The Publicist Read online

  “Sure.” Mac said, “Kate, you okay with that?”

  “Absolutely.” Kate spotted two open barstools and grabbed them. Mac settled in beside her.

  After Mac ordered drinks, Kate smiled and said: “Today was great, Mac.”

  “It still is.” Mac’s voice was so low she could hardly hear him.

  “Well, it’s almost over.”

  She felt Mac’s hand brush her thigh, in an almost auto response her legs warmed under his touch and she could feel a wetness inside her.

  “It doesn’t have to be.” Mac turned to the bartender, who set their drinks down.

  “I have to go home tonight, Mac.”

  “Why? To feed your cat?”

  “I don’t have a cat.”

  “Perfect, then it’s settled. We’ll head back to the apartment, yes?”

  Kate sipped her Cosmo, “I don’t know if that’s a good idea, Mac. I mean, it’s…shouldn’t we be careful?”

  “Careful of what? No one will see us making love, I promise.” Mac’s voice was understandably low.

  Kate smiled, “You know what I mean. I can’t get used to this; we’ve been together two nights in a row.”

  Mac was confused, “So? Wasn’t it great?”

  Kate thought back to the night before, Mac’s mouth all over her. His tongue licking her in places that drove her wild. For a moment she thought she might slip off of her bar stool. Kate steadied herself. She had no control when it came to this man. She needed to fix that.

  “Let’s just have dinner, Mac, and then see what we feel like doing. I just don’t want to get used to this, to you.”

  Mac leaned into her, his voice steady but still low. She could feel his breath on her cheek: “What are you afraid of, Katie? Are you afraid you might actually like this? Are you afraid of finding something more important to you than your work?”

  After dinner, Mac walked Kate back to her apartment. It was almost midnight.

  “Kate, I respect that you want to spend the night alone. But I wish you’d reconsider.”

  She stopped in front of her door. The building Kate lived in housed six other units; she was on the third floor. No elevator, no doorman. Just a lovely old building and a small, lonely apartment. Compared to Mac’s though, it looked like a mud hut.

  “I know, Mac, but I feel like I need this. It’s not bad, it’s just… I’m still getting used to this. To us and I’m worried of what will happen if we go too fast.”

  Kate’s street was dark, except for a dim streetlight that was hardly worth the effort. Mac leaned towards her as though he was going to kiss her but stopped short. Public displays of affection were always prohibited, no matter how tempted he was.

  “Katie, I know this is confusing and it’s not your normal relationship but to the degree I can make it seem normal, I want to.”

  “Why, Mac? I mean I know the rules of the game, well sort of, why would you bother to change them?”

  He didn’t have an immediate answer and that bothered him. He just knew that he didn’t want to go home without her.

  Finally he said, “I just, want that, well, for you….” The awkwardness of Mac’s words didn’t escape Kate and she was more determined than ever to not spend the night with him. This was already getting too complicated.

  “It’s ok, Mac, really. I get it.”

  Mac took a deep breath, he knew it was time to back off, “Then let me at least see you inside.” They both knew that his intention was twofold. He wanted to see her safely to her apartment but also, he couldn’t kiss her unless they were in private.

  After Mac left, Kate stood in her living room wondering what to do next. A loneliness swept over her like nothing she’d felt in a long while. Her resolve to stick to her guns didn’t seem like such a grand idea now that she’d sent Mac home. He’d been right, they should take whatever time they could get and enjoy it. Kate knew she was complicating it by trying to fit the relationship into a box when the last thing she needed was to box it in. But Kate also knew that she was falling hard and fast for Mac and, to the degree that she could postpone the inevitable, she felt she needed to do that. There would come a day when she wouldn’t be able to tell him no, regardless of what she might feel or want. She wanted to push that day out as far as she could. When it arrived, she knew her life would never be the same.

  Mac stood in his foyer suddenly hating his life.

  The constraints.

  The confinements.

  He hated not being able to kiss Kate on the street.

