Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Alex Moore
You’re welcome! What are you doing today?
Um . . . working?
Alex Moore
Well, if you need anything, please let me know.
I will, thank you!
Why is my heart beating abnormally fast over a few text messages? I sigh and head into the bathroom to shower. After my encounter with Alex, and even Myles, I’m confident I can make an offer on the football romance story. Of course, after I discuss it at our team meeting. Kit has to approve everything, and while we’re pitching our stories to her, the rest of us discuss what sort of marketing we can do to help our client. Marketing is so important whether it’s social media, book fairs, or in-store book signings. We, as publishers, need to do our part while the author does theirs.
Barrett opens the door for me as I approach, tipping his hat in greeting as he does so. “Good morning, Ms. Sloane.”
“Good morning, Barrett. What a beautiful day.”
He apprises me. “It’s raining. Again.” He points to the wet ground.
“But the sun’s shining.”
“Yes, that does make a difference. Are you walking today? Or would you like me to hail you a taxi?”
“Walking.” I hold my umbrella up for him to see, and then press the button to open it. “Have a nice day, Barrett.”
“You too, Ms. Sloane.”
Once again, I’m walking among the others heading to work or to their meetings. Most of us wear earbuds. Some are talking, albeit a bit too animatedly for my liking. A couple of people are bobbing their heads and I wonder what they’re listening to. Right now, my current listen is 80’s love songs. I don’t know what it is, but they’re my jam. And if I’m not careful, I’ll be singing and bobbing my head right along with the rest of my walking cohorts.
After swiping my badge to get through security, I stand and wait for the elevator. Kit walks toward me and smiles. “Good morning, Kelsey.”
“Good morning.” As far as bosses go, she’s pretty awesome. We met at a conference in Florida and hit it off. She sold me on this baby publisher and encouraged me to apply for a job. I didn’t at first because the idea of moving coasts wasn’t appealing, but here I am.
“Production meeting this morning. Are you ready?”
Internally, I groan. For the most part I don’t mind the meetings, until it’s my turn. I don’t mind selling new books to the team but loathe when we talk about sales numbers. Sometimes, we love a book, but something inevitably gets in the way of making it a bestseller. It’s hard to pinpoint why readers will pick up a book and why they won’t. It’s not like we can stand on a street corner asking people. Although now that I think of it, maybe we could.
“Yes, I have a pitch to present.”
“Great,” Kit says enthusiastically. “I’m excited to hear it.”
No pressure.
We get into the elevator and Kit presses the button. When we reach our floor, we greet Robin, our receptionist. At my cubicle, I leave my stuff and head into the breakroom for my much-needed coffee and to put my lunch into the refrigerator.
“Hey,” Valentine says when I step into the room. “How did it go yesterday?”
“Great. Fantastic, really. Myles was great and so was Alex.” My cheeks heat up at the mention of his name.
“What!? Girl, I need some details.”
“About what?” I shrug and pretend I have no idea what she’s talking about.
“Oh, nah. Stop hiding. Alex? What’s his last name?” Val pulls her phone out and looks at me expectedly.
“Moore,” I tell her. “He’s the one who gives the ball to the quarterback.”
“Noah Westbury is our quarterback. I have a crush on his dad.”
“Who’s his dad?” I ask.
“Liam Westbury, lead singer of 4225 West.”
Yep, total crush. “Who doesn’t?” I mutter.
“Alex Moore,” Valentine says his name in a hushed tone. “Says here he’s recently single.”
“Oh?” My interest piques when I shouldn’t care. We didn’t talk about anything other than football during dinner. Not about his life or mine, but about the game and how it’s played. After we finished, he drove me home and asked for my number. Sure, I felt the connection between us, but it’s probably one-sided.
But was it?
With my mug in my hand, I pour my coffee, leaving room for creamer. “How did you set the meeting up so soon?”
“Myles is my roommate,” Valentine tells me. “He was so thrilled to do it because it would annoy the guys.”
“Alex seemed happy to show me around.”
“Of course, he was. The guys are genuinely really great, but they whine like children when they have to do something. Still, they do it and never complain.”
“Well, it was eye-opening, so thank you. And like I said, Myles was great.”
“He liked you too.”
Valentine and I make our way to our respective cubicles, and I do what I probably shouldn’t and Google Alex. I bypass his Wiki and player profile on the Pioneers page and click on the image tab. Photo after photo fill my screen, along with categories: Wallpaper, NFL Combine, Noah Westbury, high school, cool, charity, and Maggie Gardner. Stupidly, I click on Maggie and a flood of images pop up of her and Alex. Some intimate. Him nuzzling her neck. Them in an embrace. Them kissing.