Page 7 of Finding Love in the Clouds

“It was wonderful. Thank you for your generosity. My family and I had a great time. It’s time to get back to work, though.” Placing the thick folder of book stats in front of him, she circled the desk and took a seat in one of the armchairs across from him.

“That is the book ranking data you requested. The statistics department ran the numbers and made some notes on trends they found. I pushed the meeting with the PR team until early next week so you had time to review everything and gather your thoughts. How close are you to finishing this book? You look exhausted. You need a solid two days of sleep, by the look of things.”

“Welcome back. I don’t know how I managed without you. I finished the book last night, and the editors are working on it now. The PR team is getting everything ready for the February release of the last book. This one will be ready by summer. Filming for the Christmas movie wrapped and is in post-production for an October release. The first three episodes of my mini-series are finished; filming of the last three episodes is done. It just needs post-production work now, andthat will be out for streaming in June. Final contracts have been signed for six more mini-series from popular authors this year, and casting is already in the works for two. It has been a busy month. I can sleep in February once everything is lined up and filming begins. I will look this over this afternoon. I have lunch with a new PR guy I’m considering hiring for my team. I need to get ahead of Marie Lautner this year, and I’m hoping he has some insight.”

“On that note, I brought in your dry cleaning and hung it in your bathroom. You need to get a move on if you want to look presentable for this lunch. If you get going now, you will be on time.” Walking towards the door to her adjoining office, she said over her shoulder, “Don’t forget to shave. You’re starting to look like a caveman. A handsome caveman but a caveman nonetheless. If you decide to go with the bearded look, we definitely need to get you into a barber.”

Chapter Seven

Fernando’s head jerked up from the notes he was taking when Sophie’s clear voice came across his office phone intercom.

“Your brother Enrique is on line one. Do you have time to talk, or do you want to call him back?”

“No, now is fine. He’s been MIA for almost three weeks. Thanks, Soph.”

Punching the button for line one, he picked up the receiver. “Dude, where have you been? No one has heard from you in weeks!”

“It’s nice to speak to you too, little bro. I told you guys I was going on vacation. No need to worry, and for the record, I talked to Hannah and Gabe last week. Why is your phone off?” Enrique asked, concerned.

“Oh, is that why you called my office? Just a minute,” Fernando said, reaching into the breast pocket of his suit jacket hanging on the valet stand behind his desk and retrieving his cell phone. “Dead as a doornail. I wonder how long it’s been dead? I should probably check the battery’s health once it gets some juice. Back to you, what’s up?”

“I’m going to text Sophie when we hang up and make sure she follows up on your cell phone situation. Dead cell phones are unacceptable; you know that. I’m fine. Back home working on this merger with Julio and setting up a business deal with Gabe. You?”

“You realize I have my own security team now and don’t need my brother monitoring my every move, right? If my battery is dead, it means I’m in the office working. When I’m out and about, my bodyguards go with me. I’m not only rich, I’m famous. I don’t like being attacked by women when I leave the office. You don’t need to worry about me anymore; my team has me covered,” Fernando stated firmly, running a hand through his recently cut hair. “I’m fine. Annoyed but fine.”

“I’m glad you have your security team, but I will always keep tabs on you and everyone else in the family just to be sure. What has you annoyed?” Enrique inquired. His brother Fernando was known for his patience. ‘Getting emotional doesn’t do anything but make things worse. Be logical, Rique. Think. The solution will come,’ Fernando had advised him when they were children. Hearing him say he was getting annoyed about a problem now was interesting and must be serious.

“Two words. Marie Lautner. Number one. Take your pick. My team came up with a brilliant launch strategy for my new book, and somehow, she still managed to release her book before me and make it to number one. I have been pouring over book ranking stats for weeks, and they are consistent. No matter when I release, she always manages to get her book out a little ahead of me. My PR team has an air-tight NDA, and I held a meeting with them at the end of January, where I had the legal team remind them of the hot water they would be in if they were leaking information. I swear my team is loyal without the threats, but once again, she beat me to the punch and has a death grip on the number one spot on the Times Best Seller list. I don’t knowhow she’s doing it. It’s like she has a spy lurking around the internet for any mention of my book, and the second it releases anywhere in the world, she launches hers in all markets before I can get mine out. It’s ridiculous. She is with a much smaller publishing house than I am. She is a well-known author, but that is all. I’m an international media mogul. This shouldn’t be happening! I decided today that I’m going to ask her to do a collaboration with me. Perhaps having both our names on the cover will help me edge past her. If she says no, I’ll buy out her publishing house.”

“And then what? Promote her books less than yours? Tie her up in contracts so she can’t write and provide you with any competition. What is going on with you, man? Since when was a little friendly competition a bad thing? Being number two isn’t a bad place to be. There are thousands of authors who would die to be in your shoes right now, and you’re losing your mind. Did you ever stop to think that maybe she is a better writer than you are?” Enrique asked in his no-nonsense kind of way.

