20. Chapter 20 #2
“I’m not sure if it’s the publicity or the author herself, but the turnout is far higher than I allowed myself to imagine,” I said, smiling with satisfaction.
Again my eyes drifted over to Kylan and my roommate, and this time, they were talking.
Possibly enjoying a joke. Both in a good mood?
Interesting. Kylan was rarely in a good mood in my vicinity, and Rainn had been grumpy all day for some inexplicable reason.
Once the event concluded and the author had been sent home happy, I strolled over to the manager, who was tidying up some handouts on a display table. “Hakeem, hey, don’t worry about cleanup! My friends and I from the agency can take care of it all.”
Hakeem glanced up, scrunching up his brows. “Not on my watch. The bookstore staff can clean up. You can go home. ”
My smile faded. “Oh. Um. Well, thank you … for the opportunity today.”
His sharp eyes landed on me again. “Thank me? All I did was speak to a crowd for like 30 seconds. You did all of this.”
“Oh, uh …” I trailed off, confused. Was he thanking me? Or blaming me for something?
“Thank you, Annie. Great job.” He sighed loudly. “Sorry, I should’ve led with that.”
My face relaxed into a slight smile. “Yeah, probably. You’re welcome, but also thank you. I’m glad you gave me this opportunity.”
Hakeem nodded stiffly. “Sai’s around here somewhere.
I’ll get her to help, or one of the shelvers.
Speaking of Sai, well, I don’t like to beat around the bush.
How do you feel about slowly transitioning the coordinator duties to her?
When you first came to me for work, you didn’t have any other job, but now you do, and it sounds like a pretty demanding one.
I thought you might be looking to offload this obligation at some point, but we hadn’t really spoken about it yet. ”
He’s so direct. If only everything else in my life were so clear and direct .
“You’re right. I was vaguely thinking in that direction too. Do you think Sai is interested? I think she could handle more responsibility.”
“She’s interested.” Hakeem looked to the side and then back to me. “Look, we’ll talk about this next week or soon. Right now, I want you to go relax or celebrate with your friends, and I’ll handle my bookstore. Got it? Manager’s orders.” He even offered a small smile.
“Yes, sir,” I replied, my eyes twinkling. “Have a good night, Hakeem.”
When I turned around, my friends were approaching.
Rainn was the first to reach me. “Amazing job today, Annie. Not that I’m surprised at all.
” He leaned in for a tight hug before pulling back.
“Sorry I was less than eager this morning, despite having, well, nothing to do today … but I’m glad I got to witness all your hard work firsthand. You rock at this, no surprise though. ”
I smiled, squeezing his shoulders before pulling away. “Aw, thanks.” Before I could say more, Sofia and Kylan joined us and added their own praise—hers was likely genuine, whereas his was merely polite—as well as gratitude for the opportunity to help one of their own clients.
“We really have to give most of the credit to the author,” I said. “People wouldn’t show up for a crappy author. They showed up for an awesome one.”
“ Yes, yes, yes , so true,” Sofia gushed.
“I wish I could take credit for discovering her, but that was all Laina. I’m surprised she wasn’t here today actually.
” She paused, her expression thoughtful for a moment before it lit up with excitement.
“Anyway, drinks, anyone? I think it’s time to celebrate! ”
I gave an apologetic look. “Sorry, Sofia, I can’t.
It sounds fun, and everyone knows I could use some fun, but I need sleep more.
Juggling all this has been …” I halted, glancing at Kylan quickly.
What was I thinking? I was aiming for a promotion!
I shouldn’t imply I couldn’t juggle lots of demands.
“I’m just a little worn out, so I need to rest up. ”
Sofia stuck out her lower lip. “I get it. I don’t like it, but I get it.”
“I’m afraid I can’t either,” Kylan said, his deep voice cracking a bit. “My sister’s flight is landing tonight, so I need to pick her up. Another time though.”
Sofia’s frown deepened. Feeling bad for her, I pointed to my roommate. “Rainn, that leaves you. Think you can handle drinks with the lovely Sofia tonight?”
Sofia looked at Rainn with mild interest, but he shook his head as his brows furrowed. “No, I don’t think so.”
“Oh, you said you didn’t have anything going on—”
“I do.” His response was curt, and a muscle was ticking in his square jaw.
“Oh, all right,” I said, biting my lip.
This is awkward. Why’s Rainn being weird?
Sofia stared at the floor for a moment before looking up with an overly enthusiastic laugh.
“Well, there’s always my favorite drinking companion …
me.” At our dismayed expressions, she added, “Lighten up. I was joking. I’ve got other friends.
Or else I’ll see if my sister needs a hand with the baby. ”
As we all left the store, I eyed Rainn from the corner of my eye, trying to pinpoint why he was acting strangely.
He seemed to still really dislike Sofia, and it was unlike him to dislike anyone without good cause.
Even if he did occasionally dislike a person, he never hurt their feelings—and in front of others!
It had been so painful to watch. I made a mental note to ask him what on earth that was about—and perhaps to pull Sofia aside sometime too and apologize for him.
But for now, all that mattered was getting some sleep.
And I could rest easy knowing that Kylan and Sofia weren’t together tonight, at least.