Free Topped by Kayti McGee Page A

I have no idea who my fellow panelists are, but I’m positively giddy at the idea of getting to be interviewed anyway. There were so many people who helped me get started in the writing community and giving back in this way is just…awesome.
    Also, I’m on a freaking panel!
    “Good morning!” I find Evelyn and Vanessa milling about the lobby, large coffees in hand. “Ready for another day?”
    “Yes,” Evelyn says, but there is something to the way she says it that gives me pause.
    “What’s the matter?”
    “Have you seen who you’re on that panel with?” Vanessa is hissing quietly over her coffee cup and looking over her shoulder. “Like, did you really look?”
    “No?” I start to panic without knowing why I should be panicking. “Who’s on it? Is it Bethany? Oh, god. Is it Sarah Smith?”
    Sarah Smith is my dream agent. I don’t know why we’d be on a panel together, but a girl can hope.
    “No, it’s worse.”
    “Worse?”
    Evelyn grabs me by the shoulders and whispers, “You’ll be fine.”
    “You’ll do amazing,” Vanessa backs her up, leaning close. “You’ll be the best one on the panel.”
    “Of course.” I fluff my hair. The knot in my stomach intensifies. “What’s going on?”
    “Charlie Shivers is on your panel.”
    “Shut the fuck up.” The words spill from my lips. I try not to swear at writers’ conferences because, again, Randi Rose is all class, but I can’t help it. “Who the fuck put him on a panel? Are you kidding me? He’s barely even considered an author.”
    “I don’t know.” Evelyn shakes her head. “I really don’t. I think Bethany had something to do with it. She’s moderating the panel.”
    “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” I exclaim and clamp my hand over my mouth. I lean in and whisper, “Oh, for fuck’s sake!”
    “It’s total bullshit.” Vanessa looks as angry as I feel, and I’m grateful for friends like them who just get it . “He shouldn’t even be here.”
    “Erotica is one thing.” Evelyn makes a face. “What he writes is something different all together.”
    In the distance, I hear someone say, “Are you going to the Grinding it Out panel? I heard Charlie Shivers is going to be there! I love him!”
    Pardon me while I vomit all over the floor. What is this life? I started the day positively glowing after an amazing, and I mean completely amazing, night of sex, and then Jane torpedoes me with questions about relationships and now Charlie fucking Shivers is on my goddamn panel.
    This is not okay. None of this is okay. I need a do-over. But I’ll settle for telling Bethany Bonafont exactly what I think of her, future friendship be damned.
    I storm off in search of Queen B, Evelyn and Vanessa behind me, but she’s nowhere to be seen in the main lobby. She’s got to be in the conference room. I stall out before marching in there. Seats are already filling up, and people are whispering and gossiping about that satanic quack of a writer.
    People are here to see him.
    This crushes me. Nowhere is anyone gushing about writing advice from me …just from that hack. This is not how today was supposed to go at all. This is not how this week was supposed to go. I didn’t even know Shivers was going to show himself. Damn it, damn it, damn it.
    I straighten my skirt and check my hair in a window. I have to look amazing, and I have to be on my A Game. Shivers can’t upstage me. This is my time to shine.
    “It’s fine,” I tell the girls, turning around and taking a deep breath. “So he writes prolifically. I can emphasize how to write well on deadline without it turning into total shit, like Shivers. We’re inherently different, and I’m going to make sure everyone knows it. It’ll be fine. I promise.”
    “We’ll be in the front row, cheering you on,” Evelyn promises. “You’ve got this. You’re the most dedicated author I know. You’ll outshine him easy.”
    “Besides, who is going to take him seriously? Have you read his