The Haters by Robyn Harding

The Haters by Robyn Harding

Author:Robyn Harding [HARDING, ROBYN]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2024-07-03T00:00:00+00:00


402,400

“Jesus, Cam,” Theo says. “What did you do?”

“It’s not how it looks,” I murmur, but I know what I’ve done. I’ve humiliated myself, my daughter, and my loved ones. I’ve destroyed my career as an author and done irreparable damage to my job as a high school counselor.

I’ve ruined my entire life.

34 THE PLAN

WHILE THEO MAKES coffee, I call my agent. It’s Sunday, but I know Holly will answer. She’s my representative, but also my friend. As the phone rings, I watch Theo banging around the kitchen. He’s angry, disappointed, maybe even disgusted. I’d tried to explain my trip to Bellevue, but it had sounded over the top even in my own ears. “How could you do something so reckless?” he’d asked me, his handsome face twisted. “You have a daughter who needs you.”

He made it sound like I’d parachuted into a firefight, not driven a few hours hoping to have a civilized conversation with a woman who didn’t like my book. My life wasn’t at risk… only my reputation. My career. My relationships. Given how it all turned out, I couldn’t defend myself.

“Hey, Cam,” Holly answers, and I hear the ambient sounds of a restaurant in the background. “Is everything okay?”

“No.” I move into my office, and I tell her everything.

“Shit,” she mutters, and I hear her chair scrape back, hear her make excuses to her companions. I envision her moving through the restaurant—going outside? Into the restroom? She instructs me to send her the TikTok link as she walks. I do, and then I wait as she watches it.

“Oh, Camryn…”

“I know.”

“We’ll need to wait for your PR team to weigh in, but you should draft an apology now. Have it ready to post on Monday morning after we talk. Do a version for Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.”

“Please don’t make me record a TikTok.”

“I don’t think they’ll want that, if you’re not comfortable on camera.” A toilet flushes in the background, revealing her choice of location. “You need to be ready with the statement. You need to show Nadine that you take this seriously and you want to repair the damage you’ve done.”

“I will,” I say. “I do.”

“Apologize for overreacting. Say you respect a reader’s right to have an unfavorable opinion of your work.”

“But that’s not why I went there,” I say. “I wanted my harasser to see that there was a real person behind the public image. That she was attacking a human being with feelings and emotions. Can I at least explain?”

“That might muddy things. It might seem like you’re making excuses,” she says. “But that’s a question for Olivia.”

“Okay.” My voice quivers. “I’m sorry. I never thought it would blow up like this.”

She’s silent for a beat, and then she sighs. “I wish Nadine had made an offer on the next book before this happened,” she says, and my heart sinks.

“Me too.”

“I’ve got to go.” My agent wraps it up. “We’ll set up a call with the team tomorrow.”

I hang up and wander back to the kitchen.



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