I don’t think Anastasios is trying to intimidate her or make her feel bad in any way, but she’s not backing down. She’s frank and unapologetic in her explanation of what happened, and even though I know it’s not the full story, I’m so fucking proud of her. For everything. For working through all of that, for getting to the place she’s in now. Even if there are slipups like she had a week ago, she’s trying so hard to get her life back to where she wants it, and she’s unashamed of the journey. Of course, hindsight is twenty-twenty, but I’m even proud of her for walking away back then. She did what she needed to do. Even if it broke my damn heart.

He nods slowly, narrowing his eyes and taking her in. “Thank you for your candor, Ms. Frye. It wasn’t my intention to ask straight away, but I appreciate the information you’ve given me. And, more importantly, I am sorry. I can’t speak on behalf of JMP because I wasn’t there at the time, but you deserved better. My goal is that here, at Anastasios Press, we can provide that for you.”

She smiles, and this time it’s more relaxed. “I appreciate that.”

“I’ll say it again, though. We have to keep your identity under wraps until our team is ready to do a reveal. We are still owned by JMP, and there are a lot of people over there who wouldn’t be too happy if they knew you signed with us. We’d like to be ready to provide sales data to show them, irrefutably, that signing you was a worth the risk.” He shoots a warning glare at Scarlett, then turns the same look to me.

“I’m also hoping that there’s a plan to mitigate some of the anger I incurred when I canceled my press tour,” Scarlett says, drawing his attention back to her.

With that, Anastasios launches into an outline of the marketing and publicity plans Meri has mocked up, complete with a tentative timeline for everything with Becoming. Scarlett listens attentively, asking questions where appropriate.

After that, the rest of the meeting goes off without a hitch. He asks her about the new book she’s working on, and she lights up when she starts explaining the plot to him. Watching as she speaks—her hands waving wildly in the air and her expressions changing rapidly the way they always used to when she was talking about her books—I can’t help but realize I’m falling a little more for her with each minute that passes. She’s still the Scarlett I was in love with all those years ago, but better. She’s more confident. Her eyes are clearer. Excitement radiates off her in waves.

She’s magnetic, and I’m a piece of metal, powerless to resist her pull.