Читать книгу Cover Girl - Nic Tatano - Страница 13

“Keira, where the HELL are you?”

Gretch’s call jolted her back to reality. She looked at the clock on the restaurant wall and saw it was twenty minutes past one. “Oh, shit! I lost track of time. Be right there.”

“Problem?” asked Dash.

Keira stood up and put on her jacket. “Forgot I had a meeting with a new author at one. Please forgive me for leaving so abruptly.”

“Hey, no problem. Uh, I’d still like your phone number. I know I put you on the spot earlier, but I’ll certainly understand if you don’t want to—”

She whipped a business card out of her purse and handed it to him. “Here you go.”

“Great. Keira, I really enjoyed meeting you.”

“Same here. And again, sorry about ruining the shirt and tie.”

“It was definitely worth it. By the way…”

“Yeah?”

“You know those guys who say they’ll call and never do? I’m not one of them.”

She moved closer, close enough to get a whiff of his cologne, looked up and locked eyes with him. “I’ll look forward to you proving it, Mister.”

The elevator door opened, revealing Gretch standing with her arms folded, tapping her foot and glaring at her like an angry parent. “Alexander has been here a half hour. What the hell happened?”

Keira power-walked out of the elevator and headed to her office with her assistant in hot pursuit. “Where is he?”

“In your editing cave. I’ve been keeping him busy going over your suggestions. Luckily your irreplaceable assistant knows your taste. Also lucky your irreplaceable assistant can be trusted with a guy you want.”

“I owe you one, Gretch.”

“So where were you?”

“I met a guy.”

Gretch stopped and grabbed Keira’s forearm. “Excuse me? Did you say you met someone?”

“Long story and I’ll fill you in later. Bottom line, I spilled coffee all over this guy who looks like the cover model for Soul Mate and we ended up having lunch. We really hit it off—”

“Whoa, am I hearing you right? Is Keira Madison cheating?”

“How can I be cheating?”

“I don’t mean regular cheating, I mean Keira’s brand of cheating. You already want Alexander and before you even go out on one date you’re already interested in someone else? Keira Madison doesn’t date two people at once.”

“I’m a big girl. I can play the field. And stop talking about me in the third person.”

“Where the hell did this newfound confidence with men suddenly come from?”

Keira shrugged. “What can I say? It hit me about an hour and a half ago. There are two cute guys who like me.”

“Whoa, this just hit me. Back up a minute… the man you met looks like the guy on the Soul Mate cover?”

“Dead ringer for our computer generated hero. After I spilled coffee on him the restaurant manager gave him a clean shirt. I caught a glimpse.” She licked her lips. “It’s the Soul Mate cover boy, though unlike the virtual version this one is actually real.”

“Hell, you don’t have two cute guys. You’ve got one cute guy and one fantasy.”

“Whatever. They’re both nice.”

“This is getting too weird. You meet one guy who looks like the hunk on the first book you discovered while your life parallels the novel you’re about to edit.”

“Yeah, stranger than fiction, huh? Maybe one will actually be my real soul mate.”

Gretch took her shoulders and turned her so they were face to face. “Keira, this isn’t you. You’ve never done the ‘playing the field’ thing.”

“Maybe it’s time for me to broaden my horizons.”

“Well, if you are to proceed without getting burned you’ll need the rules.”

“Rules?”

“The Book of Gretch has rules for the care and feeding of multiple boyfriends. If you wanna do this right, you need to be able to juggle relationships like a circus performer.”

“I thought you weren’t doing that anymore.”

“Hey, I’m still a recovering skank. I just keep missing the meetings. And I’m only on step three.”

Keira nodded as she ran her eyes up and down Gretch’s outfit, a short black-leather skirt and tight red gathered top. “Yeah, I see you’re back to your party girl collection.”

“I wore this on purpose, for Alexander.”

“Excuse me?”

“To prove my point. And guess what, dear boss? The man didn’t even notice. He only has eyes for you.”

I was afraid of this.

She wants to change my book.

Alex shook his head as he went over Keira’s notes that were spread out across the round table in the small room along with his printed manuscript. The red pens sticking out of a coffee mug in the center of the table may as well have been swords dripping with blood. His pulse spiked a bit as he saw his vision being changed. Then he took in the fact that the walls were lined floor-to-ceiling with books, many of which were bestsellers.

Breathe, Alex. You knew this was coming. Every author goes through this, even the famous ones. And for what she paid you—

Don’t get upset with her.

He looked up as she opened the door. Keira’s apologetic look with those spectacular eyes and a slight pout sucked the stress from his body.

She was one of those women at whom it was impossible to be mad. With the red hair and freckles it would be like getting angry with the Little Mermaid.

“God, Alexander, I am soooo sorry I’ve kept you waiting. Honestly, I am never, ever late. I got stuck—”

“Not a problem. It happens in New York. Gretch has been keeping me busy going over some of your proposed changes.”

Keira grabbed a chair, sat, and slid it in to the table. She offered a soft smile, reached over and patted his hand. “Thank you for being so understanding.”

“Hey, forget it. No biggie.”

She pointed to the legal pad that contained her notes. “So, I trust you’ve got some thoughts on my suggestions for the opening of the book.”

His face tightened. “Yeah, and Gretch explained your thinking on them.”

“Okay. I can tell from the look on your face you’re not thrilled. So let me start by saying nothing I suggest is written in stone. I’m not a dictator and the whole editing procedure is a give-and-take process. My job is to make this book the best it can be, but I want the author to be comfortable with what I’m suggesting. So if there’s anything you or your cousin don’t like, or something you guys absolutely hate, don’t hold back. We’re a team, Alexander, and it’s always important for you to remember that. I have no desire to change the basic story, which is fantastic.”