“Issue a statement that his new book. Takeoff?—?”
“Takedown.”
“Right, my mistake. Have the publisher announce that the book is being delayed because it’s so controversial that their lawyers need more time to vet it.”
“And why would we delay release?”
“Because we can create a splash. Imagine if Takedown is ‘the book they don’t want you to read.’ We make Caleb Rye the keynote speaker at our First Amendment gala—major press coverage, national media attention. It’ll drive pre-orders through the roof.”
She’s silent. The silence stretches on so long that Sasha is sure she’s struck out.
Then, slowly, “You want us to delay publication for marketing purposes.”
“Well—”
“I love it. Ms. Andrews, we have a deal.”
Sasha exhales.
“Do you think you can sell it to your client and the publisher?”
Biz grins. “I have signing authority for Archives Press. And I know how to handle Caleb. If we can agree to terms, I’ll get him on board.”
Within five minutes, Biz and ‘Naya’ have agreed that publication will be delayed until after the gala. Caleb gets the keynote speaking slot. The publisher’s marketing team will leak carefully crafted information about the “controversial thriller that powerful forces tried to suppress.” Pre-orders will open immediately. Biz will book Caleb on morning shows and podcasts. And the gala will make him the face of the First Amendment.
Biz memorializes the terms in a voice memo that she emails to Naya’s firm address. Sasha makes a mental note to text Naya.
They shake hands, and go about their day in separate directions.
Now Sasha just needs to find away to occupy the rest of her afternoon.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Caleb hurries through the building out to the campus to meet Biz, his excitement and anticipation beginning to mix with doubt.
She’s going to say the book is good, he reassures himself. But it’s not until he steps out of the building and sees her on the bench under the weeping willow trees planted by class of 1957 that he breathes a sigh of relief.
She’s holding two coffees from her favorite coffee shop, the one next door to her offices. She wouldn’t have brought celebratory coffee if the book were bad.
The next instant, he realizes these could be comforting coffees. Maybe they’re supposed to soften the blow of her telling him the book is not acceptable in its current format. He needs to start over from scratch.
His stomach drops. That cannot happen. He’s exhausted. He couldn’t possibly start over. He’s not sure he even has a round of edits in him. Henry sleeps in ninety-minute chunks of time. He and Emmaline are both perpetually exhausted, living in a delighted happy haze, but it’s still a haze. He fell asleep standing up in the shower this morning. He doesn’t have any reserves.
Even as he gives himself this pep talk, he knows that if Biz says the book needs to be reworked, he has no choice but to rework it. He doesn’t get the other half of his advance until the book is published, and the window repair has been scheduled after mortgage and student loan payments come out at the beginning of next month. Their bank accounts are going to be back to their usual lean state.
He quiets his mental chatter as Biz puts one of the coffees aside on the bench and waves enthusiastically at him. Based on the broad smile, he’s going to go with celebratory coffees.
“Hi,” he calls as he nears.
She pats the bench beside her. “What a beautiful day!”
He hasn’t really noticed, but now he looks around. It is a beautiful day. It’s warm, early spring; the sun is shining. It’s one of the rare days when the sky is clear.
“I’ll bet the cherry blossoms are blooming,” he says.
“Just starting. I was down on the Mall this weekend. I had visitors from out of town.”
He laughs. “Spoken like a true Washingtonian.”
