Chapter 18

“What?” 

 

 The chorus came from Wesley and the two senior editors.

 With a smirk, Emily reiterated herself.

 

  “I'm sorry, this manuscript cannot be published. It's not good enough.”

 Wesley jumped to his feet, seething with anger.

   “Emily, are you crazy? You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?” 

   “Mr Wesley, please calm down. I'm sure there's been a mistake somewhere.” Jane–one of the editors said, trying to pacify him.

 The second editor, Kent, also jumped in.

  “Yes, there's got to be some sort of mistake. Emily, you know this is Wesley Sterling, one of the best authors out there. He has written so many bestsellers, how can you say his work is not good enough?” 

 Emily stared into Wesley’s eyes with a mocking gaze.

   “I know Mr Wesley has written many bestsellers but this one doesn't cut it. I think he needs to write something else.” 

  He flipped out. 

    “How dare you insult me? Is this what they do at Hasting? I demand another editor. And I want her fired!”

  Everytime he met Emily's calm gaze, it sent him on another spiral of rage.

The editors continued to pacify him.

  “How can you trust my manuscript in the hands of someone who barely has any experience? She clearly doesn't know what she's talking about.” 

  Emily sighed, savouring the sweet taste of her victory.

  “Copies of this manuscript were distributed to everyone in my team. Actually, that's the reason I'm here with my colleagues.”

Sean immediately supported her.

  “I'm sorry, this manuscript lacks the sort of substance that Hasting likes.” 

  “Yeah, it's a very hard read. Everyone agrees.” Anna added.

The senior editors exchanged surprised glances. Their eyes asked the same question.

Was it possible for a whole team to agree a book was bad if it wasn't?

   “Nonsense” Wesley pointed his hands at them. “This is a set up.” 

  In his egoistical mind, there's no way his book wasn't good enough. It was going to be a bestseller and a jealous Emily was trying to sabotage him.

  The veins in his skin popped out as he continued to scream.

  “I want someone else. I want another editor, not her or them. They're liars.” 

 “Calm down Mr Wesley…” Kent began to talk but was cut short by Wesley.

  “Don't tell me to calm down. I demand another editor now!!” 

  “Mr Wesley, we'll hand over your work to another team. Why don't we head to my office to talk more?” 

  After giving Emily ome last hard glare, he stormed out of the conference room with the editors.

  “Geez,”Sean said as soon as they were gone. “Never meet your heroes.” 

  “He's totally nuts,” Anna added. 

   “Do you really think someone might like the manuscript?” She asked with eager curiosity.

  Sean scoffed, “There's no way anyone with half a brain is approving that book.” 

  He chuckled. “That's if they can even read through it.” 

  Emily couldn't help but chuckle along. Everything was going just as she expected.  

  

     In a couple of days, the news of Wesley's horrible manuscript had become the hottest piece of gossip in the company.

  Despite other editors reviewing it, the feedback was no different from Emily's.

  However, Wesley’s egotistical mind still refused to believe his work was not award worthy.

  “It's a lie. There's gotta be some sort of mistake. It has to be Emily, she's turned everyone against me.” he fumed over the phone to Kent.

  Kent sighed. “Mr Wesley, no one's against you. I've personally read the manuscript and it's quite terrible.” 

  He chuckled and added. “With all the masterpieces you've written, I could swear this manuscript was not written by you.” 

  Wesley felt a lump in his throat.

   “Errm…so what's the way forward?” he asked in his best composed tone.

  “Look, this can happen to anyone–even the greatest writer. There's no need to beat yourself over it.” 

  Rather than feel comforted, Wesley felt irritated.

   Kent continued, “All you need to do is begin another manuscript. Something thrilling like your previous books.” 

   Again, the mention of his previous books only irritated him.

  “But I can't just write a brand new manuscript now. It…” 

 Kent cut him off. 

  “Start. You can write a couple of pages now, then complete them over a few more months.” 

  Before he could respond, Kent added;

  “This is the only way you can secure your spot with the golden ten. The last thing you want is Mr Hasting thinking you're not competent. I suggest you put that genius mind of yours to work fast.” 

   The line went dead.

  He felt a surge of anger and without thinking twice, he smashed the phone on the floor.

  The sound of it shattering was enough to attract Sophie– who quickly rushed into his home office.

  She was stunned by the sight of the destroyed phone.

  “Oh My God, what happened?” 

  He barely casted her glance and walked out of the office, leaving her in a confused State.

  

  His frustration grew over a couple of days.

  No matter how hard he tried, his brain couldn't seem to come up with anything creative.

    Disappointed in himself, he shut the laptop, picked up his keys and made his way to the car.

  An hour later, he found himself packed outside the Hasting Publishing company. 

  He sat still, watching different employees retire for the day.

  After about forty minutes of waiting, he saw her.

  Almost immediately, he began to drive towards her.

   Unfortunately, she jumped into a black SUV before he could reach her.

  “Shit!!” he swore, slamming his hands against the steering wheel.

  

  Still, he tailed the car till they arrived at a multiple unit penthouse.

  Again, he muttered a curse as he watched the security. There was no way to get in.

 After three hours of waiting and just when he was about to leave, he saw Emily and Ava giddly skip out of the building.

  Ava giggled as they hailed a cab. A couple drove by before one finally stopped for the girls to jump in.

  

Wesley started his car.

 And with a wicked smile, he trailed after them.