Unleash Me, Vol. 1 (Unleash Me, Annihilate Me Series) (28 page)

“
Not
that I know of.
”

“
Probably
because you look completely different from the advertisement, which is a
plus.
 
Going forward in your career,
you obviously have the right team to help you change into another person and
—
best
of all
—
surprise
your fans.
 
This is all just
beginning for you.
 
I hope you know
that.
 
Soak it up.
”

“
I
haven
’
t
seen the placement in Times Square,
”
I said.
 
“
Apparently, it just
went live today.
”

“
You
haven
’
t
seen it?
”

“
I
haven
’
t.
 
I
’
ve had a hell of a day.
”

“
How
long are they going to run it?
”

“
Six
months.
”

“
Shit!
 
When does
‘
I, Zombie
’
come
out?
”

“
Three
months.
”

“
Perfect.
 
Like, in fact, beyond perfect.
 
You
’
ve got to go to the Square and see it soon.
 
For full effect, go at night.
 
Take photos.
 
Log that shit.
 
Have someone take a photo of you in
front of it, for God
’
s
sake.
 
This is the time in your life
when you need to start to chronicle everything.
 
What did Mae West once say?
 
‘
Keep a diary, and one day it will keep you.
’
 
You
’
ll see what I mean.
 
You
’
ve
got one of the most visible spots in the Square.
 
It
’
s huge.
”

“
Now
I totally want to see it,
”
I
said.

“
Check
it out later tonight.
”

“
Done.
”

“
About
Lisa
’
s
book,
”
Marco
said, interrupting the natural flow of our conversation.
 
“
You mentioned that you have interest in it.
”

“
Absolutely.
 
I
’
ll say it again
—
I loved it.
 
I
’
ve read it twice.
 
The point-of-view is incredible.
 
No one
’
s
done that shit before.
 
Lisa
’
s protagonist
—
Marcus
—
is
a zombie, but not in the traditional sense, and that appeals greatly to
me.
 
He
’
s not some unfeeling,
unthinking dead thing compelled only to chase after people, tackle them, and
mow down on their flesh.
 
There
’
s so much more to him
than that.
 
Think of it.
 
When have you ever felt what a zombie
goes through during their transformation from life to death to
…
well, I guess a new
kind of life, if you even want to call it that.
 
The thing is that, with the exception of
Frankenstein
’
s
monster, who wasn
’
t a
zombie, you
’
ve
never
seen it.
 
And it
’
s not just Marcus who
is portrayed this way.
 
Think about
how Lisa handles how the other zombies feel when they question their new
existence or, better yet, when they take down a living human being.
 
They feel loss, guilt, and a clear sense
of grief because they
’
re
conscious of what they
’
re
doing.
 
They know that it
’
s wrong, but they have
no choice because they need to feast.
 
She gives them humanity, which is unheard of in this genre.
 
And because of that, you feel for them.
 
And that turns the whole zombie genre on
its side.
 
It
’
s totally fresh.
 
It needs to be a movie.
 
In fact, it needs to be
my
movie.
”

“
Do
you want it to be your movie?
”
Boss
asked.

“
Hell,
yes.
 
We
’
ll need to get agents
and shit involved, but I want to turn this into a movie.
”

He was excited about producing
something that was about to be completely altered, and that made me feel sick
to my stomach.
 
Now I knew why Boss
wanted me to keep things
‘
general
’
.
 
If he didn
’
t want West to know anything about the rewrite before, he
certainly didn
’
t
want him to know about it now.
 
It
could potentially spoil the deal.
 
Apparently, a deal was more important to Marco Boss than telling someone
the truth.

But I couldn
’
t live with that.
 
Potential deal or not, I needed to tell
West the truth.
 
I knew it would be
disastrous between Marco and me if I did so, but West deserved to know that the
book he was thinking of turning into a movie was about to radically change upon
publication.
 
If I didn
’
t tell him, I
’
d be as corrupt as
Boss.
 
I didn
’
t lie, and what was
unfolding here was a lie of omission, something I couldn
’
t allow to happen.

So, I told Julian.
 
And as I told him, he just stared at me.

“
You
’
re going to do what to
the book?
”

“
Maybe
Marco can explain.
 
They are, after
all, his ideas.
 
