Ego {Completed}

Chapter 1

Ego

I hate romance novels. The women are always portrayed as simple, shy women who can't seem to function without a man in her life, and the men are always the epitome of gods, and for some reason, they're completely obsessed with this plain Jane woman. I've seen it in many books in my life, it seems to be the new theme these days, and I get sick of it. Why not skip the romance novels, you ask. Well, as the chief editor of a highly successful publishing company, as well as a self-made and greatly respected book critic, I can't seem to get away from them. I think I tend to lean more towards tragedies. At least they're honest about life. It's not always all flowers and candle lit dinners.

* * * * *

Deréon Publishing Company. It's one of the biggest, most influential publishing companies in the country. To have this name on any book means royalties and acclamations for life. And it's my first and only choice for my book. It took me years to write this book, and no matter what happens, I'm not taking no for an answer today. I'm getting my book published, and I'm getting it published here if it's the last thing I do.
I got up bright and early this morning and adorned myself in a nice suit. A little formal, maybe, but I want to make a good impression. I know I only have one shot at this, so I can't mess up. I hear the chief editor is a real hard ass, and one wrong move can break a new author such as myself. Not only with getting my book published, but also with the success of my book.

Everyone knows that Beyoncé Knowles is one of the most credited critics in all of New York, and if she doesn't like your book, no one will buy it. So naturally, everyone who has ever had her company's name on their book gets massive sales. If she bothers to publish it, then obviously it's a good read. So, I'm putting everything on the line and giving this my best shot.

I walk into the building, and head towards the elevators. I have to travel up twelve floors to get to her office. The elevator crowds up quickly. You can tell the difference between the people who are trying to get their manuscript read, and the ones who actually work here. The latter seemed more secure in themselves. I become just a little nervous once I notice the other newbies. Up until now, I hadn't even thought of all the other young writers like myself who would be competing to have their works read by Ms. Knowles herself.

I get off at the twelfth floor and turn to the right. Immediately, I am mesmerized. There are several cubicles and offices set up. More publishers, editors, and even a few writers like myself. Everyone looks so happy. Working in the world of books has to be a job chosen. No one gets a job like this just because they need a job. You have to love books, and I mean really love them, to work with them. I notice a crowd of manuscript holders making their way towards the other side of the room. It seems like they're not new to this. Something else to make me nervous. These guys could possibly be returning for the fifth or sixth time from editing their manuscripts, and still their books aren't published.

I follow the crowd, not wanting to get lost. I thought maybe we would all sit in a waiting room and wait to be called into Ms. Knowles's office so she could go over our manuscripts with us, individually. But instead, the group heads to a desk that sits in front of two very large, intimidating looking, mahogany doors with golden handles. Sitting at the desk was a young girl, somewhere in her twenty's. Everyone filed in a line, I just follow suit. Once it is my turn, I am a little confused.
The girl looks up at me, waiting.
"Hi," I start. "I'm Shawn Carter. I have a meeting with Ms. Knowles about my manuscript."
The girl looks at me, then hands me a piece of paper asking for all of my information.
"Ms. Knowles doesn't see clients. If you have a manuscript you want her to read, fill this out and leave it with me. I'll be sure that she gets it."
I frown. "Wait, so I'm not going to actually see her?"
The girl at the desk shakes her head. "No. Ms. Knows is too busy to see everyone who brings in a manuscript. Make sure to leave your number. If she likes it, then we'll give you a call."

She looks back down at her work, so I assumed she was done speaking to me. I sigh and take the piece of paper to fill it out. Oh well. I may not get to see her in person, but at least she'll read my piece. Hopefully.

* * * * *

"Girl, stop lying!"
"Nicki, I can't make this up, I swear!" Kelly shook her head. "This boy really thought it was a good idea to spray the whole entire bathroom with silly string, just because it's the last day of school before spring break. But now, his ass is getting suspended the week after. And he thinks it's funny because he'll have two weeks off. But I got something for his little behind."
Nicki's jaw dropped. "What did Tim say?"
"Nothing yet. But I'll tell you Titan is scared out of his mind. He knows I'm gonna tell him before he comes home tomorrow."
"Hmp. Bet his little ass will learn next time-"
"Hey," Solange cut them off. "The Wicket Witch is coming to town."
That was their code word for the boss lady. Everyone knew she was a no mess kind of woman, so everyone made sure to be on their best behavior whenever she came by. Luckily, her younger sister is a saint, and she warns the others before she comes by.

Kelly and Nicki sat down at their desks and at least pretended to work while their boss walked past them and into her office. She looked the same she looked every day. Ugly, brown pants suit, ugly, brown, one inch loafer heels, and ugly bun in her brown hair. You'd think brown was her favorite color, but it's not. Her whole office is white and spotless.
She walked past everyone, giving them all a slow glance over, perhaps to make sure that they were, at least, pretending to work. She was respected, no doubt, but she was also feared. Everyone working for her knew that she didn't tolerate disrespect. And she didn't give second chances. She might let something slide if you're new but otherwise, you're gone. They'd all seen at least one person get fired because of disrespect before. Most of the time, it's a newcomer who thinks that they've made it to the top and all on their own. A lot of them didn't appreciate the things she did for them to make them successful. So, she let them go.

Finally, she made it in her office and closed the door behind her. Once that happened, everyone breathed again. Hopefully, she'd stay in there until her next meeting. Lunchtime, if they were lucky. She didn't usually come out of that office. She was too busy reading. She read manuscripts, journal entries, and new books that needed critiques. People say she reads on average ten books a week.
"You know," Kelly started. "I bet she would be so pretty if she at least did her eyebrows and put on something more flattering."
Solange, who couldn't help overhearing the comment about her sister, migrated towards Kelly and Nicki. When everyone heard that Ms. Knowles was hiring her sister to be her assistant, everyone expected her to be just as much of a hard ass as she was. But Solange actually turned out to be really chill. She made them all wonder why Ms. Knowles had a stick up her ass.

"She did used to be pretty." Solange commented. Nicki and Kelly looked up at her. Solange had always been good at making friends, her charisma was out of this world, so Nicki and Kelly didn't feel weird at all picking up their conversation with her.
"Really?" Nicki raised her brow. "What happened?"
Solange sighed heavily. "She lost her self esteem. It's not something she likes to talk about. But underneath that ugly, boss lady veil," she shrugged. "She really is a beautiful person."
Kelly and Nicki frowned. "Maybe she should stop reading those tragic novels. Maybe then she'll be happy about something." Nicki suggested.
Solange shook her head. "No, what she needs is some dick in her life." She whispered.
"Ooh! You lucky you're her sister and she can't fire you."
Solange scoffed. "Hell, she can try. The only person she's afraid of is our mama, and that's the only person I'll answer to."

"Solange?" They heard a cold voice behind them. The three of them turned to see none other than Ms. Knowles, herself, standing behind them. "Why aren't you at your desk?"
Solange cocked her head to the side. "Because I was socializing with your employees. Maybe you should try it one day."
Beyoncé shifted her cold eyes from Solange to Kelly, then to Nicki. "Hello." She said slightly sarcastically. Her eyes focused back on Solange. "I need you to be at your desk so you can collect manuscripts. I want a new writer in here before summer starts." She said before turning around and heading to her office with a coffee mug in her hand. They weren't sure how long she's been near or how much she heard.
"I'm telling you," Solange started. "One night. See how much it changes her."
Kelly and Nicki wanted that to be true, but it was hard to imagine Ms. Knowles being anything but, well, a boss.