11. Jess
11
Jess
I closed the laptop and rubbed my eyes. For the past twenty-four hours, I’d barely moved from my desk. I was determined to make headway on the research for my presentation.
After that awkward lunch with Edwin, Theo and Glenda, I couldn’t wait to get back to my room and lock myself away.
Sitting so close to Theo was torture. I had to focus on not making my leg accidentally touch his, which was hard given how tightly we’d all squeezed around that table.
I’d reasoned that once it was over I could avoid him for the rest of the weekend because I assumed Theo would race back to London the first chance he got. But then Glenda and Edwin had started talking about going to a theme park, which was my idea of hell.
I’d never understood why anyone would willingly go on something that would scare the living daylights out of them. Who the hell wanted to get catapulted to the top of a questionable metal structure, then dropped back to the bottom at a million miles an hour and risk having a heart attack in the process? It made no sense.
I’d hoped that because the trip was the next day it’d be booked up, but no such luck. Of course they had two spaces for us.
So in less than an hour, I’d be on a coach, heading to one of my worst nightmares with the person who was a nightmare personified.
I already planned to arrive at the meeting place early to get first dibs on a seat. There was no way I wanted to sit next to Theo. Having to go was punishment enough.
After putting an apple, a packet of crisps and some water in my handbag, I slipped out of the hotel, then dialled Sarah’s number.
I’d texted her yesterday to tell her all about my move to Sunshine Bay but hadn’t had a chance to speak to her properly since.
She picked up after a few rings. ‘Hello, you! How’s life in your new small town?’
‘Nice. It’s way better than my bedsit and it’s nice being by the sea. Still trying to get used to this tight-knit community stuff, though. Can you believe I’ve been roped into going to an amusement park?’
‘Oh my God! I thought you hated going on scary rides?’
‘I do!’
‘I’m sure you’ll be fine. Is your hunky rival going?’
I winced, regretting the fact that I’d told her Theo was good-looking.
‘Unfortunately, yes.’
‘Oooh, more forced proximity! Love it! And with you two beavering away in the rooms next to each other, it’s practically a workplace romance. Your life right now is like a series of tropes. All we need to add now is a bit of enemies-to-lovers!’ She laughed.
‘Stop! There will be no enemies-to-lovers shenanigans with me and him. I have to focus. I did a lot of research today, but I’ve still got so much work still to do.’ I blew out a breath as I thought about the stuff I’d found out so far.
What I’d attempted to communicate in the meeting was true. Romance was one of the biggest genres in the world. The most recent figures I found valued the romance market at something like $1.44 billion, which was huge.
That at least showed there was a demand for romance books in general. The challenge I had now was trying to work out how that showed that there was demand for this library—and how I could make money from it.
With Mrs Davis’s extensive book collection, at least I wouldn’t be short of books for people to borrow.
Then again, although she had a lot of books, most people liked to borrow the latest novels, so it was possible that if a lot of her collection was, say, ten, twenty or thirty years old, apart from some classics, it might not interest readers.
I’d have to have a budget to keep stocking the newest and most popular releases, which would have the most demand, and that wouldn’t be cheap.
The trouble was that whilst I thought a million pounds was a lot of money, now I was starting to realise it’d only cover the cost of buying Seaview High, some basic renovations, furniture and the running costs for the first few months. I’d still need to find a way to pay for heating, electricity, furniture and probably at least one other full-time member of staff to cover my day off long-term.
So I’d spent this morning brainstorming how to bring in some extra revenue. Mrs Davis had suggested in that letter that I could sell books, but I’d never ordered any for a shop before, so I wasn’t sure if I needed a minimum order. Then we’d need some sort of card machine and till to take payments and I had no idea how much all that cost.
She’d also said she wanted the library to help people ‘find love between the walls’, but how would that be possible? If most romance readers were female and a fair amount of them were looking for a male partner, how would the library bring them together? I just couldn’t see how I’d encourage a flock of single men through the doors. And even if by some miracle I did, how would they get talking when libraries were supposed to be silent, solitary spaces?
