36. Jess
36
Jess
T oday was the day.
In less than half an hour, I’d be presenting to Edwin, and in a few hours I’d know my fate. Either I’d be starting a new life as the manager of a romance library, or I’d be calling my old bosses to ask for more home support, cleaning and bar shifts.
The suspense was killing me. I’d already been to the toilet twice in the last hour and my stomach was in knots. I wished I had a crystal ball to see what was going to happen, but all I could do now was try to stay calm and do my best in the pitch.
If I said that I’d spent every second over the past week and a bit fine-tuning my presentation, I’d be lying because I’d been swept away with Theo.
Although during the working day we’d been disciplined and stayed in our rooms, as soon as the clock struck five, we’d dive straight into each other’s arms.
We always made a point of dragging ourselves away for a walk on the beach in the evenings, where we’d sit and read on what had become our special bench.
After that we’d head back and either have dinner at the fish and chips restaurant (the last few times we’d opted for grilled fish and potatoes with veg) or put something in the oven at the B&B and eat together.
Then we’d go to Theo’s room and read together (usually after having sex) before I fell asleep on his chest.
Normally when I woke up, Theo had gone for a run, but he’d always come back with fresh crumpets and coffee for breakfast. And once he’d showered, we’d eat together until it was time to start work. It’d been bliss.
Last night, just like we’d agreed, we’d slept in our own beds. I’d really missed having Theo close to me and reading together. But this was an important day. For both of us.
I hated the fact that Theo was supposed to be my rival. That his success would be my failure and if I succeeded, everything he’d worked for would go up in smoke.
But we couldn’t change the situation. So we just had to get on with it.
Whatever happened, we’d said that after the presentation, we’d spend this weekend together. Maybe go somewhere along the coast. I couldn’t wait. We still hadn’t discussed what would happen after that, though.
After tucking my red blouse into my floaty knee-length blue-and-yellow-patterned skirt and stepping into my heels, I was ready to go.
When I arrived, there was a huge flashy car in the Seaview High car park, which was strange.
‘Welcome!’ Edwin opened the door for me with his trademark smile .
‘Thanks!’ I said, wondering where Theo was. He was always early, and I was sure I’d heard him leave his room. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m great! Looking forward to hearing what you two have come up with. Glenda tells me that you and Theo have become very close .’ His smile was mischievous. By now I was sure most of the town knew we’d become more than ‘friends’.
‘Theo’s lovely,’ I swooned before catching myself. I couldn’t afford for my mind to start playing a highlights reel from the time I’d spent with him. I had to get into business mode. ‘I’m looking forward to sharing my ideas for the library with you.’
‘Excellent!’ He clapped his hands together. ‘Theo just had to pop out, but he’ll be back shortly, then we can get started.’
So he was here. My stomach fluttered and I sent it another warning to pipe down.
Seconds later, Theo stepped in the room, but he wasn’t alone. Stood beside him was a smartly dressed, stern-looking man that I quickly realised must be his dad. Judging by the tight look on Theo’s face, he wasn’t happy to see him.
‘Jessica.’ Theo nodded in acknowledgement without a glimmer of a smile. My blood ran cold. Less than twenty-four hours ago, his head had been buried between my legs, and now he looked at me like I was a stranger. Theo’s business mode was fully activated.
Time for me to do the same.
‘Theo,’ I said flatly.
‘ This is the competition?’ His dad glared at me. ‘This will be a lot easier than I thought.’ He smirked .
Theo gave his dad a death stare and my heart squeezed, knowing that despite the circumstances, he still had my back.
‘I think it’s a little soon to be counting chickens, Mr… I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?’ Edwin added and my heart squeezed again.
‘This is—’ Theo started.
‘George Eaves,’ he interrupted, then thrust his hand in Edwin’s direction. ‘Founder and CEO of Eaves Enterprises, one of the largest and most established elite real estate companies in Europe. We’re very much looking forward to securing this site and transforming it into one of the most luxurious collections of apartments in the south-east.’
From the corner of my eye, I saw Theo wince. Edwin didn’t look impressed either.
