Unleash Me, Vol. 2 (Unleash Me, Annihilate Me Series) (11 page)

Without a word, Beatrice stalked away.
 
When she was out of earshot, Iris
Masterson gave me a weary look and we moved into her office.
 
“
Be
careful of that one,
”
she
said as she sat behind her desk and motioned to the chair opposite it.
 
“
It
’
s probably unfair of me to
poison your mind so soon, but the devil just left us.
”

I decided at once that I liked Iris.

“
I
’
m sorry that you
’
re ill,
”
I said.
 
“
Should
we reschedule?
”

“
Only if you
feel worried that you might die should you come too close to me.
”

“
I
’
ll be fine.
”

“
Good,
”
she said.
 
“
Now,
look
—
I
’
ve read your book.
 
It
’
s super.
 
I
loved it.
 
And that
’
s not some canned response
somebody told me to feed to you because of your dealings with Marco Boss.
”

“
You read it
so soon?
”

“
Actually, I
was going to acquire it myself, but Boss beat me to it.
 
So, yes, I have read it.
 
I re-read parts of it this morning when
I went over it with Barbara.
 
Does
your novel need a bit of work?
 
It
does.
 
Does it need an entire
overhaul?
 
God, no.
 
All we need to do is tweak a few things,
strengthen a few characters, clean up a few redundancies, sharpen some of the
dialogue, offer a bit of clarity here and there, that sort of thing.
 
Otherwise, as far as I
’
m concerned, we already
have a fine novel here.
 
I expect
that the work we need to do will take no longer than a week or so.
”
 

She grabbed a Kleenex from a box on her desk and dabbed at her
nose.
 
“
Honestly, I don
’
t
know what all of the fuss was about?
 
Marco always has been difficult
—
that
’
s just who he is.
 
A know-it-all.
 
And frankly, a bastard to his core.
”

“
I want to be
up front with you
—
I
know my book is far from perfect.
 
I
welcome your help.
 
Did I disagree
with Marco Boss
’
radical
changes?
 
Sure, I did.
 
He wanted to go for the zombie clich
é
, which is not what my
book is about.
 
It
’
s about reimagining the
genre, and trying something new.
 
New frightens people in this business.
 
I get it.
 
That
’
s why I chose self-publishing first.
 
The book was a bestseller for a reason
—
I think that people
crave something new.
”

“
But with a
whiff of the familiar
…
.
”

“
Exactly.
”

“
So, look,
”
she said, glancing around
her office.
 
“
I
’
m
not going to keep you in this Petrie dish any longer
—
I can
’
t
have you getting sick on me.
 
We
have too much work to do.
 
So, how
about this?
 
The moment you leave, I
’
m going to start to go
through your book and will begin sending you suggestions via email.
 
We
’
ll start a conversation, and will come to an agreement
on the changes I suggest.
 
Then, you
can work on that portion of the book.
 
This way
—
unless
I somehow manage to give your computer a virus, which is possible given the
severity of my symptoms
—
you
should retain your health.
 
Does
that work for you?
”

“
It sounds
perfect.
 
You have my email address?
”

“
I do.
”

“
Then I
’
m ready to work.
 
Let me get home and we
’
ll dig in.
”

“
If I can
somehow rid myself of this disease, I think we
’
re going to work well together, Lisa,
”
she said.
 
“
And
by the way, I saw that ad of yours in the
Times
.
 
I understand that a certain person may
have flipped out about how you were styled
—
but whatever.
 
I, for one, rather liked the diamonds on
your lips.
 
You looked fresh,
exciting, cutting-edge.
 
Blackwell
was right, as she generally is.
 
By
drawing attention to you, she drew attention to your book.
 
And she
’
ll continue to do that for you.
 
Wenn has made a major investment in you
—
we can
’
t lose on that
investment.
 
So.
 
Now that the wicked witch is dead, we
’
ll craft a fine book
together.
”

“
The wicked
witch?
”

“
Oh, come on,
”
she said with a leveling
glance.
 
“
You know exactly who I
’
m talking about
—
that
son-of-a-bitch Marco Boss.
”

*
 
*
 
*

“
I love her,
”
I said to Blackwell when
I entered her office.

“
I thought
that you would.
 
Iris is an
eccentric and she dresses like a man, which makes my Diors want to curl up and
die, but she
’
s very
smart, very shrewd, and a prized editor.
 
