A Reclusive Heart (Hollywood Hearts #2)(62)
Author: R.L. Mathewson

“You’re letting me out of my contract?” she asked, trying not to sound too eager. If they did, that meant that she could go with Nick. She wasn’t allowed to start up another publishing company, but he would be. She didn’t think that they’d really have any kind of futur,e but she could show her thanks by signing on with him and maybe J.L. Lewis could help him build a lucrative business.

The man shook his head. “No, you’re still contracted through us for J.L.

Lewis, but we’ve decided that as Jamie Harris you will no longer be associated with Rerum Publishing House,” he explained before shifting his eyes to Nick.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Quinn, but I’m afraid you’re fired as well,” he said, surprisingly not sounding very happy about it at all.

Then again from what she saw, Nick was a hard worker. His personal life might have drawn concerns, but his work ethic was irreproachable. He worked hard, put in long hours and wasn’t afraid of doubling his workload to get the job done. Personally she thought they were foolish to let the man go.

“I understand,” was all Nick said.

What the heck? He was just going to sit back and let this happen? This was her fault, not his. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for her and she sure as heck wasn’t about to sit around while they destroyed Nick’s career. She opened her mouth to say, well, she really wasn’t sure what the heck she was going to say when Dana spoke.

“I guess this is where I tell you that I will not be signing my contract to continue with Rerum Publishing,” she said quietly. Rick for some strange reason looked slightly relieved while the rest of them, even Holly, looked panicked.

“Let’s talk about this, Mrs. Pierce,” the man who’d fired them said almost desperately.

Dana simply shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t feel comfortable signing with Rerum Publishing when you’re releasing one of the main reasons that I enjoy working with this company in the first place. Mr. Quinn has always double checked my work for me, helped plan my tours when I decide to take them and if I can’t reach Rick for some reason he’s the person I go to. If I can no longer count on having someone like Mr. Quinn for support then I don’t believe I will continue with Rerum Publishing.”

“Mrs. Pierce, any of our agents can do that for you. They’d be more than happy to help you with any problems that you have,” a middle aged woman with graying chestnut hair that was pulled back into a painful look bun explained imploringly.

“Although I have the utmost respect for your employees, none of them are as dedicated as Mr. Quinn.”

“Our hands are tied on this matter, Mrs. Pierce. Not only did Mr. Quinn have an inappropriate relationship with his client and employee, but he also put Rerum into a very unpleasant situation by canceling dozens of interviews and personal appearances. That’s not something that we can simply-“

Edward Pierce cut the man off. “I’ve known Mr. Quinn for several years now and I’ve never known him to act inappropriately with clients or employees for that matter, which is pretty impressive given his personal reputation. I can understand that you’re not thrilled with the situation, but from what I saw on the video this is not a simple fling nor did either one intend on making their situation public. It appears to me that two people very much in love had a very personal moment stolen from them and exploited,” he said before throwing her a wink that had the blush that she was pretty sure was going to reduce her to ashes intensifying.

She felt her eyes widen and a whimper work its way up her throat at the realization that Edward Pierce and no doubt Dana Pierce, judging by the soft blush painting the woman’s cheeks, had watched her have sex. Oh god……

Everyone in this room had watched the video but her, she realized with horror. When the detective played the video she’d been too mortified with him in the room to look up. Of course she could have watched it from any number of sites on the internet, but she hadn’t exactly been in a rush to see any negative comments like, “Fat ass” or “How could he sleep with her?” which she was sure were all over the web by now. Maybe she should watch the video so that she at least knew how horrible it was.

“With all due respect, Mr. Pierce, but this doesn’t concern you or your wife,” a man said with a crisp voice that was as hard as ice, but instead of finding out who’d spoken she kept her eyes on the table, too humiliated to do anything else. “If you would like to arrange a meeting to discuss your contract we’d be happy to accommodate you, but for right now I’m afraid that I’m going to have to ask you to-“

“I’m afraid it does concern us if you ever expect my wife to do any promotions for the books that you currently have her contracted for. If memory serves me correctly she has the right to refuse any promotional event that makes her uncomfortable and I have to be honest,” Edward said, drawing her attention against her will. She looked up to find the man leaning back in his chair, looking comfortable as he addressed the men and women who were visibly panicking.

“Having my wife work with a company who would place profit before her safety is not making me very comfortable,” he said firmly, leaving no doubt in her mind at least that the man didn’t play games when it came to his wife.

“I support Mr. Quinn’s decision to cancel the promotional dates considering the situation,” Rick said. “Between the video and the threats I think he made the right choice.”

“It wasn’t his call to make,” the woman with the severe bun explained tightly.

That was the main problem? Jamie thought with an inward snort. Well, she could clear that up right now. “Mr. Quinn didn’t cancel the rest of the tour I-“

“I canceled the tour,” Nick explained, cutting her off as he gave her hand a warning squeeze, “because I could not guarantee her safety as long as there was a threat out there. After speaking with the police it was agreed that until they caught whoever sent threats was identified or caught that it would be better to get the attention away from her.”

“You should have spoken with us before you made that decision,” the man with the crisp voice said. Jamie looked to her right to find the man sitting next to the still smug Holly was the one who had spoken.

“I apologize for that. However, I felt an obligation to cancel the most immediate dates out of respect for our contracts. I explained the situation and told them that the contracts would be honored as soon as the matter was cleared up,”