A Fresh Start

“Katie, I’m very sorry, but I’ve put in a long and difficult day already and I need a break. I’ve been on the go the entire time. I need a chance to breathe.”

There was complete silence from the other end. Grace never said no to anything, usually. That was part of the reason why she’d found herself stuck with rainbow unicorns and sparkling werewolves.

“What?”

Katie sounded as if she couldn’t quite understand the words she’d heard.

“I’m taking the rest of the day off. I’m sure that whatever needs to be done can be handled by somebody else until tomorrow. I’m going to go home and get some much needed sleep. Goodbye, Katie.”

Without waiting for Katie to tell her she couldn’t do that, she hung up. Grace stared at her phone for a long moment and took an even longer swig of her wine.

There, she had stood up for herself. It was about time.

She had the rest of the day off. But now she had no clue just what she was supposed to do with it.

Feeling at a loss, she got another glass of wine and drank that, too.

The wine caught up with her. She got up, and stood still at the rush of blood. It had probably been a bad idea to have that wine without having something more substantial to eat. She carefully made her way to the deserted hallway that led to the rest room. Thankfully, it was almost empty. By the time she came back out of a stall, it was completely empty.

Splashing some cold water on her face, she looked closely at herself.

She might feel a bit frumpy, but she didn’t look it. The cinched in white shirt dress was very flattering on her. Her hair was a bit messy, but in an artful way. Carefully, she touched up her makeup and glared at herself.

“Don’t regret this now. It might not have been the earth-shattering moment you’d been hoping for, but you met Alan Barden. He signed your book. Now if you’re going to be fired for this, they’re not worth working for, anyway. Besides, you can always say that Rachel assumed you were going to be there, and you saw no sign of Thom, so you made a judgment call. It was obviously the sensible thing to do. They can’t possibly fire you over this.”

If she was fired, she’d be free from dreadful manuscripts. She would have to find another way to make her dream of being published come true.

Well, this way wasn’t exactly working, so no loss there, she reasoned.

She would have to get another job, of course. That was never easy. But maybe she could try a different kind of content writing. Writing web content wasn’t so bad. She’d be quite good at dealing with social media, at the very least.

Besides, she was getting ahead of herself. She probably wouldn’t be fired or anything. She was very good at her job, after all.

Grace walked out, and walked into what felt like a solid wall of muscle.

Strong hands gripped her arms to steady her. Grace found herself clutching the jacket right in front of her.

She wasn’t a small woman, but the man in front of her made her feel small. Her eyes slowly traveled up, past a defiantly tie-less collar, a strong jaw and cheeks that were shadowed with stubble, firm but full lips curved slightly, a long, straight nose… And those deep, green, intense eyes.

Grace gulped. She could find no words to say.

She tried to talk, but nothing came out.

“Grace, right?”

The voice was deep and husky, and sent a thrill running down her body.

“Right,” said Grace, and she was glad her voice didn’t sound squeaky. She sure felt squeaky.

“Fancy running into you here,” said Alan Barden, and his voice was definitely amused. But he didn’t let go of her arms, and Grace made no move to step away.

“Come here often?” quipped Grace, to her relief.

He chuckled and let go of her arms. Grace acknowledged the disappointment she felt and let it go. She stepped back just a bit.

“Not if I can help it. I’m not sure if you noticed, but I hate doing these events,” he told her.

Grace smiled sympathetically.

“I’ve heard. I work for Keys. You’re a bit of a mystery even within the industry.”

“Are you here to unravel the mystery?”

“Oh, no, Mr. Barden…”

“Please,” he interrupted, “call me Alan.”

Grace smiled slightly.

“Well then, Alan. No, I just really wanted an autograph. I wasn’t supposed to be a part of the event, but I’m afraid I found a way to get my hands on an invite. I love your books. They’re entertaining without sacrificing all thought. I hope, one day, somebody will say that about my writing.”

“Are you a writer?”

Grace laughed now, and it was a genuine laugh.

“I work for a publishing house. Of course I’m a writer. Aren’t we all? That’s the only reason we’d work in the industry at all, with the way things are.”

Alan smiled charmingly.

He was a completely different man away from crowds, thought Grace. That wall of reserve that he put up was meant for crowds. When he talked to you and focused all of his considerable attention on you, there was no wall.

“I appreciate your honesty, Grace. If you’re part of Keys, do I have you to thank for the arrangements here?”

Grace grinned.

“Some of them. The person who was supposed to handle it flaked a bit, I’m afraid, so I was asked to step in. Mostly because it was last minute and I was the only one around.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, you made it as painless for me as possible for these events to be.”

They stood there, looking at each other for a moment.

“Come on, Alan, you’re stalling because you don’t want to go back in there.”

He grinned sheepishly.

“Well, perhaps, just a bit. But what kind of a man would I be if I didn’t take the opportunity to talk to a lovely, capable woman who is also honest and compassionate?”

Grace laughed again.

“Now you’re buttering me up to keep me here, talking to you.”

“Is it working?” asked Alan with a winning smile.

Grace couldn’t help smiling back. Why, the man was irresistible – even better than all the fevered fantasies she had conjured in her head!

“Perhaps,” admitted Grace. “But there are many people in there who came here to see you, arranging their weeks around this. It would be unfair to keep you here.”

Alan sighed dramatically.

“And fair. The lady is fair, too. Why, it’s too much!”

Grace laughed, hardly able to believe that he was flirting with her. Alan Barden was actually flirting with her! Now, if she got fired, it was all absolutely worth it.

She took a deep breath and shut down the voices in her head, screaming at her to not do it.

“Alan, would you like to go out for a drink, sometime later?”

Alan looked at her appreciatively and smiled.

“That refreshing honesty and lack of games again. I would like that, Grace. I’ll meet you at Libraria, at about eight, on Friday evening. Would that suit you?”

Would it ever!

“That would be lovely,” said Grace, staying calm outwardly though she was turning cartwheels in her head.

“Here’s my card,” she said, digging it out and shoving it at him before he could change his mind.