Bookcast: The Never List Sample 2: "It matters to me because it matters to you."

DL White [00:00:18]:
Hello and welcome back to the BookCast. I am DL White, author of romantic fiction featuring black men and women. Before I begin today, I want to remind you to follow my blog at booksbydallwhite.com/blog. You can also follow the book cast there at bookcast. I will have basically the latest and greatest there. If you're ever looking for information on this or any of my other books, I try to post it there. If you're not subscribed to my newsletter, I don't put one out too often. I try to reserve those for when I have something big to say.

DL White [00:00:57]:
But when I decide on a release date for The Never List, I am going to publish it to the newsletter first. So you can reach that by hitting booksbydlwhite.com/newsletter and signing up for that. I call it the occasional update because it is the occasional update. See what I did there? Whatever. I'm funny. So a little reminder before I begin these, these pieces are unedited. So what you hear today may not be what you hear in final copy. In fact, I'm planning on doing a lot of, brightening and tightening, slicing and dicing, so that this book, flows really well and it's nice and tight for readers.

DL White [00:01:40]:
But I also like to be a tease, and so I'm posting these. Welcome to another sample. Trey and Esme are super fun. I am really enjoying writing their story. Hope you love this little taste of them. So let's begin. Order whatever you like, I told her. As soon as the hostess seated us at a small table in the corner of Christopher's, a casual breakfast and lunch diner with locations around the city.

DL White [00:02:08]:
I frequented all of them. You eat breakfast. Right? Yes. I eat breakfast. She laughed, picking up the laminated oblong menu. Although, I'm more of a Ria's bluebird girl. I knew the place. Ria's was the type of spot where you could get a stack of pancakes the size of your head with a side of eggs, bacon, and a hot buttermilk biscuit with fresh homemade jam for under $10.

DL White [00:02:34]:
Consider it an adventure. I'm starving, which is unusual for this time of day, but I eat when my body asks for food. I watched Esme in my peripheral vision. She studied the menu section by section, item by item. Meticulous, this woman. She scrutinized the menu like it was a contract. I've had everything here. The food's good.

DL White [00:02:55]:
That's one of the reasons I come here a lot. What are you in the mood for? She laid the menu down on the table and lowered her hands to her lap. Honestly, I'm out of my element. I'm wondering why we are ordering breakfast instead of working. Miller is paying a pretty penny for my time. Don't worry about Miller's pennies or your time sheet. If this deal goes through, his bills become my problem, and it's my and it's my goal to make this deal go through. As some woman stopped at our table, a brown apron bearing the restaurant's logo tied around her waist.

DL White [00:03:30]:
Did y'all have time to check out the menu? She asked, a southern twang accenting her husky tone. Any questions? I glanced at Esme. She shook her head. I'm not actually hungry. Go ahead and order. Can I get you some coffee? Asked the waitress. Esme nodded. I placed my order for breakfast for a breakfast skillet with steak, eggs, and fried potato with a glass of orange juice.

DL White [00:03:54]:
She rolled her lips inward then took a long slow look around the homely country style restaurant. It wasn't much to look at, but I ate at Christopher's for the food. Tell me why we're here, Trey. I will. First though, let's talk about that piece of paper that fell out of your bag the other night when you left the office. She chuckled, appearing nonchalant, but I caught the slight dip of her head and tensing of her shoulders before she forced them back to natural position. What about it? Is it a list of stuff you want to do, like a bucket list? Bucket lists are morbid, but similar, it's a never list. Things I've never done.

DL White [00:04:34]:
I want to make a huge dent in that list before I turn 40 next month. What's it to you? What's it to you? You're defensive and evasive about it. You're unusually curious about something that isn't your business. True, I acknowledged, but it is important to you. Am I correct? After a beat, Esmej nodded, you are correct. So why do you have a list of things you've never done that you need to? I mean, not why do you have a list, but I splayed my hands out, palms up. Why is there a list? It's a long story. I love a long story.

DL White [00:05:14]:
I've got nothing but time, just waiting for my breakfast. Trey, she sighed, thrusting herself back against the chair and rolling her eyes to the ceiling in very dramatic fashion. Maybe I don't want to talk about it with a stranger. I spent more time with you than I spent with my mother this week, we are not strangers. Okay, let me be more succinct. I don't want to talk about this with you. Ah, I nodded. Now we're speaking truth.

