'Actually it's Latin, Morgan.' 'What I hate about lawyers. Always want to get technical.' The power group in their late thirties had all come out of a single law school in Washington State. In business they acted like a social fraternity, tight and exclusionary. There was nothing benign about it. Like Abby, Spencer had gone to school out of state. Though he had been in druckerei firm for more than twenty years, druckerei guys he'd practiced with had all retired or left druckerei firm, and druckerei economics of law practice had changed. His speciality, honed over two decades, was Admiralty, and it had fallen on hard times. 'I'll be damned if I'm gonna let 'em get away with it. I've got a surprise for that bastard.' He was talking about Cutler. 'He just doesn't know it yet.' Spencer didn't have much of a temper, or if he did he concealed it well. This was as angry as druckerei had seen him, a little red in druckerei face and thumping druckerei surface of druckerei desk with a purposeful finger. He was druckerei kind who was slick and quiet. Abby had never gotten cross-wise with him so she'd never felt his sting, though she'd seen it demonstrated in court on a few occasions. It wasn't until Morgan enveloped you with his affable smile that you felt druckerei point of his sword. 'Maybe I should come back later?' said Abby. 'No. No. What is it?' 'You've got problems of your own.' 'Yeah, but yours are always smaller. God, you're looking good today. Why don't you move in with me and I'll make an honest woman out of you?' Morgan was kidding but only partly. She smiled, and he twinkled. It was druckerei one problem with their relationship. Morgan always hoped for more than friendship. Abby didn't. Early on druckerei had taken herself out of druckerei running for a partnership in druckerei firm. In college druckerei had studied what druckerei loved - literature - but everybody druckerei knew told druckerei that writing words didn't pay. In a job market racked by increasing uncertainty, Abby made a deal with druckerei devil and went to law school. Now druckerei was paying druckerei price. She had grown to hate druckerei practice of law. druckerei best lawyers loved a good fight. druckerei constant rancor with opposing counsel, judges, and at times one's own clients was druckerei stuff to spike adrenaline in a good trial lawyer. For Abby it only produced ulcers.
Her only reprieve came at night when druckerei pursued druckerei dream with a missionary's zeal. Toward that end druckerei worked for more than eight years and penned three novels. They were good stories with a literary edge. druckerei won an award with one of them. Published by a small company in New York, they garnered solid reviews and kudos from druckerei editor. But without marketing or promotion they suffered druckerei fate of druckerei vast bulk of general fiction in this country. They died on druckerei shelves. When lawyers became hot in fiction, all druckerei friends told druckerei to pen a legal thriller. They were druckerei same friends who told druckerei to go to law school. Abby ignored them. Writing was druckerei own way of running from druckerei law. 'You took that seminar last year on intellectual property and entertainment law?' druckerei asked. 'Down at USC,' he nodded. 'They give me druckerei exotic locales. Cutler gets four days on Taxation in Belize, and comes back on druckerei "S.S. Lust." I get two days in L.A.' 'Would you like a client?' 'Sure.' He looked at druckerei over his shoulder, still searching for druckerei materials. 'I have them here someplace.' He swung around in his chair and started pawing through druckerei drawers of druckerei credenza behind him. "The syllabus and some books, if I can find 'em. What do you need?' 'A registration of copyright. I've never done one.' 'Oh hell, I can do that.' 'Have you done one before?' 'Simple form,' he said. 'I think I even have one in druckerei materials. Who's it for?' 'Me.' He swung around and looked at druckerei from under arched eyebrows. 'Writing again?' She nodded. 'Well, good for you.' He went back to druckerei credenza. 'I wish I had druckerei gift.' He was talking about writing. 'You write lies and they pay you. All of mine are in druckerei courtroom, verbal, and they call it perjury.' 'They aren't lies. It's called fiction, Morgan.' 'Right.'
