chapter:1

Kate was a writer. She wrote children's mystery books and cranked one out roughly every six months.

She didn't make a lot of money. Honestly, she knew her books would never make the New York Times Best Seller list, but she made enough to live by herself, which was no small feat since she lived in New York City.

It was a one-bedroom unit, not a studio. It wasn't in Soho, but where she lived wasn't bad. She considered it safe enough, not that she wanted to walk it in the dark. What she did want was just to be safe. She had three locks on the front door. There was the ever-present deadbolt, but she had added two more just to be careful.

Kate managed to have all the furnishings, even had pictures on the wall and one window full of plants for some greenery. She also had a cell phone and didn't have a landline like many of her friends, which were few, but she had them. Kate was also addicted to coffee and couldn't live without it.

Today was grocery day, and she had one full bag in her hand when she stopped at her mail slot and took out her mail. Then she walked up to her third-floor apartment, let herself in, and tossed the keys on a side table. Kate immediately locked every lock and set the mail on the side table along with the keys.

Sighing, she went into the kitchen. It was small, but it had everything she needed – almost. The one thing it didn't have was a dishwasher. She would kill for a dishwasher.

She began putting her groceries away, including things in the freezer for later. After folding her shopping bag and tucking it on the shelf, she started the coffee maker. It was a great coffee maker, well worth what she had splurged on it, not one of those cheap machines. While her coffee brewed, she went to the sofa and made herself comfortable. Kate picked up the remote, clicked the TV on, and surfed the channels, looking for something to watch. Then she pressed Guide and looked at what was available. She settled for watching HGTV, except there was a commercial break talking about mail.

Oops, she forgot about it, so she got up and retrieved it. First up was junk mail, mostly fliers about what was available for sale. She skimmed through them just to be sure, then put them aside. Next was her phone bill. She opened it to see if anything had changed. It hadn't, so she laid it aside for later.

Kate noticed a letter with a return address from Black Pawn. She had no idea what Back Pawn was, but she opened it anyway.

Dear Ms. Beckett,

We have an offer for you and would like for you to contact our office at your earliest convenience.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Gina Cowell

"An offer?" Kate had no idea what it could be. The letterhead said Black Pawn with an address and a phone number.

She set it aside since her coffee was ready. She got up and poured herself a cup, then returned to the sofa and picked up the letter again. "An offer." Kate didn't get it, but she took out her cell phone and dialed the number listed at the top.

"This is Kate Beckett. I have a letter from Gina Cowell asking me to contact her," Kate told the person answering the phone. She asked Kate to please hold while she transferred her.

"This is Gina Cowell, Ms. Beckett. Thank you for contacting me. I'll get right to the point. We're a publisher, and we have an offer for you."

"A publisher? I'm sorry, but I already have a publisher."

"Yes, I know. We're willing to buy you out of your contract and to make an offer for you to write for us. Are you interested?"

Kate didn't understand at all. "Why would you want to buy me out of my contract?"

"That's something best discussed in person. When can I expect to see you in my office?"

"Um, tomorrow, I guess." Kate still didn't understand, but since they were willing to buy her out of her contract, she would listen.

"Excellent. Say 10 am, my office?"

"Ten will be fine."

"Good. I expect to meet you in my office at 10 am tomorrow and look forward to talking to you. I think you'll like our offer. Goodbye." And with that, Gina hung up on her.

Kate still had no idea what this could be about, but she would go and listen. She could always say NO.

~~~~~~

Kate wore one of her better dresses for this meeting since she wanted to put on a good front. She picked up her clutch and made sure she had everything she might need.

On her way out, she picked up her keys and locked her door. She hurried downstairs, walked to the subway, and took the train. There was a station close to Black Pawn.

She looked at the directory and saw that Black Pawn was on floor 12. So she took the elevator to the 12th floor, where she got off and looked for their door. Kate stopped, then went in.

"I'm Kate Beckett. Gina Cowell is expecting me." The receptionist asked her to wait while she dialed a number. She spoke to someone and then hung up. "You can go in. It's the third door on your left."

Kate walked to the door and stood there for a moment. She pulled herself together, knocked, and entered her office. "I'm Kate Beckett."

Gina got up from her desk and offered her hand to her, and Kate shook it. "I'm Gina Cowell. Please have a seat." She motioned to a chair in front of her. "Thank you for coming. No doubt you're wondering why you're here."

"You could say that. I can't begin to understand how I can help you, Ms. Cowell."

"I have an offer for you, but first, may I offer you something to drink? Water, coffee?"

Kate shook her head. "Nothing, thanks. I already had my coffee."

"Let's get right to it then. I'm offering you a job as a ghostwriter," Gina revealed. "You will write under someone else's name. He'll get all the accolades while you get all the money."