Chapter 9
Contains spoilersOverview
On Monday morning, Olivia joins a high-stakes Zoom with Vincent Taylor’s publisher, editor, sales/marketing, and agent to renegotiate scope and timeline. After internal skepticism leaks when they forget to mute, Olivia secures permission to restart the memoir from scratch, a modest deadline extension, and ongoing chapter checks, while being denied outreach to other sources. She privately grapples with Vincent’s nighttime behaviors and the possibility she may be writing about him rather than with him. Post-call, Nicole cautions Olivia against background interviews and explains the financial risk if the project is canceled.
Summary
Early Monday, Olivia prepares for a Zoom meeting with Nicole and Monarch’s team. She has drafted a scene based on Vincent’s memory of catching Danny burying a cat, and separately recorded a private account of Vincent’s night terror and eerie nocturnal window-watching. Disturbed by his blurred reality, she plans to cover her guesthouse window to avoid seeing him at night.
Nicole opens the meeting, which unexpectedly includes editor Neil Grayson, sales and marketing staff, publisher Sloane Valerian by phone, and agent Lance Cameron. Olivia explains the constraints of Vincent’s Lewy body dementia: only a few lucid hours daily and unusable handwritten material. Neil praises her past work and acknowledges the challenges of reconstructing decades-old events.
Olivia emails sample scans of Vincent’s draft. While reviewing, two staffers, unaware they are unmuted, disparage the project as a vanity play and suggest bringing in John Calder; Sloane signals willingness to cancel. Nicole alerts them they are unmuted, and Neil regains control, asking what Olivia needs.
Olivia states the job must be a ground-up rewrite and requires interviewing others to fill gaps. Neil is open to more time but defers to Lance, who insists Vincent forbids contacting locals due to fear of bias. Olivia asks what was promised; Lance says he pitched a dark, atmospheric memoir in which Vincent would finally explain how Danny and Poppy died as the fiftieth anniversary nears. Neil encourages the cat-burying scene; Olivia summarizes it in compelling terms.
Negotiations land on a July deadline instead of June, with the condition that Neil see chapters as they are written. Olivia, feeling second-guessed but lacking leverage, agrees. After the main group leaves, Olivia tells Nicole she wants to verify whether Vincent’s cat-burying memory truly happened, but Nicole advises against speaking to sources on background, citing contractual rules.
Olivia asks about the financial stakes if the book is canceled. Nicole explains that repayment depends on whether Olivia is found in breach or unable to perform, versus the publisher choosing to pull the project. Nicole encourages Olivia to focus on the work and use the extra time, then signs off for another meeting.
Who Appears
- Olivia Taylor Dumont
narrator and ghostwriter; negotiates a reset of the project, agrees to rolling chapter submissions, considers but is warned against background interviews.
- Nicole
Olivia’s agent; leads the meeting setup, secures a deadline extension to July, advises against off-record sourcing, explains advance payback risks.
- Neil Grayson
Vincent’s editor; skeptical but allows Olivia to proceed with a fresh start, requires chapter-by-chapter oversight.
- Sloane Valerian
publisher of Monarch; attends by phone, signals willingness to cancel if needed.
- Lance Cameron
Vincent’s literary agent; reiterates Vincent’s ban on contacting locals, describes the original pitch promising a truthful, atmospheric account of Danny and Poppy’s deaths.
- Sales and marketing team (including Tyler Blakewood and a female colleague)
internal critics; inadvertently reveal doubts, call the project a vanity effort, suggest John Calder.
- Vincent Taylor
subject of the memoir; does not appear on the call but is discussed regarding LBD limits and his prohibition on outside interviews; his recent night behaviors unsettle Olivia.