Chapter 15

March 8th

I worked hard, I fought, and I put it all on the line to make my career dreams come true and no one will stop me. Not even a brooding billionaire or a douche of an agent. I am woman and I will roar!

Jack motioned for Paige to follow the ma?tre d'to their table in one of the most exclusive restaurants in New York. Paige made sure they booked the very best of the best for Mimi Golden. Plus, she'd get to eat at a place she'd never be able to afford otherwise.

Timothy saw them first. He looked just like she expected. A douche. His hair was over-gelled. His smile was fake, his tan was also fake, and probably his teeth as well. They looked capped and too perfect. Paige shook his hand when Jack introduced them, but then Timmy immediately turned back to Jack and ignored Paige completely.

Paige moved around the table to where Mimi was sitting, looking for all the world like a nervous bookworm herself. She was a petite, middle-aged woman with curly brown hair, glasses, and a long-sleeved pullover dress in a subtle print that featured bundles of tiny books. Paige loved her instantly. "Hi. I'm Paige Turner. I'll be the editor you'll be working with if you sign with us. I just have to tell you how much I loved your book."

Paige took the seat next to Mimi and set her tote on her lap so she could pull out her notes. "I have that same tote," Mimi said, and when Paige looked up she saw the author looking slightly less nervous.

"I have a bit of an obsession with bookish totes and coffee mugs," Paige admitted while Timothy and Jack were still standing by the table talking to each other.

"Me too! So, how is it working with Jack? Timothy told me this was a rare opportunity since there are no romance novels in the main catalog of Griffin Publishing. Will he do it justice or will he ruin my baby?" Mimi whispered.

Paige leaned in such a way she cut off the men and could whisper back to Mimi. "I'd put it in the contract that you get final approval on the edits and cover art. It's rare for authors to get that much control, but I think we can make it happen. I want to do you and your beautifully written book baby all the justice in the world."

"What books do you like to read?" Mimi asked.

"So much romance. Hang on, maybe this will be easier." Paige pulled out her phone, pulled up her reading app, and opened its library. "Here."

Mimi took the phone as the men sat down. She scrolled through pages and pages of books. Some were marked to be read, but many had the READ banner on them. "Wow. At the other publishing house, the editor I met with was just filling in for romance and didn't read much of it. Her comments would have changed the whole tone of the book. You certainly know the genre and all the subgenres."

"Are we talking about what you think of Mimi's book?" Timothy asked, jumping into the conversation.

"Not yet. We were talking about what kind of books we read," Paige said smoothly. It would be so much easier if she didn't have to deal with Timmy. "What kind do you like to read?"

"I'm a big fan of inspirational business books. Taking control of your life, getting the things you want, that type of thing. You?" Timothy asked as if it were a challenge.

"Romance."

She saw him about to roll his eyes when he caught himself as he remembered who his client was. "Tell us what you see for Mimi."

Paige turned to Mimi and pulled out the first chapter of the manuscript. "Here are my notes. Why don't you read through them and see if we'd work well together?"

Jack about scorched her with his glare, but she just smiled brightly and turned to engage Timmy and Jack so Mimi could read her notes. She asked Timothy more about his "take charge, go after what he wants" books while Jack just stared at her as if willing her to read his mind.

After ten minutes of painful, tooth-pulling conversation, Mimi tapped her on the shoulder and leaned in close. "Was the executive producer idea yours or Timothy's?"

"Mine, why?"

Mimi nodded and then handed the manuscript back as the drinks were served. She lifted her glass and turned to Paige. "To my new editor."

Timothy looked shocked, but his over-exaggerated look was nothing compared to the look Jack gave her. It was closed, gave away nothing he might be thinking, but heated her to her core. He held up his glass. "To our dream team. Welcome to Griffin Publishing, Miss Golden."

"I think we need to talk terms," Timothy said, moving into full agent mode.

"Here is what I've already sent to Mr. West," Paige said, pulling out the contract she'd sent over. She handed it to Jack who gave her a brief nod indicating he'd take it from here. It was clear Timothy would only discuss money with Jack.

While they got to work, Paige and Mimi had the chance to talk. They talked about her book, her vision for what she wanted to write next, and then back to their favorite reads. By the time lunch was over, an intern had run over a clean copy of the contract, Mimi signed it, and Paige had a new job—senior editor for Griffin Publishing. She was one step closer to her dream job. All she had to do was make Mimi's book a bestseller then she would become Editorial Director of Romance.

Paige walked silently behind Jack back into the office. Amanda looked at her questioningly and Paige gave her the thumbs up as Jack walked into his office.

"Miss Turner!"

Paige rolled her eyes and Amanda hid a laugh behind her computer.

"Yes, Mr. Griffin?" Paige asked as she entered his office.

"You can call me sir," his voice said in a sexy growl that spoke to his power. Okay, that was hot. "We have a lot of work to do, launching the new Griffin Romance department. Talk to PR and have them get me a full press rollout for both Mimi and Lenora. I want to announce Mimi, Lenora, and Griffin Romance within the next month."

"Yes, sir," Paige added cheekily.

"And call HR."

