“Let me know when you hear from Princess Frostybox.”
“Sure. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Talk to you later. And remember,you’rethe talent. Don’t let her try to convince you otherwise.” Evan hangs up the phone.
I’m stunned. What theactualfuck?
TO:Colin Yarmouth ([email protected])
FROM:Grace Landing ([email protected])
SUBJECT:Can you talk?
Hey,
Do you have a second to chat? I need some advice. Please give me a call whenever you can. Thanks. Xoxo.
The phone rings almost immediately.
“Hello?”
“Hey. What’s up? Everything okay?”
I take a deep breath. “I’m not sure. I just got this super weird phone call.”
“From who?”
“A friend of mine at my agency. He’s like the assistant to a few of the agents.”
“Okay.”
“He said Lindsay called my manuscript garbage.”
“Who?”
“Oh, sorry. Lindsay. She’s my agent. She had been on me to get her some pages, so I sent a sample on Friday night, after our date. So then, Evan—he’s my friend—just called and said that Lindsay was storming out of the office in a ‘fit of rage’—those were his actual words!—and she tripped and my manuscript went everywhere and she told him to just throw it out because it was garbage. Garbage! Can youbelievethat?”
“Wait. Your agent’s name is Lindsay?”
“Yeah. Lindsay Ellerton. Why?”
There’s a pause on the line. Then, “Oh, shit.”
“What?”
Nothing.
“What, Colin?”
“That’s Elle.”
“Huh?”
“That’sElle. My ex! LindsayEllerton. Elle was my nickname for her.”
Have you ever had one of those moments where you feel like you’re suspended in midair? Where the world is closing in on you and there’s nothing to do but surrender to the fact that you’re about to fall—hard—right on your face?
The last time I had a moment like that was when Scott told me Ilana was pregnant. I was in the grocery store, picking up fruits and vegetables because I had been trying to eat healthy and lose those last few pesky pounds so that I could fit into my wedding gown comfortably. My phone rang, and I answered it, and he told me, and all of a sudden, I felt like my legs could no longer support me. Like I was for real going to pass out. So, I leaned into a display of apples, and as I breathed into the gravity of the situation, my body collapsed onto the ground. Red, ripe apples rained down all around me.
