After another half-hour, the line to have books signed by Nathan is finally down to its last two people. He signs their books quickly, smiling and nodding as both women tell him how much they love him and the way he portrays dominant men in his books, before Nathan’s assistant, Keisha, whispers something in his ear and he ends the conversation. Nathan stands up for the first time in two and a half hours and waves to the group, which still has nearly the same amount of people it had at the start of the event. Women swarm toward him asking for hugs and trying to continue talking to him, and he embraces it all without as much as a flinch. He hugs people as if he’s known them for years, making sure to keep it brief, but he doesn’t sidestep anyone. I’m truly impressed with how much he seems to enjoy pleasing his fans, and as he works his magic on the crowd, Keisha finally approaches our section and addresses us for the first time since it all started.

“Hi, ladies and gentlemen,” she begins, with a smile that shows she’s sincere, but also exhausted. “I’m sorry for the wait, but this was a big event. We have a section roped off for us upstairs, so why don’t we go ahead and head that way while Mr. Booker finishes up down here. He’ll be with us shortly.”

Keisha escorts the group of VIPs out of our section and to the escalator that takes us to the second floor. When we reach the top, we find a section in the back of the space with five couches positioned into an oddly shaped circle, with a recliner off to the side, and a brown coffee table in the center. The group of twenty women spreads out, taking up seats on the couches and leaving the recliner open, assuming this is where Nathan will sit for our time together, however, Keisha takes the recliner as we all sit down. She lets out an exhale as she leans back in the chair and rests her head on the plush cushion behind her.

“Long day?” Juliana asks her, and Keisha smiles as she nods.

“So long,” she replies with wide eyes, making the group laugh. “We didn’t expect this event to sell out, but Mr. Booker’s celebrity seems to be growing more and more with each new novel.”

“How long have you been his assistant?” a woman on the couch next to me and Juliana asks.

“Since his first book, four years ago,” Keisha says. “I’ve actually known Na … Mr. Booker since high school. He was even my husband’s best man at our wedding.”

“Wow, that’s so cool,” someone else says. “Was he always a writer?”