11 - Sophisticated

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Lilli didn't even wait until she arrived home to look at the books Zach had sent her. She had set up the app on her phone for her LillianDWLA account. She smiled because Zach's username was Zagent. He sounded like a spy. One of the stories he sent she had read. It was by a successful Novelpost author who Lilli had chatted with from time to time. Another was similar, but her interactions with her were mutual kudos on their message boards. If Rejectedwriter announced a view milestone, she would always respond. There were another two she wasn't familiar with. Lilli was only too familiar with the last one. By the time she reached Forest Hills, she had a plan. She would choose one or two of the others to push. There was no way the two authors she knew would have any clue that LillianDWLA was Rejectedwriter. Thank goodness for online anonymity.

She entered her apartment, and Ainsley yelled, "It's about time. I thought you really died your first week. How's Creamy? Are you?"

Lilli gave her the evil eye. It was not time for sexual jokes. She hung up her coat, kicked off her boots and went straight for the kitchen for the wine.

Ainsley studied her. "That bad. Seriously, what's wrong?"

"My new boss is trolling for talent on Novelpost. His former assistant flagged a handful of stories."

Ainsley watched as she filled a large goblet, and said, "And?"

"And." She stared at her roommate with bug eyes. "Seriously? You aren't following me."

"Oh." Ainsley put her hand over her mouth, but it wasn't to hide her gasp, but the giggles that escaped her fingers.

Lilli pouted. "It's not funny. He won't know it's me, will he? OMG. Zach-Jack and Lillian-Jillian. At least he never calls me Lillian. No one at the office does. Except me. I have to change the way I answer the phone." It was a holdover from her years with Kendall.

At least, the office in Office Secrets wasn't a literary or publishing office. She had chosen the popular fictional occupation of architect. Mike Brady made being an architect cool in the seventies on The Brady Bunch with their modern California house. Lilli smiled, thinking of one summer when she and Lily were infatuated with old reruns of The Brady Bunch on TV Land. They were so annoying they called her little sister Cindy all summer long. Phoebe hated it. She also set the story in Philadelphia. Lilli's grandparents lived outside of Philly and Lilli knew the city fairly well from all her visits over the years.

Ainsley interrupted her musing. "You look like you are trying to solve climate change. Lighten up, he'll never know it's you."

Lilli took a gulp of wine. "I need to read the other two stories and then I need to log on as Rejectedwriter. By the time she put down her iPad, images of Zach and his blue light filtering glasses filled her mind. Her eyes were tired. She also had a new follower, Zagent and a fresh worry. Was Chelsea lurking too? She didn't trust the younger girl to keep a secret.

When she woke after ten, she had coffee and grabbed her iPad. She was on her own because Ainsley had a fitting for her sister's wedding and Rhys was with Terry.

She spent an hour wading through comments. Working backwards, her explosion filled the quiet room. "He lied!"

Zagent had left her comments. They were positive and ordinarily she would have been pleased, but he said not to comment. What happened to reporting back on Monday morning? The man stayed up until one am reading her words.

How could she convince him not to pursue her story? Was it good enough to be published? Maybe. Did she want to be published? Her focus had changed. She had been on a grueling book tour and seen firsthand the pressure to publish two books a year. Lilli loved to edit other's work, but hated receiving the feedback on her own. Novelpost had a thousand kudos for each negative comment. It was safe and Lillian liked it safe. Besides, there was no way Zach could publish her book, because he would figure out it was about him.

Ever since Ann and Zach spoke about mentoring her, she embraced her goal of becoming an agent. Successful agents made a lot more than her crappy salary. Writing the fanfiction had been a fun stress release. Office Secrets practically wrote itself, but her new story felt like a chore most of the time. She didn't have more stories bursting out of her. Even the things she did to increase readers on Novelpost were becoming tedious. She had too many comments to keep up with. Thankfully, Ainsley handled her social media sites for her.

She forced herself not to reply to Zach's comments. Ignore him and focus on getting a promotion. She liked her plan. As soon as she finished her current story, she'd take a break from writing. In her quiet apartment, she sat down to bang out a few chapters.

By the time Ainsley arrived, she felt like a weight had been lifted off her. Her friend eyed her suspiciously, as she said, "What's going on?"

"Nothing. I've been writing all day." Lilli said, as she stood to stretch.

"And your other problem?"

Did she have a sign on her that said 'in crisis'? "Even if he is interested in my story, there are no guarantees. I don't know if I want it bad enough to go through the process and still get rejected. Besides, he can't know about Jack. I'll ignore him. Hopefully, he'll go away."

Ainsley snickered. "Quite a dilemma. You want the object of your desires to go away."

"Only from my private life. Ainse, stop laughing."

"It's just I thought you wanted to get private with him."

Lilli turned her back on her friend. "Ha, ha. I want him to help me get a promotion and then he'll be my co-worker."

Ainsley followed her as she went into the kitchen and asked, "What will change?"

"I won't be his assistant like in Office Secrets. Let's call the boys. I'm in the mood to go out."

