Chapter 6
Six
Kenny sprinted around the Upper West Side and completed her mundane errands by the time she reached the office to raid the supply closet and replace her loot of producer essentials.
She dreaded the thought of having to deal with anyone face to face, but by the time she got to her desk there was news breaking about an orchestrated prison escape that spanned several high-security prisons across several different states.
It was reported that multiple inmates from lockups in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Florida had escaped at the same time.
All the convicts had links to the Mexican drug cartel and were considered armed and dangerous.
The situation seemed dire, but Kenny selfishly welcomed the scenario knowing that the newsroom would be distracted by the escape and the coverage would headline all the evening broadcasts.
Meaning Clinton White would not. At least for tonight.
Trying to maintain a low profile, she slid into her fancy, ergonomic desk chair on wheels without making direct contact with anyone.
She wanted to use the time to research illustrators for the cover of Armchair Detective.
Each month when Amsterdam Books announced a new Feature Author, Kenny filled with excitement and anticipation for when her own book would be on a poster in that window.
The publishing world was a tricky business, but Kenny was fortunate that Colby could help her navigate it.
He had risen in the ranks at Bound Books as quickly as she’d climbed the ladder at WBS.
He had a direct line to Muffin Evans, the head honcho at Bound.
Muffin was unequivocally the most powerful woman, the single most influential person, in the publishing world.
Known inside and outside the industry as the Manuscript Eater, Muffin was revered, idolized, respected, feared, and hated by all who knew her.
Or knew of her. She was the antagonist in the story of any aspiring or published author.
Her name didn’t fit her personality, demeanor, or looks.
There was nothing sweet or savory about Muffin.
Which is likely why she embraced the name Manuscript Eater.
She referred to herself only as M.E. If the role of Muffin were cast in a movie it would be handed to Meryl Streep a la Miranda Priestley in The Devil Wears Prada.
She was the Anna Wintour of the literary world.
Little was known about M.E.’s personal life, although she was rumored to have had a years-long fling with Donald Trump that spanned the Ivana and Marla years.
She also made headlines when she sued the co-op board of her luxury apartment building on Billionaires Row after they rejected her proposal to knock down an interior wall and expand her kitchen.
Promptly at 6:00 p.m. every evening, Muffin had an extra dirty vodka martini—shaken not stirred—with three olives at the bar of the Mandarin Oriental at Columbus Circle.
It was a widely held belief in the writing community that if an author was invited to join M.E.
for a drink, his or her manuscript was going to be published.
If an author was requested to dine with her at Per Se or Eleven Madison Park, the book was being made into a movie.
Muffin Evans expected manuscripts to be submitted at a level of perfection.
Since Armchair Detective was going to end up in M.E.
’s French manicured hands, largely because of Colby’s access to her, Kenny went to great lengths to ensure the manuscript was stellar and worthy of the woman’s keen eye.
She had no less than twenty people read the draft prior to nervously releasing it into the hands of the experts.
She solicited critiques from her circle of family and friends to her network of coworkers and beta readers.
Feedback across the board was overwhelmingly positive with the biggest criticism being that the novel didn’t end with a preview to the sequel.
The last piece to the publishing puzzle was designing a catchy and visually alluring illustration for the cover of the book.
Colby said that having a vision for the cover and a few vetted illustrators who could bring the vision to life would score credibility with M.E.
Kenny was determined to compile an impressive list of concepts and artists ready for presentation and was cautiously optimistic she’d be sharing that list while choking down a dirty martini at the Mandarin Oriental within the next two weeks. She hated olives.
It was approaching 5:00 p.m., and Kenny wanted to make a swift exit down the back steps of WBS before the producers who worked on the evening broadcast started to hustle around the newsroom and edit bays in their nightly race to deliver the most recent and current version of global events live at 6:30 p.m. The rush was as exhilarating as it was terrifying, but today she didn’t want to feel either of those things.
She took one last look at her to-do list and inconspicuously slipped to the stairwell.
To-Do Wednesday, August 30
Book travel for CT trip- rental car and hotel (National @ Columbus Circle + Courtyard Marriott on Summer St.) NO NEED
Make reservation for dinner with White’s attorneys (Bartaco Tapas or Capital Grille) NO NEED
Raid supply closet at office (Post-its, pens, notebooks, highlighters)
Connect with crew to discuss meet-up plan at courthouse (Jim P camera operator + Sam S audio) NO NEED
Journal today’s tasks for therapist
Research illustrators for Armchair Detective
Pedicure/Wax (move to Thursday’s list and add manicure)
Buy new umbrella
Colby @ Hole in the Wall Mexican, 5:30 p.m.