“Hey, Missy, you gonna read that or buy it?” the newsstand guy asked. She tossed the paper back.
“No thanks.” Kate stomped off, not sure who to be mad at first. She stopped at Starbucks for a latte then headed back to her apartment to spend the rest of the day huddled under the covers with nothing but a good dose of self-pity and her remote control.
…
Mac had seen all the headlines and spent most of the morning calling the various papers giving the “approved” statement. Well, it wasn’t approved by Edward, who had vanished after he was released from the hospital. He declined to comment to any of the reporters who called him but had left a message for Mac to “spin this so no one gets hurt.” What Edward meant, Mac knew, was spin it so he doesn’t get hurt. Edward could care less about Kate. Fortunately for her, she was Mac’s first concern. Mac’s phone buzzed in his pocket. It was Carolyn. Shit. What could she want? He didn’t want to speak with her but he knew he had to. She was more than suspicious, and rightfully so.
“Hey there.” he tried to sound nonchalant but didn’t quite manage to pull it off.
“You sound tired,” she said, her voice tight and disconnected. She sounded like a neighbor instead of his wife.
“There’s a lot going on here.” He didn’t want to offer more; he didn’t want to talk to her about it. His palm felt sweaty holding the phone. He wanted to hang up, tell her he was in the middle of a deal, but she’d know that was a lie. MD was closed today. The company’s future was in question and Carolyn was understandably concerned.
“How are you holding up?” The conversation was tense, as most conversations with his wife were.
“I’m okay; it’s been tough. Listen, Carolyn, can I call you back? I need to get on the phone with a few papers and straighten some people out.”
“Isn’t that the publicist’s job?” she asked, her voice filled with accusation. In an instant, Mac was certain Carolyn knew about Kate. It didn’t matter—not now, anyway.
“She’s laid up; she was injured last night during a scuffle at the office.”
“Are the papers true? Was she sleeping with Edward, too?” she said inconveniently.
Too. Too. Too. Was she sleeping with Edward, too, she’d said. Carolyn was baiting him and he’d had enough.
“No, Carolyn, she was not. Now I need to go. I’ll call you later,” he promised, but they both knew he wouldn’t.
The minute he hung up, he started calling the papers again to tell them what really happened. Yes, Edward was drunk, but Kate fell down the stairs. The elevator was broken; he got the maintenance crew to back him up on this although it wasn’t true. She’d gotten the bad news, was upset, had to get to work, walked up the stairs, and took a tumble. Thank God, she wasn’t hurt worse than a sprained ankle. No, he couldn’t comment on Michael Singer. It was an ongoing investigation and he was working with the FBI. It was a terrible story, Mac knew, but it was the only one he could think of and the papers seemed to buy it. He was able to offer them their view on Singer. All MD support would be pulled, and they’d welcome all returns with full refunds. This would kill them; Mac knew this, but if they had any chance of surviving this was the only way. It had happened with Greg Mortenson, although charity fraud seemed like a fair tale compared to this. Also, Mortenson’s book had been out for a while, so the damage was felt differently.
Mac spent the morning on the phone. In between calls he dialed Kate’s cell, but it was off and going to voicemail each time. He was worried about her but knew better than to just show up at her apartment. He would eventually force her to face him. He wasn’t going to let her go, not now. If nothing else he needed to make her understand that he didn’t know the full story, no one did but Edward. And the despicable bastard let this go on.
…
After her one morning outing, Kate did not emerge from her apartment for over a week. She left her cell off. She checked email occasionally, but she knew after the bashing she got in the paper that her career was essentially over. She tried ferreting through her emails but only got more depressed, so she shut down her computer and went back to bed. She couldn’t return to MD and she would likely never get a job at another publishing house—well none in New York anyway. Maybe she could find a small publisher in Duluth that hadn’t heard of The Continued Promise.
Doubtful.
The story had made national news and most of the entertainment shows.
