will get picked up by all the big news outlets out there and will get 3,000 new people subscribed to our magazine.”
Holy shit, I say silently to myself.
I had no idea that things were so dire.
They both stare at me and I try to make myself as small as possible so that I could possibly squeeze through the crack in the door and disappear.
Unfortunately, I have no such luck.
“So, tell us what you have so far,” Mr. Matthews says and I swallow hard.
I don't know what to say. I came here to tell Corrin that I don't have anything.
That I had a lead on the story and that it led me to a dead end. But standing here before them with all of their hopes hanging on me, I open my mouth and change my mind.
“I found him,” I say. “I got an address from someone on a forum. I totally thought it was a joke, but I drove all the way out to Joshua Tree and discovered that, no, it's actually him.”
“Really?!” Corrin gasps.
I like the look of shock on her face. She had written me off a long time ago as both a stupid girl and a bad journalist, and it’s nice to see her so surprised.
“I’ve had a chat with him. He told me that a publisher offered him three million dollars for a three-book deal, but he turned it down because he was making so much money in self-publishing. Not many people do, but he's one of the really successful ones.”
“Wow. He turned down three million? How much is he really making?”
“About six million a year in profit and he's in control of his whole brand. He hires his editors and he makes his own covers. He does everything.”
“Holy shit,” Mr. Matthews says. “Maybe I should give up on this magazine and start writing a fantasy series.”
“It took him a while to get to this point and a good deal of books, but he told me about the whole process.”
“Why is that?” Corrin asks.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, you said that you had no idea who he was. Then you found him and you just knock on his door. He lets you in and tells you everything about his business? Why?”
“Corrin, tone it down a little bit,” Mr. Matthews instructs.
“No, Uncle, I'm just curious. I don't mean any offense,” she says, throwing her hands up in the air.
“None taken,” I say.
I wonder if I should go into it further, but a part of me doesn't want to.
I don't want to tell them about the personal connection that I have to Liam.
Without that, Corrin is right, the story doesn't make sense. I don’t want to tell them anything else but then I might lose my job. I hate that I need to give them more.
“Actually, I met him earlier. He was at my engagement party. He went to school with Alex.”
I look at Corrin more closely to see her reaction to Alex's name, but her face is still and unmoving.
“We talked briefly, but that's it. When I went out to follow that address, I had no idea where it was going to lead me.”
“You never mentioned the story to him at the party?”
“No,” I say. “We were both very surprised by the coincidence.”
“Well, I would be very surprised if this wasn’t a coincidence,” Corrin adds.
I agree and say, “He claimed that he had no idea who the guy was that gave me his address on the forums. Other than talking to me, he is quite a recluse. He only attends a few writers’ conferences and never gives anyone his real name or his real identity. There are no pictures of him anywhere.”
“So, what's different about this?” Corrin asks.
“I don't know. Maybe he’s tired of hiding?” I suggest.
“And he’s okay with the story?” Mr. Matthews asks.
I pause, not sure how to respond.
“He went on the record with you?” he clarifies.
“Yes,” I say confidently even though I'm feeling anything but that.
“Well, good. It means that he trusts you to give his story justice.”
Corrin and her uncle talk about the deadline for this month's issue and eventually give me by the end of the day to write a draft of the story.
“I can’t do it that quickly,” I protest.
“You have to. Just start writing and I’ll help you polish it up,” Corrin says.
I walk out of that meeting in a trance, putting one foot slowly in front of the other. There’s only one thought running through my head. What the hell