My head was spinning. I had a lot to do if I was going to put together a convincing pitch in three weeks.
‘Sounds intense,’ Sarah said sympathetically.
‘It really is. I’m going to need to dedicate every spare moment I have to this pitch. Which was why going to a stupid theme park is inconvenient.’
‘Can’t you just say you don’t want to go?’
‘No. Edwin, the guy who owns Seaview High, made it clear that building relationships is important to him, so I suppose I just have to see this trip as part of the pitch.’
‘Makes sense.’
‘Anyway, how are you?’
‘Not bad. Same old, same old. Although an author sent me a signed paperback to read and review yesterday!’
‘That’s amazing! ’
‘I’m going to take some photos for Instagram, then spend the weekend reading it and writing my review, so I’m all booked up!’ She laughed.
‘Very funny!’ I chuckled.
I was glad Sarah was still enjoying posting about books on social media. I used to dabble in it every now and again, but my ex never really liked me doing it. And when I got into my reading slump, I stopped altogether. I couldn’t exactly maintain a bookish account if I couldn’t even bring myself to pick up a novel.
‘Thanks! I’ve been waiting to use that line all day.’
‘You need to get out more!’
‘No chance. These books aren’t going to read themselves! I will, of course, make an exception to come and look at your fairy godmother’s book collection—I mean, to come and visit my dear friend!’
‘It’s okay. I know you only want me for the books! But, yeah, it would be nice if you could make it to Sunshine Bay one weekend. I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages.’
Sarah was based in the Midlands. We’d met on Instagram about three years ago after liking each other’s posts for ages and realising we both loved romance books.
We’d only met in real life a handful of times, but our friendship was real. We chatted on the phone and messaged regularly, and I knew she always had my back.
It was times like these that I wished we lived closer, but I was just happy to have her in my life.
I didn’t have many friends. When I started dating my ex, he preferred me to spend my time with him and I lost contact with a lot of them. At first I thought it was romantic that he wanted us to spend so much time together, but as the relationship progressed, I realised it was a giant red flag.
‘I know. I’ll deffo come and visit soon.’
I looked up at the street name. It shouldn’t be too far now. Once I’d passed a cute-looking bakery called Sweet Treats, I spotted the coach parked up.
‘I’d better go.’
‘Okay, hon. Good luck and let me know how it goes.’
‘Will do. And happy reading!’
Once I hung up, I walked towards a woman with dark hair holding a clipboard who was chatting with a few other people who were milling around.
‘Hi. I’m here for the Dreamland trip.’
‘I’m Nancy and you must be Jessica.’ She smiled. ‘You and your friend Theo are the talk of the town!’
‘Theo’s n—’ I was about to correct her and tell her that Theo was not my friend, but then I remembered that rubbish Edwin had said about not having competitors and the importance of us getting along. ‘Theo’s nice ,’ I lied.
‘He most certainly is!’ She grinned. ‘Very easy on the eye! There were a lot of residents who were keen to sit next to him, but don’t worry, we saved that special seat just for you.’
‘Sorry, what?’ I blinked quickly.
‘We saved you a seat. Next to Theo. He’s on the coach waiting for you.’
My eyes bulged. Theo was there already ? I hadn’t heard him leave, so I was sure he was still in his room.
‘But I thought the coach didn’t leave until two?’ I glanced at my watch. It was barely half past one.
‘At Sunshine Bay, we like to be extra early. Theo was one of the first to arrive. He’s already fitting in so well! Do you want me to show you to your seat?’
‘No, thank you, it’s okay.’ I smiled, trying to mask the frustration bubbling inside me.
Theo was always one step ahead. Not only had he arrived early, but he already seemed to have charmed the trip organiser. But this was the last time I’d let him beat me.
I stormed onto the coach to see a crowd of women all huddled together towards the back. A loud rumble of laughter erupted as I got closer, and I saw that the source of the entertainment was Theo.
