Unleash Me, Vol. 1 (Unleash Me, Annihilate Me Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

sort
of Disney caricature.   It ’ s as if he ’ s six again and
someone took away his toy train.   Or
his little Batman figurine. ”   She looked straight at him.   “ Marco — my
poor, dear, lost Marco — you
know damned well what I ’ ve
done for your other authors in the past. ”
    “ Nothing
you did to them came close to this. ”
    “ That ’ s because none of them
could work a look like this.   Lisa
can.   Now, apologize to her.   I could call Alex and have you
fired.   You know that.   Either you throw your weight behind this
girl and stop harassing her, or you ’ re looking for a new job.   Choose. ”
    “ If
you lose me, you lose Wenn Publishing. ”
      “ Are you serious?   Does your ego know no bounds?   We have dozens of outstanding editors
here.   You ’ re just a piece of
unfortunate gum on the bottom of a high-end shoe. ”
    “ Really?   Do any of those editors have two
Pulitzer Prize-winning writers under their belts? ”
    “ I
could give a damn about your prizes or your senior status, Marco.   I could give a shit about any of it,
because all you did was take pen to paper and shape and edit someone else ’ s work.   You certainly haven ’ t written anything of
your own to boast about, so stop behaving as if you have.   Now, you ’ re a good editor — we all recognize that — but
you ’ re
not irreplaceable.   Nobody is.   Not even me.   Don ’ t you dare insult a new writer when she ’ s about to step in
front of a camera for the first time.   How dare you do that to her?   You ’ re
setting her up for failure.   Apologize to her now or you are out of here. ”
    He leveled me with a glance.   “ I ’ m
sorry that she ’ s
made you look like a tramp, ” he
said to me.   “ I understand now that
none of this was your doing, but it ’ s still what you look like. ”
    And that was it for me — I ’ d had enough of
him.  
    “ I
think that ’ s
about it for me, ” I
said.   “ I don ’ t do wallflower.   In an effort to be professional, I ’ ve held my tongue as
long as I could, but no more.   Do
you want to know what I see in you, Marco? ”
    “ Lay
it on me.   Let ’ s see what you ’ ve got. ”
    “ It ’ s just what everyone
else is thinking, and probably has been for years.   You ’ ve shared your impressions of me, so now, here are mine of
you.   You look like a roid freak to
me.   Are you?   I have to wonder.   Are you shooting up in the locker room,
or in private?   Are your needles
clean, or are they dirty?   I bet
they ’ re
dirty.   I bet you ’ re into that kind of
risky behavior.   I bet you get off
on it.   But to me?   It looks as if you ’ ve been shooting up
for years.   And I have to wonder
why?   What are you overcompensating
for? ”
    “ Overcompensating? ”
    “ That ’ s right.   I have to wonder. ”
    “ You
think I ’ m
on roids? ”
    “ I
can smell your shriveled balls from here. ”
    He laughed at that, but it was a
laugh without humor.   I ’ d just publicly challenged
him, and he was trying to keep his cool.
    “ Lady,
you don ’ t
even know what you ’ re
up against. ”
    “ Is
that a threat? ”
    “ It ’ s a fact. ”
    I giggled at that.   “ I ’ ve
read about your reputation.   I came
into this meeting with my eyes wide open.   But I ’ ve
done nothing to deserve any kind of hostility from you.   All I did was show up.   You ’ re just some bullying, old-school editor who thinks that I ’ m going to take your
bullshit.   Guess again.   I ’ m not. ”
    “ That ’ s because you have
Alex Wenn in your back pocket. ”
    “ You
mean your boss? ”
    He didn ’ t respond to that.   Instead, his eyes burned into mine — and at that very moment, it was clear
that he was against me.   I ’ d made my enemy.
    So be it.
    “ Here ’ s the deal, ” I
said.   “ What you need to
understand, Mr. Boss, is that I ’ m
happy being an indie writer.   I ’ ve enjoyed it