“I won’t, and thanks again.”
She entered the room and threw the night latch.
“Honestly, Gail, I wish you hadn’t been so snooty with Gabe. He, Felix, and the rest of the staff have gone out of their way to take care of me.”
“His making you fat isn’t helpful. If you aren’t careful, you’ll have to buy a whole new wardrobe.”
“It’s my money,” Sage said with a bit of finality.
Gail continued to harangue her about her eating habits, her wardrobe, her interactions with readers, and meeting, even unofficially, with Scotland Yard.
“If you’re going to take the time and be bothered with all of this, we should at least get press coverage,” Gail carped.
“I don’t want to give whoever it is the publicity. Everything I’ve read says part of what spurs these people on is seeing their name in the news. I plan to meet with Gabe’s friend in the morning, then head over to the event. I’ll be on time.”
“You weren’t this morning.”
“I didn’t plan on having a treat delivered with my breakfast,” Sage said, trying to control her rising temper.
“Maybe just one interview…”
“No, Gail, and that’s the end of it. And if you leak the story to the press like you did when I arrived, you and I are going to have a major issue.”
“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to? You are where you are today because of me…”
“I think my novels had a little to do with it,” Sage said sarcastically.
“Not much. I could have taken any two-bit erotic writer and made her into a success. I was trolling an author event when I found you. I could just as easily find another. You were good, raw material. You had the tragic back story of losing your fiancé and your job. Then I added getting you a decent haircut and color, new clothes, and crafted your persona so you appealed to all those love-starved women who find some dominant asshole appealing and voilà—there you are.”
“I never knew you felt that way.” Sage’s anger was threatening to take over. “If you’re so sure of that, perhaps you should troll this event and find a replacement.”
“Don’t think I can’t… or I won’t!”
Sage stood up, walked to the door, and opened it.
“Please do.”
Gail tossed down her napkin, pushed back her chair and stood.
“Don’t think I won’t.”
“I wish you and your new protégé all the success in the world. Don’t worry about me at the event. I can handle it. You’re welcome to use the return flight ticket, but please ask them to move you so we aren’t sitting next to each other. I’ll have a letter of dismissal of your services and revocation of our agreement delivered to you in the morning. I’ll inform the Four Seasons I will be responsible for your hotel room only as originally agreed, but any extras or anything past the last night of the event is on you.”
“Why, you ungrateful little sow! Who the fuck do you think you are?” Gail screeched, her face turning an ugly shade of red.
Enough, she thought. I’m just done. It no longer mattered that they had worked together for so many years. Gail had traded on Sage’s sense of loyalty and gratitude for far too long. All the nasty behavior she had tolerated or excused for so long came to mind, and for once, she didn’t feel out of control or powerless. Gail didn’t know it, but her mini reign of terror was over. Sage was done making excuses for how Gail treated her; she was about to show Gail that she had some teeth of her own to bare.
Sage drew herself up. “I think I am USA Today, New York Times, and International Best Selling Author Sage Matthews, and if you don’t get your skinny, sorry ass out of my room, I will call Gabe and have you escorted from the Savoy.”
Gail snatched up her purse and stomped out.
Sage closed the door behind her and sagged against it, waiting to feel as though she had done something wrong or she was somehow not up to the task she had just set for herself. Surprisingly, it never came. She returned to her meal and finished it, then called down to arrange for breakfast to be delivered to her and was told that Felix had already taken care of it… of course he had.
Perhaps she should see if Felix would like to become her personal assistant. He seemed awfully good at taking care of her. Then it struck her—how the hell had Felix Spenser suddenly appeared in real life? One minute he was a character she had created, and the next, he was here in the flesh and missing from her books… from all of them. She’d checked all of her saved manuscripts, and each had contained a head concierge, but none of them named Felix. What did Gabe have to do with it, if anything? He seemed to think Felix had been here all along.
The next morning, she was dressed and just finishing her breakfast when there was a knock on the door. She cracked it open to confirm who was on the other side and smiling, opened it wide.
“Good morning, Gabe,” Sage said.
“Good morning, Sage. Your cheerful mood this morning appears to be as foul as Ms. Vincent’s was last night. Might it be for the same reason?” Gabe asked with a smile.
“Would I be a horrible person for saying yes?”
“Not at all,” he assured her. “Might I introduce you to my friend and former brother-in-arms, DSI Michael—” He stopped as the blood left her face and her knees threatened to buckle. “Sage, are you all right?”
“Holmes?” she asked.
First Felix and now Holmes. What the hell was happening? Was she under so much stress that she was becoming unhinged? Why was she the only one who seemed to notice there were characters from her books showing up in the real world?
“Yes, ma’am. Have we met before?”
Sage shook her head. Standing before
