by Kahlen Aymes
I inhaled deeply and scratched my chest and stomach, which had started to grumble, hungrily. I pushed away from the desk and went in search of something to eat.
Addison would understand the missed chat. Writers always understood other authors and the way the single-minded focus was sometimes the only way to get a story out. Word vomit on the page in furious keystrokes, then there would be the rounds and rounds of edits, but hey, at least it was something. I might still miss the deadline but at least Gloria and Marcia would stop riding me so hard.
I set the coffee down on the counter and opened the drawer where I kept the bread and proceeded to pull out the toaster. I rubbed a hand down over my face as I waited for it to toast to finish. I felt scruffy and dirty; I needed a shower before I could call my girl.
I pulled out my phone deciding to sate my need for contact with a text for now.
Sorry for not getting online last night as planned, but I got two chapters done!
Are you proud of me?
I buttered the toast and smeared strawberry jam on the top, taking a big bite that composed of half of it on my way to the bedroom. It had to be the best damn tasting toast I’d had in years. I glanced at the rumpled bed, left as it had been since yesterday morning. The bright blue sky was visible through the lead paned windows. The cabin was old, rustic and sort of small, but I loved it. The weather looked crisp and I decided after my shower I’d get in a walk to clear my head before I got back to the book. Addison would have class all day so I wouldn’t be able to call her until that evening anyway, so I’d get in another good day.
I was happy. I was looking forward to the holidays spend cooped up right here with Addison, pleased with my progress on my book and in general, in a good place. Being without her these past weeks had only made it clear that I wanted her around. Every day. Forever.
It was a startling realization for a guy who was completely satisfied being alone, playing the field, screwing around. Only now…. I wasn’t. I wanted nothing more than to smell her skin, kiss her mouth, wake up with her… it all seemed so easy. Jefferson would no doubt call me pussy whipped, and if this was how that felt, I could think of worse things.
I chuckled happily, shoving the remainder of the toast into my mouth and chewing with gusto; at the same time pulling off the T-shirt and boxer briefs and dropping them carelessly on the ceramic tile of the bathroom floor. I opened iTunes library on my phone, found my favorite rock playlist and cranked it up. Steam filled the small room a few minutes later when I stepped under the hot water. I loved this place much more than the bustle of Manhattan. I didn’t need all of the glitter and chrome, a thousand cabs per block seemed ostentatious and unnecessary. I wanted a simpler, slower existence. I pictured lazy mornings with pancakes and coffee, maybe I’d get a dog, and Addison and I could write from the Smokey’s. I’d keep my apartment and we could commute to the city once or twice a year. Perhaps I could even teach my class online. Maybe we’d travel the world and later get hitched and have a couple of kids. It sounded completely amazing to me. I grinned again, shocked at the direction of my own thoughts as I quickly soaped my body and hair. Who knew I could feel like this?
Whatever, I shrugged. It would work out. I was in no hurry. Addison was so young and even though I was ten years older than her, we had the rest of our lives.
Out of the shower, I quickly dressed in fresh jeans and a long-sleeved gray Henley, brushed my teeth and combed my hair, adding just a little gel to keep it from falling onto my forehead throughout the day. I pulled on some thermal socks and went to find my hiking boots, glancing at the phone screen on the way to where I’d left them by the front door to the cabin.
Nothing from Addison yet. I sighed. I knew she was in class, but selfishly, I’d hoped she’d snuck a response in, even during class.
I shoved it in my back pocket and proceeded to grab the boots, then move to sit on the sofa where I shoved in my feet and laced them up.
Ping.
I smiled, as I finished tying up the last boot, anxious to read the message that had just been signaled.
I pulled out the phone, but stopped when I saw it was from Luke, not Addison.
I know you’re my boss and you can fire me if you want; you can even ruin my future career, but I just have to say this.
What you did to Addy was seriously fucked up.
I frowned and opened the message, hitting video chat immediately. The seconds that ticked by as I waited for Luke to answer felt like fucking years.