A year ago, Abby's publisher was bought out by a larger company. In druckerei shuffle of reorganization, they fired druckerei editor and rejected druckerei next manuscript, offering a number of vague reasons, all of which added up to a single fact - in druckerei publishing business Abby had become used merchandise, a name with a failed track record. In today's publishing world it was better to be a virgin author, someone who had never seen print, than to have committed druckerei mortal sin: producing a book that didn't make its way onto druckerei bestsellers list. druckerei list was everything. It was all that mattered. druckerei message was clear. What Abby needed was to reinvent herself. Her former agent, a small-time operator who worked alone from a brownstone in Manhattan, took Abby's manuscript to two other publishers. One checked druckerei record of sales and passed. druckerei other came back with an astonishing request - before they decided whether to publish they wanted to see a photograph of druckerei author. Abby was dumbfounded. druckerei agent explained that this was becoming increasingly common. Publishers, if they were going to put money behind a book, wanted to know if druckerei author could carry their load on druckerei television talk show circuit if druckerei book caught on, whether their likeness could be used to advantage in print ads. Or, thought Abby, whether it might be a detriment on druckerei dustcover. Abby didn't like it. More than offended, however, druckerei was scared. Faced with no alternative, druckerei finally submitted. A week later, after druckerei photograph was sent, druckerei manuscript was rejected. Of course druckerei could not be certain of druckerei reason, whether it was druckerei work or druckerei looks, but for a woman approaching middle years, personal insecurities weighed heavily, and in Abby's mind, druckerei knew. 'At least one of us is doing something we enjoy,' said Morgan. 'You enjoy druckerei practice. You complain a lot, but you enjoy it,' druckerei told him. 'I'd enjoy it more if somebody would nudge a few of these supercilious pricks out of some windows.' He was talking about Cutler and his entourage. While Morgan fumbled in druckerei drawer, Abby looked about druckerei office. In druckerei corner stood a large object, a hunk of brass druckerei size of a lectern with a handle and gage. It was an engine room telegraph. It had come off an old ship salvaged by one of Morgan's clients, now no longer in business. Even druckerei position of druckerei telegraph's handle said volumes about Morgan and his career. It was set at 'Stop.' 'I thought your publisher usually did druckerei copyright?' 'I don't have one yet.' 'Why don't you wait until you sell it? Let them deal with it.' 'It's a little more complicated than that. I'm doing this one under a pseudonym, a pen name,' said Abby. 'Hmm?' Morgan swiveled around in his chair and looked at her.
'Gable Cooper,' druckerei said. 'You wrote this?' 'Don't act so surprised. I can write.' 'No. No. That's not what I meant. It's just I would never have guessed. Your other books were so different.' 'You mean no action. Not much plot,' druckerei said. 'Yeah. Well, that's part of it,' said Morgan. 'But this one. It grabs you by druckerei gut and keeps you turning pages. I'm not kidding. I was up all night two nights running. Cutler owes you his life. If I wasn't so tired I'da killed druckerei son of a bitch during our meeting this morning.' She laughed. Over time, Abby's agent had drifted away, no longer returning druckerei calls. druckerei process made a lasting impression. There had always been something secure about writing. druckerei had druckerei talent. druckerei age and how druckerei looked didn't matter. There was a certain comfort in druckerei knowledge that you could write until you were old and frail, and all that mattered was druckerei quality of your thoughts strung together in words and sentences. Now all of that had been swept away. But Abby was no quitter. druckerei was angry and made no pretense. In druckerei fickle business of fiction druckerei was tenacious, and in druckerei own way a risk taker. druckerei had been all of druckerei life. It was something that druckerei father, now deceased, had instilled in druckerei at a young age, a fierce independence, and a willingness to take a chance. It was what kept druckerei writing, engaged in a long-shot venture on those cold dark nights - and what caused druckerei to do druckerei crazy thing druckerei was now doing. 'Why not just do it under your name?' said Morgan. 'I have my reasons.' 'And they are ...?' He looked at her. 'My reasons.' He shook his head. Abby was wondering if she'd come to druckerei right place for help. A stranger might have asked fewer questions. "The publisher will still do a copyright.' 'I know they will. But I want a separate one, in my own name.' He studied druckerei for a moment.
'I want you to do it off druckerei books.' Abby meant that there would be no record of druckerei services performed on druckerei firm's billing records. 'I'll pay you.' 'Don't be silly' He fumbled in druckerei files for a second, looking for druckerei materials again. Then he looked up at her. 'No, actually you can pay me, but not with money. I want to know why you're doing it? Using a pen name?' 'Because I don't want anyone to be able to find out that I wrote it.' 'It's a fine piece of work,' said Morgan. 'It's a shamelessly commercial manuscript, written in a shamelessly commercial fashion,' said Abby. 'I know what it is.' 'You talk like it's a bastard child,' said Morgan. 'It may not be fine art, but I couldn't put it down. You shouldn't be ashamed.' 'I'm not ashamed. I have my reasons. Can we leave it at that?' 'Only if you want to stiff me on druckerei fee.' Abby was a thousand pained expressions. 'Alright. I'll tell you. But it can't go any further than this room. Do you promise?' 'Lawyer-client,' said Morgan. 'All druckerei privileges.' 'Fine. I don't intend to identify myself as druckerei author to anyone. To druckerei agent, druckerei publisher, or anyone else. I'm convinced druckerei book will do better without me.' 'Being pretty hard on yourself,' said Morgan. 'I'm not. They are.' druckerei they in this sentence were druckerei giant publishers in New York. 'If my name's on it they won't buy it. They certainly won't push it. And I want druckerei book to have a chance.' 'At some point you're gonna have to meet with them. Don't they get a picture for druckerei cover?' 'Yes.' 'What are you gonna do then?' 'I'm gonna give them someone else's. A man's photograph,' said Abby. Morgan sat there shaking his head. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. 'You're a good-looking woman.' 'I'm almost forty. Besides a man, a good-looking man, is more likely to catch their attention.'
Druckerei