The Publicist (20 page)

Isla VonKarting was not happy about her release date. Who on earth would move her book date from January to the spring? Ridiculous.

Isla had been quite vocal on this a number of times and Kate wasn’t looking forward to meeting her in the office on Tuesday.

Isla VonKarting was once the country’s top psychic. She fell from grace about seven years ago after several lawsuits and a whole bunch of bad press. Late last year she began making a comeback when she started working with the New Orleans police department to solve a series of murders. Young boys, all under the age of fifteen, were being murdered and left to be found in horrifying ways. One boy was found nailed to a cross and stuffed in a dumpster. New Orleans had a serial killer on its hands and when Isla contacted them with a tip, she was brushed off as a clairvoyant nutcase. When the tip panned out, the police department brought her in. Three more boys were murdered before the killer was caught, but the police department offered a good deal of credit to Isla’s “insight” and so, the once tattered career was reborn and Isla became a household name. MD acquired her fifth book, hoping the buzz of the killings and a pending movie deal would spark heavy sales.

Isla was on her way to a family Christmas in Sweden and insisted on dropping by the office to see Kate and discuss her publicity. Kate scrolled through her email and found another note from Isla, emphasizing the words “update on my promotion.”

You should be insanely grateful, Kate thought, five years ago you were a punch line, now you’re a psychic hero.

Kate had asked Isla’s editor, Rebecca Wright, if it was possible to move the date slightly earlier than spring but it was too late. The wheels were in motion. Rebecca was out on maternity leave that week, so she wouldn’t be there to face Isla.

Of all of the authors Kate had worked with, she was certain that she liked Isla the least. Despite the fact that she wasn’t sure she believed in psychics, Isla hadn’t been pleasant to work with at all. Her recent fame had gone straight to her ego. Or as Mac often said, “The ego has landed.”

Kate had lined up numerous media outlets for Isla, which all had to be moved. Though despite that, the commitments were good. Having this extra time would also allow her to do another round of magazine pitches to see if there was any interest. She made a note to remind herself to tell Isla that. Another point in favor of a later release.
Intuitive Power
was slated for a starred review in
Publishers Weekly
and many of the entertainment magazines planned to run stories on it just in time for the book launch.

Her phone buzzed again, it was Mac calling. Kate closed the door to her office.

“Hey Mac…”

“Katie, how are you? I’ve left a few messages…” Mac’s voice trailed off.

Kate’s heart always skipped when she talked with Mac. It was true, he had called Sunday night but she’d let it go to voicemail. Lunch with Nicholas has been confusing. She had enjoyed it, more than she expected she would. And then Allan… she pushed the thought out of her head. She needed to tell Mac but wanted to respect Nick’s wishes.

“I know, I’m sorry. This Isla book has got me running in circles. By the way, Edward extended Janet’s contract.”

Mac laughed, “The bastard probably took all the credit for her successful signing, too.”

“No, he didn’t. It surprised me, too.”

“Listen, I know you’re busy. I just wanted to say hi and tell you I’ll be in the office first thing in the morning.”

“How was your time with the boys?” The question hung in the air. They both knew it wasn’t the real question she wanted to ask.

“They’re great, Katie. I am glad I’m here. But….”

“What, Mac?” Kate held her breath. Part of her didn’t want to care and the other part cared deeply.

“I’ve missed you.”

She felt herself melt, not just her heart, but her entire body. She wished she was melting in his arms. She needed to be held and loved, she wanted to burn away the pain of her loss in his arms but he wasn’t there, he was with his family. A shaky breath caught in her throat. That was the truth of it all, yet in a way she didn’t care.

Though she knew that she should.

“Me, too.” She said before she clicked off.

Kate dropped in her chair; thinking about Mac and feeling herself want him so much it made her dizzy. Her phone buzzed again, this time it was Nicholas.

“Oh,” she said aloud, “this is about to get very complicated.”

.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

On Monday afternoon, Nick called Kate to tell her the news, “Kate, I made a statement to the press about Uncle Allan so everyone will know soon enough. You can tell whomever you like.”

“Nick, I’m so sorry about all of this. What have you been doing today?”

“Mostly going through my uncle’s things and planning his funeral.”

“Let’s have dinner later.” Kate surprised herself with the invitation, but she didn’t want Nick to be alone.

“Sure, I’d love to.” Nick said. “Come by my uncle’s apartment whenever you’re finished with work. I’ll be here.”

Kate put her phone down, he’ll be there, in Allan’s apartment all alone and going through his things. Suddenly Kate felt so sad.