Everything she’d worked for was over, and Mac, well that was gone too. In one night, her life was stripped to its core. She was left with nothing. Winner takes all. She hadn’t won this and she wasn’t sure anyone would. MD had reopened after being closed for a day, and from what she gathered from her emails, Mac was handling all communication surrounding The Continued Promise. She didn’t want to care, but she did. She couldn’t help it. Caring about her job was in her blood. He’d left dozens of messages and texts. Finally, she told him to back off, and respectfully he did. Andrew had sent her several sweet text messages. Hang in there, he’d said. Kate even saw she missed a call from Janet Easter.
Kate spent most of her time at home lying in bed, reading and journaling and trying to figure out what to do with the rest of her life. Grace left bags of food by her door. She shot her friend a brief email asking for space, and Grace knew Kate well enough to know she meant it. By the following Monday, she was still no closer to figuring out her life. The alert buzzed, someone was downstairs. She assumed it was Grace with another grocery delivery. She buzzed her up. There was a knock at the door.
“Gracie, do you mind just leaving them at the door?”
A husky voice responded, “It’s not Grace, Kate. It’s Nick.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
That same day Edward returned to MD, there were dark shadows under his eyes, although he tried to hide his worry with his trademark flashy smile. Everyone greeted him hesitantly. A week had gone by. Mac had been left somewhat in charge, but all anyone at MD knew was that Kate was on “leave.” Edward was in extensive meetings with the board of directors, and the author of the mega-bestseller was being held in federal prison.
Mac was talking with Lulu when Edward entered, a big, broad smile pasted on his face. “Good morning, Mac!” he said a little too enthusiastically. Mac immediately followed Edward into his office and shut the door.
“What the hell is going on here?” Mac asked as calmly as he could.
Edward slid into his chair; all of the things that had been broken during his attack on Kate had been removed or replaced. Mac’s stomach turned remembering it all, seeing Kate with her blouse ripped open. He fought off the urge to pummel Edward.
“What exactly do you mean, Mac? There’s a lot happening right now.”
“You told me that the Feds had something on Singer. You knew, didn’t you? You knew about his child prostitution ring?”
Edward cleared his throat. “We needed this book to do well, and there was no proof that the FBI was right.”
Mac towered over Edward’s desk. “Generally the FBI doesn’t make random allegations unless they have certain facts. You should have told me, and we should have told Kate.”
Edward fumbled with a stack of files his assistant had left on his desk. “Kate, Kate, Kate!” He looked over his glasses at Mac. “Is that all you’re thinking about, Mac? Maybe it’s time you think less with your dick and more with your head. We have a business to run here.”
Mac took a deep breath. Edward was really trying his patience, but he wasn’t going to bite. He needed to stay reasonable, for Kate’s sake more than his. “She was the publicist working this book. She was blindsided by this. It’s disastrous to her career; you do realize that, don’t you?”
Edward waved a dismissive hand. “Put it in perspective, Mac, she’s just the publicist. She’ll recover. I told HR to tell her to take all the time she needs, that her job will be waiting for her when she gets back.”
Mac was stunned. “You’re kidding me, right? Do you think for even a
microsecond she’d want to come back here? To a company that deceived her and an employer who nearly tried to rape her?” Mac’s voice was low, not wanting anyone outside to hear him. This was his ace card and one he intended to play well.
Edward sat up straighter. “Rape? Mac, please. She wanted it as much as I did. Kate likes it rough. Didn’t she ever tell you?”
Mac knew he was being baited. Instead, he turned and faced one of the bookcases that had fallen over that night and pretended to eye the books that lined the shelves. He took a deep breath.
In and out. In and out.
Finally, he turned and spoke. “You and I know what really happened here,” he said in almost a whisper. “And if you make one wrong move, I will bury you.”
Edward laughed, “Threats, Mac? Please. You’re letting this FBI thing go to your head.”
