Chapter 51
51
The next three weeks were a whirlwind. I threw myself into working with Simon Langley, focusing mostly on Davis Mulberry as his publishers confirmed they would still bring out his book as planned, and the buzz around it kept on building. Everyone reacted well to him including romance in the thriller, and Jake endorsed it with a quote, along with a few other high-profile authors too. It got great press reviews and from book bloggers, and people on social media kept talking about it. His publishers threw themselves into publicity and retailers started to order even more copies than they had originally.
Davis found it hard to keep his arrogance in check as the buzz built but Simon and I tried to keep his feet on the ground and remind him how close he had come to losing everything. He kept to his word by going sober and I saw a different side to him, one that made me understand why Simon and his girlfriend had stayed in his life.
My relationship with Jake was easier than I could have expected. Now we had told each other how we felt, we were able to be open with one another and enjoy ourselves without being insecure. I loved going to his flat after work to cook dinner together or we’d have a takeaway or go out for a drink then tumble into his bed. We had amazing sex, yes, but we also talked and held each other for hours sometimes. His encouragement of me being honest made me feel like I could tell him everything. And Jake was more vulnerable than any man had been with me before. I knew so much about him already and he didn’t hold back now we were together. So, we seemed to grow closer every day.
Publication day for He’s Behind You came around so quickly, and we were all a mixture of excitement and nerves for it. Davis threw a lavish launch party then did a couple of bookshop events. After that, we had a few days to wait to find out where it had placed on the bestseller lists.
I arranged to meet Liv for lunch on the day we were due to hear. I needed a distraction and Liv was having a day at home writing so came along to keep me company. Davis kept messaging me on the hour every hour asking if I’d heard about the charts yet so I felt like I deserved lunch out.
‘I’m so nervous,’ I admitted to Liv as we sat in the café’s comfy chairs with our food and drink. Soft music played in the background and the midday sun streamed in through the long, glass windows that displayed my office building opposite. ‘I feel like I’m even more nervous than Davis!’
Liv laughed. ‘That’s why you’re such a good agent. Hayley probably doesn’t even know what the word “nervous” means.’ She sighed. ‘I feel like she hasn’t had much time for me lately.’
‘Oh no, why?’
‘She’s been bringing in lots of new authors. I think she felt she had to sign new people after Jake left her…’ Liv bit her lip.
‘She did take the news badly,’ I agreed.
When Jake told her that he and I were an official couple, Hayley was not happy. She seemed to think we had been conspiring against her the whole time, and after she said some really nasty things about me, Jake decided to leave the agency. He’d found a new agent since and was much happier with her, along with his new publisher. So much change but it had all been positive. He said he had realised how different his view of his career had been to Hayley’s so everything had worked out. I did feel a bit guilty though at seeing their professional relationship end.
‘Could you talk to her about how you feel?’ I asked Liv.
‘Maybe. There is something I wanted to talk to you about first, though…’ She squirmed uncomfortably in her chair.
‘What’s wrong?’ I asked, worried.
‘I don’t know if it would be like a conflict of interest or anything, and I know Hayley would be pissed off, but I need to think about myself and what’s best for my career, and I’ve seen what you’ve done for Davis,’ Liv said, pausing to clear her throat. ‘Is there any way you would consider becoming my agent?’
I stared at my cousin in shock. Then my phone started ringing on the table. ‘It’s Simon,’ I said, unsure what to say or do.
‘Take it; he’ll have the chart!’ Liv cried excitedly.
Stunned, I picked up the phone. ‘Simon…’ I listened and broke into a huge grin. ‘I’ll be back at one! No, you tell him… Okay, we’ll call him together when I come back into the office. Great. Bye!’ I hung up and looked at Liv. ‘Number one.’
‘What?’
‘Davis is number one on the bestseller list!’ I let out a little scream, and so did she. Liv jumped up and held out her arms so I got out of my chair and collapsed into them, returning her tight hug. ‘I can’t believe it.’
‘I can!’ she said, letting out a little sob into my hair. ‘I’m so proud of you, Freya!’
I pulled back, my own eyes welling up. ‘And yes. As long as Simon says it’s okay, I’ll be your agent! We’ll make it work. I’d love to help your career in any way I can, as you’ve helped me! And we’ll work out how to tell Hayley together.’