‘I’m Edwin. Owner of this precious building, which has been an important part of our small community for almost a century,’ he replied, clearly wanting to get the message across that this wasn’t some soulless piece of land that George could waltz in and make money from. I think that was lost on Theo’s dad, though.
When George released his palm from Edwin’s, I thought maybe he’d shake my hand, but instead he looked me up and down, snarled and turned his back.
‘Shall we get down to business?’ George spat.
‘Father.’ Theo paused. ‘There’s a process that I’m sure Edwin would like to follow, which he’ll explain to us in due course.’
George shot Theo a dirty look. The tension between them was intense.
‘Thank you.’ Edwin smiled. ‘I’d like each of you to present your ideas for the building. You can choose who’d like to go first or we can toss a coin.’
I froze. I thought we’d present our ideas separately to Edwin. But now I realised he wanted us to do it in front of each other. I didn’t mind Theo being here. I trusted him to be kind. But his dad? No way. I got the feeling he’d take every opportunity to ridicule me.
‘I’m happy to start,’ Theo offered. ‘Unless you’d like to, Jess… Jessica ?’ Theo quickly corrected himself by using my full name.
If Theo went first, it’d delay my presentation, but if I did, I could just get it over and done with. In the end it didn’t matter. I’d be nervous either way.
‘That’s fine,’ I said.
Theo reached into his briefcase and pulled out printed colour copies of his presentation. My stomach bottomed out. I hadn’t brought any hard copies. I thought I’d only be presenting to Edwin, so had planned to email the file afterwards.
He’d even printed out extra copies. As I clutched Theo’s presentation document in my hands, I swallowed hard. It wasn’t just printed in colour, it had a glossy cover and it’d been bound like a proper book. This was on a whole different level. Even if I’d had the foresight to get hard copies, they’d never have been as polished as this.
Next Theo slid out his slick Mac laptop and opened it. His presentation flashed up on the screen.
You didn’t need to be a genius to see that it’d been created by a top-end graphic designer. The layout, the colours—everything screamed professionalism.
Mine on the other hand was just an amateur presentation I’d knocked up in PowerPoint. I’d only used it a handful of times before when I was at school and it was going to be obvious when they saw it.
My heart thundered in my chest. I’d thought I was out of my depth before, but now seeing the way Theo, a proper businessman, operated made me feel like I was swimming for the first time in an ocean without a life jacket. And at this rate, it wouldn’t be long before I sank to the bottom.
Theo hadn’t even started his presentation yet and I already knew he was going to win. Bile rose in my throat. I quickly grabbed the bottle of water in my bag and took a swig.
‘Edwin.’ Theo turned to face him. ‘It’s been an absolute pleasure to spend time in your beautiful town over the past three weeks, and I’d like to start by thanking you for your hospitality and for giving Eaves Enterprises the opportunity to present to you this morning. I’m delighted to share our plans of how we’d love to enhance the natural beauty of Sunshine Bay.’
God, even his intro was good.
As I watched Theo outline his vision for the land, I was mesmerised. Not just by his breathtaking looks—and, trust me, he looked incredible in that navy suit—but also his competence. He was a natural at presenting.
Although I had zero experience at doing this kind of thing myself, I’d been in enough meetings to see people fumble through presentations. Some had a monotonous tone that would put an insomniac to sleep. But not Theo. Just like the way he read books, Theo knew how to change the pitch and level of his voice to make it captivating.
Despite the fact that he was talking about property, a subject that wasn’t particularly interesting to me, he made it sound exciting. I was hanging on his every word .
Theo presented so calmly and effortlessly, like it was as easy as breathing.
‘So as you can see from the plans,’ Theo said, pointing to the screen, ‘there would be a complex of apartments with sea views available for sale. However, because Eaves Enterprises understands the importance of community here at Sunshine Bay, we would invite local residents with the relevant skills to apply for a selection of jobs related to the development. We’d also provide a generous donation to local charities and sponsor community events on an ongoing basis. And we would welcome a discussion on how we could work with the community long-term to enhance the environment, whether that be through planting more trees or hiring extra pairs of hands to keep the beach beautiful and clean all-year round.’
I watched on as Edwin smiled and nodded. George, on the other hand, didn’t seem so enthusiastic. Theo changed the slide.
