The Unexpected Life of Carnegie Lane (6 page)

“Nate we have to go now! This is a live interview, it waits for no-one.”

Once again, he was in a car on the way to a studio somewhere in a foreign country, every moment of every day seemed as demanding as the last. As much as he loved his life, Nate Bowman was tired.

Lying on her bed that night, Katalie settled in and began reading. Before long, she forgot she was reading with a discerning eye. She got lost in the story, that reminded her so much of her brother it was almost uncanny. Yet, strangely it wasn’t about him, or not really, it was more of a feeling that swept over her, not a memory. It was as if…it had been planned that way, yet at the same time, there was no way it could have been.

There was one thing she was sure of, this story was extremely marketable. She already had in her mind three or four publishers that would fall all over it. Even though she didn’t have to keep reading, she continued to do so long into the night. The next morning she piled it all together, cursing her brother for moving pages and creasing the bio as much as he had done, and she took the manuscript to work.

She knocked on the door of her boss, Ross Hartman. Ross was in charge of further selections, he had been an editor with a major newspaper for years, and had settled into the world of novels as easily as a surfboard takes to water. Although he was firm and often ruthless in his judgment, he also had a soft spot and listened when his team came to him with a favorite. Usually lost in a stack of many, the manuscripts would be placed in a pile on his ‘to do’ tray and he would get to them when he could.

He looked up and smiled when he saw it was Kat. Everyone had a soft spot for her. She was likable and diligent. It was also rare that she bothered anyone with anything that was unimportant. If Kat Bowman was knocking, it was something he wanted to hear.

“Can I have a moment Ross?” She enquired politely.

“Always.” He replied gesturing the chair opposite him with his hand. “Want me to get coffee?”

“Yep, great idea. I really need to talk to you.” She seemed a little nervous. He hoped that she wasn’t putting in her resignation and he almost felt disappointed at the prospect.

“You’re not planning on leaving us are you?” He asked, half jokingly, half terrified.

“Not a chance.” She laughed back, happy that the air was clear. Ross’ secretary arrived with two coffees and some biscuits; she smiled at Kat before she left the room. They both sat there for a moment, sipping on their espressos.

Kat wasn’t sure how he would feel about the submission being missed and why, although, she had chosen to tell him the truth. There was a double edge as to why she would tell him everything. One, because she knew what she had in her hand was dynamite, and it was rare that she ever got to feel that way about something. Two, although he was her brother, Nate Bowman held credibility in her eyes.

This was one thing from
her
world he had been right about. She wasn’t sure how her boss would take it though, realizing that she had let her brother actually read a submission, before it had a confidentiality agreement attached. Although she had never in her life used her brothers’ fame to her advantage, she recognized that she could do it now. It would help her appease the fact it was missed, and also add emphasis to the fact it was good.

“I wanted to talk to you about this submission that came to me about two months ago, I haven’t submitted it to you yet for consideration, and I have a little explaining to do.” She sighed and readied herself.

“Go on.” Ross said, so far intrigued at her conversation entry.

“Well, as you know, Nate and the band were here not long ago, and well, the day I came into the office for the meeting, I left Nate at my place with a pile of manuscripts. I told him to have a quick look, not really thinking that he would really like the first one he looked at…but he did. He read it all the way through. It mesmerized him to the point of almost missing his plane to finish it.”

She did have his attention now, in more ways than one. Mostly so far for breaching the rules of the game and allowing someone outside the office to even see the manuscript in the first place. Although, he was sure it wasn’t why she was here….To convict herself.

“Anyway, I have taken the time to really read this one. Ross, it’s good. I mean…it is really good…and it’s got nothing to do with my brother liking it. He just got lucky when he picked it up in the first place.”

She carefully pushed the manuscript across the table to her boss. She had taken the time to sort it out and had it presented correctly and in the right format that she was used to, with the first three chapters and the synopsis and bio at the front, the rest at the back.

“What about the Author? What do you know about her?” he asked as he flipped through to the photograph.

“Only what it says on her bio. Mother of four from Australia, never written before in her life and loves The Cure. That’s about the sum of it. At least she is honest. There’s a photo somewhere, she looks fairly able to me.”

“Yeah, I see the photo…and you read this? All the way through?”

“Well, I’m about five chapters shy of the ending. I’m actually hoping that I can have it back for the night, just to finish it. I’m dying to know what happens.”

Ross laughed a little. “That good hey?”

“Yeah…it’s really good Ross. If I ever had a favor to ask, it’s that you take a look at this one, and do it soon. I’m not sure if she has sent this out to anyone else by now, but I’m convinced that this will be one of the
stand out’s
this year, and there are a lot of agents that would grab this and never let it go.” She took another sip of her coffee, although she couldn’t taste anything. She was numb.

“So, your opinion is that we should offer to be her agent on this?” Ross was playing with the idea to leave this one firmly in her hands. Kat had been working there for a while. So far, she had no portfolios that were managed entirely by her. If she wanted this one so badly, it was time to let her go for it, and see if she could pull it off.

