Chapter Twenty-TwoThe air felt thick. “This is a joke, right?” Sam said, his neck sweating.
“Oh, Samuel. The only joke was that ridiculous manuscript you two tried to pawn off on me.”
“We were just fulfilling our end of the bargain,” he said.
Margo nodded. “True, true. Which is why I think it's only fair that I fulfill my end.”
Sam studied Margo's face, waiting for some kind of punch line. It never came.
“You're actually serious,” Ellie said, her voice almost a whisper.
“Quite serious. Oh, at first I was going to do what I'm sure you hoped I'd do: recognize that the tripe you gave was unpublishable, throw up my hands, gnash my teeth, admit my defeat, and move on. Chalk it up to being outfoxed by the two brave authors.” Her frown contorted into a smile. “But I never let myself be outf
