Chapter 7


                                                                                                                   Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Andrea had gone to the small grocery store at the bottom of the hill and picked up a precooked broccoli and cheese potato for dinner. She was just unlocking the door, hoping for a nice meal while she finished the book when she heard the phone ring. She hurried inside dropping the keys and bag on the table and running to the phone.
"Hello?" she asked into the receiver.
"Hello? Andrea Borne?"
"This is she. What can I do for you?"
The deep male voice hesitated before continuing in a melancholy tone, "You received the first copy of the latest Kingsley novel, right?"
The man on the other end of the phone sounded familiar, but she couldn't place the voice.
"Who's this?" She asked.

The man remained silent on the other end of the phone. She was becoming a little suspicious. Did he want to steal her signed first edition? She was sure that it happened, at least sometimes. She waited for his response for what felt to her like minutes before he finally spoke again, in a low annoyed tone this time.
"You received the advanced copy that gets sent out before the book is even released, didn't you? You haven't even finished reading it yet, have you?"
He was speaking quickly now and his voice was rising steadily as he spoke.
"You've had it for three days now and one of the stipulations that was explained to you was that you had to read it quickly so that you can give the first critique of the work for the fan site! Isn't that right?"
"Well, I-"
He cut her words off before she could finish.
"Finish the book tonight!"
The phone clicked and went dead. She looked at it for a moment, stunned by the man's rudeness and hostility. Was he someone from the fan club? She had half a mind to call and complain about his terrible manners, but she had agreed to finish the book early and turn in a critique. She would finish the book tonight and turn in the critique tomorrow, first thing.

Chapter 9