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.”