by Cara Addison
He was listening intently. “How good?”
She chuckled at the memory. “I think the mortgage payment was just over $600 a month. With taxes and insurance, my fully loaded costs were just over $1,000. I had four roommates, each paying $600 a month in rent.”
He quickly did the math, raising his eyebrows. “Holy shit.”
“Exactly. I lived rent-free for my entire university career, and the extra revenue more than paid for my tuition and living expenses.” She thought back over her years at school. “In fact, it didn’t just pay for my undergraduate degree, it paid for my MBA as well.”
“So you kept the house even after you graduated?”
She nodded. “The market was a little flat, and I had a good deal going. A few classmates had watched what I was doing. They each ended up buying a house and when they graduated, they formed a management company. I think they have twenty or more houses in their portfolio now. They’ve done me a favor over the years and included mine in the mix.” She took another sip of wine. “Last week, they called and offered to buy the house. I figured this is as good a time as any to unload it.”
“Is $400,000 a fair offer?”
She sighed. “They were smart. Very smart. In theory, the house is likely worth $425,000, but if I put it on the market, I’ll have to pay close to $20,000 in real estate fees. They know that I’d rather go with a sure thing, than take a gamble on the open market. This is quick, simple, and fair. In the end, I come out with the same amount of equity.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“What do you mean?”
“Are you going to accept this offer?” he asked as he pointed to the documents on the table.
“I already did. I signed the agreement this morning and scanned it back to my lawyer. I sent a hard copy by courier this afternoon.”
He stepped back, stunned at her revelation.
“So,” he rebutted. “You’ve known about this for a week, and didn’t mention it? You…you made a $400,000 decision without even talking to me about it?”
She set down her glass, completely surprised by his response. “I didn’t realize…”
He pulled off his suit jacket and threw it angrily across the chair. He yanked his tie from under his collar as he paced the floor. He looked up at her. “We’re not you and me anymore, Austin,” he explained, pointing to them individually. He turned and walked toward the bedroom. “We’re supposed to be we.”
She stood, alone, watching him retreat to the bedroom. She picked up his Versace suit jacket that had fallen to the floor and placed it gently on the chair. She remained in the kitchen for ten minutes, evaluating the appropriate next steps. She made her way to the bedroom, stopping in the den to retrieve a box she had brought with her from Toronto. She found him sitting up on the bed, aggressively pressing the buttons of the television remote. She stood at the foot of the bed and set the box in front of her. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been a part of a we,” she whispered. “It’s been just me for a long time.” She opened the Bankers Box. “I’ve had to make a lot of big decisions on my own over the past few years, especially since my parents died.”
He turned to look at her, knowing that she had grown up fast after her parents’ deaths. “I know, kitten, it’s just that—”
She interrupted him. “You’re right. We’re a team. I have no secrets.” She pulled out a file folder and set it on the bed in front of him. “This is my real estate folder. Everything to do with the sale of my parent’s house, the purchase of my condo, and…” She hesitated. “The house in London. It’s all there.”
She pulled out a thicker file. “Here are all of my tax returns for the past seven years.” She reached for another folder. “Here are my pay stubs from my job.” She reached for another folder. “Here are all of my investments…Money that I inherited from my parents.” She opened the folder for him to look through. “With your banking experience, you can likely add some valuable insight to my portfolio.”
He scanned her most recent statement. “Wow. You’ve had an excellent rate of return.” He scanned the documents as she pulled another folder from the box.
“Here are my sister’s investments.”
He looked up at her. “You have a sister?”
“I do…and it’s a good thing that she’s pretty,” she added sarcastically.
“She’s pretty?” he asked curiously.
She nodded. “She doesn’t know the difference between five zeros and six,” she said disdainfully. “I’m not entirely sure that she knows what a decimal is.” She leaned over and opened the folder. “This is what she inherited, plus the house we bought for her in a Toronto suburb. I send her an allowance on a quarterly basis.”
“You know what?” he interjected. “We can discuss her another time,” he added with a slight smile.
She pulled a thin folder from the box. “This is everything to do with my publisher. My agreement, my statement of earnings…everything.” He started to flip through the sparse folder. She pulled out the final stack of documents. “This is my life insurance policy.” She flipped through the folder. “My sister is the sole beneficiary.” She looked up at him. “We should likely talk about adding you into the mix.”
He sat back against the pile of pillows and looked at her. He patted the sheets beside him, inviting her to join him. “Thank you,” he whispered as she sat facing him. “Thank you for sharing this. And…I’m sorry for overreacting.” He leaned in to kiss her. “I am so proud of you.” He glanced over the documents. “You’ve obviously made wise business and investment decisions. I forget sometimes, that you have the same college degrees that I have.”
“The house in London was a good decision. The condo was a good timing and some insider information,” she added with a smile. “The rest, is my inheritance, and,” she paused, blinking away the hot tear that had formed in her eyes, “I’d give it all back, just to have my parents with me.”
He gave her a hug. “I’m sure you would.” He kissed her before trying to explain. “It isn’t an excuse, but I have to say that your business sense and financial accomplishments take some adjustment. I’m used to making the big business decisions, and…I was offside here.”
She smiled. “I know. We’re so much alike. This will take some getting used to.” She kissed him. “Dinner is likely cold. Are you hungry?”
“I am…but the pasta can wait.”
