Page 86 of Austen Persuaded

“Yes, sir,” I replied, my eyes twinkling. “Have a good night, Hakeem.”

When I turned around, my friends were approaching.

Rainn was the first to reach me. “Amazing job today, Annie. Not that I’m surprised at all.” He leaned in for a tight hug before pulling back. “Sorry I was less than eager this morning, despite having, well, nothing to do today … but I’m glad I got to witness all your hard work firsthand. You rock at this, no surprise though.”

I smiled, squeezing his shoulders before pulling away. “Aw, thanks.” Before I could say more, Sofia and Kylan joined us and added their own praise—hers was likely genuine, whereas his was merely polite—as well as gratitude for the opportunity to help one of their own clients.

“We really have to give most of the credit to the author,” I said. “People wouldn’t show up for a crappy author. They showed up for an awesome one.”

“Yes, yes, yes, so true,” Sofia gushed. “I wish I could take credit for discovering her, but that was all Laina. I’m surprised she wasn’t here today actually.” She paused, her expression thoughtful for a moment before it lit up with excitement. “Anyway, drinks, anyone? I think it’s time to celebrate!”

I gave an apologetic look. “Sorry, Sofia, I can’t. It sounds fun, and everyone knows I could use some fun, but I need sleep more. Juggling all this has been …” I halted, glancing at Kylan quickly. What was I thinking? I was aiming for a promotion! I shouldn’t imply I couldn’t juggle lots of demands. “I’m just a little worn out, so I need to rest up.”

Sofia stuck out her lower lip. “I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it.”

“I’m afraid I can’t either,” Kylan said, his deep voice cracking a bit. “My sister’s flight is landing tonight, so I need to pick her up. Another time though.”

Sofia’s frown deepened. Feeling bad for her, I pointed to my roommate. “Rainn, that leaves you. Think you can handle drinks with the lovely Sofia tonight?”

Sofia looked at Rainn with mild interest, but he shook his head as his brows furrowed. “No, I don’t think so.”

“Oh, you said you didn’t have anything going on—”

“I do.” His response was curt, and a muscle was ticking in his square jaw.

“Oh, all right,” I said, biting my lip.

This is awkward.Why’s Rainn being weird?

Sofia stared at the floor for a moment before looking up with an overly enthusiastic laugh. “Well, there’s always my favorite drinkingcompanion … me.” At our dismayed expressions, she added, “Lighten up. I was joking. I’ve got other friends. Or else I’ll see if my sister needs a hand with the baby.”

As we all left the store, I eyed Rainn from the corner of my eye, trying to pinpoint why he was acting strangely. He seemed to still really dislike Sofia, and it was unlike him to dislike anyone without good cause. Even if he did occasionally dislike a person, he never hurt their feelings—and in front of others! It had been so painful to watch. I made a mental note to ask him what on earth that was about—and perhaps to pull Sofia aside sometime too and apologize for him. But for now, all that mattered was getting some sleep. And I could rest easy knowing that Kylan and Sofia weren’t together tonight, at least.

Chapter 21

Iswiveled in my desk chair, back and forth, my forehead creased as I stared at the only part of my desk that wasn’t covered in files, notes, and books. I was working up the courage to march into Sofia’s office and ask for a massive favor but hadn’t quite figured out how. I chewed on the pen I’d been twirling around in my fingers for at least ten minutes. If only I could wait a few weeks to ask for the favor—until after the promotion was decided—just in case it made things awkward at work. But after seeing Viviana in tears over lunchin publictoday, I couldn’t resist offering to help. I’d spit out the first thing that came to mind. Sure, I’d help her find an agent. I’d use my connections, flimsy though they still were, being new to the business.

With a deep sigh, I placed my feet flat on the floor to steady the chair. I rose and walked directly to Sofia’s office, knocking lightly first.

Now or never.

“Hey, Sof—”

“Annie, hey! You are not going to believe the deal we got for Campton’s next trilogy. He’ll be kissing my—” She stopped short,her eyes widening as she scanned her computer screen. “Oh, hold on. Just a minute, OK?”

I nodded, stepping further into the office.

After a blitz of furious typing, Sofia met my eyes, but she looked disoriented. “Sorry about that. Where were we?”

I needed to jump right in before I could change my mind, remembering the look on Viviana’s face yesterday when she’d imagined herself failing as an author. I’d seen that devastation on the faces of at least a dozen authors at work, in addition to the hundreds or thousands who never made it out of the slush pile. It was ten times worse when the author was my friend. “So I wanted to talk to you about something. Actually, I … ah, I have a favor to ask. Kind of a big one.”

Sofia turned fully away from her computer monitor and rested her chin on her hands. “OK, I’m listening.”

“You can say no. Especially if it’s a conflict of interest. I am hoping it’s not, but I’m not sure. I … this is awkward. I hope—”

“Annie, you’ve known me a while now. When I want to say no to someone, what do I do?”

“You say no,” I said, and we both chuckled. “Point taken. OK. Well, all right, here’s the short version. A close friend wrote her first novel, and she wants me to help her find an agent. I wanted to ask if you’d be willing to read it. First 30 pages, or less, whatever you can squeeze in.” I spoke rapidly but then paused. “Again, you can say no. I just—”

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