I was in the middle of posting a picture of my sheet music when Nicole Philips called. “Hey, Nicole. How are you?” I smiled against the phone.
“Xari! Hey! So, I wanted to tell you that you were a hit at the wedding. I have at least seven friends who want you at their parties. Can I give you their information or are you already booked?” My eyes saw nothing but dollar signs. If I did seven events at $300 an hour, I could pay off my consolidated card and work on paying off my car.
“No!” I blurted bouncing my knee up and down. “I’m not booked at all. If you wouldn’t mind sending them my information…”
“I’m doing it now girl. I’m at work anyway reading over all these author submissions.” She pushed out a long breath then laughed a little.
“You’re at work a week after your wedding? I thought you’d still be on your honeymoon.”
“We took a small honeymoon but I want to do it big when we go. I have some things to finish up here at work and so does Dame. I have to send out five dozen rejection letters to these authors and it never gets better.”
My ears buzzed at her words.
“Authors?”
“Yeah, I’m a literary agent. That’s how I met Dame. He kept submitting his manuscript over and over and I kept being the one to reject him. Finally, his agent reached out to me and explained that he wanted to get his book published traditionally. He didn’t want anything handed to him just because he was a basketball player.” Her laugh was soft.
“Oh my god, that’s so cute, Nicole.”
“Call me Nicki,” she said casually.
“So, Nicki you’re responsible for if books get accepted or rejected?”
“Yup. That’s me. The bad guy. I swear, we get so many submissions pouring in it feels like all I do is reject authors. Sometimes I forget that I also help my clients.”
“How many clients do you have?” I quizzed.
“Now? Only about four. I can handle six to ten at a time though.”
“If I had a secret author who wanted to know if his or her writing was good enough to get a deal, would you be able to give me some pointers to give them?”
“Sure. I need a break in the monotony. Can you send me the first three chapters of their manuscript? This isn’t for you is it?”
“No, not me,” I laughed. I grabbed Evander’s laptop and opened it. I already knew his password because I was nosey like that. I typed in Frankie’s birthday followed by her initials in all caps. “I’m sending it to you now.”
“Got it!” She chirped. I sent her the first three chapters of Evander’s book, A Heart’s Song. It was my favorite of his because the emotions melted off the page and into my heart. I felt like I was Riley.
“I’m going to take an hour for lunch and read over it then get back to you with some pointers.”
“Oh my god, thank you so much, Nicki.”
“Girl, no problem. After the way you came through for my wedding, I’m more than willing to lend a helping hand.” I thanked her again then ended the call with excitement humming through my veins. It was sweet and sharp like coffee.
I went back to Sunshine and began practicing. I got lost in the notes of Chopin for an hour when I decided to take a break. I looked at my phone and there were tons of notifications in my inbox. Nicole wasn’t lying when she said she’d sent my information to some of her friends. I had at least five inquiries about playing at various events for other ballers and their families.
My stomach fluttered and a smile inched across my face. I couldn’t wait to tell Evander. My fingers were hovering over his name when Nicki called me.
“Hey, what’s up?” I took the time to add hearts to Evander’s contact name in my phone. It was still DD but that first D had an entirely different meaning now.
“I read through the first three chapters over lunch and…”
“Oh god, it’s not bad is it?”
“Xari, I have one pointer for whoever wrote this. Be on the lookout for an acceptance letter in the mail from me because those three chapters were amazing. The writing is so clean, and it sucks you in immediately. It was such a breath of fresh air. Are you sure you didn’t write this?”
“I’m sure.” I blinked a few times then continued, “Wait so it’s good enough to be published?”
“I’m shocked it hasn’t been snapped up already. This is the kind of material we’re looking for. God, I haven’t been this excited to read something in a year or more. Do you have the rest of the manuscript? Is the author around? Can I talk to them?”
“Um…” I chuckled a little because I didn’t think it was possible to be caught off guard by someone who talked a lot. Usually, I was the one who caught people off guard.
“This person has no idea I sent you those chapters and when he or she finds out they’re probably going to be pissed.” I chewed on my bottom lip and pushed down the ball of nerves collecting in my throat.
“Ooh. Got it. Let’s do this…I’ll move ahead and submit my advance suggestion to my boss and see what she says. If the number looks as good as I think it will, I’ll send you the offer. That way when you talk to him or her you can also tell them how much we’re willing to pay.”
“To be honest, Nicki, it’s going to have to be a really nice number because this person already has a lucrative job. They also have notoriety, which is why I’m not telling you who it is.”
“I can bump up the offer based on name. Is it someone famous?” She quizzed.
“Not in a celebrity sense. He’s very well-known though. I’m not sure he’d want his name connected to his work because of what his job is.”
“Ooh, it’s a he. Is he a politician or a pastor maybe?”
“You’re close. So, you can see why I can’t give you his name.”
“Right. Let me see what I can do, Xari. I’m willing to make it work to get my hands on this client.”
“I’ll try on my end too. Thanks a lot.” I ended the call and looked at Evander’s laptop. It was time to push him towards what he loved.
…
TWENTY-THREE
“Senator Freeman, you have a visitor,” Navy’s voice was quiet when she called into my office.
“Okay,” I sighed. I minimized the window on my computer and pinched the bridge of my nose. Work was overwhelming. Everything was a fight and everyone was out for their own agenda. I could have made more of a difference being a community leader. “Navy, who is it?” I asked into the sleek black intercom system on my desk.
“Your father, Senator.”
My back went stiff and my hand dropped to my lap. Why the fuck was he here?
“Send him in, please.” I minimized everything on my screen that didn’t have to do with work. It felt like the principal was stopping by my classroom to check my progress.
I stood to my feet and smoothed out my shirt, then swept my eyes around the office to make sure everything was in its place. My father had a way of making off-hand remarks that cut fast and deep. I wanted to avoid those remarks as much as possible.
“Van, how are you son?” My father stood the same height as me with identical caramel skin and brown eyes. He had freckles scattered along his cheeks and strands of silver in his hair but those were the only indicators of his age. Otherwise, he looked like my twin.