Page 8 of First Comes Revenge

She takes a deep breath, then hands it to me.

I look at the page. “What Have You Done: A Psychological Thriller by Charli McBride”.

“I like the title,” I say.

She’s smiling now, and she also looks like she could possibly throw up. She sits quietly, almost like she can’t bear to look at me as I read the book.

I crack open the manuscript and start reading. She has tight writing. She’s avoiding most of the tell-tale signs of a writer who isn’t quite ready for the big show. It doesn’t seem like she’s trying to convince anybody that she’s Hemingway or that she has the biggest vocabulary on Earth. She’s choosing simple language when it works best and focusing on building tension, character, and suspense.

By the end of the second chapter, I can already see the threads she’s stringing together to lead my interest through the book. I have questions about the main cast of characters, guesses about where it might go, and a motivation to find out.

If she didn’t look like she was about to explode with nerves beside me, I would probably keep reading just for the enjoyment of the story. It’s good. Andshit,I can’t believe an opportunity this perfect has fallen into my lap.

“Alright,” I say, standing and handing her the manuscript.

“Alright?” she asks. She’s clutching the manuscript to her chest so tight it’s crumpling at the edges.

“Yeah, come with me. I extend my hand toward her.

She looks at it like a live grenade.

I give an impatient jerk of my head and pull the door open to the convention center. “Come on. It’s now or never.”

She doesn’t take my hand, but she does follow after me when I open the door and gesture for her to step in.

I stop her just inside. “Act like you know what I’m talking about when we go in there. Understand?”

“No?”

“Great. Come on.” I pause. I notice Vaughn Vanderlesh and his father standing and talking with a young girl not too far away. Charli’s situation clicks into place. She said they were already over, even though Vaughn doesn’t know it yet. It didn’t make a ton of sense until I saw the girl he’s with. His arm is around her waist possessively.

He’s cheating, and Charli caught them.

I didn’t think it was possible, but my hatred for Vaughn ramps up to an entirely new level. Vaughn spots me and looks away from the conversation to glare. Then he notices who I’m walking with.

I almost laugh at the way his whole face contorts in confusion, rage, and hurt.

His mouth falls open and he turns his whole body, hands falling to his sides. He looks like one step away from sinking to his knees like the guy at the end of Planet of the Apes. I can almost imagine him raising clenched fists to the sky and shouting a dramatic, “Noooo!”

He feels that much anger just to see me walking next to Charli? It makes me think how hard I could press his buttons if we leaned into this closeness–of how much it would destroy him if it was more than just walking side by side. What if he knew she was coming back to my bedroom every night?

I hook my arm around Charli, tugging her closer to me by the small of her waist like she’s mine. I wink at Vaughn, then pull the door open to the conference room, leaving him to wonder what the hell he just saw.

That’s how your own medicine tastes, prick.

Everyone looks up at us when we enter. I let go of Charli to open the door, so she’s simply cowering a little behind me. I have to nudge her to get her to come into the room and stand where everyone can see her. “Ladies and gentleman, I present the answer to our problem. This is Charli McBride and she wrote the next big hit we’ll be publishing.”

Nolan pulls his head back, looking Charli up and down like a spoiled vegetable. “Her?” he asks.

“Me?” Charli squeaks.

“Have I ever been wrong about an author?” I ask.

Nobody but Nolan seems to want to make eye contact with me. Everyone else is staring at the table.

Nolan spreads his hands. “No,” he says slowly and almost reluctantly.

“Exactly. I’ll be handling this one personally. I’ll handpick the editors, cover artists, marketing people, and so on. She’s mine. Got it?”

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