What's Wrong With Mike Litt?

Paige Turner worked in the submissions section of the Italian publishing company Nota Opinell.

It was a small department. Just her, the young chinese office junior and the boss, Mike Litt. He was a strange little man with a thirst for alcohol.

Although it was an Italian company it had offices all over the world. The head office was in Naples, but Paige worked in the London office run by the Indian CEO, Dharmendra Usic, or Dharm as she liked to be called.

The London offices were on two floors. Management on the top floor and Submissions downstairs.

In her six year’s of service, Paige had only known of three works from submissions to be published from the tens of thousands sent in. They were all works by the same author. A Norwegian writer living in Australia called Ivor Longen. It was a trilogy about working in an off licence.

The first book, Liquor Tonight was a huge success. The second, Liquor Over the Counter sold thousands, making Ivor a fortune. Then the trilogy ended with, Liquor Till The Sun Comes Up.

Ivor was massive in the downstairs department, and because of the book sales, enormous down under.

Mike Litt was slippery. He wanted things nice and easy. He would reject something just because he didn’t like the title. Over the years he’d rejected some of the best works ever. The Da Vinci Code being just one of them. But no one found out about it. Only Paige Turner knew. But she was no grass. No way was she going to finger Mike Litt.

Last year a book was sent in and Mike looked at it. He dismissed it saying the title was too boring. It was called Fifty Shades Of Grey!

So far only Paige knew of his monumental mistake.

The department was quiet today, just Paige and the office junior. Mike Litt was nowhere to be seen.  He was probably in a bar somewhere. When Mike Litt was dry, lubrication was needed.

The tannoy in the office boomed out, it was Dharm, the Indian owner herself.

“Could Mike Litt please come in my office immeadiately.”

Paige looked at the office junior in panic.

“What does she want with Mike Litt?”

The office junior just shrugged her shoulders.

Five minutes passed when the tannoy went again. This time the voice sounded impatient.

“Has anyone seen Mike Litt?”

At that exact moment Mike walked into the office. He face dripping with sweat.

The office junior looked at him.

“Why Mike Litt so wet?”

He smiled.

“Fifty Shades Of Grey.”

Paige started to panic.

“You think they know. You think they know about you rejecting the book?”

Mike stood up.

“It’s my fault, no one elses. I’ll take the blame. Time to face Dharm Usic.”

He walked out of the submissions department and up the stairs to management.   The office junior followed.

He walked into Dharms office. There was a lot of shouting. The office junior watched through a small window and saw a copy of Fifty Shades of Grey flying through the air and hitting Mike on the shoulder.

She ran back downstairs screaming. Paige met her at the doorway.

“What is it, what is it, what’s happened?”

“It’s Mike. They’ve thrown the book at him!”