I looked at my glass. "Defining 'drinking' is really more of a philosophical—"
"Farley."
"Yes. I'm drinking."
She sighed, long and heavy. "Listen to me very carefully. You're taking your vacation time. All of it. Starting tomorrow."
"Margaret, I can't just—"
"Yes, you can. And you will. You've got four weeks of unused vacation time, and I'm not asking. I'm telling."
"But the acquisitions meeting on Monday—"
"Will happen without you."
"And the Whitmore manuscript—"
"Is being handled."
"Margaret—"
"Farley Michael Davenport." She used my full name, which meant she was done playing. "You're one of the best editors I've ever worked with. You're also wound tighter than a Victorian corset and apparently having some kind of personal crisis that I don't need details about but absolutely need you to deal with. So here's what's going to happen. You're going to pack a bag and leave the city. And you're going to take exactly zero work with you."
"I can't just abandon—"
"If I hear from you even once during this vacation—if you send one email, make one phone call, edit one manuscript—I will fire you. Do you understand me?"
I blinked. "You'd fire me for working?"
"I'd fire you for being an idiot. You're burnt out, Farley. You've been burnt out for months. And now something's happened that's clearly broken something in you, so you're going to go fix it before you become useless to me."
"That's very touching."
"I don't give a fuck about whatever this is, Farley, so don’t read too much into this. I pay you for brilliant editorial instincts, which you can't have if you're having a nervous breakdown." She paused. "Where were you planning to go?"
I looked at the cabin reservation still open on my laptop. "Virginia. Blue Ridge Mountains."
"Perfect. Middle of nowhere. No cell service?"
"Probably spotty at best."
"Even better. Go. Drink. Cry. Do whatever you need to do. Come back in January as a functional human being."
"Margaret—"
"Goodbye, Farley. Merry Christmas. Don't contact me."
She hung up.
I stared at my phone, then at my drink, then at the cabin listing with its promises of "luxurious mountain retreat" and "perfect escape."
My phone buzzed with notifications. Publishing Twitter was apparently on fire.
@BookishGossip: SOURCES SAY major drama at Savannah Flores party tonight involving prominent editor and cheating scandal??? ????
@PublishingTea: Not naming names but a certain power couple in publishing might be OVER and we are LIVING for this mess
@LiteraryNews: Industry insiders report altercation at high-profile book launch. Details emerging.