“What? Of course she isn’t a better writer than me. I’m the billionaire in this scenario. My books have outperformed hers for years, and now, all of a sudden, she is knocking me off the top of the charts. Whose side are you on anyway? At the New Year’s Eve gathering, you reacted to my comment about coming up with a plan to beat her. Are you working for her or something? Are you the hacker ruining my new releases?” Fernando accused.

“Look, I happen to have read a few of her mysteries, and I do think that her books have a different flavor than yours. You are in the same genre, but you paint with different brushes. As you say, you are a media mogul, and your attention is split in a million different directions. Perhaps her ability to focus on one thing and do it well is what is making it possible for her books to claim the top spot while yours sitat number two. If you allowed your people to do their jobs without so much supervision and micromanaging from you and spent more time focusing your energy on writing, perhaps your books would make it back to number one.”

Enrique never hesitated to share his opinion with his brothers, even when he knew it would hurt. He could almost hear Fernando grinding his teeth on the other end of the line.

“Setting aside your lack of loyalty and reading material preferences, you didn’t answer my question. Do you think it’s possible that she’s having someone hack into my system and gain access to restricted information on my book releases?” Fernando asked, clearly annoyed with his brother but not asking him to verify it wasn’t him. None of his brothers would do anything to hurt another.

“Yes, I think someone could run a program to gather intel on your book releases and help her launch her books first. Do I think that is what is happening? Unlikely, but possible. Is someone getting access to information within your company’s communication network? No way. My team runs regular security checks and updates to your system. If there was a breach, we would know. I will have someone monitor for data downloads and see if you have a mole. I will know by the end of the week. I think you need to look elsewhere. Marie Lautner does not strike me as someone who plays dirty to get ahead,” Enrique stated confidently.

“Wait a minute. How would you know if she was a dirty dealer or not? She writes under a pen name, and her real identity is one of the best-kept secrets on the planet. I have paid numerous private detectives to figure it out, and they came back empty-handed. Have you researched her and figured it out? Who is she?” Excitement thrummed through Fernando. Why hadn’t he thought of having his super hacker brother look into this woman before?

“I do know who she is, and I’m not about to tell you. Her identity is a secret for a reason. I will say this: if you move forward with proposing a collaboration or buying out her publishing house to gain access to her… make sure any dealings you have with her are above board and lean heavily in her favor. You are a good man. An honest man. But you sound a little bit like a crazy scientist right now, which scares me. This is not a person you want to mess with, trust me. Marie Lautner has very important and powerful people in her corner who will not take any underhanded treatment of her lightly. Any dealings you have with her… be sure to treat her the same way you would treat Hannah, and all will be well,” Enrique advised, more serious than Fernando had heard him be in years.

Fernando took a moment to process all his brother had shared. There were so many layers to this conversation. Was Enrique advising him to work with her or warning him off?

“Fern, I think a collaboration between the two of you would be wonderful. Make sure her people think the same thing and that she would significantly benefit from it. Don’t put me in a position where I need to help you out of trouble with this woman. I will have a very difficult time choosing sides. Whatever the devil sitting on your shoulder is saying to you, get rid of it. Her family is tightly connected to ours. You will put all of us in significant danger if you mess this up. Think it over carefully and come up with a solid plan before moving forward. Don’t think of Marie as your biggest competition but your potential MVP, and go from there. Are you hearing what I’m saying?” Enrique’s voice carried a definite warning this time.

“I hear you. I will proceed with caution and ensure that I handle the situation with integrity, no matter how frustrated I am. When you feel you can share more on this topic, I would appreciate it. My book ranking will never be more important than the family’s well-being.Consider my previous rancor checked. It was uncomfortable to hear, but perhaps my storylines have paid the price for my growing empire, and I should not place blame for my failure on my competitor’s shoulders but instead strive to do better myself,” Fernando admitted regretfully.

“Spoken like the true statesmen you are. Welcome to Earth, where we mere fallible mortals reside. I’m sure the coming year will be amazing. I need to run. Catch you later, little brother.”

“Later. Be safe!” Fernando shouted into the phone before Enrique disconnected the call.

He sat for a few minutes, drumming his fingers on the surface of his desk. The plan he and his new PR director had come up with would need to be modified. Offering Marie Lautner, or the real person behind the name, a seat at his table was a new thought—one he would not have even considered prior to his brother’s blunt setting down. Having two of the world’s best mystery authors writing under his publishing label would be a boon to not only the publishing side of his empire but also the streaming service and film studio, which would own exclusive rights to their combined back-catalog of material, too. He could start a whole new channel of nothing but mysteries. The opportunities were limitless. If he couldn’t beat her, he could ask her to join him and profit from her success. That would be a win-win for him.

Now, how to convince her that joining forces with him was a good thing for her and making sure her family agreed so that his family stayed safe?

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