Chapter 66 - The Bestseller List
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It was a perfectly ordinary Wednesday afternoon when the trajectory of my career shifted into an entirely new stratosphere. I was in the middle of a staff meeting at the clinic, discussing the implementation of our new holistic wellness programs, when my cell phone began to vibrate violently on the conference table.
I usually ignored calls during meetings, but the caller ID flashed with Sarah’s name, followed immediately by three consecutive text messages that simply read: ANSWER THE PHONE!
I excused myself, stepping out into the quiet hallway, and pressed the phone to my ear.
"Sarah, is everything okay? You're interrupting my staff meeting," I whispered urgently.
"Cancel the meeting! Cancel the rest of the day!" Sarah was practically screaming, her voice a pitch of pure, unadulterated ecstasy. "Rachel, the official list just dropped early. I have the numbers directly from the New York Times."
My breath hitched in my throat. I leaned back against the cool plaster of the hallway wall, my hand suddenly shaking.
"Did we make the list?" I asked, hardly daring to hope.
"Make the list? Rachel, you didn't just make the list," Sarah shrieked. "The Light Reclaimed debuted at number one. You are a officially a Number One New York Times Bestselling Author. You beat out the memoirs of a former president and a major pop star. The country is completely obsessed with your story."
I squeezed my eyes shut, the magnitude of the accomplishment washing over me in a massive, overwhelming wave. Number one. The validation was absolute.
"I... I can't believe it," I gasped, sliding down the wall until I was sitting on the floor of the hallway, laughing and crying simultaneously.
"Believe it, Rachel. The publisher is immediately ordering a third printing run. The international rights have just sold in twelve different countries. Your life is never going to be the same."
I hung up the phone and sat on the floor for a long moment, letting the tears fall freely. I pulled out my phone and dialed Marcus's number. He answered on the first ring.
"Hey, beautiful, I'm just leaving the site," Marcus said cheerfully. "What's going on?"
"Marcus," I said, my voice thick with emotion. "We need to go out for dinner tonight. We need to celebrate."
"Did you get the news?" he asked, his voice instantly filling with immense pride.
May you like
"I am number one in the country," I whispered.
"I am on my way home right now," he promised. "I am so incredibly proud of you, Rachel."
