Page 15 of All the Right Words
Gina couldn’t believe this was happening. She further could not believe it when she heard herself say, ‘Alright. Give me ten minutes to work on it.’
‘Gina, you’re a life saver,’ Olivia said gratefully. ‘Thank you. I know you’ll know the perfect thing to say.’
They hung up, and Gina set to work. It didn’t take her long to have something. It just came to her.
Harper, I know our evening wasn’t great. That’s on me, and I hope you know that. You were wonderful. I was nervous. I felt so lucky to get this night with you that I got overwhelmed with the pressure, and my brain didn’t play ball. That’s why I was so quiet. I can do better. I’d love to get the opportunity to get more comfortable with you, so I could let you see the real me. And hopefully, I could know the real you. I don’t expect that opportunity, but I can only hope you give me another shot.
Gina wasn’t sure why, but she remembered that brief coffee she’d had with Harper as she texted the message to Olivia. Moments later, Olivia texted back.
Gina, that’s perfect. You’re the best. I will let you know what happens.
‘Please don’t,’ Gina muttered to herself. But she kind ofdidwant to know. These were her words. She wanted to know how they were received, even if Gina wasn’t attached to the meaning.
Ten
Harper was slipping into a hot bath when she got the text from Olivia. She was rather shocked. Harper had believed that Olivia didn’t know the evening hadn’t gone well. And her assessment of Olivia was that for all her charm and glamour, she had very little underneath it.
But the message changed her mind swiftly. It was revealing, self-aware and humble. There was simply no way she could say no to it. She texted her back quickly to say that she understood and, of course, they could try again. It made her very happy to know she’d been wrong. She’d been more disappointed by the evening than she’d expected to feel. She’d wanted to feel a connection with Olivia, and when it didn’t materialise, it had been a blow. She’d wondered ifshewas the problem, that she’d forgotten how to be close to someone.
But it was OK. It wasn’t so bad after all. Anyone could get nervous. Hope lingered.
Her mind danced happily around these thoughts when her phone rang. Brenda. Harper elected to silence the call. There was no such thing as a novel-writing emergency that should demand her Friday night be sacrificed.
But Brenda was persistent. In the end, Harper didn’t feel she had much choice but to answer her endlessly ringing phone.
‘Brenda…’
‘I’m blocked!’ Brenda yelled down the phone. ‘And it’s not my fault!’
Harper closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I mean, I haven’t been able to write a word since I got the news about Parker Press.’
‘But I thought you sorted all that out with Olivia?’ Harper asked.
‘I thought so too, but something is wrong, and it’s got to be that. Youknowhow prolific I am.’
That was not an exaggeration. The woman was a machine. This was indeed odd.
‘Look, Brenda, you’ve got plenty of time before the deadline for the first draft. Just take a few days off and approach it fresh.’ This was her standard advice to many a panicked author. Brenda was usually the freak of the bunch, hammering out book after book. It was part of the reason she was so profitable. The last book didn’t do so well? Oh well, there’s another right around the corner.
But Brenda wasn’t feeling so fruitful these days. ‘No, I can’t. I need to push the deadline.’
Harper paused. ‘How far are we talking?’
‘I think I need an extra month. Then we’ll know they’re not going under, and I’ll be able to concentrate,’ Brenda told her.
Harper didn’t know if that was true, but it was a month. It wasn’t an unreasonable request. ‘Let me talk to them. I’ll see what I can do.’
She heard Brenda breathe a sigh of relief. ‘OK, great.’
‘Get some sleep. It’s going to be fine.’
They hung up.
***
Harper rang Gina on Monday morning. ‘Gina, hi,’ she began.
