Page 64 of Long Story Short

But that was about to change.

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The Simon Langley Literary Agency was in a very different building to my current place of work. Sleek and next to the River Thames, it felt more modern and had a good buzz to it. Simon’s office was up high, offering an impressive view of the city. I looked out of the huge window in reception while I waited and ticked off all the landmarks I could see from there. And it was most of them.

‘Freya, thank God you’re here!’ Davis came into reception. He was wearing a smart suit and looked nervous but smiled when he saw me. And held out his hand for a firm shake. I followed him through into Simon’s office. He stood up and came to the door to greet me. He couldn’t have appeared more different to Hayley – a man in his sixties with salt and pepper hair, a warm smile, wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

‘Freya, Davis has told me so much about you. It’s lovely to meet you.’

I returned his smile and shook his hand. ‘I dread to think,’ I replied.

Davis chuckled. ‘I told you – she tells it exactly how it is.’

It was still jarring to hear people complimenting my honesty. I had thought I needed to change that. We all sat down in the sofa area of the large office. It still managed to be cosy, with a huge bookshelf, a floor lamp and lots of plants. The view behind Simon’s desk was hard to stop looking at too.

‘I finishedHe’s Behind You,’ I told Davis after I had turned down any refreshments. ‘And it’s great. But I was surprised by the romantic part after everything you said at the romance conference.’

Simon shook his head. ‘We said yes to the invite for Davis to join the panel there because we were planning to post a snippet of the romance scenes to surprise everyone afterwards. But at the party, as you know, things went awry so we held off doing that. And now his publishers are on the fence about even publishing the book.’ Simon was quiet and calm in how he spoke but his body language screamed of being disappointed in his client. I glanced at Davis and he looked abashed, a far cry from the arrogant author I had encountered at the conference.

‘I can see why you wanted to be at the romance conference now,’ I said, things clicking into place. I knew they had been trying something new by inviting authors of other genres to do that panel with Jake but as Davis had been so critical about romance, I had been confused why he had accepted. Now, it all made sense.

‘That would have been great publicity for the book.’ I raised an eyebrow. ‘But why were you so condescending about romance books while you were there? You told Jake on the panel that romance was really easy to write compared to crime and thrillers.’

Davis sighed. ‘I know. It’s Jake. He gets my back up and pushes me to be a dick. It all started at uni, this rivalry… I can’t help but wind him up.’

‘Your rivalry is ridiculous,’ I replied, annoyed with them both, frankly. ‘You have damaged your careers because of it. Is that what you want? To give it all up?’

‘Christ, no!’

‘Did you find the romance easy to write?’

He avoided my eyes and shifted in his chair. ‘No. It was really hard. It was the part of the book I spent the most time on to make it just right.’

‘You know who could have given you advice for it? Jake Richards.’

Simon nodded. ‘I told him that.’ He leaned forward. ‘We know you really helped Jake get back into favour with his readers. We are now in a similar situation. Is there anything Davis could do, do you think?’

‘Personally, I am on the fence at wanting to help you, Davis. Professionally, I do think this is a great book and I would love to see it out in the world.’

I sighed then. It was difficult. Was I being like Hayley if I helped him? Or if I helped him on my terms, was it both a good move for my career but also something that went along with who I was, and not who I thought I should be?

‘What I think you should do is tell your readers that not only do you not think romance is easy, but you’ve included it in your new book because you were inspired by Jake Richards.’

Davis choked a little bit. ‘What?’

I nodded. ‘This feud needs to end. Jake is really popular right now. If you make up with him and talk about how he’s inspired you, I think both you and his readers will love it. Say you’ve become a romance fan and have included it in your book. I noticed there is no dedication in the book. But you mentioned you’re a believer in romance now in your personal life. Hasn’t your girlfriend helped to inspire a romantic side to you?’

‘Let’s not get crazy now,’ Davis said but he did smile at the mention of her.

‘You could dedicate it to her. Talk about that too. Humanise yourself after the mess-up at the conference. Tell your publisher your plan and hopefully, they will stop threatening to pull the book.’ I looked at Simon. ‘What about asking Jake to read and do an endorsement quote too?’

‘He wouldn’t,’ Simon replied quickly.

I shrugged. ‘He might do if you end the feud,’ I said to Davis. ‘It’s up to you. But I think it’s the only way to turn around opinions right now. I’ll be honest: at the conference, I found you arrogant and annoying. I think a lot of people do.’

‘God, Freya, you don’t need to bethathonest,’ Davis said, folding his arms across his chest.

‘Actually, I think she does,’ Simon said, giving me an approving look. ‘I haven’t always been as honest with you as I should have been. We’re old friends and go back years, but as you got more successful, you did become different to the man I first met as an aspiring author. And sometimes, I have been worried you’re changing into someone that might become too difficult to work with.’

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