More Than Friends

Chapter 10: Charlotte

Charlotte had arrived at the office at 7:30 that morning; she wanted plenty of time to get ready for her meeting with Max, to organize her thoughts. Her hair was pulled back in a long braid down her back, golden tendrils fell around her face. A silk blouse, the color of rosé, was tucked into a navy pencil skirt, and a pair of sling back pumps finished the look. She had decided she should dress professionally for such an important meeting, but she was already feeling slightly uncomfortable in such a restricting outfit.

She checked over her outline and thought through, again, what she was prepared to say. She had enjoyed reading the book Max had sent her. She didn’t think that it was particularly special, a pretty standard romance novel in her opinion, although the author was an excellent writing and that definitely caught Charlotte's attention. It had held her interest, been easy to read, and she thought it would sell just fine. There were a few surprises that she genuinely didn’t see coming and that was more than she was expecting, she thought the writing was solid, and she could confidently push it toward publication, once a few adjustments were made.

As much as she had enjoyed the story, she also had quite a few suggestions for changes, edits, and rewrites. She wasn’t sure how Max would take it; would he appreciate her confidence? Or would he be insulted that a lowly assistant editor was making such grandiose suggestions? She wasn’t sure, but in the end, she had decided that she should listen to her gut and tell him how she truly felt. If he thought that she was saying too much, then it would be a learning opportunity for her. But she had a feeling that he would respect her opinions. Why else would he have asked her for them if he didn’t want to hear it all? Besides, that was the nature of this job and she needed to prove that she was capable.

She was still nervous. Her leg shook up and down as she waited anxiously, and her heart was beating faster than usual. She had hardly ever been in Max’s office, let alone in a meeting with him alone. The thought filled her with a surge of excited anticipation.

Her stomach roiled and flipped as she gathered her notes and looked over what she wanted to say for the hundredth time. She studied each point, reassuring herself that she had good ideas, that she was well prepared, and that the more confident she felt and acted, the better she would come across. Before she knew it, the elevator pinged, and she looked up to see Max striding down the hall toward his office. A rush of adrenalin coursed through her body. His dark hair was combed back in its signature style, he was dressed in a crisp white button-down and impeccably tailored slacks, and his face gleamed, handsome and golden.

This is it, she told herself.

“Morning, Charlotte,” Max said, slowing down at her desk. “Come on back.”

Charlotte grabbed her notes and followed him back toward his office. She took a slow, deep breath and tried to quiet her nerves. She tried not to feel intimidated about sitting across from Max Blackwell, alone, in his enormous office. Max opened the door and waved her inside. As she passed by him, she could smell his cologne, something bright and earthy like a breeze near the ocean.

Max’s office was a large space with windows along the back wall that overlooked the courtyard. A sizeable desk was flanked by a set of bookshelves on one side and a seating area on the other. Charlotte wandered toward the seating area which was comprised of a leather couch, a small table, and two chairs. It made his office, mostly clean, sleek lines feel cozy and welcoming.

“Have a seat,” Max indicated the couch.

He set his briefcase on his desk and took a seat in one of the chairs across from her. It felt less formal than she had imagined. It made her feel like they were friends or collaborators, like they were equals. Charlotte appreciated this small display of respect and felt her shoulders relax a little.

“So, did you have a chance to read what I sent you?” Max said with a wide smile, his icy blue eyes crinkling warmly around the edges.

“Yes, I finished it last night,” she said.

“And… what did you think?” he asked, resting his elbows on his knees, clasping his hand together, eyebrows raised expectantly.

Charlotte had spent time thinking the night before about how straightforward she should be. At one point, she had entertained the idea of complete and brutal honesty: telling him that she was tired of romance novels and that she was never much of a fan to begin with. She even toyed with the idea of sharing all her ideas for Hughes as a company, telling him all the ways she envisioned it moving forward.

Eventually, she came back to her right mind and wisely decided against such unbridled openness. There was nothing to be gained from telling her boss that she wasn’t really the target audience for the books their company published… the company that paid both of their salaries. It had been a fleeting thought and thankfully she had let it go. And there would be a time and a place for the rest, at least she hoped there would be. But today was just the first step and she intended to make it a smart one.

“Overall, I liked it,” Charlotte said. “I thought the author did a good job of pulling the reader in, creating a good story, and made me want to finish. There were some surprises that I appreciated, and the ending wrapped everything up nicely.”

He nodded and she continued.

“The author, Georgia Williams, she can write,” Charlotte said, continuing with the positives first. “I thought she did a beautiful job of weaving together imagery and plot in addition to solid character development.”

Charlotte had liked the way that Georgia had written, and she had wondered a few times over the last day if Georgia had ever considered writing something other than romance. Now wasn’t necessarily the time to bring it up, but she stuck it in her back pocket for another time.

“I agree with that,” Max said.

“But,” she said and he raised an eyebrow and one corner of his mouth turned up. “I think the whole storyline about the brother is completely unnecessary and takes away from the main plot points. I’m not saying that the brother has to be cut completely, but I think it could and the novel would probably be better for it.”

“Sometimes you’ve got to kill your darlings,” Max said, nodding his head.

“Exactly,” she said, feeling her voice grow stronger. “And I think the c****x needs to be bigger, it needs more. It feels a little flat to me, leaves me wanting more. It’s like, I can imagine where the author wants to go, but she just didn’t quite make it. I’m not sure if she’s afraid to take the risk, if she needs permission, or if she just didn’t see it. But I’m betting on one of the former.”

