Chapter 2

I opened my eyes the next morning to find Fredrick staring me in the face.
That’s when I knew today was not going to go well. My oversized and long-haired Persian cat waking me up was almost always a bad omen. It normally meant he had carried away and captured one my favorite Steve Madden shoes because he got tired of playing with his stuffed mouse. He never was good about understanding that shoes were off limits. So I would have to spend an extra ten minutes searching the living room for it. And try not to be late to work. As usual. I mumbled, “G’morning to you too Fred,” as I hit the snooze button a second time. Ten minutes later I got around to stopping that annoying buzzing sound from assaulting me further. I really didn’t want to crawl out from under this comforter. Not yet.
I bristled when my toes hit the ice cold wood floor. Note to self: Must stop at Pier 1 and pick up some rugs before I shock myself into hypothermia one unsuspecting morning. Splashing cold water onto my face and trying to wake up was pure torture on a Monday morning, especially when my bed continued to look inviting. But Lori would never forgive me for missing the meeting. She’d probably show up and drag me out of bed to dress me herself. Reluctantly, I turned on the shower and tried to make it in and out in record time. I still had to decide what I would wear. Lori would most likely be dressed to impress. In her blue and white pin stripe suit with her gucci heels and that sugary sweet perfume following her everywhere she went. She made me sick. Too bad I liked her so much or she would be my arch enemy. She always looked ready for a runway, and truth be told, I just looked ready for a comfortable chair. These meetings were sometimes long, and I did not want to be itching to change for hours.
A half hour later, I was on my hands and knees trying to reach my shoe that was stuffed under my couch. This hide-and-seek game really had to stop. Finally ready and dressed, I peeled a banana and grabbed my coffee on the way to the door. My cell phone rang as I locked it behind me.
“Kate, I dearly hope you are on your way this minute or I will personally have to hurt you. I think I’m going to quit coming in early on meeting days, I just get nervous.”
“Settle down, I am driving as we speak.” Well, almost. But she didn’t have to know that.
“Milly is practically drowning me with her stories about how she remembers when she was almost famous. Someone should really clue her in you know. She never even got that book edited, let alone to the shelves of Barnes and Noble.” Our boss, Milly, was a 42 year old literary agent that had never made it herself, but was incredible at finding other up and coming authors, much like Lori and I. So we had to be thankful, even if that meant putting up with her ideas about being on America’s Top Ten Best Seller’s List.
“You know she just wants to talk, so let her blow some steam. She’s as nervous about this meeting as we are. It means a lot to her.”
“Well I’m going to get everything together and you’ll know where to find me when you get here.” Lori was cool and collected as long as she had a few minutes to compose herself. The bathroom normally did the trick.
“I’ll be there in,” glancing at my watch, “ten minutes. See you soon.”

---

“Kate! You’re finally here!” Milly grabbed my empty hand and almost tugged me out of the elevator. I was trying not to spill my coffee down my white button up blouse as she dragged me down the hallway. Next time remember to take the stairs even if my thighs pay for it so I can slip past frantic editor.
“We don’t have long before they get here. Are you ready? You did remember the folder of drawings didn’t you?” I swear she must take something to get this energized. I don’t think I’m that wired after multiple cups of coffee, let alone caffeine free at eight in the morning.
I stopped walking. I blinked and held my eyes closed for a moment, then opened them. “I’m just fine, Milly. Just need a few minutes to organize everything and I’ll be good to go.”
She looked at me a little unsure at my passivity, and then must have assumed I meant it. She nodded and said, “Then I will see you shortly. Be sure to find Lori too, that girl always seemes to disappear on me.” For good reason, I thought.
I set my things down on my desk and headed for the bathrooms. The door squeaked open and shut behind me. Lori was sitting on the couch with her head back against the wall and her eyes closed. I sat down next to her and just waited. She started talking without opening her eyes to look at me.
“You know, we’ve waited for this day for so long. Now that it’s here, I have to admit it’s a little frightening. I’m still scared they won’t like it and we’ll have to keep working on it.”
“After three years of starting and stopping, and then going again, I think we have a really good chance today,” I reassured her. Another moment passed. I looked up to see her staring at me.
“No matter what, we both know that these books are the best we have ever done, and I am just glad to know that we are in this together. If Warner doesn’t want to publish us, we’ll find someone else,” she said, sounding sure.
“Agreed,” I said. “Besides, if it’s taken them this long to be interested in us, maybe we can even do better. Never know, Quest might even come knocking on our cubicle one day,” I smiled as I said it. She and I both knew Quest was as high up as you go in children’s fiction. It was the pinnacle of publishing. And we wanted to know what the weather was like up there.
She took a deep breath. “Okay, we can do this. No problem.” I stood with her and we both turned and took a glance in the mirror. We smiled at each other and headed for what was sure to be an enlightening meeting, if nothing else.

Chapter 1

He just grabbed me.
Okay, maybe he really caught me. I shut the car door with my foot and turned while holding a stack of mail, trying to answer the ringing cell phone in my purse, and slurp up the last bit of my double chocolate chip frappuccino. I completely forgot about the curb. And the cement was ready to welcome me.
What I hadn’t counted on was a pair of very firm arms encircling me, and righting me, as my belongings went air borne. Great, knowing my luck I had probably just embedded his face with chocolate chips. I didn’t want to take my chances and glance up to find out. So I immediately bent to grab my phone, trying to keep down the heat I felt rising to my face. When he began to gather a few of the envelopes I was still apologizing and thanking him all at once. Stop! I must sound like a fool. I knew I looked like one. I stood and he returned the mail to my hands. Then I made the mistake of looking up.
And that’s when I wondered how I had ever made it this far in life without experiencing eyes like that.
He just smiled. There was amusement behind those deep hazel eyes that made me wonder what he was really thinking. The smile turned into a smirk as he and I both realized I was staring. That’s when I died. Of mortification. I couldn’t even manage to turn and make a run for it. I was just standing outside my apartment with a beat red face and not one word to say. Ohmygosh. I tried to speak. Anything would work at the moment.
“Th…uh… thanks.” Could this be any more humiliating? “I guess I got a bit sidetracked. But thank you for…um…helping me,” I was trying to avoid looking at his face knowing that I had just stared at him longer than I even looked at myself in the mirror every morning. Poor guy; he touched my elbow and I jolted.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You didn’t twist your ankle did you?” His concern removed the amusement in his eyes as he looked like he sincerely wanted to know if I was alright. “Does an abnormal heart rate constitute as a problem?”
“No, I’m fine. Really. See,” I said, taking a few steps back involuntarily trying to distance myself, “better than ever.” I smiled hoping he would see that I really just wanted to bolt. Anyplace that did not contain someone so… unsettling would be perfect.
He swept a look up and down me that sent my heart into its hazard zone, and then simply said, “Alright then. Watch out for that curb next time, I might not be here to save that pretty face from the ground.” He winked. I was frozen to the spot. Then he grinned, and with that, kept walking. I shook my head a little. Did he say “pretty face” to me? In that one moment of insanity I considered saying something outrageous like, “You can be here anytime you want!” Then I remembered to breathe, and nixed that idea on the exhale. I took a few more deep breaths while watching his retreating back, and then turned and decided to find a hole I could crawl into for a very long time.