Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 79040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79040 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
I do a pretty good job of pretending to be calm, though. I nod slowly. “That is… wow,” I say. “I can see you’re not the cartoon villain I assumed you were, but Vaughn is even worse than I thought, which I didn’t know was possible.”
“Yeah,” she says, smiling a little. “And you’re not a cartoon villain like he made you out to be, either. He actually said you told him his dick was small and called him a hobgoblin.”
I choke out a laugh. “I never said his dick was small. Out loud,” I add.
We both laugh.
“And I definitely didn’t call him a… hobgoblin. He’s pathetic.”
“You should see him now. He’s in shambles after the breakup,” Aubrey says. She leans forward, and I can see she’s excited to have a chance to share what she’s about to say. “His father has been more and more on his case ever since his whole ghostwriting idea. Griffon thought it was stupid, but he was giving Vaughn the leash to prove his idea. When the copyright claim came out, Griffon looked like he wanted to murder Vaughn. Landmark has lost several authors already. When authors heard about Vaughn’s stunt, they backed out of book deals and contracts. It’s a huge mess, and I’m not sure if being Griffon’s son is even going to be enough to save Vaughn this time.”
“Wow. What about Gray Wolfe? Are they doing any better after all this?” I hate myself for asking, just a little bit. I’ve very purposefully been keeping my head in the sand about any of the publishing stuff since breaking things off with Jameson. It all feels too connected to him, and anything connected to him just hurts.
“Oh,” she says, forehead creasing. “Jameson hasn’t been keeping you updated?”
“I broke things off last month. He lied to me about something, and after Vaughn, that was a non-negotiable. So, yeah…”
“I’m sorry. You two looked really good together at the mixer. I was honestly so jealous. Vaughn just kept complaining about your costume and you guys all night. I felt invisible, but it was like Jameson didn’t have eyes for anyone else in the room.”
I smile a little wistfully, because she’s right. I remember it perfectly well. Except he was already lying to me that night, so what does it matter? “Yeah, it was a fun night,” I say.
Aubrey and I spend a while sharing small talk, but I think we both feel like we said what we needed to say. I see her in a new light now, but the conversation feels like it’s ultimately more of a transaction than a step toward anything. She wanted a chance to enjoy my reaction to hearing how bad things have gone for Vaughn. She wanted to clear her name.
She makes an excuse about having to run for an audition, and I happily let the meeting end. My mind feels like it’s buzzing with too much to keep talking, anyway.
As I’m walking home, I’m struck by how it feels like all these loose ends in my life are finally tying themselves up. One by one, the messy parts are getting cleaned up. It should feel like a huge relief. It should make me happy.
And yet I still feel this gnawing emptiness I can’t shake. I could take an easy guess at what that emptiness wants to be filled with, but I refuse to acknowledge it.
It’ll pass.
I’ll find someone to publish my book, move on with my life, and that echo of Jameson will eventually fade away into background noise.
And if it doesn’t? I guess I’ll just have to keep pretending I’m not wondering every day what could have been between us.
22
JAMESON
Cleo and Kate are in my apartment, and they know everything.
I did my best to downplay the disaster of the last couple months, but I could only hold off my sisters for so long. They ask too many questions and they read between the lines too well. Cleo has been taking extra classes to get a license to cut hair and Kate has been cramming for a big test for weeks now. If they weren’t so preoccupied, I never would’ve made it this far without both of them staging an intervention by now.
But it’s finally here. I guess I can only hide from them for so long.
I’m on the couch and both of my sisters are standing in front of me. Kate looks like she’s in court and getting ready to seal the deal on a case with fiery logic and facts. Cleo looks like she’s desperately trying to think of a nice way to tell me I’m a dumbass.
Kate’s wearing a pantsuit and her brown hair is pulled into a no-nonsense ponytail, like usual. She’s pacing in a small circle. “I can’t believe you,” she says. “What were you thinking?”