All of what Charlotte said came tumbling out in a rush, before she could truly edit what she was going to say. He looked at her again, a curious look on his face that she couldn’t read. Her stomach squeezed and she hoped she hadn’t said too much.

“I can see that,” Max said, then looked off for a moment in silent contemplation. “I hadn’t thought of it, but now that you’re saying it, I don’t know how I didn’t. You’re exactly right!” He clapped his hands together with a laugh.

“Oh, good,” she said, feeling relieved.

If she played her cards right, this could be the beginning of a burgeoning relationship and of more opportunities down the road. If Hughes liked this book and she could help make it better, it could be her edits and suggestions in the final publication. The thought of that made her feel dizzy with delight. She told herself to calm down, that they were only ten minutes into one conversation. She couldn’t get ahead of herself.

“Yeah, this is really good stuff, Charlotte,” Max said, smiling at her.

Relief flooded Charlotte’s body, her shoulders relaxed, and leaned back into the couch cushions. She could feel the wheels being put in motion. Patience would be her greatest asset, but she was closer than she ever had been.

“I really like how you laid everything out,” Max continued. “I appreciate your direct approach and I’m glad that you didn’t shy away from the constructive stuff. Not everyone does that—most people just tell me what they think I want to hear. You have to be strong and direct when working with authors, it can be emotional for them. The more straightforward you can be from the get-go, the better.”

Charlotte glowed inside; she was thrilled that he appreciated her honesty, that he was glad to have her opinions and that he was even talking about how to communicate with authors. She had never worked with an author on her own so far, something that was reserved for positions higher than hers. It was something they all hoped to do at some point, to make a significant impact on a book as it made its way to publication—it was the whole reason any of them wanted to be editors in the first place.

He continued, “You’ve really surprised me, Charlotte. In the best possible way.”

He relayed this in a matter-of-fact way, looking into her eyes. It made her shoulders relax while a surge of electricity raced through her body. It was a turn on, his way of saying things straight, not talking around it, his blue gaze searing right through her. And she couldn’t turn off her body’s response, it was too intense. Everything about him was attractive and her body reacted forcefully.

“Well, good. I’m glad,” she said, trying to keep her voice professional.

“I have my eye on you and I told Phillip the same thing just the other day,” Max said. “I see big things in your future.”

Charlotte’s mouth fell open slightly and she sat up straight.

Max chuckled, leaning forward, “Don’t be so surprised.”

Her heart raced as she tried to digest what he had said. Phillip Hughes was the founder of the company; someone she had only seen in person a few times at holiday parties. He hadn’t even been present during her interviews.

“You’ve talked to Phillip? About me?” was all she could manage, knowing how young and excited she must have sounded.

“Of course. Because I see something special in you,” he gave her a look that she could only describe as steamy, letting his eyes roam up and down her body. “And after hearing everything you had to say about this book and the way you said it, I knew I was right.”

She could feel heat crawling through her body as he watched her, her heart throbbed in response. She uncrossed and recrossed her legs and saw his eyes flick down as she did so. Her skirt had crept up her thighs slightly, but she decided not to pull it down, his eyes lingered for a moment.

“Well, I really appreciate this opportunity,” she said, smiling slightly. Then she added a bit suggestively, “I can’t wait to see where this goes.”

He raised an eyebrow and grinned at her, “As am I, Ms. Miller.”

What on earth was happening here? Were they flirting? No chance. She told herself to snap out of it. This was a business meeting. The business meeting of her career! And this was Max Blackwell. No way would he be flirting with her. Besides, she wanted to be here because she’d earned it, not for any other, sordid reasons. She wanted him to choose her because she was smart, creative, and hardworking, not because she had good legs.

But she couldn’t help wondering, if something happened between them… would it be so bad? If, say, during a late night at work, one thing led to another and... Of course, it would, snapped a voice in her head! This was a professional situation and he was her superior. She needed to prove that she deserved this and make the most of it, she should not be thinking about making out with her boss.

He clapped his hands again, breaking her out of her thoughts, and rested them back on his knees like a football coach and said, “Okay—the next step will be to go back to the author with the suggestions for rewrites. Can you put something together? You can send me all your notes and once I approve them, then you can reach out the author.”

Charlotte’s eyes widened and she couldn’t hide her excitement. She had never reached out directly to an author before and she was giddy with the thought of it.

“Of course,” she said, barely able to contain her glee.

“And, Charlotte,” Max said, his tone all business. “If this goes well, if we can get through this project successfully, there will be a lot more where this came from.”

“Okay,” Charlotte said. “Well, I’m definitely up for it!”

On her way back to her cubicle, she was still humming with excitement. Not only had she just had a meeting with Max, but she had been asked to reach out to the author herself. No one in between, no editor that would be running interference, just her. She beamed, pride and exhilaration filled her chest, and it felt like a warm ball of light blooming inside her.

She thought about the way that he had looked at her, his intense gaze directed at her and felt a different kind of thrill ripple through her body. She was already anticipating the next time they would meet and all the possibilities that could bring. She waved away any niggling worries about impropriety, she wasn’t doing anything wrong by fantasizing about what every woman at the company likely fantasized about when it came to Max Blackwell. She nearly floated back to her desk.

She was quickly and forcefully brought back down to earth when she saw Brady, Madison, and Steph huddled in a tight cluster, talking softly. She slowed and quieted her footsteps so she could hear what they were saying. The prickling on the back of her neck told her that they were talking about her and when she got close enough to hear, she found that she was right. She stood motionless for a few moments, taking in the words that they said, each one a slap across the face. After a few, brutal moments, they realized that she was there, abruptly and awkwardly stopping their conversation.