‘In addition to this, we would also like to provide affordable homes, which would be exclusively available for current residents of Sunshine Bay.’
‘What?’ George jumped out of his chair, his face reddening by the second. ‘Why on earth would we do that?’
‘Father,’ Theo said calmly, ‘if you’ll allow me to continue, we can discuss this later. Privately .’ George sat back down, but it was obvious from the steam pouring from his ears that he was not happy.
‘Please continue.’ Edwin jotted something on his notepad.
‘Thank you,’ Theo said. ‘Eaves Enterprises understands how difficult it can be to get on the property ladder, so our affordable housing scheme would provide families with the opportunity to purchase these properties for a preferential price.’
That was a good idea and I could tell Edwin agreed.
Theo talked through the rest of his presentation, and before I knew it he was wrapping up and thanking Edwin again for the opportunity.
‘Thank you, Theo.’ Edwin said. ‘Are you ready, Jessica?’
‘Yes.’ I nodded, standing up and telling my heart to calm down.
You can do this. Stay calm.
I pulled out my laptop, which was ancient compared to Theo’s, and opened it up.
After double-clicking on the proposal, I waited for it to launch, but the screen froze.
I tried again, but nothing happened. A colourful ball spun on the screen, but apart from that everything was static.
‘Um, sorry about this.’ I plastered on a smile as my heart thundered against my ribcage.
‘Oh dear,’ George said sarcastically. ‘Looks like you won’t be able to present after all.’
‘I’m sure it’s just a minor technical issue.’ Theo leapt to his feet and crouched down to inspect the screen. ‘Whenever I get the spinning ball of doom, I resort to the high-tech solution known only to computer geniuses.’
‘What’s that?’ I asked, sweat pooling on my forehead.
‘Turning it off, then on again!’ Theo looked up at me and smiled. Butterflies flooded my stomach and I smiled back, somehow sensing that although we’d been pitted against each other, he was still on my side .
‘That definitely sounds like a very high-tech solution. Are you sure we can pull it off?’ My mouth twitched.
‘Certain. You happy for me to try?’
‘Go on. Dazzle me with your technical brilliance!’
It was only when I heard George cough that I remembered where we were. For a second it seemed like it was just me and Theo joking and chatting together. Existing in our own bubble like we’d done all week. But when I saw the grimace on George’s face, I realised he didn’t look happy about the fact that Theo was helping me.
‘Maybe wait a few seconds,’ Theo said.
‘Thanks. It’s okay, I can do it,’ I said quickly. I didn’t want to make his situation with his dad more difficult than it already was.
Luckily when I switched it on and clicked on the presentation again, this time it opened.
‘ Finally ,’ George muttered as he made a big show of looking at his expensive gold watch.
I did my best to ignore him, but I was already flustered from my computer issue. After running the back of my hand over my forehead, I took a deep breath.
It was time.
Here goes.
‘Good morning, everyone: Edwin, Theo and George.’ I smiled, instantly chastising myself for my intro. It was probably afternoon by now and they already knew their names, so I shouldn’t have said them. ‘Thanks for giving me the opportunity to present my ideas for The Romance Library.’
‘Pleasure,’ Edwin said encouragingly.
‘Recently, I was lucky to meet a very special woman called Mrs Davis. She was a passionate romance book lover who spent years curating a brilliant collection. Her dream was always to open a romance library to help more people find love between the pages and between the walls. But there was one thing she was very clear about for this library: the location. She knew that Seaview High would be perfect. It’s where her own real-life romance began because it was here in these very walls that she met her husband and the love of her life. That’s why I’m here today to ask you to help me bring her vision to life.’
As my gaze moved around the room, I was encouraged to see Edwin still smiling and Theo giving me a supportive look.
‘One thing that I’ve noticed living in this town over the past three weeks is the love and happiness that’s all around. Whether it’s a welcoming hug from Glenda at the B&B, the infectious smile from Candace when she’s serving her amazing fish and chips or the way every single person has been so welcoming and gone out of their way to make me feel at home, this community is the definition of positivity and happiness. It’s called Sunshine Bay for a reason, right?’ I laughed.