What in the hell was he talking about?
“Come on. Pick up!” I held the phone in front of me as I waited for his face to appear. “Come on you little mother fucker. You don’t drop a bomb like that and then pussy out,” I muttered.
Luke finally picked up and I could see the anger written all over him. He was sitting at my desk in my office, scowling into the phone.
“What’s this all about?” I asked impatiently, glowering back at him through the phone.
His expression filled with disgust. “Her book, you asshole,” Luke spat.
I was taken aback. “Woah. Explain yourself.” My voice was deadly calm, but stern. “Right God damn now!”
He shook his head and huffed. “You stole her fucking book! Don’t act like you don’t know!” His tone took on a higher pitch for his rebuke.
I paused as the implication hit me. How did Luke even know she was writing a book?
“What book?” I tried to play it cool until I knew what she’d told him.
“Uncontrollable Love! Ring a bell?” he asked, sarcasm dripping from every syllable. “Oh, maybe you’d recognize it better as just ‘Uncontrollable’, huh?”
I sat back on the couch and shook my head. “I have no clue what you’re talking about, Luke, but I do know you’re on thin ass ice! What exactly are you accusing me of?”
“I saw it, okay? More importantly, Addy saw it! How could you do that to her? She’s so amazing.” He shook his head, seemingly pained. “She worships you and you fucked her over.”
Jealousy and anger flared. He seemed awfully familiar with Addison, for my liking. “Saw what?”
“The first round of edits from your editor at Simon & Schuster!”
I blinked; confused. If the first-round edits came back that meant that Gloria submitted it after all, though I was curious how Luke knew about any of it. I shook my head. “That’s impossible. I didn’t give them any pages yet.”
“Not yours, maybe,” he spat.
Maybe he was upset that I was helping her and not him, but it was none of his goddamned business. “Just what are you accusing me of?” I growled, losing my temper.
“Her manuscript,” he began.
“So, what about it? I saw something amazing in her writing. It’s Addison’s dream to get published and I asked Gloria to pitch her book. You know how talented she is.”
I was indignant that I had to explain myself to this boy who worked for me but tried to brush it off.
“No shit. How could you take credit for her work? How could you do that?”
Wait. What?
“I haven’t,” I shook my head, disbelieving. “I didn’t.”
“Yeah, then why did Marcia what’s her name send a copy here. We saw the cover page. You were listed as author, not Addy.”
I inhaled, frowning. “It’s got to be an error, nothing more,” I dismissed.
“The copyright page had your name on it, as well. Was that a mistake, too?” he accused.
Now I was pissed. “First of all, it’s not your goddamned business. Second of all, you are supposed to forward my mail, not fucking go through it!” I yelled. Heat was starting to infuse underneath the skin on my face and I knew I was flushed. “Did you convince Addison this was intentional?” I jumped up and grabbed my keys and coat. Obviously, I had to get back to the city.
“I didn’t convince her of anything. I didn’t have to! She saw it for herself.”
Panic seized my heart. So, this was why she hadn’t ret
urned my message. “Well, it’s a mistake and not your business so I’d suggest you do your job as my T.A. and stay out of this. It’s between Addison and me.” I slammed the door to the cabin shut behind me and turned to lock it.
My mind reeled as I slid behind the wheel of the rented SUV, throwing the phone on the passenger seat. “It’s a misunderstanding. Gloria must have submitted her manuscript and there was a miscommunication about credit.”
“How convenient,” Luke spat.
“What is your fucking problem?” I turned on the engine and tore down the gravel road toward Knoxville. “I’m on my way back right now. I’ll get everything situated. This is a mistake, nothing more. You should be happy for Addison. She’s going to be a bestseller. And, if you value your job and future in publishing, I’d suggest you reign in the attitude.” My tone was stone cold. “I’ve had enough of your insubordination.”
