Everything hurt—back, arms, wrists,

Everything hurt—back, arms, wrists, fingers, neck—everything. Nora hadn’t been this sore in years. Not since the old days anyway. Zach hadn’t been kidding—he was a brutal editor. And she’d been right—he was kicking her ass. Nora allowed herself a smile. She’d forgotten how much she liked having her ass kicked.
She read through Zach’s notes again on her first chapters. Nice to see he had quite the sadistic streak in him. Of course she couldn’t imagine him taking a real whip to her—more’s the pity. But he had a gift for tongue-lashings. He’d been her editor for all of three days and so far he’d already called her a “guttersnipe writer” whose books were “melodramatic,” “maniacal” and “unhygienic.” Unhygienic had been her personal favorite.
Nora stretched her aching back as Wesley entered her office and collapsed into the armchair across from her desk.
“How’s the rewrite going?” he asked.
“Horrible. It’s day three and I’ve rewritten…nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Zach shredded the book.” Nora held up a sheaf of paper. The morning after the release party Zach sent her a dozen pages of notes on the first three chapters alone. “You sure this guy’s the right editor for you? Can’t you work with somebody else?”
Nora picked up her tea and sipped at it. She’d rather not talk about the contract situation with Wesley. J.P. had told her Zach got final say on whether her book got published, but she hadn’t passed that information on to Wesley. Poor kid worried about her enough as it was.
“Apparently not. John-Paul Bonner had to practically beg to even get Zach to meet me.”
Wesley shrugged and crossed his arms.
“Not sure I like him. He was kind of, I don’t know—”
“An ass? You can say ‘ass’ around me. It’s in the Bible,” she reminded him with a wink.
“He was a jerk to you. How’s that?”
“Zach’s a slave-driver. But I like that about him. Brings back memories.” She sat back in her chair and smiled into her tea.
Wesley groaned. “Do you really have to bring up Søren?”
Nora grimaced. Wesley hated it when she brought up her ex.
“Sorry, kiddo. But even if Zach’s an ass, he’s still amazing at his job. I feel like I’m finally learning how to write a book. Books at Libretto were commodities. Royal treats writers like artists. I think this book deserves more than Libretto could give it.”
Nora didn’t mention that Libretto wouldn’t publish it even if she wanted them to. Once Mark Klein found out she’d been shopping around for a new publisher, he cut off everything but contractually obligated contact with her. Wesley didn’t need to know that Royal House was the only reputable publisher who’d given her the time of day. Despite their rocky start, she looked forward to working with Zach. He had a sterling reputation in the publishing industry, not to mention being stunning and fun to flirt with. Especially since he pretended he hated it when she did.
“What’s this book about anyway?” Wesley asked.
“It’s kind of a love story. Not my usual boy-meets-girl, boy-beats-girl story. My two characters love each other but they don’t belong together. The whole book is them—against their will—breaking up.”
Wesley plucked at a loose thread in the battered armchair.
“But they love each other? Why wouldn’t they belong together?”
Nora released a wistful sigh. “Spoken like a nineteen-year-old.”
“I like happy endings. Is that a crime?”
“It’s just unrealistic. You don’t think two people can break up and still be happy eventually?”
Wesley paused. He tended to act before thinking, but he always thought before he spoke. She studied him while he pondered her question. Gorgeous kid. He drove her up the wall with those big brown eyes of his and sweetly handsome face. For the millionth time since asking him to move in with her she wondered what the hell she’d been thinking by dragging this innocent into her world.
“You left him,” Wesley finally said. Him…Søren.
“Yeah,” she said, biting her bottom lip, a habit Søren had been trying to break her of for eighteen years. “I did.”
“Are you happy without him?” Wesley turned his eyes back to her.
“Some days, yes. Then some days it’s like I just got my arm blown off. But this book isn’t about Søren.”
“Can I read it?”
“Not a chance. Maybe when it’s rewritten. Or maybe…”
Nora grinned at him, and Wesley suddenly looked nervous.
