Tasmina Perry - Original Sin

She emphasized the word ‘damage’ and the implication was not lost on the headmistress. She might be British, but she still understood the litigious culture of America.

Fenella Beaumont exhaled slightly, her plump cheeks expanding like a goldfish’s.

She flipped open a class register and seemed thoughtful for a moment.

‘We do have one new pupil joining Transition B next term, but that’s cancelling out Lucy Kwong’s departure from the school.’ She looked up quickly. ‘Her father has been posted to Dubai.’

‘Well, if someone new is starting, perhaps another new pupil joining the class would make it easier for both of them,’ said Paula.

Miss Beaumont nodded. ‘I suppose that makes sense.’

She snapped the register shut and stood up, her gown billowing behind her as she rose. ‘I will see what I can do. For the welfare of the girls, you understand,’ she added with emphasis.

‘Thank you, Miss Beaumont. We believe Casey should be the one to move into Transition B,’ added Paula casually. ‘More buoyant, more confident. I think she will adapt to new classmates quicker than Amelia would.’

‘Yes, quite,’ said Miss Beaumont. ‘I certainly agree.’

Paula smiled. Beautiful, popular Casey. Her golden girl. The sort of child that everyone would want to befriend. Yes, she thought, with a soaring sense of triumph. Casey would be her entrée into the very highest society.

12

Brooke Asgill snatched up the phone and speed-dialled Kim Yi-Noon’s extension.

‘Kim, can you come through? We’ve got a crisis.’

It was eight thirty in the morning. Brooke hadn’t even taken her jacket off when she noticed the manuscript of her magical slush-pile discovery Portico sitting in the middle of her desk. It had a coffee ring on the cover plus a bright yellow Post-it that read: ‘Buy this. Cheap. Mimi.’

Kim came running into Brooke’s office. Ever since the editorial meeting, Brooke had been trying, unsuccessfully, to reach Eileen Dunne, Portico ’s author. She seemed to have disappeared in a puff of green smoke.

‘Hi Kim, where are we on tracking down Eileen Dunne?’ She waved the Post-it at her assistant. ‘Just got this from Mimi; looks like it’s getting serious all of a sudden.’

Kim nodded. ‘Yes, I was trying the author all last night and this morning, but I finally spoke to her a few minutes ago. She’s been out of town. Seems very nice.’

‘Especially since we probably got her out of bed,’ smiled Brooke, plumping up the vase of roses that David had sent her the day before to finally put Saturday night’s spat behind them. Neither Alicia nor Matthew had been mentioned since and she thought it best to keep it that way.

‘Well, that’s good news, can you get her on the phone for me …’ she began, but the look on Kim’s face made her stop.

‘Oh,’ said Kim, looking slightly embarrassed. ‘Eileen told me she’s being represented by Vanessa Friedmann, so it’s probably best if you speak to her in the first instance.’

The news was like a body blow to Brooke. The smile dropped off her face and she sat down in her chair.

‘Vanessa Friedmann,’ she gasped. ‘How? When did that happen?’ Her eyes strayed back to Mimi’s note and a feeling of panic rose in her stomach.

Kim flipped open the diary she had tucked under her arm. ‘On Friday the fifteenth you asked me to phone Eileen and suggest she get an agent. I recommended Vanessa, Jane Grubman at IAA and Larry at Authors Inc.’

Brooke stared at Kim, hoping it was a nasty joke. ‘ Ohmigod. You recommended three of the toughest negotiators in New York?’

Kim nodded earnestly. ‘You said Eileen needed an agent, so I thought it would be better for you if your authors had prestigious ones.’

Brooke took a deep breath. Kim was efficient and super-keen, but she had an awful lot to learn about the publishing business. She wanted to shout at her, but Brooke knew that Kim had no idea what she had just done.

‘We’ll talk later,’ she mumbled, shooing Kim out of the office and putting her head in her hands. Vanessa Friedmann was fierce, the master of the deal. She took on very few clients and was famous for getting six-figure deals for all of them. Breathe, breathe , she willed herself. She flicked through her Rolodex and dialled Vanessa’s number with a sense of dread. This was the part of her job that she hated.

‘Vanessa, hi. It’s Brooke Asgill. How are you?’

‘Brooke Asgill,’ said Vanessa. ‘This is a nice surprise. Didn’t think you’d still be working.’

‘Really? Why?’

‘Brooke, you are America’s most famous bride-to-be. That sounds like a full-time job in itself.’

‘Well, remind me to take a long holiday when it’s all over.’

Vanessa laughed a little too enthusiastically. ‘Well, congratulations on your wedding. I hope your favourite agent is going to get an invite, and if you ever want to publish your memoirs, I’d be happy for us to talk.’

‘Actually, that’s why I’m calling.’

‘Fantastic!’ said Vanessa, her enthusiasm real this time.

‘No, not about me. About a slush-pile script that came into me a couple of weeks ago. I believe you’re looking after the author.’

There was a pause and a rustling of papers.

‘Ah yes, Eileen Dunne. I was going to call you this week. Incredible book, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I read it. In my thirty years in the business that hasn’t happened very often but with Portico – phew! This is the real deal.’

Brooke was experienced enough to know she was being set up. It was just agent’s hyperbole; in fact Brooke seriously doubted that Vanessa had read more than the first few pages. Eileen Dunne already had serious interest from a publisher; for an agent it was a no-brainer. Who cared what the book was like?

‘When a book is this good, obviously I want to go straight to auction with it,’ continued Vanessa briskly. ‘But the author insisted I give you first look.’

‘I’m glad,’ said Brooke, trying to sound bright although her heart was pounding. ‘I did rescue it from Yellow Door’s slush pile after all. And I think one of our assistants recommended you to Eileen.’

There was a long pause which suggested that what she had just said cut no ice.

‘So you are interested?’ said Vanessa finally.

‘Well, I’ve only seen the first few chapters. I also gave it to Mimi Hall who liked it as well,’ Brooke replied, trying to keep her voice casual. It was a game: agent bigging up the manuscript as if it was literary gold, editor down-playing their excitement. It was like a lover’s dance.

‘How about I give you twenty-four hours to come up with a pre-empt?’ said Vanessa smoothly.

‘Did you have a figure in mind?’ asked Brooke, the words sticking in her throat.

She was not a tough negotiator like Mimi, who could eat even the fiercest agent alive. For someone who had been brought up in a very wealthy family, she was uncomfortable talking about money, and haggling over advances with agents actually made her feel physically ill. It was certainly not what she’d signed up for when she first started at Yellow Door as an editorial assistant with the dreamy notion that life in a publishing house would be spent leisurely reading books. Vanessa gave a low laugh down the phone.

‘It’s a trilogy with enormous crossover appeal. If it went to auction it could go to seven figures for a three-book deal.’

Seven figures. A million dollars, minimum. Brooke swallowed as quietly as she could.

‘I’ll need to talk to Mimi about this one.’

‘Fine. How about we put in a call for five p.m.? I want to drop the manuscript to other editors by tomorrow lunchtime.’