3. Who’s the Boss Here?
“ A nd so, Tommy the Stegosaurus, happily lived in his little valley, with his family and friends, surrounded by all the food they could ever want, him having learned the valuable lesson that as green as the grass may look on the other side, it is not always greener.” Ollie beamed and closed the book, setting it aside in the reading basket next to him on the floor.
A bright little girl of four, named Jessica—a regular, who often came with her father—raised her hand.
Ollie’s smile widened. “Yes, Jessica?”
“Did they really only eat leaves?!”
“Yes, Stegosauruses were herbivores, and likely ate low bushes and shrubs!”
“My Aunt Beebee is a ‘herbavor’!” Jamie, a little boy who was nearly four-years-old, cried.
Ollie chuckled. “Well, humans are omnivores, which we learned this week means, what?”
“Both plants and animals!” they collectively yelled, some giggling cutely.
“Exactly! So, Jamie, what I think you mean is that your Aunt Beebee has chosen to be either a vegetarian or vegan. Vegetarians eat only plants, along with some animal products such as eggs and milk, while vegans only eat plants,” he explained, before announcing, “Well, thank you for your enthusiastic responses, my library ducklings, but this marks the end of mid-day Reading Circle.” He clapped and the children happily clapped as well.
Ollie pushed up out of his cross-legged position on the rug and barely kept the grimace off his face when his knees cracked as he stood straight.
Ohh, he may need to seriously start rethinking how he sat during these things. Thirty was no joking matter when it came to staying in the same position for any length of time.
Though there was a wall blocking it from view, his little reading circle technically sat on the ground floor, to the direct left and up from the main library entrance. After taking a left at the circulation desk, and another once you passed the Youth Librarian's desk, it was the furthest you could go in that direction in the left corner. He’d covered the area under his little circle with blue puzzle carpet pieces, placing a large lily pad rug on top.
Rows of short, child-sized rainbow bookcases made up two sides of the space, with a decent sized walkway separating them, and going along the bottom of the walls in that corner were stick-on ducks. Small beanbag chairs shaped like lily pads, and adult-sized chairs, bordered near the bookcases.
“What’s ‘intwoseeastic’ mean?” a little boy asked, adorably destroying the word in the process. He believed the child was named Charlie, but wasn’t positive, as he was new here, his family having just moved there at the end of last month.
“Ah, what a wonderful question! Enthusiastic means, you were all very, very excited and happy to listen to my story.”
There was a collective ohhh. Chuckling, he nodded towards the parents. “Hope to see you all again soon!”
With a smile still on his face, he began to carefully maneuver through the little ones. As usual, Red wandered over now that he was done, and the group was instantly distracted, allowing him to easily make his escape into the slightly taller rows of bookcases that increased in size as the reading ages went up. While still colorful, they were for older children.
It was sort of routine at this point. Red would stay away while he read, and then come to get his pets once he’d finished, which allowed Ollie to get away without being stopped by the no doubt unending questions, and non-questions that would start as a question and then turn into a long, neverending story. Children were funny like that.
Ollie headed off towards the Youth Librarian’s research desk, which sat at the entrance of the Young Readers section—a section that took up half of the first floor.
When Ollie had taken over from his Godfather, Rowden, he had changed the name from Children’s Section to Young Readers, because while the area to the left was for young children, if you went right, the books started at late middle school age and continued to go up from there, all the way to grade twelve. He found teenagers were less likely to get offended by Young Readers than the other, as they generally did not like being called children.
Unlike the other half of the floor, which contained young adult books of all genres, the K-12 area was an open space with rows of books. While they always heavily monitored any adults who entered the Young Readers section without children, the thinking was…the fewer the rooms, the fewer corners there were to hide in, and hopefully, the safer it could be.
Though, Ollie couldn’t really take any credit for the whole no rooms thing, as it had been that way for at least as long as he had been alive.
“What’s up, boss?” Winnie Love, his Education Librarian, said as he reached her desk. “Survived another day surrounded by?—”
“My adorable little ducklings?” He cut her off with a pointed glare.
With a spark of mischief in her brown eyes, she chuckled and flicked her dark-green hair behind her shoulder. The color seemed to make her porcelain skin pop. “Of course, what else would I have said? Certainly not terrors.”
He rolled his eyes. Ollie had no clue how he’d managed to find and hire a K-12 Education Librarian Specialist who disliked children, but he had. At least Winnie was good at her job, and was entertaining sometimes…only if she left his little ducklings alone.
