Page 18 of The Plot Twist

‘Yes?’ Allie sat up straighter, feeling like she had just been caught daydreaming in school.

‘I was explaining about what needs to happen with your new book after Verity hands over the reins.’

‘Yes, exactly. Wait, what?’ Allie’s jaw dropped, and her horrorstruck face went from Jake to Verity. The realization of what Jake had just said was sinking in. Deep down, Allie knew that this day would come, it wasn’t as if she had expected Verity to stay at Brinkman’s forever, although she had harboured a hope. But she really hadn’t expected it to be when she was still under contract and with no book to deliver. Or that she would be left in this nightmare scenario with a snake-like Jake Matthews in charge of her creative future. ‘You’re leaving?’ she stammered, her eyes fixing on Verity.

‘Well…’ Verity’s face was a picture of distress, her eyes watery with tears, her lip wobbling. Allie wanted nothing more than to leap over the table and hug her beloved editor, but she had a very real fear that Jake Matthews might stab her if she did.

Jake interrupted. ‘Happily, Verity has found a new role and while we are sad to see her go it does of course make things easier with the streamlining process.’

‘You’re leaving Brinkman’s?’ Allie stuttered again. ‘You’re leavingme?’ Even though Allie had suspected this was on the cards she couldn’t help the feeling of abandonment and tears pricked the back of her eyes.

Verity’s face crumpled. ‘I’m so sorry, Allie,’ she whispered.

‘Well, now that this is all out in the open, we can discuss delivery of your new book.’

Allie turned to look at Jake, who was blithely unaware of the emotional trauma that was unravelling right under his nose.

‘Now,’ Jake began, ‘I understand you’re quite behind with delivery.’

Allie glared at him. ‘Actually, it was agreed that I would take some time off because, as I’m sure you know, I’ve been writing a book a year for seven years.’

Jake didn’t look as if he really cared what Allie had been doing or not doing for the past seven minutes, let alone years. ‘We have an agreed date, don’t we?’

‘Yes.’ Allie nodded mutinously.

‘Good. Well, that’s fine then, I will expect it on or before that date.’

Allie felt like she had just been issued with a homework deadline by the teacher consistently voted ‘most hated’, rather than treated as an equitable adult in a work meeting.

Jake stood up and despite the shocking news that she was still digesting, Allie couldn’t help checking the glass tabletop in front of him for handprints. Nope, definitely no handprints, probably not warm-blooded enough to produce any, Allie thought darkly.

‘I think you’ve met my assistant Tessa.’ As if on cue the door to the meeting room opened and there stood Tessa, Stepford Wives smile fixed to her face. ‘She’ll see you out.’

Before Allie could register what was happening, Tessa was ushering her out of the door.

‘Wait,’ Allie called over her shoulder, ‘can I have a quick word with Verity?’

‘I’m afraid Verity has another meeting to get to,’ Tessa said smoothly, closing the meeting door with one hand and using the other to ever so gently, yet insistently, push Allie out towards the atrium.

‘Please do send your manuscript to me,’ she told Allie, putting a business card in one of Allie’s hands, while she propelled her towards the revolving doors at the front of the building. ‘Well, have a lovely rest of your day,’ Tessa said as she gave Allie a little shove, which sent her through the revolving doors and out into the street. It felt like a practised move.

For a minute, Allie stood blinking in the sunlight wondering whether what had just happened had, in fact, been a hallucination. She reached into her bag, fumbled around for her phone, pulled it out and scrolled down for Verity’s number. She hit dial and put the phone to her ear. There was a long silence before the computer-generated voice told her that this number was no longer in use. Allie slowly took the phone away from her ear and stared down at the screen. Had they taken Verity’s phone away from her already? Allie remembered the cold eyes of Jake Matthews and decided that they almost certainly had.

Allie looked back into the atrium of Brinkman’s and considered marching back in there, demanding to talk to Verity, not taking no for an answer. And then she heard Jake’s voice echo round her head and her stomach turned to water. If she had a killer manuscript to deliver then she might have the guts to go rescue Verity and tell Jake he could go stuff himself. But the only thing she had was the outline of her serial killer novel, and she thought that put her on distinctly shaky ground with regard to any bargaining. Allie’s thoughts turned to herkillermanuscript and she found herself thinking of elaborate ways in which Jake Matthews might meet a grisly end. She looked up and saw the cafe over the road, remembered Martin Clark’s invitation and stalked angrily across the road to hear how his meeting with Jake had gone down.

‘Wasn’t sure you’d take me up on the offer,’ Martin said, half rising out of his chair. Allie merely nodded, not trusting herself to say anything yet.

ChapterFive

Allie hadn’t intended to go and meet Martin after her meeting and she certainly hadn’t intended to stay in the cafe for as long as she had. But it turned out that Martin was surprisingly good company, especially in the aftermath of the devastating news about Verity’s departure. Periodically Allie would stare at her phone hoping that Verity would call her and when her phone remained blank she felt a horrible mix of sadness and nausea.

And Martin seemed to get it because whenever he noticed Allie looking miserably at her phone he would launch into another publishing anecdote, which was helping to take her mind off the predicament she found herself in. He had just finished telling her about the time he had witnessed a fist fight break out between a Booker prize winning novelist and a disgraced ex-politician, Allie was beginning to suspect that his stories might not be a hundred percent true, when her phone rang. Allie’s hand shot out to pick it up.

‘Is it her?’ Martin asked, sitting forward in his seat, fully invested.

Allie appreciated his enthusiasm but shook her head. ‘No, it’s a friend. Another author actually. I bet she’s calling to remind me it’s her book launch tonight.’ Allie let out a big sigh and put her phone back down. ‘I promised I’d go but to be honest I’d rather be anywhere but around publishing people right now.’

‘Thanks.’ Martin grimaced as he sat back and crossed his arms.

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