A Stroke of Love (BL)

Chapter Three

When Rhys interviewed at DuPont Publishing, he was aware that Lux Broussard was a client. He wasn't foolish enough to believe he would be paired with a "New York Times Best Selling Author" but a newer author-one that was a little green and needed gentle, yet firm guidance. He should have known that something was amiss when after his detailed answer of how he would work with a "difficult client", the literary agent "leveled" with him.

The perfectly poised and stylishly dressed agent actually tucked his finger into the Windsor knot at his throat and tugged it loose before leaning forward on his elbows. His voice dropped, the tone becoming heavy with seriousness. "Let me level with you, Rhysend. Your resume is impressive. The clients you've done freelance work for, coupled with the publishing house you've resigned from..." he trailed off, allowing for a moment of appreciative silence before continuing on, rather quickly and with a bit of a pleading edge to his words. "I don't feel right allowing anyone to accept this specific position without making an educated decision for themselves, but before you decline, I implore you to please reconsider."

Rhys wasn't going to decline.

DuPont Publishing was the publishing house. They not only had Lux Broussard as a client, but they had a long list of former authors, editors, and agents that inspired Rhys to become an editor, and hopefully one day, a literary agent.

He should have been skeptical during this portion of the interview. He'd never had an interview that was structured quite like this.

"Shouldn't I be the one begging you all to not reject me?" Rhys joked, doing his best to clear the air of the desperation fueled tension that was thickening to near oppressive conditions.

"Let him finish," the technical writer piped up. "It's imperative he finishes."

Rhys' gaze slid from the literary agent to the technical writer. Both men wore the same subtly frantic expression. Their eyes shone with a quiet plea, a silent prayer, and they looked to Rhys as if he were the only god capable of giving them reprieve.

He shifted his gaze back to the literary agent. "Okay...I'll hear you out."

"As I'm sure you're aware, Lux Broussard is a client of ours."

Rhys perked up at the mention of Lux, nodding rather emphatically before he remembered... he was in an interview. He wasn't here to fan-boy with the panel. He schooled his expression, wrangling his excitement back into the box it was trying to escape from, and nodded again, once. "Yes, I'm aware that Lux Broussard, along with many promising authors, are clients of DuPont publishing."

"While we appreciate the lengths you've gone in order to familiarize yourself with our clients," the literary agent paused, a slight grimace flitting quickly across his face, and continued on, "Lux Broussard would be your only client." He fell silent, obviously waiting for some type of reaction.

Rhys remained poised. There was no one way in hell he was going to show his entire ass and geek out over this opportunity to work with his favorite author.

The feel of the room noticeably shifted, the tension easing somewhat. Both the literary agent and the technical writer heaved a sigh of relief that briefly raised Rhys' hackles but once they reiterated he'd only be responsible for one client, his hackles were as smooth as an Easter silk press.

Stupidly so.

"Lux is...in a nutshell-"

"Difficult," the technical writer chimed in.

The marketing manager corrected, "A veritable nightmare," but added, as an afterthought, "a phenomenal writer. But a veritable fucking nightmare."

Rhys was no stranger to difficult clients. He has literally had to chase down an author that ran from him. He'd dealt with his fair share of troublesome clients.