The next time he spoke his tone was reticent. “I-I’am sorry, Professor. It just seemed like you were taking credit for her. I know you’ve had writer’s block, and I thought—.”
I wondered how he knew that considering, I didn’t share that with my students. Only with my agent, publisher and girlfriend.
I huffed angrily. How much of our relationship did Addison share with this little dick? I wondered.
“Yeah, well you shouldn’t assume the worst of people. It gets you in trouble. We will discuss your behavior when I get back to the city. In the meantime, stop ramping up rumors about things you don’t know dick about and do the job I’ve assigned! And don’t speak to Addison about this. Give me some time to straighten it out, then I’ll talk to her.”
I ended the call abruptly with an angry huff. My heart was beating a hundred miles per hour. The dirt and gravel roads were snow covered lined by frosted evergreens on both sides. The scenery was beautiful but all I could see was red. I was livid.
I didn’t know if I was more upset at the error, or at Addison and Luke for assuming I was such a son of a bitch to steal Addison’s manuscript out from underneath her. Gloria could call my editor and straighten this all out, I was sure, but I needed to speak to Addison. Sure, I was mad that she doubted me, but she was young, and the publishing world could be vicious. I’d told Luke to back off of her, but I had to tell her that I would figure it out and set things right.
I had more than an hour and a half in front of me and it would feel like forever. There was no way I could wait to clear this up with her. I only hoped I didn’t lose the cell signal. “Siri, call Addison.”
“Calling Addison,” the voice responded.
There was barely a ring when it went directly to voice mail. Clearly, she assumed the worst. My mind was racing; what was going on between her and Luke? Was she so naive that she’d fall into the arms of another man the minute my back was turned?
How could she believe I’d steal credit for her book? I wanted to help her so much that I’d blown off my own book and the relationship with the publisher. She knew that. We spent all of our free time together. Obviously, we weren’t as solid as I thought.
My hand slammed down on the steering wheel in sheer frustration.
“Fuuuuuuccccck!” I yelled into the inside of the vehicle. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
Suddenly, the car hit a pothole and veered to one side, sliding on the packed ice and snow until it came to a hard stop with two wheels in the ditch. The cabin was in a remote part of the mountains and there wasn’t any other traffic on the road, so I didn’t hit anyone, but as I tried to put the car in reverse and back out of the ditch so I could continue on my way, it became clear the vehicle was stuck.
I slammed the transmission forward and gunned it, then reverse and gunned it again, trying to rick free of the snow that the wheels were buried in. The more I tried, the worse it became as the ice and snow held no traction.
Could this happen at a worse time?
“Fuuuuuuccccck!” I yelled again. My chest was heaving in frustration and I closed my eyes. I wondered if there was any way to get out of this damn ditch on my own. I realized I had nothing with me. No gloves and nothing to dig with. I put a hand over my face. Well, nothing to do but deal with it.
I unbuckled my seat belt and tried to shove open the driver’s side door and get out, but the snowbank I was half buried in was holding it closed. I climbed over the console and into the passenger’s side and rolled down the window; sticking my head out and looked down to appraise the situation. The snow on the passenger side was even deeper. It was cold as hell. Thankfully, I had a full tank of gas.
Resigned, I pushed the button to raise the electric window and searched for my phone. I fumbled around and finally found it resting between the door and the seat.
An few minutes and more irritation later, a tow truck was on the way. AAA had some bullshit rule about not covering breakdowns on non-paved roads. What the hell were they good for, then, I considered, annoyed. Seriously, the breakdowns out in the fucking boondocks were when you needed them the most. I had to agree to pay for service, but they were sending someone out pull me out of the ditch and get me on my way again, but I was told it could take up to two hours before service would arrive. I made a mental note to cancel the service once I made it back to civilization.
I tried calling Addison again with the same result. Straight to voicemail.
Sitting out in the middle of nowhere, seemingly helpless to straighten things out, my own chagrin was growing. How in the hell could Addison doubt me? I’d just been considering our future together, and she doubted me at the first opportunity.
