Page 66 of A Reclusive Heart

“You’re fired, Miss Harris,” came the softly murmured words that had Jamie swallowing hard.

“You’re letting me out of my contract?” Jamie asked, making her wonder if it could really be this easy.

Thanks to her contract, she wasn’t allowed to start another publishing company, but Nick could. She could sign with him and help him-

“No, you’re still contracted through us for J.L. Lewis, but we’ve decided that as Jamie Harris, you will no longer be associated with Rerum Publishing House,” he explained before shifting his gaze to Nick. “I’m sorry, Mr. Quinn, but I’m afraid that you’re fired as well.”

“I understand,” Nick said while Jamie sat there, trying to figure out what she was supposed to say to fix this.

None of this would have happened if it weren’t for her and she wasn’t about to sit here while they destroyed Nick’s career. She opened her mouth to say, well, she really wasn’t sure what she was going to say, when Dana spoke first.

“I guess this is where I inform you that I decided not to renew my contract with Rerum Publishing,” Dana said quietly while Jamie watched every expression in the room turn panicked except for one. Eric looked relieved as he shared a look with Nick that she couldn’t quite figure out before he looked away.

“Let’s talk about this, Mrs. Pierce,” one of the men said, shifting nervously in his seat as he went for a hopeful smile that Dana simply ignored.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t feel comfortable signing with Rerum Publishing when you’re firing the man that’s always been there for me. Mr. Quinn has always double-checked my work for me, helped plan my tours, and if I can’t reach Rick, Nick’s the person I go to. If I can no longer count on having Mr. Quinn for support,then I don’t see any reason to continue working with Rerum Publishing.”

“Mrs. Pierce, any one of our agents can do that for you. They’d be more than happy to help you with any problems that you have,” a middle-aged woman with graying chestnut hair explained.

“Although I have the utmost respect for your employees, none of them are as dedicated as Mr. Quinn,” Dana pointed out.

“Our hands are tied on this matter, Mrs. Pierce. Not only did Mr. Quinn have an inappropriate relationship with his client and employee, but he also put Rerum in a very unpleasant situation by canceling dozens of interviews and personal appearances. That’s not something that we can simply-” she began arguing only to get cut off by Edward Pierce.

“I’ve known Mr. Quinn for several years now and I’ve never known him to act inappropriately with clients or employees, for that matter, which is pretty impressive given his personal reputation. I can understand that you’re not thrilled with the situation, but from what I saw on that video, this isn’t a simple fling nor did either one of them intend on making their relationship public. It appears to me that two people very much in love had a very personal moment stolen from them and exploited,” Edward said before throwing her a wink that left her struggling to remember how to breathe as the realization that everyone in this room saw that video.

Oh, God...

“With all due respect, Mr. Pierce, but this doesn’t concern you or your wife. If you would like to arrange a meeting to discuss your contract, we’d be more than happy to accommodate you, but for right now, I’m afraid that I’m going to have to ask you to-”

“I’m afraid it does concern us if you ever expect my wife to promote any of the books that you currently have her contractedfor. If memory serves me correctly, she has the right to refuse any promotional event that makes her uncomfortable and I have to be honest,” Edward drawled, leaning back in his chair as he addressed the men and women who were visibly panicking, “having my wife work with a company that would place profit before her safety isn’t something that I’m comfortable with.”

“I support Mr. Quinn’s decision to cancel the rest of the tour, given the situation,” Rick said before anyone else could respond. “Between the video and the threats, I don’t think he had a choice.”

“It wasn’t his call to make,” one of the men said, making her frown.

“Nick didn’t cancel the rest of the tour. I-”

“I canceled the tour,” Nick said, cutting her off before she could fix this as he gave her hand a warning squeeze. “After speaking with the police, it was agreed that until they caught whoever was behind the threats, that it would be in Miss Harris’ best interest to cancel the rest of the tour.”

“You should have spoken with us before you made that decision,” the man sitting next to Holly said while Jamie sat there, noting the smug expression on Holly’s face.

“I apologize for that. However, time was a factor. So, I explained the situation and told them that the contracts would be honored as soon as the matter was cleared up,” Nick smoothly explained.

“Right now, my only concern is Miss Harris. There’s obviously a very disturbed person out there with a fixation on her. I don’t think it would be appropriate or fair to ask her to put herself in danger to fulfill the promises that we made. Until the matter is settled, other methods to promote her books should be utilized,” Nick suggested.

“Thank you, Mr. Quinn. We’ll look into it,” the man sitting across from them said with a resigned sigh.

“Just let me know where you end up and I’ll be more than happy to sign with you, Nick,” Dana said as she stood up.

“Please reconsider, Mrs. Pierce,” the man sitting at the end of the table murmured quietly as he shared a look with Eric while Jamie slowly exhaled and-

“This is probably where I should tell you that the last two books that I contracted with Rerum Publishing as well as the one that I was secretly working on with Dana are done and that I won’t be renewing my contract either,” Jamie said, forcing the words out of her mouth as she stood up.

With that announcement which seemed to have stunned everyone, including Nick, into silence, Jamie forced herself to walk out of the room. When she reached the hallway, she closed the door behind her, released a shaky breath and made her way to Nick’s office, needing that coffee roll now more than ever.

CHAPTER 32

“Good luck, Nick,” Dana said, giving him a hopeful smile as her husband took her hand in his and gave it a gentle pull that had her following him to the door. He wanted to go after his little recluse before she consumed a shit load of sugar, but he had to fix the damn problem she’d just created.

---