‘I read everything.’
‘But your favourite?’
He’s got her there. Because she knows that if she saysyes, she will lose whatever respect he has for her, her well-constructed speech notwithstanding. But if she saysno, she will lose her self-respect, and that’s far more important.
‘As it happens, yes.’
He turns his attention back to Nathan. ‘And you want us to work together?’
‘I do.’ The eye contact between Nathan and Alex lasts. And lasts. Jess suspects they are having an entire conversation with that eye contact. A conversation that mostly consists of Alex begging, ‘Please, no, anything but this, anything but her.’ So much for that meet-cute in the bookshop; so much for her bumping her head and landing in a romcom. He doesn’t even seem to remember her. He certainly has no respect for her.
Nathan clears his throat and speaks again. ‘I think your book has a lot of potential, Alex. You know that. Some great characters, some great social issues, some masterful sentences. It just needs – a bit ofje ne sais quoi.’
‘And you think she—’
Jess clears her throat. Inserts her name. ‘Jess.’
‘Jess is the one to do that.’
‘I think Jess could help you add an interesting dimension to your writing. I think you could learn from each other. So yes, in answer to your question, you would be mentoring her, in a way.’
‘And she’d be mentoring me.’
‘Think of it as helping you to get in touch with your emotions. And find your lost sense of humour.’
‘I haven’t lost my sense of humour.’
A snort escapes Jess’s lips before she can help it. This whole conversation is so evidently devoid of humour that it seems absurd he could think of himself as someone with any sense of what’s amusing. She’s heard Alex Maxwell’s name, of course, though she hasn’t read his books. She’s heard it in conjunction with phrases like ‘surprisingly funny’ and ‘warm and witty’ and even ‘emotionally intelligent’. All of which makes her wonder if his novels are ghostwritten. Or maybe co-written by another unsuspecting romance novelist plucked from obscurity, and perhaps thereafter murdered and buried in his back garden.
‘I think,’ she says, because this is becoming unbearable, ‘that this maybe isn’t going to work.’
Alex nods emphatically, but Nathan is not to be moved. ‘Nonsense. He just needs a moment to get used to the idea. What I have in mind is for you, Jess, to take this novel away, have a read, think about where it can be improved – sorry, altered … supplemented, if you will, with a romantic plotline. And also suggest some jokes – anything to make it lighter.’
‘There’s not a lot that’s funny about a plane crash,’ Alex says.
‘There’s humour in everything,’ Jess says. ‘Throughout history, that’s how entire peoples have survived their hardest periods. With dark humour.’
‘Exactly,’ Nathan says, obviously pleased that she seems to be joining in with his beating Alex into submission. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing how you draw out a love story from this plane wreck.’ Is he referencing the plot? Or the book itself? Who knows. ‘That might mean writing or rewriting some passages, amplifying some characters. Maybe working with Alex on the structure a bit. And you could also tease the book on social media, get people excited about what’s coming next from him.’
Jess knows she should say no. She can tell already that Alex is going to be impossible to work with, and not just because she is distracted by his inconvenient good looks. But there’s a fizz of excitement deep in her belly. Shewantsthis. It sounds like an adventure. To take a stodgy lit-fic novel and make it into something people are actually tempted to read? To add a love story where there isn’t one already? Yes, please.
She’s learned, though, not to show her hand too quickly. If you’re too obvious about your enthusiasm, there’s a danger that you’ll be expected to do somethingfor the love of books, rather than for money or for reward. And it’s not that she wouldn’t do something for the love of books alone, but she also needs to eat. Pay rent. Live in London, where even the air seems to cost money.
So she takes a deep breath and she asks a question that doesn’t come naturally. ‘What’s in it for me, though?’
‘I would have thoughtthatwas obvious,’ Alex mutters.
She chooses to play his game. ‘Aside from learning from a master, obviously.’
Nathan smiles. She gets the sense he is enjoying this back-and-forth far too much. ‘You’ll be mentioned in the press release that goes out to the media, and the collaboration will be pitched as one of the unique things about this book – something that reviewers and podcasters will pick up on. I’m aware you’re pretty well-known on the bookish internet already but this’ll elevate your status even further. Pretty prestigious, don’t you think? Might lead to a book deal of your own someday.’
She waits, hoping her excitement isn’t too visible. Because she needs something else, too.
‘And, obviously, generous remuneration.’
Jess lets her grin out at last. ‘Now we’re talking,’ she says. She’s already spending the advance in her mind: a bigger flat, more bookshelves, a foodie holiday for herself, a cruise for her grandparents.
Alex clears his throat. ‘And what’s in it for me?’
