Page 59 of Slow Burn Summer

Kate nodded and hugged her sister quickly. It probably would be chip paper for everyone else come tomorrow morning, but the fallout was going to reverberate through her life for far longer.

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She did go online, ofcourse, and what she found there sent her plummeting into a pit of self-loathing and misery. Readers were understandably up in arms. She’d written her email to Alice in such a way as to deliberately downplay things to her daughter, making it sound like a lighthearted dash of excitement to perk her boring life up. If she could just offer her side of the story she might feel better, but as it was she could only read the endless vitriolic comments and let shame burn her cheeks. People were marveling at her sheer gall to go on the radio and TV, to turn up at events and sign her fake name without a care in the world. Someone even said they might set fire to their signed copy, because they’d queued for an hour to meet Kate and now felt like a complete idiot. They may as well have stayed home and signed the book themselves. They all felt taken in. They all felt fooled.

The more she scrolled, the more desperate she felt, because the fact was there was an element of truth to what people were saying. Without context or nuance, it looked as if she’d mercilessly lied and exploited the reading community for her own financial benefit, laughing behind their backs because she knew something they didn’t. She longed to reply, to try to change the narrative, but she’d agreed to wait for Charlie, at least. Besides, what would she say anyway? She’d most likely plunge in headfirst and make things even worse. Kate closed her laptop and pressed her face into her pillow, searching for the oblivion of sleep over the misery of being awake.

31

She was awoken by someonepressing her door buzzer and a message from Charlie letting her know he was there, at last. She swung herself out of bed and snatched her hair back into a ponytail, swiping her fingertips under her eyes to sweep away any tearful mascara stains.

He looked her over searchingly when she opened the door, as if assessing her for damage.

“Oh, Kate.” He dropped his bags to hug her. “I’ll make everything okay, I promise.”

She shook her head as she stepped back to allow him inside the flat, closing the door behind him with a weary sigh.

“I don’t see how it can be okay after this,” she said, leading him into the kitchenette.

He took one of the two chairs at the tiny kitchen table as she went through the motions of making coffee.

“Have you seen everything that’s being said online?” she said.

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Everyone hates me,” she said, unscrewing the lid from the milk.

“No, they don’t,” he said. “They’re confused, and the vacuum of official information is being filled with speculation and rumor.”

She put their mugs down on the table and took a seat opposite him.

For a moment, they took each other in.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t get here earlier,” he said.

“You didn’t need to rush back,” she said, relieved that he had.

From the moment things had erupted online, she’d needed his presence beside her. They were a team in this; everyone else involved had other priorities. H was Fiona’s only concern. For the publishing team, the book was at the top of the list. Only Charlie was thinking about how all of this impacted Kate.

“I got a train as soon as I heard,” he said.

“Did Fiona tell you about this afternoon?”

His expression shifted. “I had to turn the volume down on my mobile, she was…expressive,” he said. “She mentioned something about a dinosaur?”

Kate sighed and closed her eyes. “An angry seven-foot T-Rex.”

Charlie laughed into his coffee mug. “At least that bit hasn’t made it online,” he said. He squared his shoulders. “Look, it’s going to be a rocky few days. I’ve just come from a meeting with Prue and the team. They’re going to issue a statement tomorrow.”

She nodded, her hands clasped around her mug. “Do you know what they’re planning to say?”

“Not precisely, but it’ll go some way toward explaining the behind-the-scenes business decisions and give people something else to focus on. They won’t name the author, of course, and they’ll thank you for your help in bringing the book to market.”

“Do you think that’s going to be enough?” she said, finding it hard to imagine.

He took a few moments to gather his thoughts. “As far as the book’s concerned, I think this whole scenario is nothing but goodpublicity,” he said. “Sales will increase. Reader speculation will turn to who the real author is, and it’s on Fi and the team to handle that.”

“H deserves the privacy he was promised,” Kate said, worrying for the angry Welshman she’d almost met that afternoon.

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