“Haylee,” I say. “Thanks for coming.”
I shake her hand, and she shrugs a little. “Yeah, sure. Your offer was too good to ignore, so here I am.”
I glance at Avery. “This is my assistant,” I say, gesturing at her. “Avery, meet Haylee.”
“Hi,” Haylee says.
Avery stares at her for a second. “I love your books,” she blurts out.
Haylee winces but smiles. “Uh, thanks.”
“Seriously, I mean, the way Damien has to sacrifice himself to the Lich King’s ward, but his sacrifice transforms him into the Sword of Truth, and then Gavin takes it up in the final battle, wielding his best friend and former lover—”
“Okay,” I say, interrupting her before she can literally have an orgasm right here. “I think she gets it.”
“Thanks,” Haylee says, grinning a little. “I liked writing that scene.”
“Awesome,” Avery whispers.
I usher the girls into the dining room and sit them both down. I grab Haylee some wine and give Avery a stern look. They start talking about self-publishing, and Avery manages not to gush too much.
I get the food out on the table and join them a few minutes later. Haylee and Avery are hitting it off, despite Avery’s awkward introduction.
“So why are you looking into a publisher?” Avery asks her, which forces me to stifle a groan.
Haylee glances at me. “He made me an interesting offer.”
“Oh, yeah?” Avery smiles sweetly at me.
I glare at her. “Yes, I did. She’s a rising talent, and I want her to be the first author we put out.”
“That would be amazing,” Avery says.
“But Haylee isn’t so sure.” I look at the young author. “Which, honestly, I can’t blame you.”
“I’m used to doing everything on my own,” she admits. “Giving up control…”
“It’s not giving up control,” Avery says suddenly. “It’s giving yourself freedom. Imagine what you can write if that’s all you have to worry about. I mean, all that marketing and advertising stuff is a huge time sink, right? It took you nearly six months between books.”
Haylee frowns. “Yeah, that’s true.”
“If you let us take all that stuff, you could just write. Oh my god, that would be amazing. You could write so much!”
Haylee laughs a little and looks at me. “She’s seriously a fan, isn’t she?”
“I honestly didn’t know she was so into you,” I admit. “But she’s right.”
Haylee nods and we change the subject. Dinner goes smoothly, and we chat about the publishing industry in general, staying away from any particulars about the deal.
I keep stealing glances at Avery. I can’t help myself. I wish Haylee weren’t here at all, and I could have this dinner alone with Avery. She’s so fucking gorgeous. She makes Haylee look absolutely boring in comparison, and I bet she has no clue.
On top of that, she’s smart and interesting and funny. I bet she doesn’t even realize that she’s slowly convincing Haylee to come join our publishing house. She’s so earnest that she’s actually convincing me, too.
We finish dinner and Avery offers to straighten up. I lead Haylee out into the hall, back toward the elevator.
“What do you think?” I ask her softly.
Haylee purses her lips. “Honestly? I was going to turn you down.”
“But now you’re not.”
“What Avery said back there…”
“She’s right, you know.” I stop in front of the elevator and face her. “If you went with us, I’d give you the same deal that you’re currently getting in terms of royalties. Way better than you’d get anywhere else. And we’ll handle all the marketing.”
She nods once. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good. I’m serious about this. We’re going to make something great here.”
“I bet you are.” She glances over my shoulder. “If I do decide to go with you… I want her on my team.”
“Done.”
“Okay then.” She turns back to the elevator and hits the button to call it. “I’m not making up my mind yet, just to be clear.”
“Understood.”
She gives me a tight smile. The elevator arrives and she steps in. The doors shut around her.
I turn back toward the kitchen and Avery appears in the hall. “Did she just leave?” She sounds so disappointed, I can’t help but smile.
“You are amazing,” I say, walking over to her.
“What did I do?”
I grab her, pull her against me, and kiss her hard.
She melts into the kiss. I can feel my blood pumping in my veins.
Fucking hell. This is what I’ve been craving all night. I don’t really care about sealing the deal with Haylee. I’d give that up if I could get a taste of Avery.
The kiss finishes and she stares up at me. “I guess she was happy?”
“She wants you on her team.”
“Oh… really?”
“Really. Think you can handle it?”
“I don’t know,” she admits.
“You can,” I say.
“So she’s coming with us?”
“Maybe. I think she will, but we’ll see.”
She bites her lip. “Julian…”
“No,” I say softly. “Just be happy. Okay?”
She hesitates a second. I can tell she wants to ask what the hell is happening between us, but she decides to stay quiet.