Primal Impulse (Xtreme Edition) (34 page)

“Shh, don’t talk,” said Steven. “I’ll explain later.”

They continued watching the interview. Katherine the Great reached into a bag and pulled something out. She held it in front of the camera.

Announcer: What do you have there?

KG: After I read the e-book version I told my manager to get me a print copy. He came back with these. Joan has written three books. I can’t wait to read the other two!

Announcer: Well, Katherine, congratulations on your outstanding halftime performance. We’ve enjoyed talking to you. As always you’ve entertained again.

KG: The same here—everyone go out and get this book if you wanna get…forget it! And thanks to all my fans out there. You’re the ones who make it happen.

“What the hell!” exclaimed Steven. “What the hell—God Almighty!”

“Steven—what’s going on?” Jena was stunned by Steven’s reaction.

“I’ll tell you in a second. I’ve got to check something first.”

Steven turned to his computer. He logged into his Amazon page. He clicked onto the latest sales report.

“Holy shit!” he shouted. “I can’t believe this. I fucking can’t believe this!”

“What is it, baby? Tell me what’s going on.”

“Baby, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you for days. I just wanted to surprise you because I know how much you like Joan Dixon. Baby, I’m Joan Dixon! Joan Dixon is me! Katherine the Great was just talking about me!”

“What!” exclaimed Jena. “You’re Joan Dixon! Steven, are you telling me the truth? This is no time for jokes.”

“I’m very serious,” said Steven. “I wouldn’t be joking at a time like this.”

“I can’t believe it,” said Jena. “I just can’t believe it. All this time I’ve been with Joan Dixon—you’re Joan Dixon! Unbelievable!”

“Come here, baby,” said Steven. He grabbed her by the arm and sat her down in front of the computer.

“Look at those numbers. What do they say? Tell me!”

Jena’s face went white. “Oh, my God!”

Steven looked in at the screen. “That’s right, $740,000 in royalty payments—and that’s just the e-books. I haven’t even checked the print versions yet. Baby, do you know what this means—do you!”

Jena was silent. Her head was spinning. She didn’t know what to say. It was too much at one time. It was too much to comprehend.

“Hold on, baby,” Steven said excitedly. “There’s something else I need to check real quick.”

He leaned in over her and tapped away on the computer screen. Jena watched as he logged in to his email.

“Damn, this is real, baby,” he said. “I’ve got over a hundred congratulatory emails. Hold on, what’s this?”

He clicked to open one message. He was quiet for a long moment as he read it. Then he turned his head up and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. It was his turn to be speechless.

“What is it, baby?” asked Jena. “What now?”

“Do you know who this email is from—the biggest publisher of romance novels in the world. And guess what they want. They’re offering me three million dollars for the rights to my next five books. Three million dollars!”

“Oh, my God!” cried Jena.

Steven took another deep breath. “Let me tell you what this means, baby! It means we can be together! We have the power and the freedom. We have the money that will allow us to spend every single minute of every single day together—for the rest of our lives. Damn, baby, I love you so much. I’m so fucking happy right now!”

Steven wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck. “The money isn’t the big thing here. It’s you and us. We did it, baby—we did it.”

“How did this happen, baby?” asked Jena. “How did you do it?”

“Do you remember a couple of days ago when I spent all day in front of the computer? Remember, I was promoting my books? Well, I tried everything. On a whim I emailed Katherine the Great’s manager a copy of
Naked Emotion
. I just had a feeling that it was the kind of book she’d enjoy reading. I sure didn’t expect anything to come out of it, but obviously something happened. Apparently she got hold of it and liked it. And to announce it during the Super Bowl! It’s absolutely incredible!”

Steven kissed her on the cheek. Then he noticed another intriguing email. It was from the corporate office of Total Beverage. He clicked to open it. He read it and smiled.

“Well, guess what that one was all about?”

“What?” asked Jena. She was ready for anything now.

“Apparently a bunch of Total Beverage executives watched the Super Bowl together. They all saw the interview and one of them I had met before. He knew I was Joan Dixon. So they decided to capitalize on the opportunity—you know corporations. They’re offering me more money to do nothing but occasionally mention them at author events. So that means I don’t even have to quit my job. This whole thing is blowing my mind.”

“Steven, I’ll say it again. This is unbelievable. A few minutes ago I was lower than I’ve ever been in my life—and now this. I’m still trying to let in sink in.”

“Take your time,” said Steven. “I know it’s an emotional roller coaster.”

“The biggest news to me is that you’re Joan Dixon. You’re the incredible author that I’ve literally worshipped for two years. That in itself is unbelievable.”

“Yeah, I know—maybe I should have told you from day one. It wasn’t that I was trying to keep it a secret. I just wanted to have some fun with it. I wanted to surprise you in a big way.”

“Well, you sure did that,” said Jena. “Getting yourself announced at the Super Bowl—it doesn’t get any bigger than that.”

“Stand up, baby,” said Steven. “I want to hold you. I want to look in those beautiful green eyes. I want to tell you something.”

Jena stood and he took her in his arms. He kissed her on the lips. Then he looked into her eyes.

“I meant what I said while ago. Jena girl, you’re the most important person in the world to me. This incredible sequence of events that just happened is nothing more than a tool. It’s going to allow me—allow us—to be together. That’s what’s important about all of this.”

Steven reached a hand into his suitcase and pulled out a paper. He held it up where they could see it.

“Do you see what that is, baby? That’s my plane ticket to Dallas. That ain’t going to happen, at least not today. Whenever I decide to go to Dallas you’ll be by my side. Now that’s the shit that’s important about all this.
You
, baby! You’re what I’m excited about! Success and money are only important because of
you
.”

Again tears began to roll down Jena’s cheeks. The difference was these were tears of joy. They were reminders that the world wasn’t always cold and cruel. They were the spoils of victory where love overcame all. They were tears of love.

“Oh, Steven,” said Jena. “I love you so much, baby.”

“I love you too, Jena girl. You know I do. You’re my everything.”

“So what’s next?” asked Jena. “What are we going to do?”

“We’ll have to think about that,” replied Steven. “I think we should celebrate tonight at James Café. We’ll buy the house a round or two. As far as longer term plans—maybe a little holiday in the Caribbean. Or anywhere else you might want to go. I don’t care what we do or where we go as long as you’re by my side.”

“That sounds good,” said Jena. “Whatever you want.”

“But that’s nothing to think about right now,” said Steven. “Right now we’re going back to your bed, baby. Nobody’s flying away today. I want to hold my baby in my arms all day long. That’s all I want to do. I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.”

Jena jumped into him and wrapped her legs around him. She held on tight to her baby. They kissed like no other kiss before. They were riding the high of each other. They were together.
They were One
.

Thank you!

James Johnson

Find me on the web at:

JamesCafe.com

Watch for another James Johnson book soon!