....
.
The man casually extended his hand toward her.
"I am Regal Seraphsail." He said with a relaxed smile.
Gwendolyn shook it, as she replied automatically. "Gwendolyn Oulworth."
"Right, Miss Gwendolyn." He said with a nod. "Shall we begin?"
Gwendolyn didn't answer imdiately. Instead, she took a seat, feeling the weight of her tiredness pressing down on her.
Wait... what am I supposed to be doing with him again? Her mind wandered, still sluggish from the remnants of the previous night.
She had stayed late at the office again, grinding through paperwork until her eyes burned. She couldn't rember when she had finally dozed off, but the next thing she knew, she had woken up on the office couch, groggy and disoriented.
It was morning, and the clock read - 10:30 a.m.
And, of course, there was the lingering irritation. Why hadn't soone woken her up? That was literally their job.
But she also knew she can't bla them.
Anyway, rembering she might have to continue her day, she shot up and headed to the restroom to freshen up.
But midway through the building, the sll of Maggie's tea made her pause, drawn to the familiar scent.
It led her straight into this room.
Now, here she was, sitting across from Regal Seraphsail.
A man who, in the span of a few minutes, had confidently declared he held the best-selling book of the next decade.
The absurdity of it made her inwardly scoff.
It sounded like sothing plucked from a cheap sales pitch.
Yet... she had walked right into it.
She wasn't sure, but sothing about his presence - whether it was his calm confidence or the lack of pushiness, had kept her there.
Regal, for his part, wasn't privy to the chaos that had landed her here, nor to the 'unconventional' state she had been in just minutes ago.
But one thing was clear to him - she was exhausted.
Her posture, the faint sluggishness in her movents, it all mirrored a feeling he knew far too well.
So, he didn't waste ti.
"Miss Gwendolyn, I don't want to waste your ti." Regal said, then pulled out a thick stack of papers and set them on the desk in front of her. "Here is the manuscript. You can take a look whenever you are ready."
Gwendolyn didn't respond imdiately. She just nodded and looked back down at the pages, her thoughts montarily silenced by his casualness.
Satisfied, Regal turned to Maggie, who had been hovering by the door, unsure of her role in the mont. "Miss Maggie, could you bring Miss Gwendolyn another tea? She might need it while she looks through this. Thanks."
His request sounded like a natural flow of this conversation, making Maggie blink for a mont, then nod, as if she, too, understood.
Gwendolyn watched Maggie's retreating figure for a mont before returning her attention to the manuscript.
Her fingers skimd the pages, but her mind was racing, her thoughts tangled.
How old is he, really?
She couldn't help but wonder.
He looked young, maybe around her age, but there was an undeniable maturity in the way he carried himself, sothing that seed more suited to soone with far more years under their belt.
Where did it co from? Was it genuine? Or was this all just an act?
Gwendolyn wasn't the type to be easily fooled.
She had seen enough in the industry to recognize the signs of ambition, even arrogance.
Their one's top publishing company was now barely hanging on by a thread.
Everyone was pushing hard, reviewing manuscripts with a fine-tooth comb just to keep the doors open.
She had been doing the sa herself - every manuscript had to go through a rigorous review.
Most debut authors had no experience, and she had learned long ago not to expect anything groundbreaking from them.
Writing was a journey, a skill earned over years of hard work.
Rarely did soone hit it big on their first try.
But she couldn't deny that it did happen - every now and then, a debut author would pull off the impossible and create sothing extraordinary.
She needed a miracle.
A breakthrough - anything to save the company.
With a quiet sigh, she flipped the cover.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, huh?
She skimd over the title with mild indifference.
A children's book, probably.
She wasn't sure if she was in the mood for sothing light, not when she had so much on her plate.
She opened the first page, already ntally preparing for another slog through boring dialogue.
The Dursleys were introduced, an overly ordinary family.
Strange things start happening around them - people in cloaks celebrating and talking about soone nad Harry Potter.
Soon, Dumbledore, a mysterious figure, arrives on their street, carrying baby Harry.
He explains that Harry's parents were killed by the dark wizard Voldemort, but Harry survived the attack.
Dumbledore leaves Harry on the Dursleys' doorstep, telling them that they are his only remaining family.
This sets the stage for Harry's journey, leaving her curious about what will happen next.
Gwendolyn couldn't help moving to the second Chapter - titled,
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