“Did you read through the email Elias sent about the new program we are working on?”
“Yes, yes, I will start making a list of books that would work best,” she said with a wave of her hand, before noting, “The email didn’t mention a deadline though.”
“As the current plan is for our Drag Queen Storytime program to debut on October 31st, alongside our normal Halloween festivities, I need at least a list of Halloween-related books by the first. To give the performer enough time to prepare.”
“Do you have someone selected for the first reading?”
“We do! The wonderful Madame Ro Coco! They are super excited for it, and I just know she will start this new program off with a bang! After you've finished compiling the initial full list, keep building on it. You don’t have to update it constantly but, keep an eye out.”
“Will do, boss.” Winnie pursed her lips. “You know, I’m slightly surprised that Elias didn’t fight you on this.”
“Oh, he did. He went on and on about how it could affect our bottom line.” His smile twisted slightly. “I kindly informed him that if he continued to insist that I focus on lines, I would give him a new one to worry about. The unemployment line.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “Ah, bet he loved that.”
“Indeed.” He glanced down at the sound of purring, smiling at Red before looking back at Winnie, and saying, “Well, I’m off!”
“Have funnn,” she chimed.
After leaving her desk, he passed the restrooms, and headed straight for the circulation desk.
Jahla looked up as he approached. “How’d it go?”
“Great! I had fun!”
“Don’t you always?”
“Of course!” He laughed.
“Is Elias here yet?” Jahla sighed. “He left me an email, something about you being unreasonable, but didn’t get into the specifics. Tell me so I can decide who I need to scold.”
“Scold?! First of all, why is my Assistant Director trying to tattle on me to my Head Librarian? Second, I’m the owner here, the boss, I can’t be scolded!” Ollie huffed.
“You can’t, huh?” Her brow rose in clear defiance.
Red jumped up into Jahla’s lap, and she instantly started to pet him, as the cat stared judgingly at him.
Meow.
How did a single meow sound so…taunting?
“Don’t—don’t take her side!” Ollie huffed. “Besides, I didn’t do anything wrong. Elias is just worried about Drag Queen Storytime. Specifically, about us losing money.”
“Well, look at that, it’s not you who I will be scolding.” Jahla snorted. “When will he be in? Have to say, he usually isn’t this late, even on a Saturday.”
“He took a day off.”
“Idiot sometimes or not, he deals with a lot. Considering he usually has to put up with you seven days a week,” she teased.
“And he is compensated with overtime pay.”
“Still has to put up with you.”
Was Ollie really the boss here? Because it honestly didn’t feel like it most of the time! He hmphed and leaned his hip against the desk.
Jahla eyed him. “So, why are you gracing me with your presence?”
He ignored her question and smiled. “How’s your day been so far?”
“Ah, I see, you’re here to annoy me. Good to know.” She chuckled, an affectionate smile on her face, despite her words. “It’s been fine. Busy, but that’s just this time of the year. Have you eaten yet?”
“I—” He grimaced. “No?”
“Did you pack a lunch?”
“Also, no.”
“Are you planning to order something now?”
Ollie cleared his throat. “I was actually thinking I’d read more of that new acquisition, and then order something.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. “You mean, you were planning to let your undiagnosed ADHD win, and not eat anything until probably closing time again, or until you passed out.”
“I was not! I was going to read for maybe an hour and then order!”
“When have you EVER read for just one hour?”
He couldn’t actually recall, but there had to be a time. Not all books were interesting. Some, in fact, were as dull as dust. “I have, I’m sure.”
“It’s noon, Ollie. Eat first.”
“I can wait.”
“You, Mr. Noodle Arms, who weighs nothing and has low blood pressure due to vitamin deficiencies, should not be putting off meals.”
Ollie glared. “I do not have noodle arms!”
His arms were small, but they weren’t noodles. Okay, they were noodle-ish. It wasn’t as if he was trying to lose weight, he just forgot to eat…a lot. And the low blood pressure wasn’t his fault. His body literally just didn’t like to properly absorb several important and necessary vitamins. Though, forgetting to eat really didn’t help matters.
“The last time you forgot, you ended up passed out in the elevator, and almost gave Old Woman Martha a heart attack.”
He winced. Oh…right… “I’ll eat first. Wouldn’t want to scare our regulars.”
