Colin was a man on a mission. The first order of business was to find Rhonda Bell, Staadt Publishing's Director of Marketing, and persuade her to make Miguel's book a priority. She'd been with the company for years and they'd enjoyed a good working relationship. Rhonda wasn't a maverick by any stretch of the imagination, but she wasn't a yes-woman either.
Marketing was a floor below editing, so Colin got off the elevator early and made a beeline for Rhonda's office. He'd stopped at Espressamente on his way in and had picked up an extra coffee for her. By the way she was slumped behind her desk, Rhonda looked like she could use it.
"Morning," said Colin, poking his head in the office. He was doing his best to channel Eve's buoyancy, but on the inside he was sick with worry.
Rhonda peered up from behind her reading glasses. She looked tired, and not entirely pleased with the interruption.
Undeterred, Colin walked in and set the coffee on her desk. "For you."
She picked up the cup and sniffed it, then set it back down. "I don't drink coffee," she said.
He forced a smile. It could only get better from here.
"What can I do for you?" she asked.
"I wanted to talk about the campaign for Miguel Costa's book." He pulled out the chair opposite her desk and made himself comfortable.
"I was going to call you about that."
"Great minds think alike," he said, doing his best to be charming. "The book is really coming along, and I think it has the potential to be one of our biggest sellers ever. There's an opportunity here to find a significant readership outside his core fan base. What we need to do —"
"Have you checked your inbox this morning?
"No, why?"
She handed him a piece of paper that read:
M E M O R A N D U M
To: All Staff
From: Mr. Charles Staadt, President and CEO of Staadt Publishing Company Limited
Re: Financial Update
It has come to my attention that the company has incurred unexpected cost overruns in acquisitions. In order to make up this shortfall, each department is required to review its budget and find savings of 10%.
All managers will meet with their teams by Friday of this week, and are expected to submit their proposals for reductions by next Friday, April 15.
"We're scaling back Miguel's launch," she said.
He looked up at her in disbelief.
"Everyone knows that it's the Costa deal he's talking about," she said.
So much for being charming. He sat forward in his chair and looked her square in the eye. "Scaling back is exactly the opposite of what we need to do."
Rhonda pursed her lips.
"Miguel's book is phenomenal."
"If you do say so yourself."
"I'm a damn good writer." He tapped a finger on the desk to emphasize his point. "But I'm talking about his story. It's compelling, and shocking, and universal. The potential audience is huge."
Rhonda tossed her pen on the desk. "Look, Colin. I'd like to help you, but my hands are tied."
"Bullshit."
Her eyebrow arched in surprise.
"You're running scared," he said.
"How dare you!"
Good. Her back was up now. There was still a little fight left in her. "You'd be a fool not to be," he said, deflecting her anger. "Staadt's on the warpath and you want to protect your job. I get that. In fact, I'm trying to do the same thing." He leaned over the desk. "But consider this." He lowered his voice to make it seem as though he were telling her a confidence. "The best way to keep our jobs is to make sure this company stays in business. Miguel's book has the potential to sell enough copies to put us back in the black — but only if it's marketed properly."
"Even with the scale back, this book is still getting more attention than anything else we have on the roster."
"We've got to go bigger. This is an opportunity."
She folded her arms, but before she could protest, Colin spoke again.
"Think about it," he said. "This is a chance for your team to get creative and show what they can really do. Our promos are all the same — you said that yourself."
"Colin," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Well, you did. Wouldn't it be fun to do it differently this time? Really blow it out of the water."
The merest hint of a smile crossed her face.
"This could make your career."
"Or break it."
"You might be out of a job anyway, so what difference does it make?" He flashed her a conspiratorial grin. "If we're going out, let's do it with a bang."
At last a chuckle trickled out of her. "What on earth has gotten into you?" she asked.
"How do you mean?"
"You're a different man these past few months."
He sat back in his chair again and took a sip of coffee. "This Costa deal has been all-consuming."
"No, it's not that." She tapped her forefinger against her lip. "There's, I don't know . . . a spring in your step."
"Isn't there always?"
"Nope. There used to be, way back in the day."
A silence fell between them. He ran a finger over the words pressed into the plastic cup cover. Caution: Hot.
"We were both going to be novelists, remember?" she asked.
"New York Times best-selling novelists," he corrected.
She laughed. "Is there any other kind?" Her smile faded again. "God, we were naive." The memo lay between them on the desk. "What are we going to do about the budget?"
"Find the money somewhere else — reallocate it from other launches. Put everything you've got into Miguel's release. Please."
She laced her fingers together and looked across the desk at him. He could see her mind working, weighing the pros and cons. "Miguel will have to be out there, front and centre. His star status is the best thing we've got," she said.
"Leave that to me."
"You think he'll go along with it? He's not exactly known for his public appearances."
That was an understatement. "He likes Jimmy Fallon."
Rhonda rolled her eyes. "He'd better like them all because we'll be pimping him out to every talk show on the air."