On My Doorstep [Editing]

Chapter 25

FAWN

"I think that this book is a strong contender for the award."

I look up at Adam Rivers, one of the guys that work in editing at our publishing house. Other editors in this meeting agree with him, and I smile. I smile because they're talking about Olivia's novel.

Every year, Royals House of Literature hosts the Royal Awards for written works in different genres. They ask some of the best publishing companies with best-selling books to present their suggestions for the award. They also look at other books, take all in the information and reader feedback into consideration, and then announce the winners at the award show.

This was our third and last meeting before we sent Royals our list, and we had managed to narrow it down to fifteen, which we are trying to cut down to our final ten.

"Fawn, you're the editor for this book, At Sunset. You think we should put it in our top ten," Michelle Tanaki, another editor, asks me. My eyes pan the board room, looking over at all twelve of the editors that sit in the room representing their authors' novels.

I give a slow nod, "absolutely. In my opinion, it embodies everything that's great about the romance genre in a way that romance fans are familiar with, and introduces readers that dabble in other genres to what they might be missing out on. The protagonist is relatable, good yet flawed. The supporting characters feel like people in one's own life. Conflicts are calculated, every moment has meaning. It's damn near perfect."

Michelle smiles, and looks around, "well, I vote yes for At Sunset to be the last addition to our list of possible nominees. Anyone else?"

One by one, everyone puts up their hands, including me. 

"Well," I start to gather my things, "that settles it, then."

******

Mmm...

MMMM!

Oh. My. God.

"This pasta is amazing!" I exclaim, moaning in pleasure from the flavours in my mouth. 

Michelle and Alison laugh as they sat at either side of me at this restaurant. It was close to the office, and my treat for a job well done and a close to the quarter. 

Michelle smirks, spooling pasta primavera around her fork, "I doubt it's amazing as sex, which is what you're making it seem like." She pops the pasta into her mouth, stifling a hum as she chews. 

"This shit is bomb."

"Is it as good as sex," Alison asks her.

Michelle looks down at her plate, actually thinking seriously about the quality of her food. She nods, "it could be..." Her eyes went to Alison, "depends on what kinda sex you're having."

"Excuse me!" Ali smacks Michelle's arm as she gasps, and I giggle at the sight of the two of them. 

"For the record," I take a sip of my water in between words, "I said nothing about sex."

They look over at me, then at each other, and then at me again.

I laugh, "what is it?"

Ali digs into her lasagna, sinking into her seat a little. I look at Michelle, who is staring off into what looks like space. She does that for a few minutes until she realizes I'm waiting for her to say something the entire time. Michelle sighs, looking me in the eyes.

"Okay... Maybe you didn't say anything about sex because you've never had it...?" 

My hand goes to my heart, "well, that hurt."