The Price of Inertia (The Seven Sins #4) - Lily Zante Page 0,1
you left the house?”
I lie. “Last week.” It was two months ago, when I needed to get into my psychotically deranged murderer’s head. I prowled around the streets of New Orleans in the early hours of the morning, trying to get into character.
“Last week?” Rob’s tone indicates he doesn’t believe me for one moment. “To do what?”
“Have a cup of coffee.” Being a writer means that lies come easily. Making stuff up for a living is a skill that comes in handy in real life.
“You expect me to believe that you went outside and sat in a coffeeshop and had a cup of coffee, surrounded by people? You? Ward Maddox, the reclusive, hermit author?”
“Yeah, I had coffee. That’s what I did.” I rest my hand on my stomach and feel the soft, marshmallowy flesh. I have packed on a few pounds too many. “I re-plotted the ending, then I had to go back and change the middle, and then I hit a bar and restaurant in the evening.” I lie again. He knows me too well and will see right through me.
If I could have things my way, I would never leave my writing cave. That’s why I brought one of the most expensive and beautiful of houses here. A twelve bedroom home with chandeliers and fireplaces in each room, stained glass windows and elaborate architecture. This is my castle. A place where I reign, where I am at my happiest.
A place where I feel safe.
Good for nothing piece of shit. That’s what my stepdad called me. The bastard would turn in his grave if he could see me now. I wish my mom had come here and seen my home and what I made of myself. She could have lived here, I even asked her to even though she didn’t deserve an ounce of my kindness. She turned me down, and we barely saw one another over the years.
“Yeah, sure you did.” Rob stares out of the window. “You also brought home a beautiful woman you picked up at said bar and spent the whole night showing her a good time.”
Bastard.
Now he’s messing with me. I can tell he’s annoyed because it’s not like him to bring up that stuff. He knows I’m cautious around women. Dating a basket case will do that to you. Sometimes I wonder if I am always drawn to insane people. Or maybe they are drawn to me because of what I write?
Rob stares at me as if he knows everything about me. And the problem is, he does. This guy who is supposed to be my agent, has become the only person I ever have any proper contact with.
“How many pages have you written?”
This is the question I’ve been dreading. “Six.”
“Today?”
I laugh, because that is hilarious. “Today?” Hell, no. “Six in total.”
His brows squish together like angry caterpillars. “In total?” He massages his temple. “You can’t afford to miss your deadline.”
I never miss my deadline. Unless I’m in a funk. “I’ll get it done.” But I’ve been in this funk for months.
“That’s what you said last time.” Rob knows what it does to me. He’s helped me through it before.
“I will get it done.”
He strides towards me. “Damn straight you will. I’ve made arrangements.”
I sit up slowly. He said something about Chicago. No way am I leaving my house, especially to go there of all places. “I’ll get it done,” I insist. I don’t want to hear what he has to say.
He nods. “You will. In Chicago.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“Hell, no.”
Rob scratches his eyebrow. “James Garvey approached me. Wants me to represent him.”
“And?” I clench my teeth and wonder why the guy needs a new agent. I can’t stop another author wanting Rob to represent them. But James Garvey hates me too. Considers me to be an upstart. That’s because he’s in his sixties, and I’ve just turned forty-one. He and I often compete for the number one slot on the New York Times Bestseller list.
“I’m just letting you know. Say what you want about him, but the guy is prolific He’s written three books this year, and he had a heart attack two years ago. He managed it somehow.”
I clap my hands together mockingly. “Let’s hear it for James Garvey.”
Rob looks at me, and his eyes trail down me from top to toe. “If you’re not careful, you’re going to end up with a heart attack. Maybe even a stroke. Sitting down all day isn’t good for you.”