he’s not going to let anyone get close enough to him to hurt him.”

I hated to say anything, but after reading the part in his book about what the government did to him, I can’t say that I blamed him. “That’s understandable though, considering what happened to him.”

“I suppose,” she said. “Again, I’m sorry.”

“It’s no big deal, really.”

“If you’re still open to it, he’d love to participate in your promotion,” she said. “We’ll donate whatever you need. As long as it’s successful for you, that’s what matters.”

I sat up in my seat. “He agreed to that?”

“He didn’t have a choice.” She laughed. “Yes, he agreed.”

“Oh. Wow. Uhhm. Well, ten paperbacks is what we like to give away each month. Can you do that?”

“Sure. What about swag?” she asked.

“If you’ve got extra, I’d love to have some. Bookmarks. Pencils. Whatever. We use it to promote his work, and, of course, the store.”

“Are you sure ten books is enough?”

“If you want to send a few more, that’d be great. We can do a bigger giveaway.”

“This helps your bookstore, too. Is that right?” she asked.

“It brings us a lot of traffic, yes. You know how romance readers love signed paperbacks.”

“I’ll send fifty,” she said.

“Holy crap,” I gasped. “Seriously?”

“If you can make use of them, I’ll send them.”

Having fifty books would be a game changer for me. I could do all kinds of contests and drive tremendous traffic to the store, and to Mister Hildreth’s work.

“That would be awesome,” I said.

“I’ll put together a nice box of swag, too.”

“That’s just. That’s fantastic. I can’t wait.”

“I sent you a friend request on Facebook,” she said. “I’ll forward the tracking numbers. You can get with me anytime by PM.”