“Yep, pretty much. I think I could make it work.”

“You know you shouldn’t have let your brother look at it, although in saying that, he may… and I stress
may
be the exception to the rule.”

“I know, look I’m sorry Ross, who would ever have thought for a moment that what he picked up would have been so good he couldn’t put it down. There were over twenty manuscripts on that table.”

“Do you think he would endorse the work if you asked him to?”

“I’m sure he would, although I would never ask that of him. In fact, I believe the work can stand alone, and endorsing it would take away the credibility of the Author. I think we should leave him out of it…for now.” That had been a trick question. He wanted to hear for himself if she planned on using her brother as a guide or if she had her own ideas, separate to him that involved this story. She passed the test.

“
You
…should leave him out of it.” Ross replied, as he handed the manuscript back to her.

“If it means that much to you, I think you should run with this one Kat. This can be your project. Take it back with my blessing, and try not to let
all
your friends read it before its bound.” He had a smile from ear to ear. This was exactly what she needed. Katalie Bowman had her first portfolio client.

“I won’t Ross, I promise.” She jumped up and almost ran out the door with that folder.

“Oh and Ross.” She said as she got to the door.

“Yes?” he asked playfully, looking up at her.

“Thank you!” She almost whispered, yet with the expression of a scream. She blew him a kiss than ran back down the hallway to her office. Once inside, she closed the door and she did a little dance.

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” She said loudly, over and over again.

Once she calmed down, she text her brother.

Nate. You were so right. That story is great.

And guess what! She’s just became my first

Official Client. I’m flying solo on this one.

Thanks for losing it in my car! I love you.

See you soon… Kat!

Nate read the text with a smile from ear to ear. He knew it was a good one. He was pleased for his sister, and really
really
pleased for Carnegie in a bizarrely affectionate way. He punched out a quick text back to her.

That is great news! You have great

taste. Can I tell her! Or do I have to

wait for you to do that.? <3 Nate

Kat opened her messages as soon as it came in. She was happy to have someone that could really share her excitement with. She read his text and nearly fell off her chair. She sent him a text straight back.

What do you mean you tell her!

Please tell me you haven’t contacted her.

And if you do tell me that, hear me now.

DON’T YOU DARE TELL HER! I’m

Typing up a letter to her right now!

<3 Kat.

Nate laughed when he got her message. He really did want to be the bearer of good news, although he would never steal his sisters’ thunder. He was going to send her an email though, just to keep the lines of communication open. In a strange way, he felt connected to Carnegie and right now, he wanted to get to know her a little more. She was in a way, his own personal discovery, someone who could eventually belong in his world without the myriad of questions and speculation. Someone he suspected he would enjoy having around, even if it was just for a phone call from a room after a show.

He wondered what she was doing right now, on the other side of the world. Suddenly he had an idea. Instead of sending her an email, he was going to give her a call. He looked at the time, it was 7.20 am on a Tuesday there. He still had forty five minutes till he went on television for his interview. Now was as good a time as any to call a stranger, and simply hear the voice on the other end of the phone.

Carnegie Lane was chasing her nine year old daughter around the kitchen with a hair brush at 7.20 that morning. Her son was carefully planning an attack that would upset the status quo, and her two oldest daughters were partially dressed, and watching the fracas with a degree of disgust.

She gave up on Sienna for a while, knowing she would concede defeat at some stage and continued to organize the lunches. Connor had settled down, enticed by breakfast and Olivia was going over her trial math’s exam in her head. No one really thought anything of it when the phone rang.

“Grab that Sienna, see who it is.” Carnegie said, without another thought.

Sienna picked up the phone, and began a conversation with a stranger.

“MUM IT’S FOR YOU!” She screamed out, not really caring that Carnegie was only about two feet away.

“Oh, who is it?” She huffed, almost perturbed that someone would call at this hour of the morning.

“Nate Bowman?” Sienna questioned, not recognizing the name. Then she added something.

“He talks funny.” Then she put the phone down next to her mother and ran off in the other direction.

The name had not gone unnoticed by the older two daughters. Nate Bowman, or at least someone with that name, was their idol, their hero, and in a fantasy way… ‘
The future father of their children
’. They stared at their mother as she picked up the phone, it was impossible to them that the person on the other end could be the one and the same Nate Bowman. Simply…impossible.

“Hello?” Carnegie said almost shyly as she began speaking.

“Hi, did I get you at a bad time?” Nate questioned, now feeling a little odd himself and wondering if it was such a good idea.

“Yeah, kind of, I’m trying to get kids off to school.”

“Ah, I remember those days.” He said reflectively, trying to start conversation.

“Do you have kids?” She asked, hoping for an ally.

“No, I had four sisters and brothers though, so I remember it well.” This made Carnegie laugh a little.