"I am not sleeping with you!" Paige blurted out.

Jack crossed his arms over his chest and raked his eyes over her body. Okay, that was hotter in real life than in books. He was trying to claw out of that alpha-hole hole he'd dug and it was working.

"If I wanted to sleep with you, Miss Turner, there's nothing HR could do to stop it. You would be begging me to continue whatever I was doing. You certainly wouldn't want to stop and call HR to see if they approve of the orgasms I was giving you. However, if you do want your new promotion to senior editor along with your new office, you do need to call HR. So, are we calling HR or not? I'm happy to do whichever you prefer."

Paige felt her face flame. "I'm calling HR. Thank you for the promotion and for not sleeping with me."

Jack shook his head in amusement. "I never said I wasn't going to sleep with you, Miss Turner."

Paige didn't know what to say, so she turned and ran. She could only be her main character for so long.

The past several days had been a blur of contracts, a new job title, and working directly with Lenora and Mimi. Her dreams were coming true and it was all because three months ago she'd dared to step off the pages of her books and put into play the lessons she'd learned reading those books. Paige was ready for some time with her friends.

Café Felix was packed. Paige was glad she'd gotten there early. Even better, Felix had put a Reserved sign in their corner. Bless that man. Paige dropped into the soft chair and curled her feet under her to wait for her friends.

Paige's phone rang and she dug around her backpack for it. She didn't recognize the number so she didn't accept the call. Instead, Paige pulled out her book for the week and set it on the table. She decided to get in line to order a round of drinks for her book club. Her phone chimed with a new voicemail message as she waited to place her order.

Paige brought the phone up to her ear and didn't breathe again until well after the call had ended.

"Paige? Are you okay?" Felix asked when she was up to order. She didn't remember how she got to the front of the line.

"He called me."

"Who called you?" Felix asked.

"The emergency room doctor I met the other night."

"Does he deserve a callback? Watch out. Those doctors can be players," Felix warned.

Paige didn't care as long as Fraser played with her. "I think so."

Felix frowned. "You know my sister is a nurse. I can ask her to look into him if you want."

"I'll think about it. Thanks for looking out for me, Felix."

"Of course. Should I get everyone their usual?" Felix nodded his head to her sitting area. Paige glanced back and saw that while she'd been daydreaming of the hot doc pulling her into a steamy kiss, her friends had all arrived.

"That would be great. You could join us if you'd like."

Felix glanced at Amelia then at the line behind Paige and sighed. "I would if I could. Next time."

Eli joined Paige at the counter to take the big mugs of hot drinks to their sitting area. Soon they were cozied up with the book on the table but none of them talking about it. Basically, a normal book club meeting.

"Your boss totally wants to bang you," Leah whispered.

"I'll bang him if you won't." Eli wiggled his eyebrows at her and Paige laughed.

"But then I got this." Paige lifted up her phone and played the voicemail on speaker.

"The sexy doctor?" Amelia gasped. "What is happening? You're in a love triangle. No wait, there's four of you. You're in a love square!"

"There's not four of us," Paige said with a protest.

"Hot doc," Leah said, holding up one finger.

"Hot boss," Eli said as Leah held up a second finger.

"Hot cop," Amelia added as Leah held up a third finger.

"And you." Leah wiggled her fourth finger.

Paige shook her head. "No. First, Max has a girlfriend, so put that finger down. Second, I think Jack is messing with me. A billionaire boss isn't interested in a girl like me."

"Like what?" Leah said, sounding offended.

"A virgin from a small town in Vermont who grew up on a Christmas tree farm. That just doesn't happen," Paige explained to them.

"It does in our romance books," Amelia challenged. "Like, all of them."

Paige shook her head, not believing it. "Speaking of books, I found my next trope. I want my next couple of tropes to stay as far away from my real life as possible." Paige paused for dramatic effect as everyone leaned forward with anticipation. "Shifters," Paige said with a big grin.

She laughed as everyone looked confused. "You're not doing it with a wolf, are you?" Eli finally asked. "That's like, so illegal."

"No!" Paige gasped. "Why would you think that?"

"You do know that shifters aren't real, right?" Amelia asked carefully.

"Athletic alpha men turning into wolves, sexy lumberjacks turning into bears, or hell, even men and women turning into pigeons—that doesn't exist," Leah said hesitantly as if telling a child there was no Santa Claus.

Paige reached into her bag and pulled out a flyer. She laid it on the table with a grin. "I found the next best thing."

Eli leaned forward to read it. "New York Furry Convention," he read slowly. He paused and then busted out laughing. "It's perfect for shifters!"

Leah and Amelia joined in as they shook their heads.

"You had me worried for a moment," Leah admitted. "But this is genius. What furry are you going as?"

"I don't know. The convention itself looks like a festival," Paige told them. "What do you all think?"

"Wolf, for sure. That's the number one shifter animal," Leah said as everyone nodded their agreement. "When is this?"

"This weekend," Paige told them.

"We don't have much time. We need to find you a costume and I know just the place," Eli said, pulling up a website on his phone and showing it to her. "It's only ten blocks away."

Paige looked at the costume site and smiled. It was perfect.