Editor’s Privilege

** Eli **

[ A warm hand slid under and grazed over her thighs. "Did I not satisfy you?" he breathed into her ears.

She moaned uncontrollably as his familiar touch tickled the itches inside her. His lips found hers before the next sound broke free, and his fingers slid up to the top of her thighs, dipping into the wetness there, caressing every sensitive spot with equal care while his tongue made love to her mouth … ]

The girl was certainly a fast learner, Eli thought as he went over the latest chapter of Secret Crush once more. The improvement in both language and scene details was plainly visible, and it was obvious from the fan reactions that everyone loved to see the change. It turned out that Harper was right about what she needed — just a dash of personal experience added to the mix, and she didn't even need an editor to help her get those scenes right.

Eli smiled proudly, scrolling through the excited comments that showered the author with praises. But then one of them stood out at the end:

[ Dear author, please don't stop updating! I'm dying to read more! ]

Hmm … The reader was right. This was still the same chapter from Saturday. Three days had passed since then, and Harper hadn't posted anything new.

It was somewhat unusual. Even during the time when her readers weren't nearly as enthusiastic, Harper had always kept her update schedule steady. As far as Eli could tell, she had never gone days in a row without updating at all.

Why the sudden drop, especially when she was having such a good streak of success?

Eli considered it for a minute and picked up his phone. Surely, being her editor gave him the privilege to call her for important matters like this.

The beep went quite a few times. When the call finally connected, he barely heard a "Hello" before it was followed by the sound of a loud thump, as if the phone on the other end had fallen onto the ground and tumbled over concrete. A short curse ensued, and then finally, Harper's voice said, "Oops, sorry. I had a handful and dropped my phone."

Eli noticed the jingle of keys in the background. "Did you just get home?" He glanced at his computer screen. It was already past 8pm. "Is everything alright? I can call you back later if this is a bad time."

"Oh no, we're good. It's just been a long day. Work is finally catching up with me after two months of slacking." Harper's laugh sounded tired. "I'm fine though, just really looking forward to the weekend … We're almost halfway through the week, right? Please tell me Saturday is coming up soon."

Eli chuckled. "Yes, Saturday will be here before you know it. Is there a big project coming up for you? I thought your company was usually reasonable when it comes to deadlines."

"Well, usually." Harper sighed, and Eli imagined her rubbing her temples in exhaustion. "So it turns out that we have a big investor's visit next week, and the boss decided that the presentation they currently have is not good enough. They wanted to add more projects to the showoff list, including the ones that were only half-baked drafts … which means that a few of us unlucky chosen ones get to bake those drafts the rest of the way by mid next week. And of course they only told me about this yesterday." She sighed again. "Sorry, I'm whining. I'm not typically very pleasant to chat with when I'm tired."

Eli hadn't realized that his upcoming meeting with Miracles would have caused collateral damage to Harper's workload. He mentally deducted ten points for the company, though then immediately added a hundred back for the effort Harper had to put in. "You're always free to rant to me, Harper. Whenever and wherever you like," he assured her. "But try not to overwork yourself. Burning out your brain before the presentation won't be helpful in the long run."

Harper hummed a halfhearted agreement. "I'm fine. The worst part is just that … my boss made it clear that he doesn't even plan to eventually develop this game I'm drafting. They told me to put whatever cool idea I can think of in there just to impress the investors, and once it serves that purpose, they're going to pull the project. So I feel like all this work I'm putting in is pointless anyway."

Eli couldn't help a frown, deducting another fifty points for the ass that was Harper's boss. She obviously wasn't aware that the "investors" making the call next week was going to be himself, and he considered if he should tell her that he could simply demand the company to go through with whatever proposal she put forward.

He decided against it though. Harper always took pride in her work. Even if he wanted to help her, she wouldn't be happy if her project were to get a second chance because of his favoritism instead of her genuine effort. He'd have to handle this situation more tactfully.

So he only smiled again. "I'm sure you'll be able to convince the investors otherwise at the meeting. Just imagine it's me you're trying to persuade: what would you say to make me believe that this will be the best game in the world? All you need is to sell your audience a good proposal they can't refuse. If they feel serious about it and want to see it through, it's not like your boss has a choice to say no."

There was a brief moment of silence. "Really?" Harper sounded suddenly hopeful.

"Of course. The ones with the money always make the rules. And to be honest, if your presentation is nearly as effective as your latest web novel chapter, the convincing shouldn't be difficult at all."

Harper laughed. This time, her spirits seemed higher. "Ah, I totally forgot that my latest chapter is out there for you to read … Is that why you called me? To give me some more pointers on what to change?"

Eli was relieved by the shift in her tone. "Nah. Quite the contrary, I was calling to sing the praises of how perfect it was." He paused a little before adding, "And just to see how things are going with you … since you stopped updating for a little while. Anyway, I'm glad it wasn't because you decided to drop it or came down with a cold."

Another brief moment of silence. "Oh … Um, thanks for checking on me." Her voice grew a little softer. "I really appreciate it. Don't worry, I'm alive and well and not going to lose faith in my projects any time soon. Not in either of them."

Eli felt the smile spreading wider over his lips. He liked the determination and rising confidence seeping through her voice … And he knew just what he needed to do to make it stay that way.