I was angry, sure, but I was also hurt. It was an unfamiliar feeling and I hated it. One thing was certain, I had to get to the bottom of it. My mind was literally burning the inside of my skull. There was only one logical explanation how something this underhanded could happen and she was about five six and always decked out in black.
“Siri, call Gloria Sussex,” I commanded.
“Bloom and Wandough,” the crisp female voice on the other end answered. I recognized her immediately.
“Stella, this is Jaxon Michaels. Is Gloria in?”
“She is, but she’s with a client, Jax.”
“Well, when she’s free, please have her call me immediately.”
“Of course. Is there anything specific I should leave for a message?”
“Just that I’m coming back into the city and I’d like to meet with her immediately.” My voice was cryptic and impatient.
“No problem. How’s the writing coming?” Stella asked innocently.
Undoubtedly, Gloria would keep any of her devious schemes to herself because Stella was just her receptionist; not even a junior agent so she’d more than likely be kept completely in the dark. I didn’t like that I doubted Gloria, but the hell was I supposed to think?
“It’s going well,” I said with a sigh. I didn’t want to make small talk, I just wanted to get to the bottom of whatever this was.
“That’s great! Gloria will be very happy!” Her enthusiasm was not dampened by cynicism, but then she’d only worked with Gloria for about a year. There was plenty of time for her to be corrupted, I thought ruefully.
“I’ll talk to her about it when I get back. What does her schedule look like, later?”
“Um…” she said as I heard her fingernails click away at her keyboard. “It’s full until after six, but I don’t know if she’ll take another meeting after that.”
I glanced at the clock on the dashboard of the rental. The time I had to wait for the auto service to arrive was almost up. I mentally calculated how long it would take me to get back. “Tell her I want to meet her at 8 PM.”
“I’ll ask, sir.’
I interrupted. “Just tell her it’s important. It’s about my book, and I won’t take no for an answer. She’s used to that.” I tried to chuckle to get Stella on board.
“Okay, I’ll do that. Where should I say to meet you?”
“Shorty’s. We’ll grab a burger and a beer.” Depending on what G
loria’s response was, I night need something stronger, but I’d deal with that when I saw her.
“No problem. If she can’t make it, one of us will call back. Have a great rest of your day.”
“You, too,” I said, and then rang off, finalizing my game plan in my mind.
First, I’d go by the office and see if I could get a copy of whatever was sent there, before my meeting with Gloria and then, depending on the outcome of that, I’d see my editor tomorrow. I ran an impatient hand through my hair. How could this happen? I clenched my teeth and my lower jaw jutted out. I could feel the angry muscle moving inside it. I shot off a text to Luke.
I’m coming to my office to get whatever it is you and Addison saw. Either be there with it or leave it on top of my desk.
It only took a couple of seconds for his response to land on my screen.
I can’t. I don’t have it. Addy took it with her.
“That’s just fucking great,” I mumbled to myself. “Of course not!” The day was getting worse by the second.
I’d told Luke it was a mistake, but my gut burned with the suspicion that is was deliberately submitted to the publisher under my name. Gloria was not above doing something so devious, only what did she expect me to do when I found out? I had to get to the truth before I called my editor and straightened this whole mess out. I’d give Gloria the benefit of the doubt, but I couldn’t wait to confront her. I’d be able to tell if she was lying. We’d been through too much for me not to be able to read her.
Yellow flashing lights appeared on the horizon.
“Thank God,” I said, shoving my phone back into my pocket. I forgot about the snow holding the door closed for a moment and tried to get out of the SUV, again. The door jammed as before. “Open, you bitch!” I yelled.
It seemed like forever as the tow truck in the distance came slowly closer, until it stopped in front of my vehicle. The driver cautiously pulled up, backed away and turned the tow truck around aligning the back of it with the front of the SUV. He hopped out of the cab and made his way around to the driver’s side door. I rolled the window halfway down.
