He shot her a look that made it clear her input wasn’t welcome.
“Mom, give it up,” Mia said. “We all know you’re Team Shelby, but it’s time to let it go.”
Carmen turned to her. “And it’s time for you to let go of your anger at her. She did the right thing in telling us about your reading. One day, you’ll be thanking her. Tell her, Justin.”
He pushed his chair away from the table and stood. “I came here to talk to you about Kate. Not Shelby. If you want to thank her,youthank her.” He walked his plate into the kitchen, called out a perfunctory thanks for dinner, and left.
Carmen shook her head. Fine. Shewouldthank her.
And then she would try, as Mia so bluntly suggested, to let it go.
Fifty-Four
Shelby called Claudia and asked for a meeting. She didn’t want to go to lunch. This was a conversation she wanted to have at the office.
The agency occupied two floors of a six-story building in Flatiron. It had high ceilings and an open floor plan, with lots of glass and brushed steel and exposed pipes. Lucite chairs added pops of bright color. Claudia had one of the few offices with a door.
A new assistant showed her to Claudia’s office, asking her if she wanted coffee or sparkling water.
“Nothing, thanks, I’m good,” Shelby said.
Claudia, dressed in a white pantsuit and lots of gold jewelry, rounded her desk, air-kissed Shelby on both cheeks, then took her seat. Shelby sat on the red leather couch facing the desk. Large windows overlooked Fifth Avenue.
“So, what’s on your mind, lady?” Claudia said cheerily, checking her phone. She looked up. “I told you I spoke to your editor a few days ago, right? She launchedBookshop Beachlast week, and Team Shelby Archer is very excited.”
Launching the book meant that her editor had presented it to the publicity department and sales force and officially positioned it for next summer. Shelby tugged the rubber band out of her ponytail and wrapped it around her middle finger, tighter and tighter until it hurt.
“I’m having an...issue with the book,” Shelby said.
“Problem with the notes? Just do the ones you agree with and leave the rest. The same as last time.”
“It’s not the notes. It’s bigger than that. I don’t think it’s the right book for me to publish.”
It didn’t matter if Shelby believed she’d violated Colleen’s privacy in writing the book; Colleen did. So, she had two choices: she could move forward withBookshop Beachand lose her best friend, or she could try to repair her friendships and lose the book. The more she thought about it, the more obvious the right choice seemed. She’d write something else. Sure, she’d lose the chance to have a follow-up toSecrets of Summerpublish next summer. But it was a small price to pay for saving her friendship with Colleen.
Claudia tilted her head to one side. She unscrewed the cap of her sparkling water.
“Shelby, the book is good. What’s giving you cold feet?”
“I just don’t want to publish it. I changed my mind.”
“You changed your mind,” Claudia said, sitting up straighter. The expression in her hazel eyes changed from concern to something noticeably cooler. “Where is this coming from?”
“It’s just the way I feel. But I’ll get started right away on something else.” Authors had pulled books before. Books much further along the publishing process than her own. It wasn’t even listed online yet. Yes, it was on the publisher’s calendar. But things moved all the time. She just needed Claudia’s support. Claudia would smooth things over.
“Shelby,” she said slowly, choosing her words with obvious care. “This is your job—not a hobby. You were paid a lot of money for that book.”
“I’ll give it back,” Shelby said quickly. If that was the biggest issue, she had no problem taking the financial hit. She’d make it back on the next one, and she’d get by on royalties fromSecrets of Summer.
“And what about your editor’s time investment? And mine? Can you give that back as well?”
Shelby hadn’t thought of it that way.
“No, but—”
“I’m sorry,” Claudia said coldly. “Let me back up: Do you need to postpone this book for mental health reasons?”
“No,” Shelby said, shaking her head. “It’s nothing like that. I just don’t want to publish the book—ever.”
