“Makes sense,” Benjamin says as he chomps on his pancakes. “Take advantage of the opportunity, I’d say.”
“I don’t know, she wants to have a Zoom meeting ASAP and pull in the publishing house’s head of marketing and everything. It sounds like they’re planning to make a big deal about it.”
“Lace, theyshouldmake a big deal about it. Your words yesterday really resonated with people. You went viral!”
“Yeah, but what if they try to get me to do all this publicity stuff I’m not ready for? Or just don’t want to do?”
“You know your own mind. It’s up to you to draw the line. But I’m sure you can handle the publicity stuff. You know why?”
“Why?” I give him a quizzical look.
“Because you’re genuine. And honest. People love that. They vibe with it. Nobody wants perfectly polished marketing packages anymore. People want realness. You’ve got that.”
“You think?”
“Sure. You’re a direct person. You’ve definitely always been honest with me,” Ben says with a grin.
I stay silent, thinking of the secrets I’ve kept from him, like the fact that the journal entry he read the other day wasabouthim.
“I think your honesty even got me in trouble once or twice when we were teens,” Ben continues with a laugh. “I believeyou’rethe tattletale who got me busted for smoking in my bedroom back in the day?”
“Ugh, I’d hoped you’d forgotten that,” I say burying my face in my hands. “I felt so bad about it later.”
“Forget that betrayal! Never!” Ben says, brandishing his fork—a ripe strawberry still on it—in the air as if it were a king’s scepter.
“Stop,” I reply giggling, “This is serious.”
“I got you laughing, that’s all I wanted,” Ben replies, leaning over and planting a casual kiss on my cheek, his stubble scratching my face ever so slightly. “Look, take this meeting with your team, but don’t agree to anything on the spot. Give yourself time to think about any offers they have.”
“Makes sense.”
“And always think about their intention. Yes, they’reyourpublisher or editor and marketing agent, and they want to protect your interests. But they’re also in it for themselves, you know what I mean?”
“Speaking from experience?” I can’t help asking.
“I may have been burned by a manager or two in the past. But my current guy, James, is rock-solid. And I’m sure your people are great. But still. You have to put yourself first. Ask them questions about the purpose of any media plans they propose. And listen more than you talk,” he concludes, standing up.
“Okay, this all makes sense.”
I put my fork down on my clean plate, feeling more confident after our conversation.
“Thank you, Ben. For the pancakes. And the tips.” I stand up and give him a quick hug, taking comfort in his strong arms, nuzzling my face into his bare chest, remembering how I was sniffling against him yesterday.
“Sure thing. You gonna take that call right now?”
“Yeah. I’ll go in the living room. Best Wi-Fi connection,” I look up into his face and smile, thinking how grateful I am to have him here, comforting me, cheering me on.
As if he can read my mind, he simply replies by leaning down and giving me a kiss, sending a jolt of adrenaline through my body.
“You taste like strawberries,” he says simply as he pulls back.
“So do you.” I linger for a moment, my arms wrapped around him. I’d rather stay here and kiss Ben all morning than deal with Alyssa and work stuff. But I know I’ve got to get this done. I extricate myself from Ben’s grasp reluctantly.
“I’ll wait to clean up in here ‘til you’re done,” he says as he starts stacking our empty plates. “You probably don’t want the sound of my washing dishes in the background of your work call.”
“Probably not,” I reply with a grin.
I grab my phone and shoot Alyssa a quick text.