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Porter Literary Agency did,” he paused and cleared his
throat, “ do a fine job for all
clients.”
    Was that a
note of insincerity?   Kendra
fumed.
      “Sometimes an author needs a change to
shake things up,” Dominic pontificated.   “The average veteran author changes agents about three or four times
during the span of a career. You must know this. It’s the natural order of
things. Even agents at Impact have lost clients to other agencies and—”
    “ Other Impact agents, not Dominic Tobias?” she said through clenched teeth.
    “I didn’t say that.” Dominic chuckled cavalierly
and started eating his salad. “The clients I’ve lost quit the business.”
    Kendra narrowed her eyes. “You mean they didn’t
move on to other agents?”
    Dominic skirted that question. “You act as if I’m
the only agent who has taken in authors from other agencies. You know it’s done
all the time. You’ve done it, too.”
    “Yes, I have, but I’m not about lurking in the gray areas.”
    “Gray areas?”   He leaned forward, his voice less ebullient. “Care to elaborate?”
      “There’s a big difference between
accepting clients from other agents who happen to approach me first and aggressively courting other
people’s most successful clients,” she bit out. “And believe it or not, I have
been known to contact the former agent to inform him or her that I am now the
new representative. I make contact after the author informs him or her. But I
still reach out to let that agent know I did not actively pursue said client.   It’s not required of course, but it
would be nice if I received the same professional courtesy sometimes.”
    “And you’re so sure I went after them? And was all
cutthroat about it?” He made a hammy, moustache-twirling gesture. “That it was
not the other way around?”
    “I didn’t name names,” she hedged, stabbing a
clump of kale with her fork, “just speaking in generalities.”
    “Poaching generalities?”
    “Yes.”
      “Good,
because I’m certainly not going to apologize for being great at what I do,
giving clients one hundred percent and exploring all avenues. I take full
advantage of all opportunities. I increase earning potential. I slay for them. Sure it’s about
representing good books, but most importantly books most readers want. Not to put too fine a point on it, but that’s
what translates into cold hard cash, which is king. If a house wants a hot
property, praise is cheap. How loud is the ka-ching? Show me the love with
extra zeroes behind the dollar sign.”
    “Oh, brother,” Kendra said with an eye roll.
    “That’s good business, especially in these crazy
times. Getting a client the most cash possible upfront increases the chances
that a book won’t fall through the cracks. That everything is done to increase
its chances of becoming a commercial success. And if the book bombs, hey, the
client still has kiss-my-ass money in the coffers.” When he popped a cherry
tomato inside his mouth she envisioned him choking on it. “For me, it’s not
about acquiring things or flaunting bling, though that can be nice, not going
to lie. But I do like to win. And the moolah is one measure, one essential
measure.”
    “And bloviating doesn’t become you.”
    “Honestly, I assumed clients’ former agents only
wanted to hear from me if it was about business, more money-making business for
them.” With his napkin, he wiped the corners of his mouth. “But in the future,
maybe it wouldn’t hurt to consider making some of those ‘courtesy’ phone calls
you mentioned.”
    “Such simple niceties create good karma.”
    “I’ll call it playing the
Kendra-Kumbaya-Good-Karma card.” He grinned. “Now, enough shop talk.
Truce?”   Dominic rested his fork to
extend one hand.
    “Truce.”   Kendra shook it, thinking she needed to keep the conversation light. But wait! Sustaining the tension could
be a good thing. According to Lizzy, cute couples did not