Springhill publishing is a place where drama is created and sold for profit. When events surrounding the staff of Springhill start rivaling the dramatic pros of their authors it’s anyone’s guess what is going to happen next and who will be the latest victim.
Teaser ~
Publishing Mogul Aidan Durrant walked through the doors of the top floor at Springhill Publishing. A typical day, he had a slew of meetings, projects, and details all waiting on his review and or completion. Feeing a tingle on the back of his neck, he looked up. It was quiet, too quiet. Almost like the calm before the storm, he dismissed it walking by Chief Editor Leo Cadilli’s office.
"Aidan."
"Yeah?" Aidan turned hearing Leo, his gruff voice
typical of a man who spent years yelling over the mechanical presses in a
newspaper outlet. The man had been in some part of the publishing business for
over four decades. He’d hired Aidan ten years before and mentored him,
encouraging and guiding every move he’d made in the publishing world.
"Did you meet with Wailand on the twenty-fourth?"
Leo stepped into the hallway.
Aidan couldn’t help but cringe a little at the thought of
Literary Agent Derek Wailand, "Uh...the twenty-third?"
"Twenty-fourth."
Aidan straightened his back, searching his mind so some reason
Leo was asking. Any meetings with Wailand tended to be memorable if only for
the migraine he always endured after. "I don't think so, what was it
about?"
"I don't know."
Aidan nodded his head. "Tess would know for sure. What's
up?"
"Nothing." Leo put his hands in his pockets, his
short stature only adding to his commanding presence. "Just let me know
okay?"
"Yeah sure."
"You ready for today?"
"Yeah, definitely."
"Good. You pull this off and you can start writing the
checks."
"Goals are good.”
“Results are better."
"Yeah."
Leo retreated into his office and Aidan racked his brain for
the events of the twenty-fourth. He stopped at the coffee machine pouring
himself a cup. He then walked into the office and his executive assistant aka
partner in crime, Tess Winters entered the office seconds after him.
"Morning."
"Good morning Aidan," Tess picked up a file from his
desk. "You have staff in forty."
"Yes, I do." Aidan looked over the items he'd left
scattered across the desk from the night before beginning to feel a little overwhelmed.
"When you get back, we can start on the galleys for the
tenth, I've already gone through everything up until then."
"You have?"
"Yeah."
"When?"
"This morning." Tess walked out of the office and
then back in, Eileen, a marketing staffer followed. Tess focused on her tablet,
picked up the phone on his desk dialing a number before turning to Eileen.
"Make sure you make it for three. It can't conflict with the GC
lockdown."
Aidan scratched the back of his neck, attempting to keep up
with the flood of activity. Normally he could ignore the distraction of
business but today that was not the case. "What time did you get
here?"
"Five." Tess glanced at the phone, handing him the receiver.
“Ben Weaver, contract change for the summit.”
“Crap. You can handle him, can’t you?”
“No, I can’t. He’ll only talk to you.” Tess put the phone in
his hand and moved to the credenza behind him collecting files.
Aidan started to reach for the hold button but stopped.
"Tess, what were you doing here at five am?"
"There is a lot to do before The Summit, I decided to get
a head start."
Tess turned and started out of the office. "Tess."
"Weaver.”
“Yeah, I know. He can wait a minute.”
“What?”
"Did I meet with Wailand on the twenty-third?"
"It was the twenty-fourth, and no."
"How do you know that?"
“Aidan, talk to Weaver.”
“Fine, but don’t disappear.” Aidan engaged Ben Weaver the
owner of the resort they would be holding Springhill’s Author Summit.
An annual event, it took months of planning and prepping.
Seven days of speeches, workshops, dining, networking and schmoozing. It was
the best of times and the worst of times.
Twelve minutes later Aidan appeared in the door of his office
looking for Tess. He found her balancing a stack of files in her arms and a
tablet in her hand. She handed Aidan the tablet and a file off the top of the
stack.
"Tess do you have the Summit schedule?" Clara, a new
intern asked, taking a stance just behind where she stood.
