Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ella
“If you’re at all willing to step out of your comfort zone in the kitchen, then Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat needs to be on your shelf or your kitchen counter.”
—Alice’s Staff Pick
Obviously, we couldn’t let Joey keep running the events. Now that we had a sense of the earnings of an event post-Leo, Henry and I had begun discussing a new budget when Joey burst into the room.
“Ella, thank God, I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“I’m pissed at you, Joey. I’m not in the mood to talk to you right now,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
Joey frowned. “The event was a success! I know there were some snafus—”
“Some?”
“But you can’t possibly blame me. I mean, you never even trained me.”
Henry laughed under his breath, shaking his head.
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you want, Joey?”
“I’d like to hand in my resignation as events director,” Joey said, handing me a Post-it note that I immediately crumpled. “The pressure you put on me was just too much to handle. I’ve got bags under my eyes because of the stress.”
“Enough, get out.” When Joey left and shut the door, I turned to Henry and said, “In what world would he keep it?”
“Same one where he and Stewart get married.”
I laughed at that. “Alright, what’s the verdict?”
Henry turned the laptop toward me, rubbing his eyes. “It’s not enough,” he confessed. “Even if we had a steady increase in sales alongside the events, we’d still be near drowning. It’s not like we’ll be hosting bestsellers every week.”
I flinched as I studied the screen myself. May had begun and the clock was ticking faster than either of us liked.
“Ella,” he said softly. “We knew this wouldn’t save the store. We need a bigger long-term solution for the debt we’re in—”
“I know, I know.” I leaned back in my chair, shutting the laptop.
“I’ve got to be honest. I’ve never run into this situation before in my career. Usually if a store is this in danger of closing, I’d give them a plan until they’re back on their feet or …”
“Tell them to shut down.”
Henry hesitantly nodded. “I don’t think events or better store practices is what will save us. They’re necessary to eventually sustain us. We’re still looking at a deadline of August. Let’s keep brainstorming and see what we can find.”
I smiled weakly, trying to put on a brave face. “I’ll break out the binders.”
“What do you need me to do?”
I locked eyes with him. “Save our store.”
At closing that day, once everyone had left, I called Julie into Leo’s office. She frowned when she saw me sitting in Leo’s chair, hands folded atop the desk.
“Please, Julie, take a seat.” I gestured to the chair across from me.
“Why are you acting so weird?”
“Julie, you know I think you are beautiful and amazing and fierce and can do anything you set your mind to.”
“Oh God, I know where this is going,” she groaned, tossing her head back.
“I am begging you to take this on.”
“Ella,” Julie started. “I explained this already to you. I don’t want to get pigeonholed—”
“I love you. You’re my best friend. But that’s an extremely stupid excuse.
” Before she could interrupt me, I barreled on.
“You know that won’t happen. You’re scared to get started, which I understand.
So if you take on the position of events coordinator, you’d stop being a manager and could focus on looking for work in the events space instead. ”
“No way,” Julie said emphatically. “You shouldn’t even want me! I have no experience or idea what I’m doing.”
“So you figure it out,” I reasoned. “And when you do, that’ll give you experience when applying to other places. You’ll even work fewer hours! Since you need to plan and book the events, you’d spend most of your time in the greenroom doing some admin work.”
Julie’s eyebrows had lifted in surprise. “Really?”
“A win-win,” I said, smiling. “So?”
To celebrate, that Saturday we went to brunch at Little Ruby’s Cafe in the West Village. Finally, flowers had begun to bloom and the sun wasn’t just a reprieve from the cold but an emerging presence. We sat outside, welcoming any warmth the city could offer after a bitter winter.
I tried to forget all the problems at the store, but it was all I could think of.
And against my wishes and better judgment, Henry snuck into those thoughts, too.
It’s like his name entered my mind against my will. His name was an itch too painful not to scratch. I had to clamp my mouth shut, denying myself the addicting feeling of the way his name fell from my lips and my mouth.
We’d been spending so much time at the store together that it was only natural.
It was scientifically proven that those forced to work in proximity ended up being attracted to each other.
But it was nothing more. And, sure, we’d been emailing back and forth about the books Henry’s been reading off my list, but again, that was just professional.
I couldn’t let myself lose focus of what was really important here. Whenever he drifted into my thoughts, I tried to push him, with all my might, far, far away. It was still a work in progress.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Julie muttered, tipping back her mimosa, downing it.