The news of Allan’s death swept through MD. Her office had seen almost non-stop traffic with co-workers wanting to tell her how sorry they were to hear about Allan and what a great talent he was. Too bad he never wrote again. Kate agreed it was a terrible loss. When she walked past Edward’s office on her way to the kitchen, she heard him telling his assistant to make sure the warehouse had copies of Allan’s book. There was sure to be a run of book orders. Kate shook her head. Always the sale. Never forget the sale. Death and controversy are always good for book sales. Let no opportunity go to waste.

Celeb death? Let’s publish a book!

Writer death? Let’s print more copies!

Kate’s phone buzzed. She reached into the pocket of her jacket as she walked into the kitchen. “Hey Mac….”

“Katie, I just heard about Allan. I’m so sorry. I’ll be back tonight, why don’t I come over?”

“I’m having dinner with Nick, Allan’s nephew.” Kate’s voice was flat, she wanted to see Mac.

“Can you drop by after?” The concern in Mac’s voice was evident.

“Sure.” Kate said in a low voice, “I’ll let you know when we’re done.”

When Kate arrived at Allan’s apartment, she found Nick knee-deep in papers and boxes. The door was ajar and Kate pushed it open.

“Hi Nick.”

He turned to look at her and smiled. He looked tired, she thought. Suddenly she was glad she came. All alone in this sometimes unforgiving city and a dead relative, it must be so hard. Kate walked over to where Nick sat and rested a hand on his shoulder,

“How are you holding up?”

“I didn’t sleep much—spent much of the day here yesterday and much of the night.”

Kate knelt down, “He sure had a lot of stuff, didn’t he?”

“I don’t even know where to begin; I am finding receipts that date back to 1969.” Nick took a handful of small pieces of paper out of a box. They were worn and yellowing.

Kate nodded, “Allan hated to throw anything away.”

“I have a call into his lawyer to see about a will, I hope he had one or this will be a mess. Allan has one other living cousin and that’s it. Other than me, the Lavignes are all gone. I can’t locate him though, no telling where he is.”

“But you’re the only relative Allan had contact with, right? So there should be no question.”

“It’s complicated, Kate. He gets royalty checks from his publisher, he owned this apartment. Lots of pieces. Lots of accounting.”

“Let me take you to dinner. I think you need to give this a rest for now.” Kate replaced the lid on the banker’s box Nick had been organizing.

“I need to plan his funeral,” he said. “I’m really going to miss him.”

“So am I. Come on, let’s talk about this over dinner.”

Kate took Nick to Eataly. It was bright and lively, perfect to help lighten Nick’s mood, even if only slightly. They grabbed a table in the seafood section.

Kate ordered a Merlot, Nick ordered organic tea. Suddenly Kate felt like some heathen. Here she was with the guru of health, ordering wine.

“Red wine is really good for you.” Nick said, as if reading her mind, “People often wonder what they should eat around me.” he smiled, it was the first time she’d seen him smile in two days, “It’s ok, I won’t judge.”

Kate smiled back, she liked Nick. She wished they’d met under better circumstances.

After dinner, Kate walked with Nick back to his hotel, which was right across the street from Bryant Park.

“Kate, there’s a bar in the hotel, can I buy you a nightcap?”

“Sure,” she smiled, “I just need to send a quick message to someone.”

Nick’s curiosity was piqued, “You have someone waiting for you?”

“No,” Kate lied, “just an editor who wanted to do a late call about a book launch we have on January third, but we can do this in the morning.”

“Look, I don’t want to keep you from…”

“It’s fine,” she interrupted, texting Mac,
running late, I’ll see you in the morning.
She didn’t wait for his reply. She wanted to see him, but she didn’t have the heart to leave Nick.

When Kate got home later that night, she called Mac.

“I want to see you,” he said.

“Mac, it’s late, really it’s fine.”

“Kate, you just lost a dear friend. I don’t have to stay the night; I just want to see you.” Reluctantly she agreed and Mac clicked off.

When he arrived, she fell into his arms. He held her and let her cry. They sat on the couch and she told Mac about Allan, things Mac never knew. Kate pulled out some pictures, taken at the Bronx Zoo on one of the rare times when she was able to get him out of his apartment.

“I’m so sorry, Katie.” Mac brushed a lock of hair from her check.

She sighed, “I am, too.”

Mac’s lips touched her and he kissed her softly. Her lips tasted salty and sweet to him. He had thought of her the entire time he’d been away. Thinking of her, wanting her. His kiss grew more intense and Kate threw her arms around his neck.

“Make love to me,” she whispered.

He carried her to her room and made love to her all night.