The Publicist Book One and Two by Christina George

find its way into Bernie’s mind and he’d realize the grief he had caused her. But he either didn’t know or didn’t care.
    “Good Monday morning, you two! How is everyone today?” Edward’s voice came from behind her. The words Kate was about to spew at Bernie froze on her lips.
    “Fine,” Kate mumbled and pushed past Edward to her own office. There was no sense in trying to have this discussion with Bernie while Edward was listening. She’d never win it. A publicist was just supposed to “handle it.” When she arrived at her office, she found Mac waiting for her.
    Kate looked every bit as annoyed as she felt.
    “Can I help you?” she asked in a tone that nearly took off his head.
    “Whoa, Katie! What’s up?” Mac threw her a smile that could melt an iceberg. Right now, she felt immune to it. She wanted to be alone. She didn’t want to entertain Mac or repeat the scene with Bernie she’d just witnessed.
    “This is really not a good time, Mac.” Kate walked past him to her desk and took a seat. Mac closed the door behind him, which made her blood boil even more.
    “Seriously, Mac, I wouldn’t push this.”
    “You had a run-in with Bernie; I saw you in his office when I got here and figured you could use a friend.”
    Suddenly, Mac’s ability to know exactly what she needed was starting to bug the hell out of her.
    “It doesn’t matter.” She waved a hand, hoping it would all go away. “I just need to be alone.”
    “It does matter, Kate. I know how important your career is to you. Had this gone south, it could have meant, well, we both know what it could have meant.” Mac slid into one of her leather chairs. Kate wished he would leave. Nothing he was saying was making her feel any better.
    “Bernie will accept responsibility for nothing. Not ever. The sooner you learn that, the better off you’ll be.”
    “Not only did he not accept responsibility, but he also blew off the whole freaking incident. Like he’s forgotten an event poster instead of the one reason people were there: the books.”
    “Kate, I’m not trying to diminish this. Believe me, I’m not. But, the quicker you move past it, the better you’ll be. People like Bernie get to these positions by God-knows-what means. Maybe he’s Edward’s bastard son. I don’t know. The point is, if you push this, you won’t win. He will.”
    Kate knew exactly what he meant. It wasn’t a double standard. It was more than that. It was the level of respect publicity people got within a house. Basically none. Well, none until you got your first bestseller. Then you could walk on water. Bernie would have never pulled this crap on her if she’d had a slew of superstar books to her name. Then again, if she did, she’d never be working with Bernie. He’d be relegated to a lowly PR person who’d just entered the fold. Someone who didn’t know better. Someone like her.
    Kate hated the way she felt—hated the way the whole situation made her feel.
    “Kate, listen,” Mac said, bringing her back from her spiraling thoughts. “It’s over, and you’ll move on. When you see Bernie, you’ll just smile and pretend nothing ever happened. Okay?”
    Kate nodded and took a deep breath.
    “I hate this.”
    Mac’s eyes softened.
    “I know you do, Katie. But it’s just the game, and that’s how you play it. Now, I’m going to take you away from all of this. Next week, we’re going to Seattle to meet Michael Singer, the author of The Continued Promise, the book that will be your golden ticket off of this hamster wheel MD has you on.”
    “How far is he in the manuscript?”
    Mac stood up. “That’s what we’re going there to find out.”
    “Is it imperative that I go, Mac? Sounds more like this is your shtick until the book is finished.”
    Kate could hear Grace’s words in her head: “Be careful, Katie…”
    The night in the bar with Mac’s guilty confession was still fresh in her mind, although Mac, himself, seemed to have forgotten