‘Oh, thanks Freya, it’s going to be so much fun! I need to tell Aiden; he’s been encouraging me to ask you for weeks. He’s probably sick of me talking about it,’ she said as we let each other go and sat back down.
‘He’s not sick of you talking about anything,’ I assured her. I’d seen them together and they were head over heels. I looked at the sparking diamond band on her ring finger. ‘I still can’t believe you two eloped, though,’ I said for maybe the hundredth time. Soon after Jake and I got together, Liv and Aiden went away to Scotland for a few days. They shocked all their family and friends by coming back married. Liv said Aiden had proposed on holiday and they had been so happy and excited that when they realised how close they were to Gretna Green, they had just gone to look around but there had been a cancellation so on the spur of the moment, they’d decided to jump straight into it.
‘We’ll throw a huge wedding party soon,’ Liv promised, her eyes sparkling. She was even more of a hopeless romantic than me and she and Aiden had definitely got carried away in Scotland. I was so happy for them. They’d been together for a while and were a perfect match. ‘God, we have lots to celebrate, don’t we?’
‘The past few weeks have been crazy,’ I said, shaking my head in wonder. So much had happened since the day Hayley had asked me to accompany Jake to New York. I had been so close to refusing to go. Thank goodness I hadn’t done that.
After lunch, I gave Liv a huge hug and told her I’d speak to Simon about us signing her to the agency and then I went back into the office to find Simon so we could call Davis with the good news.
He answered instantly when we called him from Simon’s desk. ‘What’s happening?’ he said in lieu of ‘hello’.
‘I’m really sorry, Davis,’ Simon said dully, throwing me a wink.
I let out a melodramatic sigh. ‘It’s such a shame…’
‘How bad is it?’ Davis asked tightly.
‘Look, we all tried our best,’ Simon said. ‘We should be proud of ourselves.’
I bit my lip to stop myself from giggling.
‘I’m sitting down. Just tell me. I’m a big boy. I can handle it,’ Davis said.
We left a long pause. I could practically hear Davis’s rapid heartbeat down the phone line. Simon and I grinned across at each other, thoroughly enjoying winding Davis up a little bit. I don’t think anyone would have blamed us for having a little bit of fun with him.
‘Guys!’ Davis cried then, his patience evaporating.
Simon nodded then and I nodded back. We had to put him out of his misery. ‘Number one,’ Simon said.
‘It’s gone straight to the top,’ I added.
There was another silence.
‘I’m sorry, what?’ Davis asked, his voice quiet like he was far away. He sounded dazed. I understood the feeling perfectly.
‘You’re number one on the Sunday Times Bestseller List,’ I repeated.
‘This isn’t a wind up, is it, Freya?’ Davis asked suspiciously. ‘Are you getting me back for everything that happened in New York? I won’t blame you if you are…’
I giggled. ‘No, Davis. Your editor should be emailing you the list right now so you’ll see it in black and white.’
‘Your first book to go straight to the top,’ Simon added. ‘Well done, mate. We all worked so hard on this; it’s a great result.’
Davis went quiet. I could hear a tapping sound. ‘He has just emailed… Oh my God. You aren’t winding me up. There I am.’ Davis whistled. ‘Who would have thought adding in some romance would have this effect?’
‘You take back everything you said about romance books then, Davis?’ I asked, raising an eyebrow.
He sighed. ‘I think I might have to. Jake’s just sent me his book to read and I’m kind of getting into it.’
‘Wonders never cease,’ I replied.
‘You two make a weirdly good team,’ Simon said then. ‘I know this agency will be in good hands when I retire,’ he added.
Pride swelled inside my chest. I knew I had a long way to go before I was anywhere close to Simon’s capabilities as an agent, he had decades of experience after all, but I was so keen and enjoying everything about my new job so far.
‘I wouldn’t be here without either of you,’ Davis said then. He coughed a little uncomfortably. ‘Now, I need to go and gloat on social media!’
‘There’s the Davis we know and love,’ Simon said as Davis hung up. ‘Well done, Freya.’
‘It was a team effort,’ I said but I smiled, pleased. My phone lit up with a message from Jake.
Just saw Davis say his book is number one. Congratulations baby!
My smile broadened. I loved how Jake supported me and my career, how we supported each other. I could never have guessed what a big part of my life he would become this year.
But like a good book, life was better when you had no idea what the next chapter might bring.