  He hated that she felt like she had to put up makeshift walls to protect herself. He hated what this might do to her. But more than anything, he hated that not even an hour out of her company, he missed her more than he remembered missing any woman in a long while.

  At two a.m. Kate’s cell phone shrieked to life. After an hour of tossing and turning, she had finally managed to fall asleep.

  “Hello,” she whispered.

  “I’m sorry to wake you,” Mac said, “I promise I’m not an author crying over a bad review, just a man who can’t get you out of his mind.”

  “Mac, I…”

  “Kate, let me finish….please…. this used to be so much easier. I’d go, she would go and we’d see each other and it was fine. Now it’s not fine and I can’t figure out why… I just wanted you to know that I hate being away from you.”

  Kate didn’t know what to say.

  Thirty minutes later, Mac was at her door.

  .

  Chapter Thirty

  Kate wasn’t sure if she was glad that she’d stopped by her office on her way to meet Janet Easter for breakfast at Sara Beth’s on Central Park. Passing Ed’s office, she overheard him talking to Janet’s editor about her future. Basically, there was none. Her latest book with MD would be her final, Edward said. Kate tried not to look too obvious while she paused at the door.

  “Her books are too sweet and far too stale, much like her book sales,” she overheard Edward say.

  The editor just chuckled: “Yes, you’re right. No sex, graphic or otherwise, it’s a hard sell. But she does have a great fan base.”

  Edward huffed, “Middle America, the Bible Belt. We are trying to focus our books on the left or right coast, sales are better. Besides, Janet will find a home somewhere. Some publisher that wants someone with a tired, albeit faithful fan base. We need authors who can pull in celebrity attention and movie deals. Janet’s not in that league.”

  “She has a signing coming up this week.”

  “Let’s hope it’s good,” Kate could hear Edward swivel in his chair, “it’s going to be her last with MD.”

  “When will you tell her?” the editor asked.

  “When it’s over. Dampening her spirit might hurt sales.” Edward added, a wry smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

  Kate heard both of them laugh. It was days like this that made Kate hate publishing.

  Kate sat on the 5 train bound for Central Park, wondering what she should do. Tell Janet? No, it wasn’t her place to do that. Besides, if by some act of God Edward changed his mind, she’d be screwed, having blown the news to her author. She would have to pretend that everything was fine. Kate knew that wouldn’t be easy. The subway car swayed as it pulled away from the Grand Central stop when an idea struck her. She would be at the restaurant in less than twenty minutes. If she was going to act, it needed to be now. She pulled her phone from her purse and punched in a text message to her friend Robert at CNN. She hoped he could help her. Thanks to the new subway wireless systems, the connection on her phone was decent. She watched the message go through and crossed her fingers.

  Sara Beth’s was already crowded when Kate arrived. She saw Janet already seated at the table, beyond punctual as always and dressed in an impeccable tan suit with not a crease in the skirt. Kate wondered how she did it. No matter when she saw Janet, she always looked crisp, and a vision of sheer perfection. Her short blond hair cropped at her shoulders framed her sweet face and broad s
mile. It never failed that Kate felt frumpy in Janet’s presence. She was the ideal author, always ready for a fan, always ready for a photo shoot. Janet looked ready for anything. Kate took in a deep breath; she hoped she could pull this off. Robert hadn’t responded yet but she knew how busy he was.

  “Kate, it’s so good to see you again!” Janet opened her arms and pulled Kate into a hug. Janet was a hugger. Kate recalled the time that Janet tried to hug Edward, who recoiled and pushed out a hand instead, “I think that man has intimacy problems,” Janet had said to Kate after. If only she knew.

  “Janet, it’s been too long!” Kate loved the way Janet smelled, of fresh air and freesias.

  “I’m so excited for my signing this week, Katie, I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be at the 5th Avenue store!”

