TEACHER’S PETMonday morning I sat with the phone in my lap, tapping it on my knee as I rehearsed what to say to Mark Burgess. Be cool, Kate. Relax. This is only your shot at a possible publishing deal. I swallowed, feeling the lump rise right back up in my throat. The rest of the weekend had been nerve-racking . The mood after the conference turned somber, the energy shifting after our run-in with Felicia. Ryan apologized the whole way home for introducing me as his fiancée, saying he wanted to make it clear he was in a committed relationship, to get Felicia off our backs. Not wanting to get caught up in his past, I dropped it and didn’t bother mentioning my run-in with her again in the restroom. But not for his sake. For hers. She deserved to hang on to a shred of her dignity.I managed to make the phone call and arranged to meet Mark at the Irish pub around the corner at 1:00, thankful Ryan was teaching class that afternoon so I’d have a few minutes to myself to prepare. To say I was feeling nervous was a massive understatement.“You look fantastic, Kate.
