It buzzes again.
Voicemail.
Third time.
I answer, because Rodney never calls three times unless it's important.
“Scott! Finally!” His voice is electric with enthusiasm. “I've been trying to reach you all day. Listen, the publisher is over the moon. They've got the marketing team working overtime on the cover reveal. Preorder links are ready to go live the moment we give the green light. They're talking about a full campaign—social media blitz, bookstagrammer outreach, the works.”
I close my eyes. “Rodney?—”
“This is it, Scott. This is the book that's going to remind everyone why they fell in love with V. Langley in the first place. It's raw, it's vulnerable, and it's everything your readers have been waiting for. The publisher is calling it your best work in a decade.”
“Rodney, I need to?—”
“And the timing with the identity reveal? Perfect. You announce who you are, you reveal the cover, preorders go live—it's going to be huge. We're talking bestseller lists. We're talking?—”
“I'm pulling the book.”
Silence.
For possibly the first time in fifteen years, Rodney is speechless.
“What?” he finally manages.
“The book. The cover reveal. The preorder campaign. All of it. I'm pulling it.”
“Scott, you can't be serious.”
“I'm completely serious.”
“This is your best work. Your most honest. The publisher is already?—”
“I don't care what the publisher is already doing. I'm pulling it.”
More silence. I can practically hear Rodney's brain recalibrating.
“Okay,” he says slowly. “Okay. Let's talk about this. What's going on? Is this cold feet about the reveal? Because we can adjust the timeline if you need more time to?—”
“It's not cold feet.” I stare at the ceiling of my sterile, personality-free condo. “I should have asked Jessica’s permission before agreeing to publish it. Before planning a whole marketing campaign around our story.”
“The names are changed. The setting is different. No one would ever?—”
“She would know. She already knows.” I think about Jessica reading the manuscript. About her realizing she was Emma. About her never knowing I was planning to reveal it to the world without asking her first. “She would know, and I never asked her if that was okay.”
“Scott.” Rodney's voice has gone careful. “What happened?”
“I made decisions for her without asking. Again. I keep doing it. I keep thinking I know what's best for her and just...acting on it. Without including her in the conversation.”
“And pulling the book fixes that how?”
The question stops me.
“Because...” I trail off. “Because I can't publish a book about her without her permission. It would be another betrayal. Another thing I did to her instead of with her.”
“Have you asked her? What she actually wants?”
“She's not speaking to me right now.”