I have no control
over the book now.
 
I sold it to
Wenn.
 
It
’
s out of my
hands.
 
I
’
m in the process of
doing a total rewrite of it.
”

“
A
total rewrite?
”

I nodded.

“
Jesus,
I hate this fucking business,
”
he
said.
 
“
So, you have no
control over your book just like I had no control over
‘
World Unbound
’
and
so many of my other movies.
”
 
He looked at Marco.
 
“
Why would you want to change her book?
”

“
I
think we can make it better.
”

“
How?
 
What are these edits?
 
Major or minor?
 
And don
’
t fuck with me. If I
’
m going to option this
—
which I
’
m prepared to do this week for seven figures before anyone
else gets their hands on it, because they
’
re going to want to
—
I want the truth about what I
’
m buying.
”

Seven figures?
 
I looked at Marco, and
saw a controlled sense of anger beneath his otherwise professional
demeanor.
 

“
You
’
ll be buying a better
book.
”

“
Can
you at least give me some details?
”

Marco told him about the new synopsis
he
’
d
created.

And Julian West took a step
back.
 
“
Are you serious?
 
That will completely change what
’
s so special about the
book.
”

“
I
don
’
t
think it will.
 
I think it will
enhance it.
”

“
By
turning her zombies into grunting clich
é
s?
”

“
That
’
s what mass audiences
want and expect from the genre.
 
In
my world, you don
’
t
mess with a successful formula.
 
You
go with it.
”

“
In
your world?
 
What is your
world?
 
A security blanket?
 
What do you even know about what people
expect?
 
Or what they want?
 
You just want to give them something
safe.
 
Maybe what they really want
is something fresh and new
—
I
don
’
t
know,
like the book your author wrote
.
”

“
I
’
ve been in this
business for fifteen years.
 
My
track record is excellent.
 
You know
how many bestsellers I
’
ve
had, Julian.
”

“
That
’
s all fine and good,
Marco.
 
But I
’
m not buying this book
if it
’
s
being radically changed.
 
If it is,
I
’
m
afraid I
’
ll
have to walk away from it right now.
 
And since the book is no longer available in online bookstores for
anyone to read, the new version you
’
re proposing will kill any potential future movie
deals.
 
I can promise you that.
 
Because who the fuck would want to make
another zombie movie if it didn
’
t
offer something we haven
’
t
seen, and have a new angle?
 
I sure
as hell don
’
t.
 
I want something fresh, and you
’
re about to strip
everything out of her book that made me love it.
”

“
I
didn
’
t
mean to upset you.
”

“
Then
give me the book that I want.
”

“
We
both know that once you buy the rights to the movie, you can alter it any way
you like.
”

“
To
what end?
 
Since no one is going to
be interested in your version of the book, why would they be interested in my
movie?
 
Lisa
’
s original concept
will be gone.
 
The book won
’
t hit the list.
 
And because it won
’
t, there will be zero
interest in it becoming a movie.
 
If
you go forward with this, you
’
ve
stabbed her book in the heart.
 
You
’
ve robbed it of the
film version it deserves.
 
Shame on
you.
”

When Marco didn
’
t respond, Julian just
shook his head at him.
 
He then
reached for my hand, the back of which he kissed.
 
“
I
’
m
friends with Alex,
”
he
said to me.
 
“
This isn
’
t over yet.
 
Don
’
t worry about your book.
 
I want it.
 
A movie version of it will just make
more money for Wenn.
 
I
’
ll get this fixed for
you, OK?
”

With that statement, Julian had
undermined whatever relationship I had left with my editor.
 
I wasn
’
t sure what to say, and West saw it.

“
I
know you
’
re
in a tough spot right now.
 
There
’
s no need to say
anything.
 
We
’
ll talk as soon as I
can get Alex on the phone.
”
 
He looked at Marco.
 
“
This is just business, Marco.
 
I hope you won
’
t take my interfering
personally.
”

“
I
do.
 
I think you
’
re making a mistake.
”

“
OK,
so you are taking it personally.
 
Fine
—
I
get that, too.
 
But I know what I
want, and if I
’
m
going to put seven figures down on the table and really start to build a buzz
around her novel, it
’
s
going to be the original version of Lisa
’
s book, or this ends here.
 
