"i could pull the stars down from the sky and give them to you, and you would still find a reason to say no, wouldn't you, gemma? you would still fucking go choose him."
i felt like the world was crashing down on me. the one person i was completely...
A woman came into the lobby, standing by a now-opened door that must lead to Isaac's office. She was young, maybe like, twenty-six, and she had red hair. The subtle kind of red hair that could be mistaken for strawberry blonde in the winter, but blazed brightly in the summer sun. She was pretty.
I stood up and gave her an accidentally weak smile. I must have looked so nervous, because she said, "Relax. He's super chill; you'll be just fine."
I nodded, obviously still nervous, then followed her. The door wasn't to his office, rather, to a hallway with a few other doors. The door at the end of the hallway looked like the one.
"I'm Lily Jones," she said as we walked. I figured she was. "Isaac's assistant. We've spoken through email."
I nodded. "Nice to meet you. I'm Gemma."
She smiled warmly. "So I've heard," she said. "Nice to meet you, as well. Isaac's been raving about your manuscript for the past week. Says it's extremely well-written and equally captivating."
I was shocked. It felt even more like a joke now. How could someone, who published books for a living, think that mine was very well-written? That's insane.
"Really?" I asked incredulously, then realized that was a dumb thing to say. We were standing outside his office now, still finishing up our conversation.
She laughed. "How old are you?"
"Nineteen," I replied, suddenly feeling inferior. I'm a freaking teenager. "Just a few weeks from twenty, actually."
As if that's going to validate me.
"Impressive," she said with a smile. I couldn't tell if she meant it or not. "Ready?"
I nodded confidently. Chill out. This will be easy. You can do this.
She opened the door and I walked in behind her. I have to channel someone else in this sort of situation—someone like Edith. Walk in there like Edith Jones would. She wouldn't have to think twice about confidence or anything else like that. That's how I need to be.
"Gemma Clark!"
I caught my first glimpse of real life Isaac Benton. He was totally tall, dark, and handsome. Shaggy dark brown hair that he had to move out of his eyes when I came in, and an electric smile that made me have to smile as well. When he stood up, he was taller than me, but not super tall. He totally had a mystery vibe; I felt like he had secrets.
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