Theo was wearing a white T-shirt which exposed his muscular forearms and a pair of dark jeans. So he did do casual clothes. They suited him. Too much.
‘You’re so funny!’ one of the women gushed, touching his bicep. ‘And what happened next?’
They all looked captivated. Their eyes were wide and their lips were parted. They were eagerly anticipating his words as if he’d just promised to reveal the secret to eternal youth.
Just as Theo opened his mouth to speak, he spotted me.
‘Jessica!’ he announced. ‘How nice of you to finally join us!’
What a twat. He made it sound as if I was late when there was still half an hour until the departure time.
‘Theo, how nice to see you!’ I narrowed my eyes and plastered on a fake smile. ‘I see you’ve already made some friends.’
‘Yes!’ he beamed. ‘This is Paula, Martha, and Lydia and Janine. Did I get everyone’s names right?’
‘Yes!’ they chorused .
‘That’s so impressive,’ the woman with red hair said. ‘I’m terrible with names, but you’ve remembered everyone’s. Brains and good looks! You’re the total package!’
‘You’re too kind.’ Theo clutched his heart as if he was touched and had never been told he was hot before. ‘So, ladies, this is Jessica.’
‘Oh!’ The redhead’s face fell. ‘Are you two… y’know. Together ?’
‘God, no!’ I blurted out in horror and the women looked at me like I was a lunatic. ‘What I mean is, we work together. We’re sort of colleagues.’
‘Great!’ she beamed, clearly relieved that the coast was clear for her to continue flirting.
‘They’re both interested in renovating Seaview High,’ one of the women whose name I couldn’t remember explained. ‘Edwin’s invited them to stay in town for three weeks so they can get a feel for the place before he makes his decision.’
‘Oh yeah, I remember Mum saying something about that.’
‘Erm, speaking of Edwin,’ I said, scanning the coach, ‘he’s coming today, right?’
‘Hello!’ a voice boomed from a speaker. I looked up and saw Nancy at the front of the coach clutching a mic. ‘If you could all please take your seats so I can do a final head count, that’d be great. With any luck, we might be able to leave a bit earlier than planned!’
The whole coach cheered like they’d just been told they’d won the lottery. Everyone really was so happy here.
As people started taking their seats, I had a brainwave.
‘Er, Janet?’ I called out to the redhead.
‘It’s Janine. ’
‘Sorry, Janine . Want to swap seats with me?’
‘Really?’ Her eyes widened with shock, then sparkled like I’d just put a giant chocolate cake in front of her.
Although the journey wasn’t long, the last thing I wanted was to sit next to Theo. That was the whole reason I’d got here early in the first place.
‘Course!’
‘Er, Jessica,’ Theo jumped in. ‘That’s a lovely idea, but remember we need to go through the document Edwin sent over?’
‘Document?’ I frowned.
‘Didn’t you see the email?’
‘No!’ My heart raced. How had he received something from Edwin and I hadn’t? ‘Sorry, Janine. Looks like I need to stay with Theo.’
‘Oh. Okay.’ Her shoulders slumped as she headed back to the front of the coach.
Shit. Sitting there, far away from Theo, would’ve been perfect.
I slid onto the seat, taking care not to make contact with his body. But it was difficult. His arms were so big they didn’t fit within his own seat. I scooted over a little so that some of my bum was hanging off the edge of my aisle seat. Anything to avoid touching him.
The coach engine sounded and seconds later the driver indicated, then set off.
‘So show me this email,’ I said, deliberately trying not to look at him. It should be criminal for a man to look that good. Especially one with his personality.
Theo leant forward, bringing his mouth to my ear. The sensation of his warm breath on my skin sent shivers down my spine .
‘There’s no email,’ he said softly. ‘I just didn’t want to sit next to her.’
He moved his head back casually and sat up in his seat as if he hadn’t just sent my body into meltdown.
But that didn’t make sense. I knew that Theo didn’t like me, and I’d made it obvious that the feeling was mutual.
The redhead, on the other hand, was clearly into him and she was pretty, so why hadn’t he wanted to sit next to her?