  It had taken quite a bit of convincing to get the Barnes & Noble on 5th to agree to a signing. Known as the “flagship” store for the East Coast, their signings were primarily reserved for celebrities and politicians, but Kate had promised them a big turnout. The Romance Writers of America had helped promo this and lots of Janet’s local fans would be in attendance, some had even flown in to meet her. At the last conference, Kate had worked a deal with Romance Writers to do bag stuffers for the goodie bags and promo copies of Janet’s other books to entice fans to buy the new book or attend the signing. Kate’s phone buzzed in her hand, it was a text message from Robert: “Call me.”

  “Janet, can you give me just a minute? I need to make a quick call?”

  Janet smiled, “I’ll order us coffee, you always-busy-girl!”

  Kate headed to the ladies’ room to find a quite spot to make her call; he picked up on the first ring:

  “Robert Croft.”

  “Robert, it’s Kate.”

  “Katie, you need a favor?”

  “Yes, I do, I need a celebrity to show up at Janet’s signing this Friday.”

  “May I ask why?”

  “Influence. I need a celeb there to show MD that she’s still a relevant author.”

  “Are they thinking of dumping her?” Robert asked, but Kate didn’t trust him enough to answer truthfully.

  “It’s complicated.”

  “It always is, isn’t it?”

  “Robert, I would be so grateful. You know I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t really important.”

  “She must be pretty special. All right, let me see what I can do. I might be able to get Piper Maru there. She’s in town this week.”

  Kate sucked in a sudden breath; Piper was one of the biggest pop stars of the last two years. Her songs virtually dominated the charts and her last album went platinum almost as soon as it was released. Her concerts sold out in minutes. Getting Piper there would be huge.

  “That would be amazing,” Kate said finally.

  “I’ll know later today. We have an interview with her and she owes me one for some editing I did back in her early days. I’ll let you know.”

  Robert clicked off. Kate took a deep breath and headed back to the table.

  “Everything all right, dear?” Janet asked. Kate rested a hand on Janet’s shoulder.

  “It’s going to be great. Now let’s talk about your signing.”

  .

  Chapter Thirty-One

  “We’re reporting from New York tonight, where Piper Maru is making an appearance at an author event. Many of you may not have heard of Janet Easter, but Piper seems to be a big fan and has come out in support of her favorite author.”

  Edward could hardly believe his ears. How the hell did this happen? The reporter from Entertainment Tonight continued to speak as Edward sat in his lavish apartment hoping like hell that the contract termination letter hadn’t been sent to Janet yet.

  The crowds were unreal and people of all ages snaked around the corner, braving the winter weather and waiting for a glimpse of Piper and Janet. Well, mostly Piper but that didn’t matter to Kate. The crowd had arrived as had just about every entertainment reporter in the free world. She was glad that she’d pushed to increase the bookstore order from 100 to 500. Readers often bought more than one and with Piper there, she was certain they would need every single copy.

  Flashes went off all around her. They’d sectioned off an area for the media and Kate had staged a warm and glowing welcome photo shoot between the two women. Piper was being an incredibly good sport about this, hugging Janet, smiling and, at one point, asked her to read from her latest book to the crowd. Janet, being a savvy marketer, realized quickly that she wasn’t the draw and asked Piper to read instead. The crowd went wild. Kate smiled at Janet’s brilliance and willingness to go with the flow. The cameras clicked endlessly as Piper read from Janet’s latest book. Kate had also invited Lulu, who sat in the front row, glowing. She owned every Piper album and Janet Easter book.

  “How did you get her here?” Janet whispered as the crowd remained enraptured with Piper’s every word.

  “She’s a fan, my dear.”

  Janet wrapped a loving arm around Kate, “I’m sure she’s not, but I love that you did this for me, Katie. You are one hell of a publicist.”

  Kate realized that these were the moments that made her so proud to do what she did. A loving and appreciative author and a triumphant book signing. If only they could all be like this, she thought, but the odds didn’t favor that. Enjoy the good ones, someone once told her, because they are a rare breed.

  Janet needed to get busy signing books and Piper had graciously agreed to co-sign them with her. Kate was certain that many of Janet’s books would end up showing up on eBay but she didn’t care.

