He pondered that. “I think an hour would be sufficient, but maybe some days it would run longer. Some days shorter.”
She seemed to be considering it. “My time isn’t cheap. I charge a reasonable but not inexpensive hourly rate.”
“One platitude that is true is that you get what you pay for. I’m a best-selling author with a Netflix series and two previous movie deals. I can afford your time, I assure you. One thing I must insist on is your silence. Nothing I tell you about the story can be shared. Not even discarded ideas.”
She nodded. “Of course. Discretion is the cornerstone of what I do. In fact, I require it from my clients in return. You can’t tell anyone we’re working together. I have NDAs for both of us to sign, if we proceed.”
He was fine with not telling anyone about hiring her. “I’m good with that. I prefer it, actually.”
“Then I’ll email the forms to you for your review. Along with my rates.”
“Can we start tomorrow?”
“We can start whenever you’re ready. Tomorrow would be fine.” She smiled at him. “I look forward to it. Now, I should probably be getting home so you can do some of that writing.”
“Agreed. I need to get to work.” He was looking forward to it, which wasn’t something that had happened in a while. “I’ll get the NDA signed and I’ll see you around six tomorrow. Good?”
She got to her feet. “Great. See you then. I can let myself out.”
He walked with her into the kitchen. Joyce wasn’t visible but Mitch had a sense that she wasn’t too far away. “Bye.”
“Bye,” Harper called out as she descended the stairs. A moment later, the front door opened and closed.
Joyce came out of the master bedroom with an empty laundry basket perched on her hip. “Did she go?”
“She did. And now I’m going back to my office to get some work done.”
Joyce balanced the basket against her hip. “Did you really hire her?”
“Were you eavesdropping?”
She looked indignant. “Your voice carries.”
He almost smiled. “I did hire her. You have a problem with that?”
“No, I think it’s brilliant. Now, if you’ll excuse me, you’re not the only one with work to do.”
Mitch headed for his office, snorting softly with amusement. Of course Joyce was pleased. This was probably the exact outcome she’d been hoping for.
He closed his door and sat at his desk, bringing the computer screen to life by touching the keypad. He reached for his coffee cup and realized he’d left it on the deck.
With a sigh, he put his hands on the arm of the chair to get up.
Knocking stopped him. “Come in.”
Joyce walked through the door, his cup in her hand. Steam rose from it. “Fresh cup of coffee. Unless you don’t want it.”
“I do. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” She left without another word.
Mitch swore she was smiling.
ChapterThirty-Six
Harper still couldn’t believe what had happened. One of her favorite authors, one of the country’s favorite authors, had just hired her to help him brainstorm. And beta read. How exciting was that? She would have firsthand knowledge of what was going to happen next.
And she was going to get paid for it.
