The Other Black Girl(84)
“Actually, if I may?”
Everyone’s eyes shifted to Hazel. Yes, Nella thought. Please, just do it Expose this pickaninny for what it is.
“I think this is kind of brilliant,” Hazel said.
“Really?” Vera seemed as surprised as Nella did by this declaration.
“Yup. I think you hit the nail on the head, Leonard.”
“So, you would pick this book up if you saw it on a table out in the wild?”
It was Richard speaking now, his piqued interest rendering his blue eyes that much sharper.
“Definitely. It’s striking. Leonard, I think you did a phenomenal job, as Amy said.”
Richard nodded. Vera noticeably brightened. Even Leonard, ever the Eeyore, looked like Hazel’s claim had set him free of his self-made prison.
Nella shuddered as she stared down at the cover, searching for some subversive element that she might have missed, like a conversation starter that might get people talking about race and colorism and class. But all that was there was Colin’s caricature. Live and in living color. You can’t just do this, she thought, fuming. You can’t just put an image like this on a book cover without providing any context. She saw little Black and brown and white children walking up to the New Releases table at Barnes & Noble and picking it up, attracted by the bright colors. Saw the little gears turning in these kids’ heads for two seconds, or however long it took for images to imprint upon their young, impressionable brains. And she saw these same kids running back to their families, forever touched by the troubling racist image of Shartricia without even being aware of it.
The Bantu knots. Those eyes. Those lips.
These people.
“Any other thoughts?” Amy asked.
“You people are un-fucking-believable.”
Nella didn’t realize she’d been thinking this, let alone that she’d said it. But she had, judging from the current of attention that had suddenly surged in her direction.
“Did you say something, Nella?”
Amy’s top lip was quivering. Leonard looked appalled. Vera loosely clasped her hands around the back of her neck as embarrassment colored her cheeks. Even the never-fazed Hazel seemed caught off guard.
Richard, though, had his hands folded on the table in front of him as he waited for Nella to answer Amy’s question.
“I—no.” Had it always been this hot in this room? She began fanning herself with her hand distractedly. “I was just saying, your work is un-fucking-believable. This is going to make all those top-ten cover lists, Leonard. You really knocked it out of the park with this one.”
“He really did.” Vera cleared her throat, ready to move on. “Well, I’ll think this over some more. Len, can you send me the highest-res version of these covers that you’ve got when you have a moment? All of them, please.”
“Certainly.” Leonard’s feathers still seemed ruffled as he collected the sample covers, clipped them, and handed them off.
“Ver, let us know what Colin thinks. I can have Hilary send him sales figures for books that have covers with similar renderings on them, if you think it would ease his mind a little?”
“You know him so well,” Vera said, with a small smile.
“Oh, we all do,” Richard said. Everyone except for Nella chuckled knowingly. All was right with the world again.
“Alright, terrific. Great stuff, people!” Amy put on her glasses, adjourning the meeting. Everyone readily collected their things. A couple of feet away, Hazel was asking Vera how she and her husband were planning to celebrate Brenner’s fifth birthday.
Nella kept her gaze downward, pretending to write in her blank notebook. She wanted everyone to leave the room before she did, lest she have to awkwardly eavesdrop on Vera and Hazel’s discussion about the best places to buy cupcakes for dogs, or listen to Josh explain that BookCenter article in great detail. Plus, she’d always found something deeply soothing about sitting in the quiet of a meeting room after everybody had left, even if it was only for a moment.
After about thirty seconds, she felt ready to return to her desk and maybe even call building services to see if someone could come and fix the Keurig. But when she looked up, she realized Richard was still sitting at the head of the table, typing away on his cell phone.
“Oh,” Nella murmured, deeply embarrassed. “Sorry. I’ll just—”
She placed her palms on the table, preparing to hoist herself up and out. But before she could make a swift exit, Richard had placed his phone facedown and shifted his attention directly toward the space between her eyes. “No, I’m sorry. Please, have a seat, Nella. Do you have a few moments to chat? Yes? I was hoping we could discuss a few things, especially since we wrapped this meeting up so quickly.”
“Um…” Nella looked over at the door. Someone had closed it without her noticing. “Sure. I have plenty of time to chat.”
“Great!” Richard slipped his phone into the front pocket of his pants. “I just wanted to have a quick checkin. See how things are going.”
“Things are going pretty well,” she said, not sure what he meant by “things.” She searched her brain for something new to share. “You’ve probably heard this already, but we finally got Sam Lewis to agree to a cover. Big relief. Thanks for steering that ship. I know how he can be; his agent lets him get away with far too much.