Penn woke with a sense of guilt. He debated telling Brooke that he’d bought the publishing firm and had them offer her a contract. He didn’t want to take anything away from her victory, but he should come clean.

He discarded that idea. The editor that had offered the contract had agreed it was a good story. She could sell it and he hadn’t exactly strong-armed the editorial department. He’d just put Brooke’s novel at the top of the pile. The editor had done the ...