"Sir, Ann Hooley is here," Sonya told him through the phone.

"Thank you, Sonya. Let her in, please." This is gonna be fun - he thought with a quick eye-roll. The door immediately opened after he hung up his phone. He stood up from his chair to welcome Ann in. He allowed her to sit down, even asked if she wished a drink, but then he took out her work. She was undoubtedly shocked when she noticed red marking.

"What does it mean, Isaac?" Indignation was vivid in her high-pitched voice. He first asked her to read a part of what she had written. She gave him a confused look but complied without fruitless arguing. "I don't get it," she confessed. "Are you wasting my time?"

"No." He took the papers from her with a faked smile. "But you are wasting mine."

"Pardon me?" She squeaked. Having grabbed the armrest, she pushed herself forward, glaring sharply at him. Did she really believe she could scare him? - He thought.

"You heard me," he replied carelessly. Well, there went being polite. "I read your previous book. It was good. This one, on the other hand, is," he trailed off as if he were looking for a right word to use. He'd already found one, but he couldn't help being dramatic. "Abysmal."

"I don't care what you think. I have a contract." She smirked as if she had just won a lottery. "You have to publish my book."

"Actually." He stood up from his seat and walked around the desk. He only stopped when he reached her chair. He took his time to sit on his desk as he began explaining what he meant. "I don't. You struggled with this text, and though, you write almost daily it will be extremely hard for you to stick to the deadline. If you don't the contract expires, and your book doesn't get published."

"If somehow you manage to finish it in time, it will still need checking, which I'll cover. Then you will have to rewrite it, and by the looks of it you'll have to rewrite the whole book." He grinned imagining, what thoughts were running through her head. "Yet since this publishing house treats all of their clients seriously and fairly I'd like to propose you a deal."

"Which is?" She seemed eager to find out.

"You're going to rewrite every chapter, especially the latest ones, in a month and bring them over. We'll continue to work on your book if they're at least satisfactory. But one thing you need to know is I'm not letting a bad book be published. If you need to use all of those." He took the papers and placed his palm on it. "Mildewed tropes. Then at least make sure you write them superbly."

"Alright," she exhaled, shaking her head in disbelief. "I can do that." She faked a smile just like he had at the beginning of their talk, yet her was profoundly unrealistic.

"Good that. Sonya will arrange a meeting." He went back to his chair as a sign for her to leave.

"Ann looked pissed off. What did you tell her?" Thomas told him, making coffee for both of them in the kitchen at work. Newt shrugged.

"The truth, some people just like to be sugar-coated, and I guess she's one of them." He shrugged.

"What about Lizzy's friend? If you're going to be just as harsh on her, maybe you should call the meeting off? I mean unless you want your little sis to kill you." He handled Newt a mug filled with hot coffee. Thomas turned around and leaned on a counterpot.

"Honestly, it was kind of captivating."

"Wait, you serious?" Thomas took a sip of his coffee, not even trying to hide shock that overtook him. "I thought you were only supposed to say that, not mean that." He chuckled.

"Well, I got to see more of it... I mean, it might just as well be pure luck after all." Newt shrugged but inside he hoped it wasn't, he never minded a new discovery. How could he? It was his job to find talents, and help them turn into revelations.

"Good luck then, shank." Thomas patted his shoulder. "Oh, by the way, Minho called, he said, he got tickets to the Knicks game this Friday. You think you can go or do you have plans with Kelly?"

"Oh, I haven't called her since last Friday which I probably should... Anyway, yeah I'll go." They began walking back to their offices, wondering if Minho would bring his new girlfriend. If he was serious about her, and he sure did sound like he was, then he would probably introduce her to them soon.

Next day at work he got a call from Felipe who claimed he had finished last chapters of his book and could send it to him. So, Newt sat in his chair carefully checking the text. Throughout their cooperation, Felipe had noticeably improved (unlike Ann). It took him two hours to get his work done. He immediately called Goerge, the guy was one of their graphic designers - Newt thought he was the best one - and told him about Felipe's book. He asked Sonya to organize a meeting for the three of them. As soon as the cover was designed they'd start the promotion. Sonya took it as a chance to inform him about the meeting he was having before lunch with Lizzy's friend.

Newt heard a knock on his door and he called out to whoever was behind them to come in. Sonya let a not so tall woman walk in, she thanked her in return and the door closed. Newt stood up to greet her and a sudden wave of shock and hot flushes hit him.

"Lilienne?"