Page 71 of First Comes Revenge

What?I’m standing in shocked silence, trying to figure out what he means when it hits me. I cover my mouth, laughing softly.

“What?” Vaughn demands, wiping at the spot. “I know how what feels?”

“When someone waves their small prick in your face and expects you to be scared. It’s really just a joke.” He looks down at the carrot in his fingertips and chucks it in the trash. “I already let your father know. This is the last joint mixer Gray Wolfe will be doing with Landmark. I think the tradition has run its course. Besides, Landmark doesn’t really seem like a publisher on the right trajectory. In a year or two, you’ll barely have enough staff left to make a showing at these things.” He pats Vaughn’s shoulder, smiling. “No hard feelings.”

31

EPILOGUE - JAMESON

We’re in the dry heat of Arizona and it has been exactly a year since the day I met Charli. It feels right to be back here at the convention with her on my arm.

Of course, it’s no longer a joint function between Gray Wolfe and Landmark. That would be kind of hard, considering Griffon Vanderlesh lost his lead against us, which pushed him to quit pouring money into the company to float a failing business model. It only took a few months for everything to unravel.

Last I heard, someone had bought the rights to the books Landmark still had under contract and the company was almost entirely dissolved.

Maybe it should have felt immensely satisfying. After all, that was victory, wasn’t it? Our greatest rival and competitor for years was nothing but dust. Nobody was there to challenge our command in the city, and all the biggest books and authors were coming our way almost by default.

All this, and I felt like I didn’t care the way I would’ve expected.

That’s the magic of Charli McBride, I guess. She’s my constant reminder of what is really important.

It’s still early in the morning, so it’s just authors and people working for publishers setting up booths. Without Landmark to invite, I convinced Nolan to invite all the smaller boutique publishers in the city this year. It’ll give them an opportunity to network and grow.

I’m standing in front of a long table with Charli’s name on it. She’s not technically one of our authors, but nobody is going to complain. A few months ago, her book was a massive success when it hit the self-published market. When she started getting bombarded with offers to buy foreign rights, audio rights, and potentially even movie or series rights, she asked if I would represent her as an agent.

“Are you nervous?” I ask.

Charli looks sexy and adorable at the same time. She’s wearing a dress with a white, fluffy jacket to cover her arms. I think she might have been going for an author look, but she’s striking me a little more like sexy librarian or teacher.

“Just a lot,” she says, shrugging. “Do I look okay? Do you think people are going to laugh at me for having the nerve to assume anyone will want me to sign their books? Like, who is this girl? Why would I–”

I shut her up with a kiss. “People love your book. Nobody is going to laugh. You’re going to have a line out the door, okay? Try to enjoy today. You’ve earned this.”

She takes a breath, relaxing and letting me hug her. “I’ll try. You should go find Nolan, by the way. He told me to send you over when you got back from raiding the buffet.”

I kiss the top of her head and look around. I don’t see him, so I start wandering the rooms of the convention center. I check my phone and have texts from both Cleo and Kate, which isn’t a surprise. They know the plan, after all.

Cleo:Well?

Actually, the real text has about a million question marks and emojis.

Kate:Updates? News? How is it going?

I decide texting them back isn’t going to help calm them down, so I ignore the texts for now.

I find Nolan helping an author set up his table. I pull him aside.

“You were looking for me?” I say.

“Yeah. Cleo called me and told me what you’re planning. What the fuck, man?” He punches me in the chest, but he’s smiling. “Really?”

I shrug. “My sisters really suck at keeping secrets.”

“You’re not supposed to have secrets with me.”

“The truth is I’m nervous as hell, man. What if she says no?”

He laughs. “Charli loves you. You see the way she looks at you, right? It’s honestly nauseating.”

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