22 First Kisses

14 ~ First Editor

Today is the meeting with my editor, Jonathon Page. He's supposedly one of the best, but after reading his reviews online, I quickly realized he won't be shy if he thinks my work is trash.

Mr. Baxton has set up the meeting on the third floor of the publishing building. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared out of my mind for today. I know my writing is good, but it's not that good. I never thought it would be good enough to publish, but here I am getting ready to discuss it.

I pull my black pencil skirt down, due to it riding up every time I take a step, and make my way to the elevator. I catch my reflection in the silver exterior of the elevator walls and button an extra button of my white blouse. I need this outfit to look professional.

When the doors open, I am instantly hit with the smell of paper. The editors floor. Pages upon pages of copies of books get sent to this floor to be looked through. It's rare to have an appointment, and I would know. At the front desk I can see the appointments for the whole building, but this floor is basically vacant. There's only a few appointments a week. Yes you heard me right. A week.

I make my way down the narrow hall to the right of the elevator doors and stop at room 318. Jonathon's first and last name is written in bold on the stained glass door. I lift my hand to knock and get the familiar anxious feeling in my stomach. I thought that feeling was starting to only be reserved for Josh, but now I see it's in all places where I put myself out there.

I give a firm two knocks on the door before I hear someone from the other side move a chair and walk up to meet me.

A man that looks to be in his mid thirties opens the door, and his eyes are far from welcoming. He wears a yellow button down shirt with khaki pants, and his hair a bit of a mess on top of his head. He wears no glasses, which is something I would've expected from someone who reads so frequently, and his dark brown eyes stare me down.

"You must be Violet Field." he says briefly to me before stepping out of the way and letting me into his office.

I take a seat at the open chair in front of the desk and cross my legs. I try my best to look confident as I sit up as straight as I can in my seat.

He takes a swift seat down and scoots his chair in rather loudly. His eyes are glued to the papers in front of him that are covered in red ink. It takes me less than a minute to realize it's a copy of my book. The red markings make my heart drop just a bit as I lean in a little closer to see what he wrote.

"Ton of grammar errors." he says as he flips through the pages, and my heart breaks. That's fine though. I expected that.

"I find it very odd that you even have an appointment. I do these maybe twice a week, max. There's always a waiting list." he says more to the air than to me. He seems very cold and withdrawn. More into the work than the person in front of him.

To this, I don't say a word. I'm not sure if there even are any words to say to a comment like that. I don't know why I have an appointment either. I have no idea what made my work stand out to Mr. Baxton. I'm just trying to see where this will all take me.

"It's good." he says finally before looking up to meet my eyes. I try to fight back the growing grin on my face, but my efforts are proving to be pointless.

"You think so?" I ask him and his face falls.

"You're not supposed to ask that, Miss Field. Be confident in your work. I said it's good, so it is." he says firmly, and even though his words are a bit harsh, I still appreciate them. I appreciate the pep talk.

"Thank you sir." I decide to say, and from there the conversation feels far away. He says things like deadlines and rewrites. All things I should be listening too, but all I can think about is the fact that he said it was good.

My story is good. An editor just told me so.

"Have these back on my desk in two weeks. We'll go from there with Mr. Baxton." he says as he hands me the copy of my book. I take the stack of papers from him and hold them close to my chest as I rise from my chair and extend a hand to Mr. Page.

"It was a pleasure meeting with you." I say with my best smile. He stands from his seat and takes my hand firmly, giving it a single shake before returning back to his chair.

"I'll see you soon Miss Field." he says to me, and with those words I turn around and exit the office.

I make my way to the elevator down the hall, and as soon as I get in, I find myself doing a little dance as the doors shut. I'm really doing the thing I always dreamed about.

I'm one step closer to being a published author.

I make my way to the front desk where Angela's sub sits. She's having the time of her life in the Bahamas with Garrett. I give a quick wave before exiting the building and making my way to my car that's been struggling to start recently.

I'd say that this is the most successful day I've had in awhile.

~

I make my way to my apartment before a phone call stops me at my front door. I look down to see Josh calling me, and a smile spreads across my face. I hit the green button and I immediately wait for his voice.

"How'd it go?" he asks eagerly, and I laugh at his timing.

"It went great. I just have a lot of grammar issues that he marked up, which I expected. He wants me to revise it all in a few weeks before getting back to him."

"WOOHOO BABY!" I hear him yell through the phone, and I can't even hide my laughter as I enter my apartment.

"Excited?" I ask sarcastically through the phone as I lay my purse down on the couch.

There's a long silence between us on the phone, and I wonder what he's thinking. I always wonder what he's thinking.

"I'm really proud of you Violet. I can't think of any other person who deserves this more."

My heart flutters in my chest, and I'm thankful he can't see the growing redness on my cheeks.

"Thanks Josh. It wouldn't have happened if it weren't for you."

"No, you did this all on your own."
~

A/N ~ sorry for the long wait. School is hard y'all. I'm drowning in work, but summer is coming! I'll be updating way more frequently.

As always, thanks for reading!! Don't forget to leave a vote and drop a comment if you're feeling it!