She also has a wicked sense of humor that can be surprisingly
cutting.
 
Thus my further admiration
of her.
 
You
’
ll get no bullshit from her, but she
’
s a workhorse, so you
’
ll need to keep up.
”

“
Thank you for
making this happen.
”

“
Thank
Iris.
 
Marco beat her to the punch
when it came to acquiring your book, and that frustrated the hell out of her
—
she wanted it very
badly for herself, but lost out.
 
Now she has it, and I know for a fact that she
’
s thrilled that she does.
 
Let
’
s consider this a win-win.
”
 
She
reached into her glass of ice and popped a cube into her mouth.
 
“
Want
to hear about another win?
”

“
Another win?
”
I asked.

“
That
’
s right.
”

“
What win?
”

“
Alex has been
in contact with Julian West.
”

I sat down in the chair opposite her.
 
“
When?
 
They haven
’
t even landed yet.
”

“
Do you really
think that Alex can
’
t
make calls from the air?
 
Come on,
Lisa.
 
They spoke this morning.
”

She crunched hard on the ice in her mouth.
 
I just stared at her.

“
Gird your
loins, girl, because the deal went through.
 
West has optioned your book for one
million dollars
—
and
that
’
s just for the
option.
 
There will be more to come
later.
 
Your book is about to become
a movie.
”

“
Oh, my God.
”

“
You
’
ll need to sign papers, of
course
—
they
’
re being drawn up as we
speak.
 
I expect them to arrive in
the next week or so.
 
And then we
’
ll have a deal.
”

“
I can
’
t believe this.
 
Julian West is going to direct a movie
based on one of my books.
”

“
Potentially
direct.
 
It
’
s just an option
—
now he needs to find financing, which can be a
challenge.
 
But let
’
s face it
—
with that kind of
money tossed onto the table, he already knows he
’
ll have no issues.
 
So, congratulations.
 
After a
morning that nearly drowned us in a sea of ugliness, we have this to celebrate.
”

“
I wish Tank
were here so we could celebrate with him.
 
And Jennifer and Alex.
 
Without you, I
’
m
alone here.
”

“
Then how
about if you and I go out for a cocktail tonight?
”

“
Really?
”

“
Of
course.
 
Why not?
 
Meet me at the Waldorf at eight.
 
Peacock Alley Bar.
 
Have you been?
 
No?
 
It
’
s just been
through a major restoration, and I hear it
’
s beyond.
 
You deserve to have your celebration
—
so let
’
s
make certain you have one.
”

“
Perfect.
 
And who knows
—
maybe we will find you a man.
”

“
Oh,
please.
 
At this point in my life, I
prefer to be manless.
 
Certain
drives aren
’
t what
they used to be
—
they
galloped away years ago.
 
Now,
listen to me.
 
When you sign papers
for the film option, Wenn will issue a press release, as will West and whatever
studio he
’
s working
with.
 
I believe it
’
s Paramount.
 
At that point, expect interest in you to
heighten.
 
The Wenn Publicity
machine will crank up, and secure interviews with all the major newspapers and
magazines.
 
We
’
ve only just started to
build interest in you and your book.
 
The ad in the
Times
and the billboard in Times Square is nothing
compared to what you
’
re
about to face.
 
You need to know
that.
”

“
I don
’
t know how comfortable I
am with all of this attention,
”
I said.

“
Then, my
dear, I
’
m afraid you
chose the wrong profession.
 
Because
this is part of what it really means to be a best-selling author.
 
Will you survive it?
 
Of course you will.
 
You have me and all of your friends
looking out for your best interests.
 
Will it feel strange to put yourself out there to so many people?
 
Absolutely.
 
But this is business.
 
And to get your business off the ground
in a major way, this is what it takes.
 
Again, you won
’
t
be alone.
 
You
’
ll have Bernie and me
there to style you, and there are professionals here at Wenn who will coach you
on how to give an excellent interview, whether on camera or off.
”

“
On camera?
”

“
Well,
yes.
 
Don
’
t you see?
 
Within a few weeks, you
’
re
going to be a household name.
”

CHAPTER
EIGHT

The next week was so busy, it passed in a blur, but not an unpleasant
one.
 

It was, in fact, one of the best, most productive weeks of my life,
which was good because I was beginning to miss Tank to the point that it was
ridiculous.
 
We talked each morning
when I woke up, and each night before I went to bed
—
and we Skyped as often as our schedules would
allow us to.