“What is it?”
“I want to pay you, Simone said you’re charging her four hundred for her book, so I want to pay you the same.”
“No need. We already discussed this.” Although her offering is generous, I’m not going back on my word and taking her money now, regardless of the fact she’s a bestselling author now.
“Please, I really want to pay you.”
“No, consider it my Christmas present to you.”
“Then I’ll pay you for my next book. But you need to charge me five hundred for it.” I look at the phone like she’s crazy. Who does that? Insist on paying, and paying more than what has been asked of them.
“Just write the next book, and we’ll discuss it when it’s done,” I say. I won’t charge her five hundred, I’ll charge her what I charge everyone else. Regardless, my success with her book may be a fluke. Maybe I’m not as good as she’s giving me credit for. I’m sure Trent would agree with me, that I’m not as good as she’s saying.
“Okay, deal. I’m starting it straight after Christmas. Have a good Christmas, Lily.”
“You too.” I hang up really happy. The smile feels like it’s permanently etched onto my face. It also gives me the oomph to get home and finish with the manuscript I’m currently working on.
“Tomorrow we have the staff lunch. You’ll be there won’t you?” Peter stops by my desk and asks on his way out.
“I will be. Is there anything you need from me?”
“You’ve booked the café down the road?”
“Check, and double check.”
“You’ve got everyone’s bonus check ready?”
“Check.”
“And you’ve let downstairs know we’ll all be out for a couple of hours?”
“I have, I’ve got Carl on the floor for that time, in case anything is needed. I’ve made sure there’s extra staff to cover the time we’re away in case we get busy, like we usually do for the three days before Christmas, I’ve already triple-checked attendance and let the café know. They were only too happy to close for the general public for those two hours seeing as we’re taking up the entire café.”
“You really do an excellent job, Lily. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Bye,” I say as he walks out.
That’s Peter for you. You won’t hear him say thank you, but you will hear him pay you a compliment on your work.
I finish closing everything down, and walk out toward the cab stand to get a ride home. It’s been snowing, and the roads are constantly being ploughed for snow.
From inside my handbag, my phone starts ringing. I take it out, only to miss the call. I look and see Max was trying to call me. I return his call.
“Lily, how are you today?” The past couple of weeks I’ve been seeing Max quite a lot. I don’t even hear his stutter anymore, so I’m not even sure if he still has it or if I’ve become so accustomed to it I just don’t notice it.
“I’m very well, and how are you?”
“You sound so formal.”
“So do you.” He chuckles, and I smile. He has a really deep, throaty laugh, and I love hearing it. “How can I help you, Mr. Max?”
“Mr. Max? You make me laugh. You may as well call me Mr. Sterling. It sounds better than Mr. Max. Mr. Max makes me sound like a crazy man.”
I laugh out loud, “So tell me, how can I help you tonight?”
“Would you care to join me for dinner? I was thinking of trying that new sushi place downtown.”
“Hmm, I have some work to do tonight. I want to finish the manuscript I got. Oh guess what?”
“What?”
“You know that first book I proofread?”
“Yes, I do.”
“It’s a top ten bestseller on both the New York Times and USA Today lists.”
“Wow. And it was her first book too, wasn’t it?”
“It was. Hey, the cab driver has just pulled up at home, can I call you back in a few?”
“I look forward to it.”
I pay the driver and go inside, to find Liam home, but Shayne out. “Hey, chicken butt. You’re home later than normal.” I’ve been taking cabs to and from work, because I finally managed to convince Shayne and Liam that since Trent hasn’t tried to get in contact with me, he likely won’t. I need to start living life, instead of fearing it. My appointment with Katherine isn’t until the day before Christmas. It was her earliest available time. And although that’s only days away, I’m quite nervous about it.
“I just took my time. Where’s Shayne?” I ask.