* * * *
In preparation for her publicity tour, Austin sat down and designed a personalized bookmark. With basic graphic design skills, she was able to put together an attractive image. She dropped off the final design at a local print shop, promising to return the next day to pick it up. She was thrilled with the final product, returning home to assemble everything that she would need for her first appearance. Upon her request, the publisher had shipped her five hundred copies of the novel. She autographed and packed thirty books into a rolling briefcase, wanting to be prepared in the event that the shipment failed to arrive at the venue as promised. She handwrote a code on the back of one hundred bookmarks and tucked them into the briefcase. She spent an hour reading and rereading the excerpt that she planned to deliver the next day, ensuring that it would fit into the twenty-minute timeslot they had requested. She was picking out her outfit when Brett got home.
“When did we open a Barnes & Noble in the living room?” he asked.
“This morning,” she replied with a laugh. “I’ll tidy it up,” she added, walking to the living room to stack away the boxes that cluttered the entryway.
“What are these?” he asked, picking up a bookmark from the table.
“Ah, that’s my marketing plan.” She responded, picking up the promotional item. “I had them printed yesterday.” She surveyed the front and then the back before explaining. “It’s really just a simple bookmark, promoting my Facebook fan page and my biography, but more important, is this,” she added flipping over the bookmark. “I want to promote the sale of some of my
earlier novels. I suspect that some fans that come out to these events might not even know about them. So, I’ve given them an incentive to go online and purchase my earlier work. If they use this code, they save ten percent on each additional novel.”
“That’s brilliant. You’ll give one of these to everyone?”
“I most certainly will.”
“That is smart. Really smart. I knew you’d find a way to work in your marketing skills.”
The next day, Austin began her public appearances, setting off each morning to a new and interesting destination. First, it was a book reading at a library in Queens. Next, she attended an appearance at a bookstore in Brooklyn. Throughout November, she made her way to the Bronx, Staten Island, Jersey City, Newark, Yonkers, Long Beach, and a dozen whistle-stops in between. She read passages from her novel to fans at museums, libraries, bookstores, and cafes. She scribbled her autograph hundreds of times, personalizing messages for fans who requested it. She posed for countless photos, uploading them each evening to her Facebook page so that fans could tag themselves, instantly increasing her online reach. She monitored her online sales daily. By the end of the first two weeks, she was both exhausted and exhilarated. The bookmark was working. By the end of the first week, twenty-seven percent of fans had used the code to purchase an additional novel. By the end of the second week, that number had increased to thirty-six percent. By changing the code each week, Austin was easily able to track and measure the effectiveness of the program. She was pleased. Her publisher was ecstatic. She was on track for a very profitable fourth quarter.
* * * *
One evening at the end of March, they were watching television together. “Can you believe you’ve been here for six months already?”
“I know,” she groaned. “My sabbatical is almost over. I’ll have to head back to Toronto in a week or two.”
“Why would you go back to Toronto?” he asked, a little shocked that she was considering a return to Canada.
“It’s a condition of my sabbatical. I have to go back to work for a minimum of one month before I’m eligible to resign from my position.”
“I didn’t know that. What happens if you resign now?”
“I’d have to reimburse the salary that they’ve been paying me for the past six months.”
“Well, pay it back.”
“Seriously?”
“No question,” he responded, wrapping his long arms around her. “I’m not letting you leave for a month. We had a deal.”
“We have a deal?” she asked curiously.
“We said that at the end of six months, if you still love me, we would talk about the next steps. Remember?”
She smiled. “I do remember. And I’m very, very happy to hear that you remembered.”
He pressed his lips against hers, slowly running his tongue across hers. “Do you still love me?” he whispered.
“I do,” she responded as she returned a soft warm kiss. “I love you very much, Joseph Brett Tanner.”
“Hmmm,” he murmured before kissing her again. “I love you too. Come to bed with me. Tomorrow I’ll write a check to your boss. You’re staying in New York, kitten.”
She laughed as he walked her to the bedroom. “You don’t have to write a check, Brett. I haven’t spent a dime of that salary. It’s in an account in Toronto.”
He led her to the bedroom and made love to her.
* * * *
The next morning, Austin called her employer and gave notice that she would not be returning to work. He was disappointed that he would be losing her from the team, but thrilled to hear that the time she had spent writing had been a success.
She made arrangements to transfer the $48,000 back to the technology company that she had worked for over the past seven years. She took a moment to reflect on the decision before sitting down to work on another chapter in her current manuscript.
THE END
WWW.CARAADDISON.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I consider myself to be an accidental author. That’s right, becoming a published author happened by chance.
For years, I’ve worked in the corporate world. Essentially, I’m a problem solver for corporations and government. So, you can imagine how much of a shift it was for me to sit down and write.
During the summer of 2013, I put pen to paper. I let my sexy imagination loose and before I knew it I’d filled a more than a few pages. The characters came to life and the story began to take shape.
I’m blessed with incredible friends who were willing to read as I wrote. They offered insight and suggestions, but most importantly they offered unconditional support and encouragement to keep writing.
And so began the greatest chapter of my life.
My first manuscript took just over a month to write. With just over 64,000 words, I’d taken the main characters, Kate Callahan and Bradley Taylor, on a journey. I had my friends read Passion, Power, and Privilege and then made several edits in response to their suggestions. In October of 2013, I sent my little baby off to a select group of publishers. And waited.
I was hooked. While I waited, I started writing another novel. An entirely new set of characters, a new setting, and a new plot began to take shape. By the end of October, I’d put the finishing touches on Going the Distance, the story of Austin Campbell and Brett Tanner.
Writing has been cathartic. Becoming published has been exhilarating.
This journey isn’t over. I continue to write, as time permits. A third manuscript is in the works.
For all titles by Cara Addison, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/cara-addison
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com