Original Sin

Mimi and I both love the slush-pile manuscript. Remember we discussed it – New Harry Potter? Author now with Vanessa Friedmann so advance may go high. Authorization to pay up to four hundred thousand dollars?’

She pressed send and took a long swig of water from the bottle on her table, her hands trembling as she twisted the top off. She hadn’t felt like this in a long time. Perhaps never.

She jolted when she heard the ping of her message inbox.

If you think it’s that good, yes. Edward.

She snatched up the phone. ‘Vanessa, it’s Brooke.’

‘Glad you don’t hang about. What’s your offer?’

‘Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.’ Brooke pressed her hand onto the table as she said it. As she lifted it up she could see an imprint of her fingers.

Vanessa snorted. ‘Come on, Brooke, don’t insult me. You know what I said earlier.’

‘Two hundred and fifty in today’s climate is a great offer, Vanessa. You know how difficult young adult books are to call. For every J. K. Rowling or Stephanie Meyer there’s a thousand others in the remainder bin.’

‘I have my client to think about.’

What would Tess Garrett do? thought Brooke, picturing her steely, slightly frightening new publicist.

Brooke cleared her throat. ‘Your client sent her manuscript to Yellow Door and we’d already made contact, in fact we were going to make an offer directly to Eileen today. Unless you have actually signed a contract with Eileen, I think our lawyers can argue that we have precedent. You don’t want to lose your commission, do you? Fifteen per cent of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars is a lot of money, Vanessa.’

There was a long pause, so long that Brooke was beginning to think Vanessa had already hung up.

‘I can’t consider anything below four hundred thousand dollars,’ she said finally. Brooke could imagine her sitting in her midtown office in her Armani trouser suit, her mouth pursed into nothingness.

‘Three hundred thousand,’ said Brooke. ‘We’ll allocate a six-figure marketing spend to make sure it hits retail with a splash.’

‘And three hundred thousand would just be US rights?’

Brooke wondered how far she could push it. ‘Three hundred thousand. Three-book deal. US rights only,’ she said firmly.