Ivey Pierce is an explorer, and thanks to her career as a wildlife biologist, she does not stay stationary for long. But when her parents die in a terrible accident, and her childhood home is left vacant for two years, she returns to the tattered me...
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"YOU WROTE THIS WHEN?" Larry leaned back in his leather chair, which was giant compared to his short stature. He would look like Dr. Evil from Austin Powers if he were bald.
"I've been working on it for three months."
"Is that what you've been doing at your desk all day?" He flipped through the mockup book I printed, peering at me over his glasses which had slid down the bridge of his nose.
I held my breath in an attempt not to laugh. "No, I work on work stuff at work, Larry."
"Your most redundant sentence yet, Ivey. I'm impressed."
The laughter bubbled out then.
Kate's silhouette swayed behind the fogged glass of Larry's office, which overlooked Elliot Bay, patiently waiting for me to tell her whether or not Larry would consider publishing and distributing the novel I've been working on about Clifton.
"So, you picked up where your parents left off?"
"Yes, I know it's not the typical stuff we publish. It's a loose but exaggerated autobiography with a mixture of childhood memories, stories about growing up in Clifton, and information about the land and animals. I came to you because I'd love for our company to publish it if they wanted, but if you don't think it's a good fit, then I'll take it somewhere else."
He held up the book. "Can I keep this for now?"
I nodded. "Thanks, Larry."
He waved me off, and I turned on my heel, knowing that was my cue to leave.
"Ah, ah, ah! Come back," he shouted, and my feet skidded to a halt.
"If it were just up to me, you know I'd say yes, but it's not, so I'll let you know what the team thinks. Anyways, you're an integral part of this company, and uh," he cleared his throat, "We're fortunate to have you back. I hope you're doing... alright, you know... with everything." He waved haphazardly again, and I swallowed the lump in my throat, smiling gratefully. That was as sappy as Larry would ever get, but I knew he spoke from his tiny heart.
"Thank you, I'm happy to be back."
When I left his office, Kate's head perked. "And?"
"He's passing it over to the team."
She grabbed my hands and jumped. "I knew it! He loves you too much to say no. You're definitely getting published."
"Shh," I looked around as people in the office glanced in our direction.
"We are celebrating this weekend."
"We can't celebrate before we know."
"I'm sure we'll know their decision by Friday."
Kate and I gathered our belongings from our offices and rode the elevator to the parking garage.The air smelled of crisp, white snow, but there wasn't any in sight, only Seattle's biting December air, which made me pull my coat tighter.
