He pauses for effect, then continues. “Think of all the great political stories—Hamilton versus Burr, Kennedy versus Nixon, Carter versus Reagan. But this one, Marcia, this one won’t be just a bestseller, it’ll be a history-maker. Nothing like it has ever been published, ever!”

“Garrett, please, hold on.” Marcia raises one hand to the silver hair framing her pleasant face. “You know I love you. But politics?”

“Not just politics,” says Garrett. “A political bombshell.” He walks over to a bookcase and plucks two hardcovers from the middle shelf. His two bestsellers, Integrity Gone and Stolen Honor. “Way better than these.”

I know both of those books by heart. I researched every page.

“What you need, Marcia,” says Garrett, “is an international hit that will sell millions of copies and put Nottingham back into the black.”

“Garrett, stop. Take a breath,” says Marcia, impatience creeping into her voice.

My turn. Time to shift the tone. One of my lawyer tricks.

“Marcia, you know Garrett. When he gets spun up like this, he thinks he’s Bob Woodward, Robert Caro, and Ron Chernow all rolled into one.”

“That’s impressive company, Brea,” says Marcia. She turns back to Garrett. “Look, your first two books earned their way onto the bestseller lists with positive reviews and strong word of mouth. But this topic…” Her voice trails off. She’s dismissive. We’re losing her.

Garrett’s smile never drops. I can see him rising to the challenge. He once told me, “An editor is like a thousand-pound tuna, and all I’ve got is a hundred-pound line. And it’s fraying.”

Garrett puts his hands on Marcia’s desk and leans in. “Marcia, pretend you’re an outsider looking at our political system and the corrupt acts—from dark money to contributions in kind and worse—public figures get away with. Nobody can really explain how a congressperson earning a hundred and seventy-four grand a year ends up rich at the end of their term. Do you know how many millionaires there are in the so-called People’s House?”

Time for me to tag-team again. “Fifty percent of them are millionaires. Not counting members who hide their money behind their spouses and kids.”

Marcia shoots me a little smile. “You’re his researcher again, I presume?”

“I am. And this time, I’m a coauthor too.”

“Right,” says Marcia. She turns back to Garrett. “Books on politics are a hard sell, and books on political corruption are an even harder sell. Your first story was about a mole in the CIA. Very sexy. Your second was about an American hero being screwed over by her superior officers and not getting the Medal of Honor she deserved. Even better. But an exposé about payoffs and dirty public officials? No one interested in those topics needs to read about them in a book. They can switch on MSNBC or Fox any night of the week.”