Page 2 of Paper Hearts & Plot Twists

“Who haven’t we talked to yet from the house?” Miles asked. He opened and closed his hands a few times, trying to work out some of the cramps that were forming. He picked up his pen again and continued with the next book in the stack.

“We’ve exhausted all of my contacts,” Ben admitted. “I think we should look at options from other houses.”

“They are the leading house in the genre, and eight of the last ten bestsellers have come from them,” Miles replied.

“Well that still leaves two of the ten coming from another house.”

“Two out of ten are horrific odds.”

“I suppose, but if you want this house, you’re going to have to put some work in,” Ben said.

“So you’re telling me that I need to suck up to Larissa somehow to get a deal.”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you, but in a nicer way.”

Miles wrinkled his nose and set down his current book a little harder than he originally intended. He rolled his shoulders and grabbed another book, quickly flicking to the title page. “I could convince her if she saw me in person. I’m pretty charming.”

“I think you overestimate your charm, but the idea has merit,” Ben mused. “Her publishing house is on the list to go to Cupid’s Quill Symposium in Denver, so I’m sure she’ll be there as well. She’s a pretty hands-on editor and attends a majority of the events from what I’ve seen.”

“So I need to get her a drink and schmooze the hell out of her, then we’ll be signing a new contract by the end of the weekend. Easy enough.” He winked at Ben between books.

Ben stared back at him, face deadpanned. “You say it’s easy, yet we’d already have a deal if that were the case. We have to take this seriously and plan our strategy. It’s basically a battlefield. A precarious one.”

“Maybe it’s only that way because you’ve been the one trying to schmooze her in person. I can’t imagine she’d fail to respond to my undeniable charm.”

“That Bennett confidence is going to get you in trouble,” Ben replied drolly.

“So far it’s helped me get to pretty great heights,” Miles said. “Is there anyone else I should try to talk to while we’re at the conference? Might as well use this event as an opportunity to get the collaborative work done.”

Ben frowned and tilted his head, contemplating the question. “It wouldn’t be a bad idea to make time to talk to other authors in the genre. Neil Gaiman, Brandon Sanderson, and Terry Pratchett will be the biggest names there, so try to at least meet up with them casually. It could help to meet some of the up-and-coming authors too. See if anyone has any current projects in the works. You might get asked to do a foreword or a short story in an anthology. Sometimes those pan out and bring awesome press.”

“Okay, so stalk and talk to other authors in my genre, check,” Miles teased.

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Ben said with a roll of his eyes.

“It’s basically the same thing, though,” Miles said with a chuckle. He pushed back from the table, his chair sliding several feet away, stood, and stretched, arms moving above his head. “I’m sick of signing for the moment. Let’s grab a bite to eat, then we can come back and keep at the planning.”

Chapter 2

Fluorescent lights flickered from the ceiling, bathing the store in a too bright glow. It was busier than usual. Customers impatiently waited in line, some tapping their toes, while others browsed their phones.

Emily stood behind the cash register, blocked from the flow of customers by the conveyer belt and counter. Her shoulders slumped as she grabbed items and scanned them in a haze. She’d been at this much too long today, but the end was finally in sight. She just needed to make it through a bit longer.

“Well isn’t this my lucky day!”

Emily turned toward the newest customer and tried not to let her smile slip when she noticed his leering gaze looking her up and down.

“Were you able to find everything you needed today?” Emily asked as she started to scan his thankfully small order.

“Well now I have.” He didn’t even try to hide that he was staring her down.

Emily focused on the groceries, scanning them. She wanted to end this interaction as quickly as possible.

“Say, what time do you get off work?”

“I don’t share that information with customers,” Emily responded. She tried to giggle as though he’d told some kind of great joke. In her experience these men reacted harshly when they felt rejected.

“Are you sure? I could make it worth your while,” he pushed.

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