Mac leaned on Edward’s desk. “You let us support a book written by a criminal, all in the name of money and books sales. The thought of that disgusts me more than you do, which is quite a feat, considering how much I hate you. Let me tell you this, Eddie. I’m going to clean up this mess for Kate’s sake, and then I’m going to leave this company. If you so much as breathe a word about my exit to anyone, I will tell the world what you did to Kate.” Mac turned to leave, Edward’s chair creaked, and Mac turned to see him leaning back.
“You should never fall in love with people you’re fucking, you fool.” Edward said.
The door clicked softly behind Mac. He marched from Edward’s office to the elevator and headed outside to clear his head and stop himself from killing his boss.
Chapter Thirty
Kate slowly opened her door. “Nick?” she said, her voice filled with surprise.
Nick wrapped Kate in his arms and Kate started to cry. Her tears fell in streams down her face and Nick gently nudged her inside.
“Katie, I’m so sorry,” he said, stroking her hair.
“W-what are you doing here?”
“I heard about it on the news and called Grace. She said you needed a friend and she was worried that you’ve been locked in your apartment for a week.”
Suddenly Kate realized how she must look, her hair uncombed, her robe wrapped carelessly around her. Had she brushed her teeth today? She couldn’t remember.
Nick pulled her to the couch. “Come on, sit down,” he said gently.
Kate was still in shock. “You flew all this way, Nick? For me?”
Nick nodded, “Of course. We’re friends, right?”
Kate was floored. “Thank you,” she whispered, her voice filled with tears.
“Listen,” he caressed her hair, “I know this seems awful now, but you’ll get through this. I promise you will.”
“I know. I just don’t know where to begin. That job was my life. My work was my life. I feel so rudderless.”
Nick pulled a few tissues from a box of Kleenex and handed them to Kate. “It’s horrible, Kate. I can’t believe this happened, but you have to pull yourself together and move on. The sooner you do, the sooner this will all be behind you.”
Kate thought about Nick’s last words. Behind her? All of it, including Mac. She didn’t have the heart to tell Nick the entire story; that she’d lost everything in her world. Her job, her career, and the love of her life.
“I want you to go and take a shower, then we’re going for a walk. It’s a beautiful day and it’ll do you good.”
Kate nodded, kissed Nick on the cheek, and got up off of the couch. When she emerged from the bathroom, she found Nick in the kitchen, making her an omelet. Suddenly Kate flashed to Mac. Cooking in his kitchen, making his perfect omelet.
“Hungry?” Nick smiled, yanking her from her thoughts.
“Sure,” she said quietly.
“You look like you haven’t eaten in a week,” he observed.
“Thanks to Grace I actually have. But I haven’t been too hungry.”
Nick slid the omelet onto a plate. “I can imagine. Well, this should fix you up for right now, then we’ll head out and work this all out.”
Kate smiled gently. “I appreciate the offer, Nick, but I am not sure that a walk will fix this.”
“It won’t,” he said sternly, “but it will help you to clear your head so you can start planning out the rest of your life.”
Kate sighed. The rest of her life. She had imagined it very differently. But that’s the irony, isn’t it? We make plans and God laughs. He was certainly laughing now.
Chapter Thirty-One
Back in his office Mac knew what he needed to do. The thought of Kate being lost to him wasn’t something he was willing to face. Yet. Ultimately he wanted what was best for her. A week after this story had erupted, the publishing trades were still waiting for MD’s story. The Feds now had seized enough data to sink Singer and all of his accomplices. He was free to make any statement he wanted, and Mac needed to be certain that he got to the trades before Edward did. Mac picked up the phone and called his contact at Galley Cat and Publishers Weekly, and Michael Cader, who ran Publishers Lunch. He told them all the same thing: Give him a day or two and he’d be able to tell them the background. Later that afternoon he went back to see Edward. He walked in and shut the door behind him.
