AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I didn’t like him breathing the same air as her.
“Ted, I’ll say this once, and I won’t say it again. We’d love to work with Mara, but if you ever try to fucking poach my employee again, I will reach across this table and teach you some fucking manners. I don’t give a shit if it costs us a deal. You got me?”
“Whoa, whoa, big guy, relax. It’s just business, brother. But I can see you’re very attached to your assistant.” He chuckled.
My grandfather glanced at me before turning his attention back to Ted. “To make sure we’re clear, we aren’t desperate, Ted. We happen to be the biggest publishing house in the United States, and we already have some of the most influential authors on the planet working with us. Mara is talented, and we’d like to work with her, but you will not disrespect our employees. We’ll walk so fast your head will spin.”
“Ah, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, I see.” He shrugged, completely unfazed. The dude had fallouts with more people than not. This was nothing for him. “Georgia, you’ve got some loyal employers right here.”
“Well, you know… being from ahokey little townand all, I consider myself lucky to be working with Lancaster Press. And us small-town girls are pretty loyal, too, Mr. Hagger.” She smiled, but it wasn’t genuine. She was trying to be professional while sticking it to him as much as she could.
And I fucking loved it.
He nodded. “There’s just something about a small-town girl. Am I right, gentlemen?” He waggled his brows, like this was all just some fun banter, while everyone else at the table was on edge. And then he looked up and pushed to his feet. “Ah… here she is. Mara, thank you for joining us.”
He made the introductions, and I watched as Georgia bit down on her bottom lip, trying to keep herself from reacting too much as she shook her hand. We all took our seats, and Ted ordered two bottles of the most expensive wine on the menu, and we placed our dinner orders, as well.
I got right down to business, telling Mara that we were beyond impressed with the sample that she’d sent over, and we were interested in making her an offer tonight.
“Well, this is fabulous news. I told Ted I only wanted to work with Lancaster Press on this one. Signing a deal with you all has been on my bucket list for a while now. I know you weren’t interested in the last series, but I was hoping this one would pique your interest.” She smiled and then glanced at her agent before turning back to me. “I told Ted if you passed on this one, I was going to drive to Cottonwood Cove myself and convince you of all the reasons why you should sign me.”
We’d never received a submission from Mara Skye before, at least not in the last decade that I’d been with the company. Professionally, throwing Ted under the bus might not be the wisest move, but the fact that he was licking his lips as he glanced over at my assistant left me with no choice.
“Well, I assure you, we would never turn you down. This is the first time we’ve received a submission, as far as I know, and we jumped at the chance to work with you.”
My grandfather chuckled because he knew what I was doing. We weren’t covering for this asshole. “I’m pretty ancient, so unless you submitted to us at a time that I wasn’t running Lancaster Press, I’d know about it.”
Mara’s gaze narrowed as she looked between us and her agent in confusion.
“Well, no sense getting hung up on the past. We all know that paperwork can fall through the cracks. Let’s focus on the here and now,” Ted said.
He’d only submitted to us this time because she was going to go around him. This guy was a bigger dickhead than I’d given him credit for.
“That’s fine. We can talk about it later, Ted.” Mara’s face did not hide her displeasure. “Tonight, I want to focus on the future. So, you really liked it?”
“We loved it,” my grandfather said. “Georgia, here, is a big fan. She’s read all of your work, and she gushed about this submission.”
Mara clapped her hands together. “Stop. Really? That means the world to me, Georgia. Thank you.”
“Are you kidding? Thank you. You are a one-click author for me. I literally stay up all night when your books release.”
“Well, from now on, I’ll be sending you an ARC for all of my books,” Mara said with a big smile on her face. Advanced Reader Copies were popular in the book world.
“Oh, wow. That would mean so much to me. I beta-read for my cousin, and now I can be an ARC reader for you,” Georgia said, raising her glass. “I will drink to that.”
Everyone raised their glass, and Mara took a sip before turning her attention back to Georgia.
“Who is your cousin?”
“Ashlan Thomas. Her name is Ashlan King now, but she writes under her maiden name.”
Mara’s mouth fell open. “I’m a huge fan of Ashlan’s work. I’ve read everything she’s written.”
They went back and forth as our food was set down in front of us. Georgia agreed to have Ashlan come to Cottonwood Cove when Mara came for a visit. We’d gotten off the professional track with the conversation, but with the way these two were bonding, it only worked in our favor.
Georgia glanced up at me and managed to steer the conversation back to the present. “So, Maddox doesn’t normally read historical romance, but he admitted that he’d been pulled in by this one, too. I think you’ve got a new fan on your hands.”
Mara turned her attention to me, and we discussed some of the strengths of her opening and where she planned to take the story. My grandfather was completely captivated by her as she walked us through the conflict and the way she planned to give them their happily ever after.