Julie went into full planner mode this week, setting up as many events as she could.
Unlike everyone else at The Last Page, she actually read my binder and took some of my ideas.
We were jam-packed for the week. Instead of just sticking with author talks, she expanded the events section to all literary events.
We’d had a drag queen storytime, a thriller authors panel, and we even had a book club discussion coming up next week.
Each of the events required a purchased ticket, so I was crossing every finger and wishing on every star that this could help save us.
“It’s a good idea,” Julie conceded. “Joey was not, though.”
I winced. “Yeah, not my finest hour.”
“That was you?” Julie’s eyes widened. “I kind of thought that was Henry. And you let it happen to get some sort of revenge.”
“I thought Joey could rise to the challenge.”
Julie snorted at this. “Joey has never wanted to rise to the challenge.” She eyed me and said, “What’s going on, then?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, do we like Henry now?”
“We never disliked him as a person,” I said. “Just what he was doing to the store.”
“Well, to be clear, you never disliked him.” She shot me a sly look. “I heard you two have been spending a lot of time in his office alone.”
I looked down at my plate, pushing the food around. “We’re just working.”
“True or false: You two are going to Central Park tomorrow.”
“The crispy rice bowls here are splendid.” I ignored her as I shoveled food into my mouth.
“You’ve got to log out of your email on the computers,” she said with a laugh. “Alice ran around the store like Paul Revere telling everyone.” She raised her hands. “Hey, no judgment, though. He’s hunky.”
“Hunky is crazy,” I cried through bites of food. “Henry is a nerd.”
“C’mon, if you can’t tell your best friend, who can you tell?” Julie pouted. She held a french fry out toward me. I sighed and snatched it, accepting her bribe.
“If there were anything to tell, then I’d tell you that I think he’s cute. But that’s it,” I said emphatically.
“Aha!” she said loudly, pointing at me, garnering the looks of others around us.
“Shh,” I reprimanded. “This is the West Village, not some dive bar in Alphabet City.”
“I knew it. I always see you two walking around the store. Giggling. You haven’t giggled in months!”
“I’m training him!” I argued. “He doesn’t know the store that well anymore.”
“Oh, I’m sure you’re helping him get to know it real well.”
I grabbed one of her french fries and tossed it at her.
“Hey, West Village, not Alphabet City, remember?” she said.
“Well, you’re acting like a child.”
“He’s into you, too,” she said, excitedly. “Finally, the great Carmella Sanchez love story begins.”
I rolled my eyes, taking a sip of my own mimosa.
Julie had it in her head that I hated romance, which could not be further from the truth.
I read the deep cuts like Allison Ashley and Lucy Parker.
I loved romance. But I knew that the feelings I got from reading romance wouldn’t happen in real life.
Those were men written by women and real men have proved so far they couldn’t live up to the hype.
So I exchanged romance for … physical connections. I swiped through Tinder or I’d snag a free drink and a late night at a bar, but that was as far as I’d go nowadays. I liked my romantic entanglements to be entangled in sheets, not messy emotions.
“None of this matters,” I insisted. “All that matters is the store and saving it.”
“And when that’s done?” she pushed.
“Then, he goes home to Tennessee. Nothing more. I can’t lose my eyes on the prize.”
“Fair enough,” Julie said, a mischievous glint in her eye. “But do you know when I do my best thinking? After sex.”
“Thank God for my vibrator,” I deadpanned.
After my brunch with Julie, I walked over to SoHo, embracing the warm weather. I was meeting my mom and Maya for dress shopping. Maya’s homecoming dance was coming up and she was a wreck.
My mom encouraged her to wear one of my old dresses, but understandably, Maya wanted something new. I think she wanted to be able to tell all her friends she got it in Manhattan, so I was surprised when they asked me to meet them at the SoHo TJ Maxx.
“Thank you for coming, mija,” my mom said as we waited outside the dressing room for her. “It means a lot to her.”
“I remember my homecoming dance,” I said with a sentimental sigh. “It feels like the most important thing in the world. She needs girl support.”
“She needs a thwack in the head,” my mom muttered, rubbing her forehead. “Ay mija, I don’t remember you being this much of a handful.”
“That’s because you’re getting old,” I said teasingly. “I snuck out a time or two. Maya isn’t that bad.”