Ainsley put her hands on her hips, and said, "Seriously? I spent the day with my sister and her annoying friends. Her college roommate breastfed in the middle of the bridal shop." Lilli giggled. "She is the all natural, gluten-free, dairy free type. My cousin is pregnant, so I had to listen to au natural's birthing story in detail."

Lilli laughed. "I'm not all natural. I need the tannins and sulfites from cheap wine."

"How about cheap wine and a device free evening? We can watch a movie."

"That's using a device."

Ainsley groaned. "Social media free."

"Fine. I just need to post a chapter."

She opened up Novelpost and looked out of habit. Zagent finished her book and left a comment full of praise. Compelling story from start to finish. I could feel the chemistry between your two characters. Both sophisticated and witty. Great story!!! If he used emojis, Lilli might have choked on her wine. It felt good that he liked her book, but he could never know it was hers.

On Monday, she set out to work with a new reserve. Her focus was on her career, and Zach was only human. He didn't have superpowers causing her body parts to turn to rubber or liquid. He didn't control the beating of her heart. You've got this, bitch. Leo was making a cup of coffee when she breezed in with a fresh selection of milks. She grocery shopped and made dinner on Sunday. Her new leaf on life included less takeout and more vegetables, even frozen from a bag.

He smiled at her. "Good weekend?"

"Yeah." She smiled. She meant it. "How's your daughter settling in?

He shrugged. "I hope it will be better when we move into the house. Living at the Residence Inn isn't easy, even with the pool as a distraction."

She shook her head. "I can imagine. Staying in hotels growing up was never much fun. Even the novelty of the waffles and swimming wore off."

He laughed as she took her coffee and left Leo deep in thought with a wave. Because her father traveled for his work, they traveled too, using the perks of airline miles and hotel rewards. The upgrades to first class and hotel suites were fun, but she and Phoebe always ended up fighting. Poor Leo and his wife.

She was at her desk, logging into her desktop, when Leo appeared. He looked around her office. It was the first time he had visited.

"Nice window. You forgot your breakfast." He placed the peanut butter crackers in front of her. She had set them by the coffee machine and left them.

"Thanks."

He walked around her office and stopped at her copy of her friend Matthew's book. It was the first book she was directly involved with editing. He picked it up.

"I've heard this didn't do very well." Leo said, turning the book over and looking at the picture.

Feeling protective, she replied, "It did okay. R-S Publishing printed it but never gave it the promotional support it deserved."

He opened the book and read Matthew's inscription. "To Lilli One. I'm forever grateful. Your friend, Matthew."

Lilli blushed because the second dedication was for her. She knew it by heart. Thank you to a one of a kind editor who can drive me anywhere.

Leo cocked his head. "Are you sure you can't lure him over to me?"

She shook her head, as Zach appeared and said, "Oh Leo, don't steal her. She's mine."

His wink convinced her he had superpowers, and the pep talk she had given herself was just hot air.

Zach turned his attention to her. "Hey Lilli, we have some things to discuss."

Like you commenting. She looked, and he hadn't commented on any of the others.

She nodded as Leo slipped out of his office.

Zach frowned as he said, "Your new friend?"

She shrugged. "He's a nice guy. He wants my friend as a client, though." Zach scowled. "Don't hold it against Leo. He's huge among tweens and teens. Leo's just doing his job."

Her words relaxed his jaw, but she had bigger issues as she picked up her phone and followed him into his office. He sat on his sofa and not his desk. She never met with Ann informally. Maybe his powers were the ability to cause confusion. He was very good at it.

"So, did you check out any novels on Novelpost?" She nodded once again, not trusting her mouth. She liked when his desk blocked most of his body. He had his ankle resting on his knee and his socks had a design on them.

If he didn't wear plain socks, what kind of underwear did he wear? Definitely boxers. Get a grip, Lill.

He continued after she managed a nod. "I liked one more than the others."

Lilli had to get her argument right. Failure was not an option. "I really liked the one with Krystal and Chase. It was witty. For a young author, she sounded mature."

"I agree there's potential, but I liked Office Secrets. It was sophisticated and witty. I could feel the chemistry."

Lilli gulped. That was some praise, and it was hard not to show any pride. "I worry about the author. Did you see her other work? It's all fanfiction."

He waved his hand. "I'm not Ann or Kendall who think fanfiction is a four letter word. I view it as a gateway."

"Gateway drug?" Duh, Lill. Shut up.

Zach laughed, causing crinkles at the corner of his beautiful eyes. "No, to serious writing."

"You call an office romance serious. It's a worn out trope." She was losing hope that he would let this go. "What did you think of the second chance story? They're hugely popular."

"And too overdone. Second chance was popular a few years ago, but the publishers aren't interested now. I'm sure it will cycle back into popularity in a couple of years."

"And an office romance isn't overdone?" Lilli questioned him. "It's a tale as old as time."

When she dared to look up from his socks, which held her attention, he was smiling at her. "It's a story which never grows old. Whoever this 'rejected writer' is, I'd like to free her from working for an architect for the rest of her life."

Lilli frowned. "What do you want me to do?"

It was time for a new game plan.

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