‘Yes, indeed,’ Edwin added.
‘And I think a romance library would fit perfectly into the community. Romance as a genre brings millions of readers around the world joy, happiness and hope. So it would attract readers not just from the local area, but from around the world too.’
‘That’s ridiculous!’ George spat. ‘How are you going to loan library books to someone who lives in another country?’
‘Father,’ Theo warned.
‘Please continue, Jessica,’ Edwin said .
‘The Romance Library will do more than just lend books,’ I added, trying not to get flustered at George’s comment. ‘As I’ll explain shortly, I have other plans that will help attract a bigger audience and generate revenue. But one thing I’d really like to highlight is that the romance market is booming. It’s a billion-dollar-a-year industry. Romance novels used to be something that people would be ashamed of reading, but these days romance authors regularly outsell those from other genres.’ I flicked to the slide, which had various statistics I’d found in my research.
‘Goodness me.’ Edwin’s eyes widened. ‘I hadn’t realised romance books were so popular!’
George snarled in response.
‘They really are! Romance readers devour books at a rapid rate and will travel to meet their favourite authors and pay a premium for signed or special edition copies. Which is where The Romance Library comes in.’
I clicked on the presentation to turn the page. My heart rate had started to slow a little and I was feeling more confident.
‘As well as having library books available to loan, we’d like to maximise the beautiful space in Seaview High. The existing main hall would be used as the library space. But we’d also like to merge multiple classrooms to create a bookshop. And merge some others to create a space that could be used for paid events. For example, author signings, romance-related seminars and talks, bookish meetups so that fans of a particular author or Bookstagrammers and BookTokers could meet up in real life.’
Speaking to Theo that evening on the beach had really got my creative juices flowing about other ways to make money.
I’d realised that as well as offering ‘extras’ to buy, I could also use the space we had to boost profits. So hosting both bookish and non-book-related events and gatherings in separate areas within the building wouldn’t just generate extra revenue, it’d also create a community and help bring people together—just like Mrs Davis wanted.
‘Forgive me.’ Edwin frowned. ‘What are Bookstagrabbers?’
‘Sorry.’ I smiled. ‘Booksta grammers are readers that are so passionate about books that they take photographs and post them on social media pages like Instagram. They also post book reviews and mood boards or just anything related to books. BookTokers do a similar type of thing but with videos which get posted on TikTok.’
‘Ah.’ Edwin nodded. ‘I think that’s the thing my granddaughter watches on her phone where people do funny dances!’
‘Sort of. TikTok is popular for lots of things now. Especially books.’
‘Got it! Please continue.’
‘Yeah, so we could host meetups and I’d even like to do some sort of book awards ceremony for authors. These events and book sales would help generate the revenue we need to keep the place running. Plus, it’d attract new visitors to Sunshine Bay who will want to find places to eat, drink and shop whilst they’re here, which would boost local revenue. And something that I’d really like to point out is that we’d use the existing building. I know that Seaview High is a building with a lot of history, so I’d like to preserve its legacy.’
‘It does.’ Edwin nodded.
I smiled at him softly. I was glad that Candace had shared that information with me and Theo. I wanted Edwin to know that I understood how important this place was to him.
‘We don’t want to tear this beautiful building down. We want to restore it. It’s an important part of the community and we want to honour that. And because we won’t be bulldozing it, there’ll be minimal disruption to the town. The renovation time will be limited.’
Edwin nodded encouragingly.
This was only the tip of the iceberg. I had so many other ideas of what could be done with this space. But hopefully I’d given Edwin enough to seal the deal.
After I talked through the design library layout plan the original architect I’d liaised with had sent over, I clicked on to the last slide.
‘That’s the end of my presentation. Thank you for listening.’
I smiled as I scanned the room.
Theo was beaming, pride shining from his eyes, and the sight made my stomach flip. I’d hoped it went okay, but the look on his face told me I’d done a decent job. My shoulders loosened, especially when I saw Edwin was smiling too.
George, of course, was scowling like I’d just presented a seminar on how to commit murder. Then again, he struck me as an evil man, so he’d probably have enjoyed listening to that much more.
The main point was I’d done my best.
Time would tell whether that was good enough.