Circle of Trust

Chapter 5

Tejaswini Bhatia was editor extraordinaire who found her passion as a literary agent a year after Naina penned her first story. After a string of rejections from well known publishing houses and literary agents, Naina had reached out to an upcoming firm, The Written Word Publishers six years ago, in a last ditch attempt at traditional publishing.

Then a fiction editor at the firm, Tej had responded enthusiastically to Naina’s first manuscript. The two women found common ground as Tej diligently helped shape the story into a bestseller. The success she found with Naina, a first time writer, inspired her to search for new talent, and she thrived in the challenge.

The Written Word soon had an in-house agent and the firm began its ascent to becoming one of the most sought after publishing houses in the country. Tej never let the powers that be forget her value in the business.

Sitting across her best friend, Naina wondered about Tej’s delay in talking about the final chapters of her current novel.

“You got to hand it to him, Nains. Nothing says I love you louder than a library full of books as an anniversary gift.” Tej stared at the wall to wall book shelf lined with First editions, rare manuscripts, classics, and signed copies of Novels by Naina’s favorite authors.

Naina smiled, remembering her feeling of utter amazement as she first laid eyes on the collection. Varun had completely swept her off her feet with his generous and thoughtful gesture. She blushed at how keenly he had observed her reaction to his anniversary surprise.

“Yes, you’ve said it like a thousand times, Tej.”

“Uh huh,” grunted Tej as she walked along the book shelf, sniffing few of them. “Oh the smell! I could live in here.”

Naina laughed. “You can. There’s a comfy couch in the corner.”

“I will,” Tej wagged a finger at her. “Don’t think I won’t. I’ll be old wrinkly and single, and you old coots won’t have a choice but to take me in.”

“You’ll be bat blind too!”

“I need my pretty nose to sniff, hands to touch and feel. Eyes…blah!” She waved her hand, dismissively.

Naina narrowed her eyes. “Had your fill of pretty boys already?”

“Boys! They are all boys! Where are the men, Nains?” the single woman who was a year shy of thirties asked dramatically, her dark kohl lined eyes growing wide.

“One of mine is at work, probably wondering how to say sorry to me.” Naina shrugged. “My other men are all in my books, living their lives…with other women.” She wiggled her brows.

Tej gave a short laugh, wrestled her red-tinged, curly brown hair away from her shoulders and tied it up with a blue scrunchie. Naina felt her stomach drop a few notches as she watched her friend delay the inevitable. Here it comes. She dreaded the moment of truth that her friend laid out after reading her entire manuscript. The nervousness was as palpable as it had been the first time.

“Speaking of…” Tej dragged in a long breath and settled in the seat across from Naina. “I loved it.”

Naina smiled radiantly, but Tej’s faltering smile told a story different from her words. “But…? I sense a big but, Tej.”

Tej pinned her eyes on her firm’s leading author. “I’m afraid there is. The firm is requesting minor tweaks in the story.”

Naina dragged in a sharp breath and slowly let it out. “How minor?”

Minor shouldn’t be a problem, she assured herself.

Tej bit her lower lip and took a few seconds to respond.