Page 114 of Foreplay on Words

“Well, if you two don’t want another ten percent of sales taken off the top of your royalties, you’ll convince him.” She was perched against the edge of her desk in front of me.

Kristine was sitting in a chair in the corner of Isobel’s office, typing away. Her top lip kept twitching, so despite the earbuds in her ears, I knew she was eavesdropping. That girl knew everything that happened in and out of this office.

“He’s gonna tell me no.” Not to mention I’d never want him to question my motives if he felt like I was coercing him into doing something he specifically told me he didn’t want to do. I knew it wasn’t my place to be sharing more information about his anxiety, but maybe Isobel would understand if she knew what boundaries he set to protect himself. But it wasn’t my conversation to have with her.

“You’d be surprised what a whipped man will do,” Isobel replied with a wink. She would probably know all about whipped men. Adrian may wear pants, but Isobel was wearing the pants in that relationship for sure. He may have liked to look like an Alpha male, but I wasn’t sure he had the personality to back it up past his dickish façade.

“Is, seriously. You need to have Adrian ask if you guys are forcing this.”

“Evan already told him no,” she sighed.

“Then what are you expecting from me?” Evan was free to make up his mind. I was not going to force or coerce him into anything. Knowing his name was attached to this was already taking a big leap for him; if he didn’t want to do this, I would not lean on him for our editors.

“I don’t know, Chase. Cut him off or something. The legal department has told me that your royalties will be cut if there isn’t at least a six-city book tour with this one.”

“It’s not like I’m struggling, Is.”

“That’s not the point. This could affect your next contract,” she sighed. “They want to cash in on this one, and you with Evan as the face of this book, is their way to do it. You both add a bit of sex appeal to the equation––but together, I can see real potential if we market it right.”

“So, you’re pimping us out.” The nerve of both her and Adrian. I’m sure they would also get a hefty bonus if they convinced us to do this. While Isobel wasn’t the type to take advantage of her authors, she also wasn’t the type to risk the forward motion of her career to placate people.

Isobel shrugged casually, and Kristine snickered from the corner. Isobel’s fingers snapped toward her, and Kristine pulled out an earbud. “Can I help you?”

“Quit spying,” Isobel chided. “You better not be sharing this information with Sam.”

“Why would I be telling him about this? That cock monkey isn’t exactly discreet.”

I bit my lip to keep from laughing at the hostility in her voice. Kristine didn’t always play well with others.

“This conversation is fence-posted.” Isobel shot Kristine what was supposed to be an intimidating look, but the younger woman rolled her eyes.

“What the hell is that?”

“It’s between you, Chase, me, and the fence post.”

“Is’s office is like Vegas,” I nodded.

“That phrase never made sense to me. It stays in Vegas as long as you don’t pick up an STI,” Kristine scoffed as her mouth pinched up in disgust. “Then it’s the poor vacation decision that follows you home.”

“Well, let’s pretend you’re wearing a condom,” Isobel rolled her eyes. “This doesn’t leave these walls.”

“Yes, Ma’am.” She saluted, and I started laughing.

“Something funny, Mistress?” Kristine winked at me, and I lost it, giggling even though I was mad at Isobel for trying to manipulate me for the profit of the publishing house. She’d never leaned on me with my previous releases, but I’d never had a writing partner.

“Hey!” Isobel yelled as she pinned Kristine and me with an admonishing look. “Chase. Seriously? I’m trying to cover your ass here. Sloane wants to market this as a hot romantic thriller with two authors who may or may not be sleeping with each other. She thinks amping up the relationship beyond the page will drive sales. While I’m not suggesting you two start making out at book signings, I think a sexy book release needs some sexual tension.”

Kristine snickered as she slumped in her chair, the laptop on her knees hiding her face. “I think she has Evan around for covering her ass.”

“Alright, children,” Is rolled her eyes.

“The best I can do is ask him. If he says no, I’m not riding his ass about this.”

Kristine started laughing again at my choice of words, and even Isobel cracked a smile.

“Perverts,” I sighed in exasperation. Coercing Evan to help our careers was the last thing I wanted to do. But I also knew the head of publishing wouldn’t accept no for an answer. If she wanted us to flirt with each other while we traveled to promote the book, both our careers depended on Evan agreeing to do a book tour.

“Is this something you want?” Evan had come with me to meet with our publisher, despite his reluctance to set foot in Boston this soon after our research endeavor.

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