She got out of her chair and sat on the edge of her desk and put a foot on each arm of his chair.
“Let’s play a game,” she said leaning in close. Wesley sat up straight and pressed back into the chair. “I’ll trade you my book for your body.”
“I’m your intern. This counts as sexual harassment.”
“Being sexually harassed is in your job description, remember?”
Wesley shifted in the chair. She loved how jumpy she still made him even after over a year in the same house. A sandy-blond lock of hair fell over his forehead. She reached out to brush it back.
Wesley ducked under her leg before she could touch him and stood just out of reach.
“Coward,” she teased.
Wesley started to say something but they both froze at the blaring ring that echoed from the vicinity of her desk.
The smile that had been in Wesley’s eyes vanished as Nora dug out a sleek red cell phone from under a pile of papers.
“La Maîtresse speaking,” she answered.
“The book,” Wesley mouthed. His eyes pleaded with her.
With the phone still at her ear Nora walked up to Wesley. She moved so close he started stepping back. She took another step toward him, and he took another step back.
“Go do your homework, junior,” she said, and Wesley gave her the closest thing to a mean look he had.
“You have homework, too,” he reminded her.
“I’m not a biochemistry major at a fucking brutal liberal arts college. Scoot. The grown-ups are talking now.”
She shut the door in his face.
“Talk, Kingsley,” she said into the phone. “This better be good.”

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Everything hurt—back, arms, wrists, fingers, neck—everything. Nora hadn’t been this sore in years. Not since the old days anyway. Zach hadn’t been kidding—he was a brutal editor. And she’d been right—he was kicking her ass. Nora allowed herself a smile. She’d forgotten how much she liked having her ass kicked.She read through Zach’s notes again on her first chapters. Nice to see he had quite the sadistic streak in him. Of course she couldn’t imagine him taking a real whip to her—more’s the pity. But he had a gift for tongue-lashings. He’d been her editor for all of three days and so far he’d already called her a “guttersnipe writer” whose books were “melodramatic,” “maniacal” and “unhygienic.” Unhygienic had been her personal favorite.Nora stretched her aching back as Wesley entered her office and collapsed into the armchair across from her desk.“How’s the rewrite going?” he asked.“Horrible. It’s day three and I’ve rewritten…nothing.”“Nothing?”“Zach shredded the book.” Nora held up a sheaf of paper. The morning after the release party Zach sent her a dozen pages of notes on the first three chapters alone. “You sure this guy’s the right editor for you? Can’t you work with somebody else?”Nora picked up her tea and sipped at it. She’d rather not talk about the contract situation with Wesley. J.P. had told her Zach got final say on whether her book got published, but she hadn’t passed that information on to Wesley. Poor kid worried about her enough as it was."Tampaknya tidak. John-Paul Bonner harus praktis memohon untuk bahkan mendapatkan Zach untuk bertemu dengan saya."Wesley mengangkat bahu dan menyeberangi lengan."Tidak yakin aku suka padanya. Dia adalah jenis, aku tidak tahu ""Keledai? Anda dapat mengatakan 'keledai' di sekitar saya. Hal ini dalam Alkitab,"Dia mengingatkan dia dengan mengedipkan mata."Dia adalah brengsek kepada Anda. Bagaimana Apakah itu?""Zach's sopir budak. Tapi aku seperti itu tentang dirinya. Membawa kembali kenangan." Dia duduk kembali di kursi nya dan tersenyum ke teh nya.Wesley mengerang. "Apakah Anda harus membawa tentang Søren?"Nora grimaced. Wesley benci itu ketika ia dibesarkan mantan pacarnya."Maaf, kiddo. Tetapi bahkan jika Zach keledai, ia masih menakjubkan di pekerjaannya. Aku merasa seperti saya akhirnya belajar bagaimana menulis sebuah