#with:william fletcher

[stcygcld]

closed starter for @swords-before-words​​ !​

When Jia May had first given Fletch an invitation to her graduation, she never actually expected him to actuall be there. Sure, she had considered him as one of the most important people in her life; he was her literary agent, after all. But she’d figured that he would be too busy to attend her graduation, considering that she knew how many clients he worked with. 

Overall, the day had been amazing. She had graduated with honors in front of her family, and had spent the few minutes after the ceremony having multiple pictures taken. Even though she’d assumed that Fletch hadn’t shown up, she was still happy. She had been posing for photos with her younger siser who refused to stay still, when little Jazmyn Zhou screamed eagerly and began running out of her sister’s arms. “Jazzy, wait! Where are you going?” 

“Fletch!” Jazmyn exclaimed as she tackled the man who was walking towards them with a rather tight hug, and Jia May found herself looking over at her agent with a rather surprised grin. “Fletch, you came...” 

[stcygcld]

closed starter for @swords-before-words​ !​

Meetings with her literary agent were something that Jia May often looked forward to. While she was still attending classes to obtain her degree in English literature, her passion to publish her own novel one day was still burning bright. As she sat in the office of a certain William Fletcher, she tapped her hands rather nervously against the desk, eyeing the man who sat across from her for a moment before dropping her gaze. “Fletch... you didn’t call me all the way here just to have me sit here in silence did you?” She asked him with a raised brow. 

[stcygcld]

swords-before-words​:

“Oh, don’t you worry about that, Miss Zhou. I predict that this time next year, the studio apartment life will be a distant memory. I have it on good authority that their debut author list for next year is short, and that you will be at the top of it.” William wouldn’t normally share this information with his clients until everything was official, but the contract would be in by the end of the week for her to sign, so he felt comfortable letting that bit of hope shine through for her. “Considering the setting of your novel it should be released in mid to late September so it can gain traction ahead of the holiday season.” Jia May certainly deserved that as a Christmas present, and her story was one that people would enjoy any time - but especially around the holidays. It was one of the things he loved about it and that had drawn him to her work. 

“I did. And I’m glad that I got to make her day a bit special.” Fletch could hear the fondness in her voice and it made him think of his relationship with his own brother. “Yes, that is a good way to get closer. Is she the way you were when you were a kid?” Fletch leaned back against the desk as he thought about his brother. “My baby brother is the very fine age of 19. He’s come here for university so I get to see him a bit more often, though surprise surprise he chose university dorms over bunking with his workaholic brother,” he chuckled. In reality, he’d encouraged Took to fully experience college, but always offered him a hot meal and a full sized bed when he needed it.  

“You’re not serious...” Jia May’s eyes grew wide upon hearing the agent’s words. “No, no, no... it can’t be. You can’t be...” Her lips turned into a rather wide grin as the words began to sink in. She hadn’t been expecting such good news when she had first arrived at Fletch’s office, but she was certainly glad that she did. “September, I mean... that’s great. I can definitely have the book done by then.” Needless to say, this was the motivation she needed to keep writing through the holiday season. 

“Thank you. You really didn’t have to do that, but it means a lot to me that you did. You protected her childhood innocence, in a way, and I don’t think there’s a lot of people in the world who would do that.” She stated, honestly. Was there any other reasons why this man was so perfect? “Yeah, she is. She believes in Santa, for starters, and I think my childhood Christmases are one of the reasons why I still believe in Christmas magic.” Hearing him talk about his brother, Jia May realized that they were one and the same in that regards. They both loved their siblings very dearly. “It’s nice that he chose to be close to you. You must have really helped him get settled in then. I can’t even imagine the homesickness you both must have felt when you first moved here.” 

[stcygcld]

swords-before-words​:

“That makes sense. I certainly haven’t kept up my traditions now that I’m older and on my own. Much to my mother’s chagrin. Ah yes, the studio apartment life.” William had spent many years in a studio apartment until he got his feet under him, but for some reason his ray of sunshine not having Christmas decorations didn’t sit well with him. He was not willing to investigate those feelings at the moment as they were most definitely unprofessional. 

“Well, when I answered the phone as William and she ever so politely asked who I was and if she could talk to Santa. I had to think quick.” He’d asked her to hold and come back with a deep booming Santa in personation. “I bet you’re the best big sister. Ah a surprise baby. I know what that’s like. My parents had my younger brother when I was 19. And it was strange because I was already in America, so I didn’t get to spend much time with him until he was a toddler.” 

“Yes, the studio apartment life... at least, for now. I’m hoping that once I get published, I might get myself an upgrade on that living situation. Then maybe I can get back into the traditions, who knows?” She stated with a shrug. Despite her lack of Christmas decorations, Jia May’s holiday spirit was still quite high. How could it not be? If the context of her debut novel said anything about her as a person, it was that she was something who believed in the magic of Christmas. Perhaps that was why she was always a ray of sunshine, even though she did not know that she was his ray of sunshine. 

“Aw you really committed to it, huh?” She asked, a soft chuckle escaping her lips at the thought of her literary agent doing a Santa impression on the phone with her little sister. “I try my best. Given our age difference and the fact that I was out of the house by the time she was born, I didn’t get to spend as much time with her as much as I would have if we had been closer in age. The one good thing that came out of it at first was the fact that my parents could always rely on me to babysit, and that helped us get closer.” Hearing Fletch speak of the age gap between him and his brother made made Jia May wonder what kind of older brother he was. “That’s one thing we have in common. How old is your brother now?” 

[stcygcld]

swords-before-words​:

A number of people had questioned Fletch’s decision to take on such a young writer, but Jia May’s work was some of the best he’d ever seen. And he energy and enthusiasm was contagious. He always enjoyed meeting with her. 

“Of course not. I called you here to discuss two things.” He stood and rounded the desk, leaning back against the desk, putting his weight on his hands. ”One the publishing house would like to see an additional two chapters before the holiday break. And the second one is that I wanted to give you a chance to explain the small child who called me looking for Santa last Saturday,” he announced with a chuckle. “Care to explain?” he asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Being as young as she was, Jia May had initially struggled to find a literary agent. No one seemed to have faith in her, not until Fletch had come along and took a chance on her. She wanted to make sure he didn’t regret taking her on, and was keen on making him proud. 

Fletch, although he looked quite intimidating sat behind that mahogany desk of his, she’d learned quite quickly that he was a lot more approachable. Having a good rapport with the literary agent sure helped her keep up with her writing, but he kept her comfortable. “I can do that.” She beamed at the man who had just informed her of the publishing house’s request of the two chapters. A piece of cake for her. 

But it was what followed that caused the young writer to look up at him with rather wide eyes. “I beg your pardon?” It hadn’t even occured to her that her little sister wasn’t kidding when she’d said that she had spoken to Santa on her phone. But seeing Fletch’s number on her call log had caused her to assume that her sister hadn’t actually made those calls. “Oh my God, Fletch. I’m so sorry. I... I don’t even know what to say. I’m...” She had to laugh. “My little sister kept taking much phone, but I didn’t think she’d actually made any calls.”