Chapter 1

Almost being hit by a car was not how Jackson North planned to start his day.The normally quiet and reserved guy was startled when the black luxury car blew through the red light, causing him to slam a hand on the hood. “Watch it lady! Geez…” As soon as it came, the adrenaline passed and Jackson’s meek reserve returned as he let out a shaky breath and took a step back onto the sidewalk.

In the same breath the driver, a small dark haired girl who dressed like she’d just stepped off the runway, got out of the car and slammed the door shut behind her. “Did you just put your hands on this car? Are you crazy?!” He looked at her in disbelief; she had almost just ran him over, and now she had the audacity to get out and yell at him?

“Well?! Do you even know who owns this car? Do you even have enough brain cells to rub together to form a thought right now you i***t?” She was getting closer with each question until she was all but sucking the air out of the space around him. 

Jackson took another step back. “Sorry lady,” he said as he raised his hands in defense, “but, um, you almost hit me. I guess I just panicked.” His words were shaky as they came out; he didn’t handle confrontation well and this was quickly headed in that direction. “I didn’t mean to hit your car…” his voice trailing off quickly when he realized he was headed for the eye of the storm. 

“It’s not my car you moron! It’s my boyfriend’s.” Letting out a huff as she stomped over to the hood and saw the smudge from his fingers, “UGH!” She huffed out, “you're freaking paying to get this cleaned!” The girl continued loudly as she marched back up to the tall, silent man, holding her hand out as soon as she stopped.

He looked at her quizzically for a moment before she let out an exaggerated sigh. “I don’t have all day. Just give me the cash and I’ll forget about you being a rude jerk to me.” Jackson blinked, confused as to how he had been the jerk in the situation, but he begrudgingly pulled out his wallet and handed her the twenty he had. As much as he wanted to protest the situation, he was late for a meeting with his editor and this girl was draining the last of his social energy. “This is all I have on me. If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got things I need to do.” 

Her long, sharply manicured fingers snatched the bill from his hand, leaving a small scratch behind that made him wince, “pathetic, this won’t even cover washing it. But whatever. I’ve got better things to do than deal with you.” Flipping her hair in his face as she spun back towards the car, “watch where you’re going from now on. You’re not blind!” Slamming the door behind her, the foul girl quickly started the car, revved the engine loudly and sped away, giving him the finger as she passed.

Letting out a sigh of relief that she was gone, Jackson waited for the crosswalk light to change so he could, hopefully, safely make his way to his meeting. As he moved his weight back and forth between his feet, the stranger’s last words echoed in his mind; “You’re not blind!” She wasn’t totally wrong, he wasn’t blind. At least, not fully.

The sound that it was his turn to cross broke the man from his trance and, this time, he quickly jogged across the pavement. Hopping up on the ledge of the sidewalk, Jackson took a deep breath he didn’t realize he was holding and continued his walk to the coffee shop just two blocks over.

Despite his earlier, almost, accident, the beautiful fall day made him quickly put the interaction behind him as he strolled along the leaf scattered streets. The crunching beneath his shoes as well as the sweet, musty leaf smell, made the walk go by quickly and before long, he was opening the heavy glass door; the smell of coffee taking over his entire person. Taking a deep breath, Jackson smiled at the warm and inviting scent and walked to the counter to order.

After he received his drink, he walked over to the corner table by the large, picture window and settled himself in; taking small sips of the hot liquid, the sweetness spreading across his tongue, he hadn’t realized his editor had sat down until he cleared his throat, “hey Jackson, sorry I’m late.” Turning his head, the man smiled softly as he recognized the blue sweater the other always wore when they were together, “it’s okay Mark, I didn’t even realize you were.” 