"Yeah." Tess turned to Clara retrieving the needed
file out of the stack of files she held. "Don't schedule anything on the
twelfth we’re already booked." Clara took the file and disappeared.
"Maggie, can you crunch the Dennison numbers for
me?" Aidan requested to a support staffer two desks form where they stood.
"Sure." Maggie nodded.
Aidan opened the file in his hands. "How do you know I
didn't meet with him?"
"That was the day you spilled coffee on your shirt."
"I didn’t..."
"The twenty-fourth was the day after the third meeting
with Ronald Lewis and we were here until four am rewriting the summary points
for his marketing package." Tess leaned against the doorframe.
"That was hellish, but what does that have to do with the
meeting?" Aidan asked as he watched her handle him and the rest of the
chaotic office with ease. She was constantly amazing him with her ability to
juggle eighteen things while having five different conversations and still
manage to keep smiling.
"The next day, after you’d been on conference calls most
of the morning, I came into the office to remind you of the meeting with
Wailand and found you asleep at your desk. I didn't realize it until too late
and you spilled the cup of coffee in your hand down the front of your
shirt." Aidan began to recall the incident.
"I wasn't asleep."
"Aidan."
"I was thinking. So why did you cancel the meeting?"
"You told me to." An intern handed Aidan a document.
"This was sent over from Ginger." The intern said.
Aidan looked at it briefly. "Are theses the GC
numbers?"
"Yeah." The intern replied as she walked out of the
office.
"Why would I do that?"
"What?" Focused on the file in front of her, Tess
didn’t bother to look up.
"Tell you to cancel the meeting."
“You have fifteen minutes to get to Leo’s office.”
“I have twenty-three minutes. Answer the question.”
"Because you had coffee down the front of your shirt, you
were exhausted and you said, I quote "Anyone who can't tell me why he
wants to see me doesn't deserve to see me." Tess moved to her desk.
"Kathy, can you please call Bridgett in editing and tell her that we can't
do it on the sixth, but we can do it on the eighth." Kathy nodded and
walked away. “Thank you!”
"I said that?" Aidan replied looking up in annoyance
at her remembering the events so accurately. "I never said that."
Aidan held his breath in realization he was not only picking a
fight with Tess who knew everything and was rarely wrong, but he was also
calling her a liar.
Not a good
day Durrant.
He waited patiently for the wrath to begin. Today was the
deadline for all things Summit and they, aka he, had a big presentation this
afternoon.
"Aidan you can believe anything you want in that genius
mind of yours, but there were witnesses and it doesn't matter does it? You
didn't take the meeting, there were too many other things on the docket, and it
got pushed off. Big deal." Tess looked back down at the piece of paper in
front of her.
“Aidan” He heard his name seeing AJ, the PR director walking
toward him.
"What's up?"
"Have you met with Wailand?"
"On the twenty-third?”
"It was the twenty-fourth but no, since then."
"How do you know I didn't meet with Wailand on the
twenty-fourth?"
"I was here when you spilled the coffee down your shirt
and canceled the meeting." AJ stopped in front of him. "Have you seen
him since?"
"No, why what is going on? Leo asked me about it this
morning also. I know he’s the lead for the GDC but what's the deal?"
"I don't know yet, I was hoping you could tell me. There
is a buzz going around about him and I want to find out what it is. Can you try
and meet with him today?"
"Is he in town?" Knowing the Author Agent resided
somewhere in Arizona.
"Aidan Springhill Summit is the single most celebrated
week of the publishing year. If something is potentially jeopardizing the
success of the event and I don't know what it is first because of your
inability to stay awake during normal working hours I will have that
self-centered head of yours on a platter in the editorial hall for all of your
enemies to spit on!" AJ roared at him.
"Fine, I’ll handle it.” Annoyed and sincerely terrified
in the same moment. “Tess!"
"Kathy is getting him on the phone now," Tess passed
the office. Aidan watched as AJ winced slightly and groaned under her breath.
"Headache?"
"Shut up, Aidan," AJ rubbed her temple. Tess returned,
looking at AJ who was biting her lip. "Do you have any Advil?"
****
Come Find Me!
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