Chapter 2
SAM
“You really like the romance idea?” Angel asked, looking a little smug. As long as it had been since Sam had had an idea for a book, she was more than happy to indulge it.
“I do,” Sam replied before taking another quick sip of her coffee. “What do you think?”
Angel pursed her lips thoughtfully, her hand absently rubbing her chin. “You know, I said it in jest, but as much smut as you read in your free time? I’m more surprised that neither of us came up with this before.”
“So am I, if I’m honest.”
“Do you think you’d be comfortable writing sex scenes?”
Sam blinked at the screen a few times. “I think so. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“You have to know what to do during sex, more than just reading about it,” Angel said, trying but failing to hide a laugh.
Most of Angel’s other big-name clients were in her preferred genres of choice for representation, fantasy predominantly, so her being Sam’s agent likely had more to do with the fact that they were friends than anything else. A fact that bit her in the ass more often than not, now notwithstanding.
Sam frowned. “I could just find another agent who won’t pick on me all the time you know.”
Angel feigned shock as she placed a hand on her chest. “After all we’ve been through? Besides, who else would put up with your antics as much as I do?”
“Fair point.”
“In all seriousness, though,” Angel continued. “As much as I tease, I genuinely think a romance might be a good direction for you. With your writing style and attention to character detail, I think you might be able to pull it off.”
Sam relaxed back into her seat, relieved. “It will take a bit of work, but I think it’ll be a fun project.”
Angel nodded, her movements smooth as she turned and reached for something off-screen.
The soft sound of water pouring filled Sam’s ears as Angel returned into frame, taking a sip from the large, crystal-clear glass that looked almost as expensive as Sam’s rent.
“Alright,” she started after daintily placing the glass on the table, an imprint of her signature cherry-red lipstick staining the exterior, “give it some thought, and let me know when you have a story, so I can pitch it to the publisher.”
Sam held up a finger as a sudden thought occurred to her. “Well, before you do, I have one other thing.”
“And that would be?”
“I don’t think I want to publish this under my current name.”
Angel raised a perfectly groomed eyebrow, the sharp angle accentuated by the distinctive cut down the middle of her brow line and further reminding Sam that she needed to make an appointment to get her own busy eyebrows waxed soon. “You don’t?”
“I think if I’m going to write smut, I’ll want the flexibility a pen name will provide. The publishers get to have two for the price of one, so to speak. That way, I can continue writing other stuff under my real name if I want to and keep this stuff separate.”
Another thoughtful nod. “I suppose that makes sense. Do you want it completely untied to yourself, or can it be known that it’ll be a pen name? Might be a tougher sell without your brand tied in at all, especially since this would mean an amendment to your contract.”
Sam scrunched her nose, seeing the freckles dotted along the ridge of it dancing it time with the movement in her reflection.
“If it’ll help convince them to keep me around, we can give them whatever they want.
However, we can make the case that if we release this under a pen name, detached from my brand, that it will work to their advantage if the book turns out flopping. ”
“Good angle. Well, I’ll be here in New York until the end of the week, then I’ll be traveling. Think you might have at least a rough story idea by the time I get back?” Angel asked, flicking her dark-russet bob over her shoulder.
“That’s right; I forgot that was coming up. How long will you be in Seoul again?”
“Can’t live without talking to me that much?”
Sam laughed. “No, just so I know when to have the idea to you by.”
Angel scrunched her nose at Sam before smiling again. “I’ll only be there for a few days for my friend’s wedding, but let’s say you have an idea for me in a week’s time?”
Sam chewed on her lower lip in concentration.
There weren’t any other events she had to attend, no book tour to fly around for, no personal holidays she had planned, or anything else like that.
She had a few administrative tasks to do, but she could finish those relatively quickly to focus her attention on this.
Finally, she nodded. “I think so. I should have something by then.”
“Good. And I’ll also keep you posted on when I’ll be heading your way for a visit. I know how much you miss me,” Angel purred playfully and offered a wink.
Sam did miss her. While she had plenty of company with her best friend, Charlie, who lived only a few floors above her, she definitely missed having a bit of girl time with Angel.
Though, in addition to her advanced style, Angel had also grown accustomed to the hustle and bustle of New York City life that wasn’t quite as busy and active as downtown Durham, North Carolina was.
And Sam wasn’t sure if she had the stamina to keep up with how often Angel loved to go out.
Sam laughed. “Always will.”
“Though, I need you to miss writing more. Get to it! I need you busy as a bee there.”
“I’m not your only client; it’s not like you aren’t rolling in cash over there,” Sam remarked with a wry smile. “I thought you could’ve used a break from me.”
“True, but you’re the only client I actually like, so don’t leave me hanging.”
“I bet you say that to all your clients,” Sam teased.
“Only you, babe. Is Charlie back from that conference of his by the way? I forgot to ask earlier.”
Sam nodded, fighting the smile that followed. “He texted me when he got back to his apartment last night.”
“Cool. Tell him I said ‘hi’ when you see him later. Now, scoot. Get to work!” Angel tossed back, offering another wink and a wave before the screen went black.
Sam’s gaze lingered on her computer for a few moments before taking off the headphones she’d been wearing.
The soft clink of ice resettling into her nearby cup drew her focus back to her coffee. The melted cubes swirled within the milky liquid invitingly, a reminder of her significant lack of caffeine at the moment. She scooped her cup up to take another healthy swig.
A sense of excitement coursed through her as her thoughts lingered on her conversation.
This felt right. It had felt like such a long time since she had genuinely felt this excited about starting a new project, especially one that hadn’t been meticulously crafted and plotted out in advance with a predetermined storyline and conclusion.
The possibilities suddenly felt endless, causing the creative flame within her to flicker back to life with renewed enthusiasm.
She snatched her bag from beside her to retrieve her notepad, barely held together from old age and usage. There were plenty of ideas she’d jotted down over the years in this thing, so it was time to start actually going through them to find something that she could work with.
It was still early enough in the afternoon that she knew she’d have plenty of time to think and work before her dinner plans with Charlie.
She couldn’t wait to tell him about all of this.