So, goodnight for now.
”
 
He winked at me.
 
“
Lisa, it was a pleasure.
”

And then, Julian West, unusually cool
after his heated exchange with Marco, moved into the crowd.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“
What
the hell was that?
”
Marco
asked when Julian was out of hearing range
—
he now was talking to a small group
of people across the room.
 
But
could other people hear Boss?
 
That
concerned me.
 
The orchestra was to
my right.
 
People were dancing.
 
Heads were lifting and dipping.
 
Along with the music, the din of the
hundreds of chatting people assisted in covering at least part of his hostile
tone.
 

If an argument was to ensue
—
which
I knew it was
—
at
least there was enough noise around us that few would hear it if he kept it
together.
 
If he took it up a notch,
I
’
d
just leave.
 
I refused to let him
embarrass me, and I had zero plans to take his shit at such a public event.

“
What
the hell was that?
”
I
said.
 
“
To me, it sounded like
a man going after what he wants.
”

“
You
threw me under the bus.
”

“
I
did no such thing.
”

“
Seriously?
”

“
Oh,
please, Marco.
 
I just answered his
questions
—
in
detail, as I told you I would.
 
I
warned you of that before you even introduced me to him.
”

“
I
asked you to keep the conversation general.
”

“
And
why is that?
 
Oh, here
’
s a guess.
 
You didn
’
t want him to know that the book is getting a complete
rewrite.
 
You were intentionally
trying to mislead him.
 
But I
’
m not a liar, Marco
—
that
’
s not how I play.
”

“
I
never asked you to lie.
”

“
Sorry,
but by asking me to keep things general and to let you lead the conversation,
in a way, you did.
 
You were trying
to shut me down.
 
You wanted a lie
of omission, but I wasn
’
t
having it.
 
I don
’
t lie to anyone.
 
Period.
 
If lying to someone is in my contract
with Wenn, please do us both a favor and show me where.
”
 

“
You
think I
’
m
stupid?
 
You engaged him to keep
your book the way it is.
”

“
Sorry,
but that wasn
’
t
my motivation.
”

“
Bullshit.
”

“
Bullshit
yourself.
 
Would I be happy to keep
my book as is?
 
Absolutely.
 
I hate your edits.
 
But I
’
ve nevertheless been implementing them.
 
I
’
m still going to turn my book into the book you want.
 
I
’
m still sticking to my contract.
 
So, don
’
t hand me that crap.
 
I did what I did tonight because it was the right thing to do.
 
If you
’
ve got an issue with it, then I have an issue with your
integrity.
 
So, here
’
s a suggestion
—
get
back to your Texas roots, Boss.
 
You
’
ve been in New York
too long.
 
The ugliness and the
greed of the city has seeped into your bones, and given you a fucking ego.
 
It
’
s also turned you into a liar.
 
From what you
’
ve told me about your
family
—
if
any of
that
can even be believed at this point
—
I
doubt that you were raised to be duplicitous.
 
But that
’
s just what you were with Julian West, so what do I know?
”
 
I raised a finger at him.
 
“
Check that.
 
What I do know is this.
 
We
’
re talking about
my
career here, not yours.
 
Do you
seriously think I
’
m
going to let you fuck it up by lying to someone?
 
You need to get real.
”

“
And
you need to become a better writer.
”

And that was it for me.

“
I
’
m finished with
tonight,
”
I
said.
 
“
I
’
m out of here.
”

I turned to step away from him.
 
I heard him fall in line behind me, but
I didn
’
t
care.
 
I was done.

“
Lisa,
”
he
said.

I had money in my clutch, as well as
my cell.
 
I didn
’
t need his limousine
or his attitude.
 
I just wanted to
be out of there and away from him.

“
Come
on,
”
he
said.
 
“
Wait.
”

I was a lot smaller than he was, and
it was easier for me to cut through the crowd and put distance between us.
 
I was closing in on the exit when an
older, sophisticated-looking woman with loose, beautifully styled black hair
glanced at me, did a double-take, and then stopped me by placing her hand on my
arm.
 

“
No
diamonds on your lips, but I
’
d
recognize you anywhere after that advertisement,
”
she said.
 
“
You
’
re Lisa Ward.
 
You wrote the book that got away from
me.
”