The two settled into their discussion about Jackson’s new book, “I think the company is going to start with 10,000 copies since the last one flew off the shelves,” Mark said as Jackson nodded along, “that sounds perfect to start.” Thinking that was the end of their business talk, Jackson leaned back and let out a content sigh as Mark placed the documents back in his bag, only to shuffle around and pull out a blue envelope. “A contract? Already?” As he had just finished his last book, the writer wasn’t exactly looking to take on a new project just yet. “Yes and no,” Mark said, causing the other to raise his eyebrow in curiosity, “yes it is a contract, but not for what you think.” “Okay, I’ll bite, what kind of contract is it?”

Taking a deep breath, Mark, trepidatiously, spoke, “it’s for a biography.” “Mark, no. No! You know how I feel about writing biographies.” Jackson immediately fired off. “Just listen, Jackson,” he continued and the writer held his hands up, gesturing for his editor to continue, “you know Christopher Bloom? The guy who started the small coffee cart and has grown that into the largest chain of shops in the world?” “I’ve heard of him,” the writer said as he looked around one of the shops in question, “isn’t he worth, like, billions of dollars now?” Nodding his head enthusiastically, Jackson could hear the smile on Mark’s lips as he spoke, “yes! And he’s apparently a big fan of yours! The board members think now is the best time to get a biography out to the public, kind of take attention away from his,” Mark paused to clear his throat, “um, personal, scandals.” 

Christopher Bloom’s reputation left much to be desired, but when you had the kind of disposable income that he did, there wasn’t much you couldn’t get away with. “So saving his name has to become my job?” The writer said disgruntled as he let out a huff. “Jackson, this is an amazing opportunity for you!” The editor began to whine , “why do you have make me beg you to consider this?” Sticking his lip out in a pout , he knew it wouldn’t make a difference, but it had become his own silent form of protest when his writer was being difficult. 

The other let out a deep chuckle and took another sip of the, now cooled, hot chocolate, “because I’m not easy.” He said with a smirk before letting out a defeated sigh, “you said he’s a fan?” Mark let out a very unmanly squeal and pulled the papers from the crisp envelope, “yes! He has your entire collective works! Does this mean you’ll do it?” The desperation was heavy in the editor’s voice as he waited for the normally reserved writer to give him an answer. “It means,” Jackson said with defeat, “I’ll meet with him and then make up my mind.” 

Mark sprung from his seat and dashed around the table, throwing his arms around his friend, “you won’t regret this Jackson! Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Jackson laughed softly and patted the back of his editor’s hands, “yeah, yeah, yeah, but you owe me big time for this.”

The two began talking out the details and after a few calls to Christopher’s secretary, the date of the meeting was set and Mark was vibrating with joy. “You really are the best, this is really going to put you on the next level!” Sorting the papers back into the envelope, the editor made mental notes of things he needed to get filled out and printed off to finalize the arrangements before sending his writer into the wolf’s den. Jackson let out a soft scoff, “I like the level I’m at now, but since it’s for you I guess I can suck it up.” “That’s the spirit!” Mark said, answering only on autopilot as his brain was still making mental preparation notes, “now, I’ll pick you up that morning….” Jackson began nodding along although he had tuned his spazzy editor out at this point. His mind was racing at the thought of being around new people. 

He had always been a little socially awkward, but this, this was a whole different level of nerves. “And don’t worry, I’ll be by your side the whole time.” Just as Jackson had tuned back in, his friend was reassuring him that it was going to be okay. Mark was the only person outside of his parents that knew about Jackson’s condition, so in turn, he became the writer’s closest companion and confidant. “I definitely couldn’t have made it this far without you,” he said with a quiet smile, “I trust you Mark, but don’t forget, you still owe me.” Shooting his editor a wink, the other man rolled his eyes before letting out a curt chuckle, “As if you’d let me forget that.”

The men said their goodbyes before parting ways. Jackson had a week to get himself ready for the meeting; a week to try and bribe Mark not to make him go, to try and convince the other he’d changed his mind. Although both of those options were very appealing, the curiosity of what the most talked about man in a generation was actually like. “Well Jacks, looks like we’ve finally sold ourselves to the devil.” He mumbled under his breath as he began walking, taking the long way home.