“I have a deal to make with you, Edward,” he began as he slid into one of Edward’s leather seats.
“Deal, Mac? For what?”
“I want to be the one to tell the trades about what happened here. Don’t worry, I won’t tell them you knew all the sordid details. I think it’s time that MD cleared the air and got back to the business of publishing books.”
Edwards frowned. “Well that’s a very different stance, Mac. Glad you’ve come to your senses. Now let’s talk about what you’ll say.”
“No, Ed,” Mac shook his head. “We are not debating this. I will determine what we say.”
“Unacceptable, Mac. I have a board to answer to.”
“Your board will be fine with what I say. And if you interfere, I’ll be sure and tell them what you nearly did to Kate. I’m sure Galley Cat or Publishers Lunch would love that story.”
Edward huffed, “Bullshit Mac. I told you, I won’t tolerate threats.”
“I just got off the phone with Kate,” Mac lied, “She’s agreed not to press charges if you let me handle this. Oh, and there’s one more thing you’re going to do for her.” Mac smiled.
Chapter Thirty-Two
It felt good to be outside; Nick had been right. They walked briskly together through the city for several hours, talking about his work and Kate’s future—although she was very uncertain about what she’d do next.
Nick stopped at a teashop he knew Kate loved and ordered two green teas. He brought the steaming cups to their table.
“Kate, look, I know that there is nothing between us, but it seems like if this guy was anything worth having, he’d be here for you right now and he’s not.”
Kate stirred her tea, but didn’t respond. Of course, he had to go there. The last thing she needed right now was this macho, knight-in-shining-armor bullshit, she thought.
“Kate, I’m not trying to force the issue here about us. I’m just saying. Maybe it’s time for a clean break. Why don’t you get away for a while? Maybe come to California?”
“I don’t know.”
Nick covered her hand with his. “Distance will do you good, distance and some new surroundings. Just think about it.” He smiled. “I have to leave here day after tomorrow, but I hope you’ll come with me. Just as my friend,” he added quickly.
Kate did her best to return his smile. “I’ll think about it,” she said softly.
…
In spite of herself, Kate thought about Nick’s clumsy offer long after she returned home and he headed back to his hotel. She called Grace for the first time in a week.
“How you feeling, old friend?” Grace asked gently.
“Better, sort of. Nick being here really helped.”
“I knew it would.”
�
�Thanks, Gracie. I know you had a hand in this.”
“That’s what friends do. Now tell me what you two did.”
“Walked mostly, and talked. He invited me to come to California.”
“That’s great!” Grace enthused, “So when do you leave?”
“I’m not sure it’s the right thing, Grace. It feels like running away.”
“Nonsense. Just take some time off. You’ll come back and things will somehow have righted themselves.”
Kate shrugged, “I don’t know, Grace. I’ll think about it.”
“Good. Think about it. Now, tomorrow I want to see you. Come by my apartment in the morning. I have a surprise for you.”
Kate laughed at Grace’s exuberance; she hadn’t heard herself laugh in a while. It felt good.
“Okay, Gracie, see you tomorrow.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
By nine o’clock in the morning, Kate was up and out of her place and headed to her friend’s apartment. The morning was cool but it felt refreshing. She could almost feel herself becoming acclimated to this unending uncertainty that permeated her life—a life she was still trying to figure out, but new nonetheless.
Grace hugged Kate. “God, it’s so good to see you and to know that you’ve finally showered.”
Kate laughed out loud. “Yeah, my holiday from hygiene was pretty disgusting.”
“All part of the mourning process. Besides, do you know it’s actually bad to wash our hair as much as we do?”
Leave it to Grace to find the silver lining.
“I brought goodies,” Kate smiled. “The carrot nut muffins you like so much.”
“That’s great, but you’ll have to save them. I need to show you something first.”
Kate frowned. “What’s up?”
Grace grabbed her friend’s hand. “Nothing much, just come with me.”
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