I must have reached for my phone a hundred times. The last time I threw it hard against the stone fireplace, and it shattered into a million pieces. One problem solved. At least, it had been for the rest of the weekend.
The more I thought about the situation the more furious I became. I was mad at Gloria, but I was hurt that Addison doubted me. I was thankful for the anger because it lessened the hurt. I just wanted to get this whole thing resolved and move on.
Jefferson had asked me to meet him at his office and as much as I wanted to speak with him, I was on Sixth Avenue pulling up in front of the Simon & Schuster building. I needed to see my editor, first, so I could appraise my brother of my contractual obligations with my publisher.
I got out of bed at 4 AM, and too anxious to eat, ran five miles on my treadmill, then dressed and showered early. I’d turned on the TV to the business network and waited miserably as the seconds slowly ticked past until I could leave. I’d called a car service because I didn’t feel like fighting to hail a cab on a busy Monday morning. I told the driver to put the fare and his tip on my bill, thanked him, and got out of the car.
I was wearing a three-piece Dior suit in black, a crisp white shirt and black, grey and white tie in a small pattern. It was like armor. I didn’t want to appear rattled or perturbed in any way. I didn’t want to appear accusatory to Marcia, because it was probably all Gloria’s scheme, and I needed Marcia and Simon & Schuster to help me fix it. Hopefully, I wouldn’t have to go to court.
Within minutes, I was waiting in the reception area. It was only a short time more before I was ushered into my editor’s big office. It was lined with black mahogany bookshelves stuffed with the company’s bestsellers. I knew Twenty-four of my books sat grouped together, front and center, but my focus was on the elegant older woman who was rising from her desk to greet me.
“Jaxon! What a pleasant surprise! I wasn’t expecting you today. Do you want to discuss the edits I sent over?” Her face was beaming, and her arms were open as she approached me for a hug. Her perfectly coiffed silver hair was swept off her face into a chic chignon at the back of her head. Her dark plum suit was simple and paired with nude pumps. She was probably in her mid-sixties, but she was still attractive and held herself with the air of someone who had earned her success. “I absolutely love this book!”
“Hello, Marcia,” I murmured, returning the embrace and kissed her cheek. “No,” I said, unbuttoning the jacket of my suit and taking a seat in one of the plus upholstered chairs in front of her huge, but very messy desk. The building was old but the ceilings in her office were high and the windows adorned with ivory and black striped linen. The wood was black mahogany and the upholstered pieces were shades of ivory and white. Very classy.
“Can I get you some coffee or something else to drink?”
I shook my head. “No thank you, Marcia. I’m here because the book Gloria submitted was not my manuscript.”
Marcia’s brow furrowed into a deep frown as she retook her seat behind the desk. “What? I don’t understand.”
How much of this fucked up story should I tell her, I wondered? I needed resolution, but should I share the personal stuff? In a split second, I decided not to.
“It’s one of my student’s writing. Addison Tomms. She is particularly gifted, and Gloria must have sent it over because I was suffering with writer’s block, and she knew you were getting anxious for something from me. I didn’t know she was going to do it, or I would have refused.”
Marcia inhaled so hard, I could see her chest rise and fall. “Well, we can substitute with your book, but I need it right away. Is it finished?”
I shook my head in denial. “Unfortunately, no.” I put my hands up when her expression turned sour. “I’m making good progress, but I won’t have it done for Spring publication. We didn’t have a contract for a new book, Marcia. How could it be on the schedule?” I kept my voice measured even though I was ready to shout my displeasure.
“We do, Jax. I have a copy of it in the file here, as well as the original down in legal.” She noted how my lips pressed together acrimoniously. She threw up her hands. “I don’t know what you want me to do, Jax. Gloria sent the contract over in early September, though I just got the manuscript. Did your student sign a ghostwriter contract with Gloria? Otherwise, how could she do this?”
I ran a hand through my gelled hair and probably left it a mess. Gloria sent Marcia a fake contract after I refused to sign one. That explained her insistent hounding about my book. She was already committed to the lie and must have been desperate. Then, I gave her a gift when I dropped Addison in her lap. I felt like I could crawl out of my skin. I was so fucking livid.
“I didn’t sign any contact about this new book, Marcia. I want the publishing stopped!” My voice took on a harsher tone. “Either that or use the real author’s name!”
The woman looked shocked, then got up and went to a tall file cabinet in one corner of her office. She opened it, ruffled through some files and pulled out a document. She turned, then spoke. She was speaking as she flipped through several stapled pages. She looked up, holding it out to me. “It sure looks like your signature.”
“Well, it’s not,” I huffed, looking at it myself. I had to hand it to Gloria, she had my scrawl down perfectly. I could barely tell it wasn’t my handwriting.
That bitch, Gloria! My mind railed. I should never have trusted her. What happened to make her turn on me in this way?
Marcia resumed her seat. “What are you saying, it’s fake?”
I nodded, then flung myself back in the seat after I laid the offending paper on the edge of her desk. “Yes, but it’s a damn good forgery.”
“Shit. This is a problem, Jaxon. It’s already on the schedule to publish late Spring. I can’t stop it at this point. The release date has been set and we’ve already started promoting it. We’re already behind schedule, but the wheels are moving. Marketing is working their tails off to set up promotional tours and TV appearances. Creative has already sent me three drafts for the cover. The press time and distribution channels are all scheduled… and we’ve already pre-sold a few million copies to our vendors, Jax. The brick and mortars have reserved shelf space. We’ll lose millions on this if we pull it. Unless you can submit your manuscript now, I might be able to sub it.”
“It’s not ready,” I admitted.
“I don’t know what to do, then. I want to help you, but we have a contract with Bloom and Wandough, as well as you, personally, Jaxon. If Gloria can produce a signed contract from the young woman, our attorneys and my publisher, will not allow me to break it, even if I wanted to, personally.”
She was giving voice to everything I’d already told myself. I sighed heavily. “Oh, fuck!” I exclaimed in defeat.
Realization dawned on her face. “I take it she can, then?”
“Gloria said so, yes,” I said. “However, I haven’t seen it. My brother is representing Addison, so he’ll try to find a way out.”
Marcia looked concerned. “Wait, Jaxon. Maybe we can work something out. Litigation makes it messy for everyone, and S & S can’t afford all this negative publicity. We’re already fighting against the self-publishing revolution, and God knows, I don’t need this to blow up in my face.”