DL White [00:05:44]:
What if I say that I'm interested in helping you clear up that list? Esme froze. The temperature between us, which had been rising to a comfortable level, dropped like a rock. You're interested in what? You heard me. Let's knock some items off of your list. Esme tried to speak, but her lips flapped and no sound came out. When her eyes rose to mine, they were blazing, her bottom lip trembling. Please tell me that this isn't your cute way of offering to fuck me so that I'll give in to all of your concessions on this contract. Tell me that, Trey, so I don't have to beat you upside the head with my damn purse.

DL White [00:06:25]:
Okay. This isn't my cute way of offering that. My brain flurried with thoughts rolling my words back to me, analyzing each syllable. I hadn't said that at all. Why would you assume that was what I meant? You said you'd like to help me knock some items off my list. Yeah. So you think I'm the type of person to ask for sex to get what I want? This is what you think I'm about? You saw the list, Trey. I saw 2 items.

DL White [00:06:52]:
You threw your little tantrum and snatched it back before I could see more. So what's on none of your business? She snarled. Her top lip curled. Gratefully, the waitress took that moment to bring Esme a sunny yellow ceramic mug and poured a steaming cup of coffee. She rambled about the progress on my breakfast skillet, either not catching the thick blanket of tension over the table, or not caring about it before leaving packets of cream and sugar and bouncing away. Look, I apologize, I blurted. I didn't mean to insinuate that you should sleep with me for contract concessions. That wasn't what I was trying to say.

DL White [00:07:30]:
What were you trying to say then, Trey? I was trying to say that maybe we can help each other out for every item that I help you cross off your list. You helped me cross off one of mine. I need Miller to do some serious retooling of his proposal. It's in his feelings about his company, and his numbers don't make good business sense. You have his ear, and he trusts you. And you think that helping me clear my list will mean so much to me that I'll walk into Miller's office and fight for what you want. Not in so many words, but if he budgets even a little bit on half of the items that I need him to revise, I'll consider it a victory. That sounds very close to illegal, Trey.

DL White [00:08:10]:
Esmej stirred cream and sugar into the dark brew and lifted the mug to her red tinged lips. She sipped then smiled, hummed a beautiful tone from the bottom of her throat, and sipped again. I know it sounds unseemly, and I don't mean it to be. I wanted it to be more of an incentive, a little give and take, some back scratching. I'm not asking you for sexual favors. She didn't say another word for a few minutes, sat there and sipped coffee, and stared at the empty sweetener packets next to her mug of coffee. There's no way she didn't hear me, so I didn't repeat the statement. I prided myself on being a patient man, so I waited her out.

DL White [00:08:51]:
She ended the long pause by asking, why does it even matter to you? Being honest, if it wasn't a big deal, you'd have told me to throw it away. You almost beat my ass to get it back. It matters to me because it matters to you, and I'm hoping that if I go out of my way to help you with this that you'll go out of my way to help you with this contract, she finished. I nodded, then leaned back as the waitress arrived to set a sizzling dish in front of me. The scent of a medium rare steak, crisp potatoes, toast, and 2 fried eggs wafted from the mini cast iron skillet. They gave my stomach rumble. Some days I've drunked about that scent. Are you sure you're not hungry? I don't really fuck with toast.

DL White [00:09:35]:
You want mine? Without a word, she took the toast halves and laid them on a saucer, then poked through the container on the table for toppings. She chose strawberry jam and a pat of peanut butter and spread 1 on each half. Let's say that I feel like risking my job to help you. How would it work? I hadn't really thought that through, I said, wielding a steak knife to slice my steak off of the bone. But I'm serious about the reciprocity. I do something for you, you do something for me. If you feel weird about that or it's not gonna work, we can call it off now and go back to fighting each other in that conference room. That does not sound appealing, she said, taking a bite of toast with peanut butter spread.

DL White [00:10:19]:
Tell you what, I began, spearing a slice of steak and scooping a potato wedge with the edge of the fork. Let's try a couple. For 1, see how it goes all the way through. If you're not going to be able to change Miller's mind, it's a waste of my time and yours. Well, not mine, she smiled, holding the second half of her toast slice aloft. I intend to clear that list, with or without you. That was sample 2 from The Never List, my forthcoming contemporary, kind of funny romance, featuring Esme and Trey. This book is chiefly about conquering your fears and letting yourself have nice things like love.

DL White [00:11:07]:
I hope it whet your appetite and that you're looking forward to the release of this book. I sure am, but first I have to finish writing it. So off I go. One more sample, and then hopefully, we will have a brand new book. Until then, take care of yourself.