  “I think we’ll end up selling out tonight,” the store manager said, behind her.

  Kate turned and smiled, “I’m betting we will.” The manager nodded and left, from out of the corner of her eye Kate saw a man, tall and handsome, leaning against a bookcase, smiling broadly. She walked over to him.

  “What are you doing here, Mac?” she asked.

  “Watching perfection in action. You really trumped Edward this time, didn’t you?” A sexy smile pulled at the corner of his lips.

  “What do you mean?” Kate tried her best to play dumb, but there was no fooling Mac.

  “You found out about Janet’s contract, didn’t you?”

  Kate shrugged.

  “I bet Eddie’s frantically trying to call someone in contracts tonight to make sure they haven’t sent her cancelation notice.” Mac laughed.

  “Janet is a quality author; MD should have more like her.”

  “They should, but they won’t. We’ve started to whore ourselves, Katie. Publishing is falling apart and we’re just rearranging the deck chairs at this point.”

  Kate watched as the happy fans weaved through the bookstore line to meet Janet and Piper. Still, mostly Piper, but that was okay. This would save Janet’s career with MD.

  For now at least.

  “Publishing will never go away. It will just morph into something else.”

  “True, but I’m not sure that MD is ready to morph with it. Edward is stuck in the past. But then, that’s corporate publishing in general.”

  “What are you saying, Mac?”

  He smiled, “Nothing, really. Nothing that everyone else isn’t saying. But we need to watch our backs, Kate. The day may come when both of us are irrelevant.”

  “You’ll never be irrelevant, Mac.”

  He smiled down at her, “Why, Katie, was that a compliment?”

  A laugh escaped her lips, “Nice ego, Mac. I meant in publishing.”

  “Right.” Mac said, not convinced, “When this is over, let’s grab a bite.”

  Kate thought he’d never ask. She wondered if it would be another weekend like last weekend. She hoped. Mac shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other.

  “I have to go to Connecticut in the morning, the boys are coming home for Christmas break and I want to be there when they do.”

  Kate’s heart stopped. She tried to focus on Janet and Piper, but all she could hear
was “have to go to Connecticut…” Not, “I have to be with my family and my wife.

  Just the word: Connecticut.

  Suddenly the entire state represented the fact that they had no future.

  “Why not go tonight?” Kate said, almost too quietly for him to hear.

  Mac knew where this was headed, and pulled her in between the book cases so they’d have more privacy, “Kate, I’m sorry. But I’d rather tell you now than in the morning.”

  “You assume I’d be seeing you in the morning.” Kate felt angry. But why? She knew the rules. Except that right now the rules sucked.

  Mac brushed her face, “Katie, I’m sorry. I wish I didn’t. It’s hard, I know. Believe it or not it’s not easy for me, either.”

  “It should be.” Kate said, almost regretting it once it was out of her mouth.

  Mac sighed, “Yes, you’re right. It should be but it’s not. Not with you. I’ll give you everything I can, I promise you that. But these are my limitations. I love my boys, for years they were all I had.”

  Suddenly Kate felt stupid. It wasn’t about Mac’s wife. She knew that in her heart. It was about his sons.

  “I’m sorry, Mac. I, just…”

  “Don’t say it. I know.” Mac took a deep breath, “I know because I feel the same way.”

  Kate sat with that comment for a moment, wondering what Mac meant. “Felt the same way”—which way was that? Kate wasn’t even sure she knew. Mac never let things get complicated, she was certain of that, so anything other than a deep, caring bond wouldn’t be acceptable to him. Finally Kate said, “Dinner sounds great,” and turned to head back to watch her star author revel in her moment of glory.

  .

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  The signing was a huge success, better than Kate could have even hoped for and the buzz that was created from having Piper at the event was tremendous. Kate wouldn’t be surprised if Janet’s latest book hit the list, all of them for that matter.

  The crowd had dwindled, finally. The event took five hours total and Kate could see how exhausted Janet was. Exhausted, but elated.