Writing A Wrong (Write Stuff 2)

She grabbed me by the wrist and pulled until I stood up from the bed. I tried digging my heels into the carpet, but she shoved at my back. "Wait," I said, turning around. "I love you, whore."

"I love you too. Now get your ass into the bathroom. I need to use the shower too, and we need to meet Greg downstairs in less than two hours."

The only problem with Olivia was that more times than not she was aggravatingly right when it came to me. She never let me forget it either. Even though it seemed like it annoyed me that she knew me as well as I knew myself, I was lucky to have her. That part I knew.

Olivia and I arrived in the lobby to find Greg holding a couple of peppermint lattes from Starbucks. "You are a saint," I said, following him toward his familiar SUV parked out front. I must have made an impression the day before because he drove much more conservatively on the way to the studio that was located in the middle of Times Square.

We arrived in one piece, but that didn't mean I wasn't ready to die or at the very least puke. We were greeted inside by a production assistant who gave us the particulars of my segment while she ushered us to a waiting room. She opened the door and I was surprised to see Remi and Jillian sitting on a small sofa.

They both stood up and hugged me, offering their words of encouragement. There was nowhere to run. The country was going to meet N.S. Blake, the supposed bestselling author who sounded more like a blabbering idiot. I could always switch to children's books. Hear Nicole Babble. Where's Nicole? See Spot and Nicole Run.

As it turned out, the appearance was easier than I expected. The hosts were extremely nice and very supportive. Although, I was so nervous I couldn't remember a word I had said. I guess I would find out if I truly embarrassed myself. Remi, Jillian, Greg, and Olivia all assured me I was being ridiculous. Of course, they had to say that.

Chapter 8

My other interviews that week went just as well. I felt I moved from a toddler vocabulary to a speech any adolescent might understand.

"I sound like I have the intelligence of a gnat," I joked, speaking to Alec on the phone.

"No way, babe. You did great on Good Morning America. Everyone here is still buzzing about it. Lily watched it on the DVR and she couldn't believe someone she knew was on TV. I talked to Olivia and she said you were brilliant in your other interviews too. As a matter of fact, she said the last person was openly flirting with you."

"But the last interview was with a woman," I replied, confused.

"I know. If you want to pursue it, I'm all in. Just sayin'."

"You're such a pervert," I said, laughing. "I can't believe you gave me permission to cheat."

"Not cheating, just dabbling. Like the old Katy Perry song."

"That song is probably the only reason you like Katy Perry. Are you a Taylor Swift fan too?" I teased.

"I don't remember her having a song about kissing a girl. Besides, she whines too much for me. Katy Perry is always so upbeat and she wears cute outfits."

I snorted, rolling my eyes. "And there you have it. Tell you what. I'll wear cupcakes on my boobs like she does if you want."

"Promises, promises. You're killing me, babe. This week has been too long without you."

"Ditto," I answered, even though it was only half true. I missed him terribly, but the past week had zipped by in a blur of activity. I'd barely had time to catch my breath. Up until yesterday I couldn't have told you what day it was until Olivia reminded me.

"It's nice of you to lie for my benefit. I know you've been busy."

He knew me too well. "That doesn't mean I don't miss you like crazy."

"I know, babe. I'm glad it's going well."

"I love you."

"I love too, sweet stuff."

Olivia waved to get my attention. She was standing with a group of people on the other side of the room.

"I better go. I'll text you later," I said regretfully. Busy was good, but I'd only spoken to Alec a handful of times during the past week and I was feeling the effects.

He sighed but didn't complain. We said our goodbyes and hung up. I stowed my phone away so I wouldn't spend my time staring at his number in my contacts list. Olivia waved at me again. I took one last glance at my phone sitting sadly at the bottom of my bag. I'd make it up to Alec later.

Pasting a smile on my face, I made my way over to the group Olivia and Greg were having a conversation with. They turned out to be studio executives, who, much to my surprise, were all fans of Wicked Lovely. Greg and Olivia had taken the initiative and scheduled a lunch with them after checking with Jillian.

"That was pretty cool," I yawned to Olivia several hours later when we were finally in our hotel room.