buku. Buku di Libretto adalah komoditas. Royal memperlakukan penulis seperti seniman. Saya kira buku ini pantas lebih dari Libretto bisa memberikannya."Nora tidak menyebutkan bahwa Libretto tidak akan mempublikasikannya bahkan jika dia ingin mereka untuk. Setelah Mark Klein menemukan dia telah belanja sekitar untuk penerbit baru, ia memotong segala sesuatu tetapi menurut kontrak diwajibkan Hubungi dengannya. Wesley tidak perlu tahu bahwa Royal House adalah penerbit hanya terkemuka yang telah diberikan padanya waktu hari. Meskipun mereka mulai berbatu, ia memandang ke depan untuk bekerja sama dengan Zach. Dia memiliki reputasi sterling dalam industri penerbitan, bukan untuk menyebutkan yang menakjubkan dan menyenangkan untuk bermain-main dengan. Terutama karena ia berpura-pura dia benci itu bila dia berbuat begitu.“What’s this book about anyway?” Wesley asked.“It’s kind of a love story. Not my usual boy-meets-girl, boy-beats-girl story. My two characters love each other but they don’t belong together. The whole book is them—against their will—breaking up.”Wesley plucked at a loose thread in the battered armchair.“But they love each other? Why wouldn’t they belong together?”Nora released a wistful sigh. “Spoken like a nineteen-year-old.”“I like happy endings. Is that a crime?”“It’s just unrealistic. You don’t think two people can break up and still be happy eventually?”Wesley paused. He tended to act before thinking, but he always thought before he spoke. She studied him while he pondered her question. Gorgeous kid. He drove her up the wall with those big brown eyes of his and sweetly handsome face. For the millionth time since asking him to move in with her she wondered what the hell she’d been thinking by dragging this innocent into her world.“You left him,” Wesley finally said. Him…Søren.“Yeah,” she said, biting her bottom lip, a habit Søren had been trying to break her of for eighteen years. “I did.”“Are you happy without him?” Wesley turned his eyes back to her.“Some days, yes. Then some days it’s like I just got my arm blown off. But this book isn’t about Søren.”“Can I read it?”“Not a chance. Maybe when it’s rewritten. Or maybe…”Nora tersenyum padanya, dan Wesley tiba-tiba tampak gugup.Dia keluar dari kursinya dan duduk di tepi mejanya dan meletakkan kaki di setiap lengan kursi."Mari kita bermain permainan," katanya bersandar di tutup. Wesley duduk kembali lurus dan ditekan ke kursi. "Aku akan perdagangan buku saya untuk tubuh Anda.""Saya magang Anda. Hal ini dianggap sebagai pelecehan seksual.""Dilecehkan secara seksual dalam deskripsi pekerjaan Anda, ingat?"Wesley bergeser di kursi. Dia mencintai bagaimana gelisah dia masih membuatnya bahkan setelah lebih dari setahun di rumah yang sama. Sandy-pirang kunci rambut jatuh pada dahinya. Ia mengulurkan tangan untuk sikat kembali.Wesley berlindung di bawah kakinya sebelum dia bisa menyentuhnya dan berdiri di luar jangkauan."Pengecut," dia menggoda.Wesley mulai mengatakan sesuatu tapi mereka berdua membeku di ring meraung yang bergema dari sekitar mejanya.Senyum yang telah di Wesley di mata lenyap begitu Nora digali ramping merah ponsel dari bawah tumpukan kertas."La Maîtresse berbicara," jawabnya."Buku," Wesley mulut. Matanya memohon dengannya.Dengan telepon masih di telinganya Nora berjalan ke Wesley. Dia bergerak begitu dekat ia mulai melangkah mundur. Dia mengambil langkah lain ke arahnya, dan ia mengambil langkah lain kembali."Pergi melakukan pekerjaan rumah Anda, junior," Dia berkata, dan Wesley memberikan hal yang paling dekat untuk melihat berarti ia."Anda memiliki pekerjaan rumah, terlalu," Dia mengingatkan padanya."Aku tidak biokimia utama di sebuah perguruan tinggi seni liberal sialan brutal. Bergeser. Orang-orang dewasa yang berbicara sekarang."She shut the door in his face.“Talk, Kingsley,” she said into the phone. “This better be good.”