I get back into my office and lose myself in some tasks. An hour ticks past, and then a second, and finally I’m wondering if I should go check in on Avery. I don’t want to hover or anything, but I am really curious about how it’s going. I expected an hour at most to go over that stuff, but it’s been two now, and I haven’t heard a peep.
As I get up and stride towards my door, I suddenly hear the murmur of muted but loud voices. It takes me a second to realize it’s coming from the conference room.
I curse under my breath. As I start hurrying over, the conference room door bursts open and Haylee comes storming out.
“You have to be fucking kidding me,” she snaps and whirls around. “I keep telling you. I can’t change the character of Mortimer. I mean, he’s central to the book!”
Avery comes storming out after her, red-faced and angry. “He’s a bit character with a random secondary plot that does nothing to move the story further. And he has a stupid name!”
Haylee’s eyes go wide and her nostrils flare. “What’s going on?” I say, walking over to them.
“You stupid asshole,” she says loudly. “You don’t know anything.” Haylee whirls on me. “Why would you assign me this… moron?”
“You asked for her,” I point out.
She makes a face. “So what? I was a little drunk.”
I gape at her. “Are you serious? Okay, let’s discuss this in private.”
I can feel the whole office watching. This sort of shit is not good for company morale and I can already hear the rumors. Boss gets young authors drunk and probably tries to sleep with them. God damn it.
“No,” Haylee snaps. “I know I asked for her. I mean, I thought it was cute, she’s a fan, you know? But her ideas are awful. I can’t work like this.”
Avery is fuming. “Haylee is stubborn and impossible,” she says. “She won’t take a single edit, not a single freaking one. Not even legitimate punctuation!”
“I won’t compromise my vision!” Haylee snaps back. “Something you clearly don’t have.”
“Enough,” I say loudly. Both girls look at me, although Haylee looks more pissed than surprised. “Enough, okay? Look, Avery is smart and capable. If you can’t work with her, you can’t work with anyone at this company.”
Haylee gapes at me and Avery looks equally surprised.
“You’re seriously going to take her side?” Haylee asks. “I thought you wanted me to be your new rising star author. This is some rinky-dink little no-name house and yet here I am anyway. I’m doing you a fucking favor.”
“I don’t need favors,” I say, letting my anger get the best of me. “I’d rather you went somewhere else if you’re going to act like this. If you can’t take edits or work with someone as reasonable as Avery, you don’t belong here, or anywhere else, for that matter.”
Haylee gapes at me. Avery just looks shocked. I’m so pissed, I don’t really care.
I’ll lose a hundred fucking Haylees before I give up Avery.
Haylee works her jaw. I can tell she’s thinking. Finally, she turns to Avery. “I’ll change the name,” she says. “But he stays.”
“Make his plot make sense,” Avery says.
I think Haylee might scream at her, but instead, she takes a breath and calms herself. “I’ll think about it.”
“Fine,” Avery says.
“Okay.” I take a step toward them. “I think we’re done for today. I know this is stressful. We’ll pick up tomorrow.”
Haylee nods sharply. She disappears back into the conference room to gather her things.
“Head back to your desk,” I say to Avery softly.
“I’m so sorry, Julian, I really tried—”
I shake my head. “It’s okay. I’ll talk to you when she’s gone.”
She nods, looking downcast. She walks slowly back to her desk.
Shit, I’ll have to deal with that, but one thing at a time.
Haylee comes back out and I escort her back to the elevators.
“Was she really so bad?” I ask the young author softly.
The girl sighs. “No,” she admits. “The edits are fine. It’s just… I’ve never had to give in to demands before. I’ve always worked alone.”
I nod at that. “I understand. But unfortunately, you’re working with a team now. Your opinion is the most important one, but you still have to be able to listen, at least a little bit.”
“You’re right,” she says. “I’ll try.”
“Thank you. And listen, if you really can’t work with Avery, I can find someone else. But I think she’s right for you.”
Haylee shakes her head. “No. She’s fine. I’ll deal.”
“Okay.” The elevators open. “Send me the new pages and come back in tomorrow.”
“Fine.” She steps inside, looking miserable. “I won’t blow up tomorrow.”
I smile at her. “I know.”
She nods as the doors slide shut. I sigh and slump against the wall.
Fucking shit. I came so close to destroying this company before it even got started.