Ollie would have complained about her calling someone old, but Martha was the one who insisted they call her Old Woman Martha.
Jahla grinned, looking pleased that she had won, but then the grin turned smug. “Speaking of regulars, isn’t that your crush?”
Ollie spun, his gaze zeroing in on the jaw-droppingly beautiful man—no, dreamy man—who had just reached the top of the steps.
With peppered short brown hair, which was more shaved on the sides and tightly curled on top, the man was at least six foot three. His muscled physique was clearly outlined under the long-sleeved blood-red top he had on.
Ollie had to say, the man filled out his blue jeans really, really well. With an oval-shaped face and beige skin, his crush had a bare square jaw, a narrow-pointed nose that had a slight bulge in the center, as if it had been broken at one point, hazel-green eyes, and the cheekbones of a model. Really, all of him came together to form someone that was WAY out of Ollie’s league, but he could attempt, right?! What was the worst that could happen?
Well, a lot of bad things, considering the man could likely bench press him without a sweat, but…positive thoughts only!
Ollie let out a happy sigh. “Noble Vincent.” He drew out the name as he said it. “Even his name is dreamy.”
He glanced back when Jahla snorted.
“The only thing you know about him is his name.”
Was she right? Mostly, yes, but that didn’t matter! He beamed.
“Ohhh, is someone jealous? Well, you shouldn’t be. You know I’d drop him for you in a heartbeat.” She rolled her eyes, and he let out a fake heavy sigh. “But alas, as you are ace and aromantic, my poor broken bisexual heart must focus on the hot, mysterious guy?—”
“That you can’t seem to utter a single sentence to without stuttering and turning into a tomato?” Jahla said sweetly.
Just on hearing her words, his face began to heat, something she no doubt noticed, as he was a redhead and…pale as all hell.
“I can so!” Ollie huffed. He looked at her for a moment as she stared back, clearly doubtful, before saying, “Have fun! Hope you’re overrun, I am off!”
“To the Rare Books section, to creepily stare at Mr. Hot and Mysterious as he sits down to read another ‘research’ book?”
“Oh shush,” he whined.
Spinning around, he was met with Noble’s bright white smile, the man nodding at him as he passed and headed towards the elevators. As soon as one of the elevator doors closed with Noble inside, Ollie was prepped to take off running upstairs when Jahla snapped, “WAIT!”
He hesitated and looked back to find her holding out a bag with a sandwich inside. “Eat it. It’s a PB&J.”
“Thank you!” Ollie chimed, as he snagged the bag and took off towards the stairs. Jahla’s laughter followed him as he went, as did the soft padding of his cat’s feet as he kept up behind him.
Jogging upstairs, he pulled the sandwich out while he went, eating it as fast as he could without choking. Once finished, he tossed the empty bag into a trashcan he passed. Ollie was gasping a bit when he reached the third floor, but didn’t stop. He ignored the cramping in his sides, pretending to be okay.
Speed walking, he smiled at the people he passed along the way, and at Hannah, the librarian in charge of the other research materials on that floor.
His breathing no slower as he entered the Rare Books section, Eashaa Ansari, the Research Librarian in charge of the area, eyed him with an unfortunate knowing smirk on her face.
Realizing they were alone, Ollie gave up all pretenses of being okay, and started to hold his side, hunching over a bit while he rasped, somewhat breathlessly, “Go find something else to do.”
Eashaa did not move, so Ollie continued to stand there clutching his side in pain, his legs screaming. Forget noodle arms, he really needed to work out more in general.
She raised a perfectly manicured dark-brown brow, though the expression on her deep golden-brown face was unchanged. “Decided you wanted a front row seat instead of just watching in the shadows this time?”
Taking a few more gasping breaths, he waved at her to go away. “Shoo, shoo.”
Her smirk cheekily widened. “Bribe me.”
“I AM your boss.” He let out an indignant huff, and stomped his foot.
Eashaa snickered. “And?”
Ollie rolled his eyes. Right, how silly of him to think that meant anything?! Not a single ounce of respect…
“I’ll buy you lunch.”
“Deal.” She stood and walked away without another word, going straight to the stairs that were to the far left of the room, and up to the public fourth floor. She was no doubt headed to bother Fleur in the Newspaper and Materials Archive.
“She has the audacity to pick on me about my crush when she gets turned down daily by Fleur,” he grumbled to himself as he sat down with a tired huff. Ugh…stairs…