the house working on my Instagram page. I had tons of new videos to upload and something cute to add to my story. I stretched out on the couch in the formal living room with all fifteen of my candles lit. I was in my happy place.
My gaze drifted to the end table at the arm of the couch and I saw Evander’s beloved laptop sitting there. He forgot to take it to work. How was he supposed to sneak in words if he didn’t have it? I made a mental note to drop it off and also to negotiate a quickie out of the deal.
I was in the middle of posting a picture of my sheet music when Nicole Philips called. “Hey, Nicole. How are you?” I smiled against the phone.
“Xari! Hey! So, I wanted to tell you that you were a hit at the wedding. I have at least seven friends who want you at their parties. Can I give you their information or are you already booked?” My eyes saw nothing but dollar signs. If I did seven events at $300 an hour, I could pay off my consolidated card and work on paying off my car.
“No!” I blurted bouncing my knee up and down. “I’m not booked at all. If you wouldn’t mind sending them my information…”
“I’m doing it now girl. I’m at work anyway reading over all these author submissions.” She pushed out a long breath then laughed a little.
“You’re at work a week after your wedding? I thought you’d still be on your honeymoon.”
“We took a small honeymoon but I want to do it big when we go. I have some things to finish up here at work and so does Dame. I have to send out five dozen rejection letters to these authors and it never gets better.”
My ears buzzed at her words.
“Authors?”
“Yeah, I’m a literary agent. That’s how I met Dame. He kept submitting his manuscript over and over and I kept being the one to reject him. Finally, his agent reached out to me and explained that he wanted to get his book published traditionally. He didn’t want anything handed to him just because he was a basketball player.” Her laugh was soft.
“Oh my god, that’s so cute, Nicole.”
“Call me Nicki,” she said casually.
“So, Nicki you’re responsible for if books get accepted or rejected?”
“Yup. That’s me. The bad guy. I swear, we get so many submissions pouring in it feels like all I do is reject authors. Sometimes I forget that I also help my clients.”
“How many clients do you have?” I quizzed.
“Now? Only about four. I can handle six to ten at a time though.”
“If I had a secret author who wanted to know if his or her writing was good enough to get a deal, would you be able to give me some pointers to give them?”
“Sure. I need a break in the monotony. Can you send me the first three chapters of their manuscript? This isn’t for you is it?”
“No, not me,” I laughed. I grabbed Evander’s laptop and opened it. I already knew his password because I was nosey like that. I typed in Frankie’s birthday followed by her initials in all caps. “I’m sending it to you now.”
“Got it!” She chirped. I sent her the first three chapters of Evander’s book, A Heart’s Song. It was my favorite of his because the emotions melted off the page and into my heart. I felt like I was Riley.
“I’m going to take an hour for lunch and read over it then get back to you with some pointers.”
“Oh my god, thank you so much, Nicki.”
“Girl, no problem. After the way you came through for my wedding, I’m more than willing to lend a helping hand.” I thanked her again then ended the call with excitement humming through my veins. It was sweet and sharp like coffee.
I went back to Sunshine and began practicing. I got lost in the notes of Chopin for an hour when I decided to take a break. I looked at my phone and there were tons of notifications in my inbox. Nicole wasn’t lying when she said she’d sent my information to some of her friends. I had at least five inquiries about playing at various events for other ballers and their families.
My stomach fluttered and a smile inched across my face. I couldn’t wait to tell Evander. My fingers were hovering over his name when Nicki called me.
“Hey, what’s up?” I took the