A Novel Romance Page #6

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How long will you be gone?

Just overnight.

I'll be back tomorrow.

Well, do you think

You might be up for a date

Night Tomorrow night?

How about an early dinner?

Say, 5:
30?

Sure. I'm down

For the early bird special.

Have a safe flight.

Okay. Bye.

Bye.

That sounds So romantic.

Dinner By candlelight?

Yeah. It... it was.

He told me he was

Falling in love with me,

And then we kissed.

Wow!

And you want to know

The best part?

I trust him.

Oh yeah?

Not a "he passed

The test" kind of trust,

A trust where

I want to kick myself

For having ever given him

A test in the first place.

I never thought I would

Feel like this

About someone again,

But he just Keeps surprising me.

This is so great.

I'm so happy for you.

He's on a trip

To new York for one day,

And I already miss him.

What am I in, high school?

You are in love.

Oh.

Okay, enough About my love life.

I have something

I want to show you.

I put it together Last night,

And you have to promise me

That you will be nice.

"rivetingreads.com."

What is it?

My new business.

Your new business?

What about the paper?

Well, Liam said something

To me the other day

About following My dreams

And doing what I want to do,

And I think this might be It.

This is so fantastic.

I have a meeting

With my editor later,

And then it goes live.

Looks like Liam's good for you.

Mm-hmm.

So how are you Holding up?

I'm nervous.

Yeah, so am I.

You're not supposed

To admit that to me.

Liam, I'm not gonna

Sugarcoat this.

These people are sharks.

And I don't even know

If they care enough

To do what you're asking.

So expectations are low.

All right, then.

Liam, Jackie.

It's great to see you both.

Hey, are you as excited About

the new sales as we Are?

Um, yeah.

Yeah. You should be.

Please, have a seat.

So...

What can we do for you?

First off, thank you

So much for your time.

Anything for one

Of our favorite authors.

I'm not so sure How to put this,

But for some personal Reasons,

Um...

I'm asking that you

Reconsider having me Reveal

myself as Gabriel August.

Uh...

You do know the reveal

Is scheduled for tonight?

Oh...

I know.

And I'll eventually

Go through with it.

Just not tonight.

I give you my word.

Well, we don't really

Need your word, Liam.

We have a contract

That guarantees it.

Right.

I just need you to delay

The reveal a few more weeks.

Liam's not Being unreasonable.

He's just asking For more time.

Jackie, he has already

Canceled once.

This has all been timed To

the release of the new Book.

We've built

A marketing approach,

Not to mention a substantial

Amount of effort and money,

Around revealing

Gabriel August's identity.

And obviously,

Once that happens,

The demands

On Liam's personal life

Are going to be extreme.

I just need a few more Weeks.

That's all I'm asking.

Liam.

They won't do it.

I'm sorry.

I fought for you In there,

But the machine

Is just too far along

For them To stop it now.

The reveal Is on for tonight.

I'm really starting

To hate Gabriel august.

You need to talk to Sophie.

I'm meeting her for dinner

Tonight at 5:
30.

That'll be Cutting it close.

- We'll make it.

- Okay.

Okay, so are we clear

On the plan For later tonight?

Jasper's bookloft, 7:30.

Actually, make it 7:00,

So my blood pressure

Doesn't get too high.

I'll be there.

Bad news?

She's got a work meeting.

She just canceled dinner.

- What are you gonna do?

- Find her.

I have to tell her before

I make the announcement.

You call me!

Let me know how it goes.

It's Sophie.

Tell me what's on your mind

After the tone.

Hey, Sophie.

I got your text.

I'm back in town.

I really need to talk to You.

Like, right away,

Face-to-face,

So call me the second

You get this, okay?

I know, but if he said

It was background,

You got to keep

His name out of it.

That's journalism 101!

Yeah. Okay.

Okay, let me know

How it shakes out.

Sorry I couldn't

Fit you in earlier.

I had to keep a reporter

From getting sued.

What's up?

I wanted to let you know

That today is my last day.

Your last day?

So you're leaving the paper?

I'm starting my own website.

One where I get to do

The kind of reviews

That I want to do.

Can you make a living

Doing that?

Well, it may

Take me a few months

To get enough advertisers,

But...

I'm going to give it a try.

Well, I hate to lose you,

Sophie,

But I have to admit,

I'm a little jealous.

Having the freedom to write

About the things you love

Sounds like the perfect job.

So you're not angry?

I hope whatever you do next

Makes you happy.

Thank you for everything.

Don't suppose I could

Talk you into

Showing your gratitude

By giving me an article

On the Gabriel august

Reveal tonight?

I can't.

I'm already covering it

For my own website.

Call Sophie.

It's Sophie.

Tell me what's on your mind

After the tone.

Hey. It's Tabitha, right?

Hey, you kind of stood me Up.

Actually, to be fair,

I Never Said I was going to meet You.

You work with

Sophie Atkinson, right?

- You know Sophie?

- Yeah, is she here?

She was, But she just quit.

Cleaned out her desk

About 20 minutes ago.

Do you Know where she went?

Jasper's.

To find out who Gabriel

August really is.

Thanks.

Come on...

Come on.

No.

Call Jackie.

Where are you?

I'm on my way.

Meet me at the back door Of

the bookstore in 5 Minutes.

Okay.

What is going on?

I can't go through with it.

- Why?

- Because she's here.

Oh, you didn't tell her yet?

I tried. I called, I texted,

I went to her work.

She's out there.

I can't let her find out

Along with everyone else.

Take a deep breath.

I will handle this.

Stay here.

Hello, Sophie.

Hi, Jackie!

How exciting is this?

Yeah, very,

And a little Terrifying too.

I can imagine.

Is he going to show this Time?

He's already here.

It's really happening, then?

Oh, I'm presuming you're Here

To cover this for your Paper?

Not exactly.

I'm not With the daily anymore.

I'm actually here

Covering it For my own website,

Which just went online.

Congratulations.

You let me know if I

Can help in any way.

Thanks.

I may hold you To that.

In fact, um...

How would you like to

Scoop your old paper?

What are we talking, Exactly?

Um, how about

The first real

Exclusive interview

With the real

Gabriel august himself?

Never meant to mislead You...

I hope that we can...

Liam?

What are you Doing here?

Oh, my gosh. You are

Not gonna believe...

Gabriel august

Will be here any minute

To chat with me.

Jackie got me An exclusive!

I'll be quick.

I just need to say

What I wanted

To tell you earlier.

Actually, it's what

I've wanted to tell you

For a long time.

Liam, what...

What's going on?

You're the first thing

On my mind

When I wake up in the Morning,

And the last thing I think

About When I go to sleep,

And you're in there

A lot in between, too.

So, um, although it's...

Way past the time

I should have told you this,

Here it goes.

That crowd is here for me.

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