Chapter 7 Sarah
SARAH
‘I’m telling you, Jess, the guy’s a nightmare!’ I said before shoving a forkful of fish and chips in my mouth.
When Jess had suggested we have dinner together at May’s Fish and Chips, I’d jumped at the chance. It was known as Sunshine Bay’s best restaurant and I could understand why.
The fish tasted like it’d just been caught. It was so fresh and literally melted in my mouth. And the chunky chips had been fried to perfection. They were crispy on the outside and beautifully fluffy on the inside. Exactly how I liked them.
The restaurant had pine tables and chairs. Silver metal fishes were mounted on the wood-panelled walls to give the impression of them swimming in the sea. And there was a large blackboard which listed today’s special in colourful chalk.
‘Ben’s not so bad,’ Jess insisted. ‘Yeah, he’s a bit of a flirt and says the wrong thing sometimes, but deep down he’s a sweetheart.’
‘How deep we talking? Billions of miles beneath the earth?’ I scoffed.
‘You two just got off to a bad start, that’s all. I’m sure you’ll work it out.’
‘But it’s exhausting! Earlier we spent more time arguing than brainstorming. I could’ve used that time to write a report!’
‘And then you’d have to go back and forth on emails discussing it. It’s much better to hammer these things out in person. Have you chosen a book for him yet?’
‘No,’ I sighed.
‘Well, do that ASAP. It’ll help him to understand romance and once he gets why it’s so amazing, I’m sure you’ll work better together.’
‘Okay.’ I blew out a frustrated breath.
Normally I was overflowing with recommendations. Give me two minutes with someone and I’d be able to write them a list of at least a dozen books they’d love. But what do you recommend to someone who doesn’t even like the genre and isn’t willing to change his mind?
Office Delight and Illicit Delight were two of my all-time favourite books, but I just couldn’t bring myself to give those to Ben. If he talked shit about them, I’d hate him even more.
It’d be like someone calling your adorable newborn baby ugly or slagging off your favourite songs. I wasn’t prepared to accept any criticism on those books.
And every other novel I loved was filled with tropes that I knew he’d hate.
I’d even considered some romantasy but dismissed those because he’d think they were too chunky. For the first time ever, I was stumped.
I couldn’t tell Jess that, though. Although we were best friends, she’d hired me to do a job and I didn’t want her to think I wasn’t capable. I’d figure it out, somehow.
‘How’s the wedding planning going?’ I asked, deciding it was safer to change the subject.
‘Slower than a snail race,’ Jess sighed.
‘It’s just been so busy at the library, I haven’t even had a chance to think about it.
The last time I tried, I saw how much everything costs, which was so depressing.
All the venues I liked were over twenty grand!
Twenty grand! Then there’s the dress, the flowers, the cake.
Ugh. Why does getting married have to be so expensive? ’
‘That’s crazy!’ I gasped. ‘Well, I’m here now. Leave it with me. I’ll get on the case and see if I can find some more cost-effective options.’
‘Thanks. Even though we got that investment from Theo’s friends, Nico and Liam, we still have to be careful with spending.’
‘Especially now you’ve got two new staff members to pay.’ My stomach tightened.
‘Yes, but don’t worry about that. We wouldn’t have hired you or Ben if we couldn’t afford it. We have money for salaries, just not extravagant weddings!’ Jess laughed and the sound was so infectious.
‘Thanks again for giving me a job,’ I said. ‘I’m so happy to be here, working with you.’
‘You’re welcome! And me too! It’s going to be great. And you’ll work things out with Ben.’
If only I shared her enthusiasm.
‘What’s this?’ Ben said as I dropped the book on the table in front of him.
After I got back to the B&B after dinner with Jess, I practically spent all night thinking of what novel to recommend to Ben, then came to the library to go through my shortlist.
‘It’s a called a book. If you turn the pages, it has lots of words for you to read and those words create a story!’ I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. I don’t know why, but for some reason Ben pushed more buttons than a sound engineer.
‘Very funny.’ He rolled his eyes. ‘I can see that it’s a book, but why are you giving it to me?’
‘One of the conditions of you keeping your job here is that you have to read one book a week that I choose as part of your romance rehabilitation programme, remember?’
‘Pretty sure Jess was joking about that.’
‘Pretty sure she wasn’t.’ I put my hands on my hips. ‘If you want me to email her to get the instructions in writing, that can be arranged.’ I cocked my eyebrow.
‘Fine,’ he huffed. ‘I’ll read it.’
‘Read it, don’t skim it. I’ll have questions about it next week.’
‘What is this? A fucking exam?’
‘Kinda.’ I smirked.
In the end I’d given him a hockey romance novel that had loads of decent reviews, so there was no way he could slate it.
But this was Ben I was talking about so anything was possible.
I was hoping that the sports angle might appeal to him more than a ‘traditional’ contemporary romance. Then again, I knew diddly squat about his interests (apart from trying to shag every woman with a pulse, of course), so I could be completely off base.
‘Let me guess…’ He scrutinised the front cover, then flipped it over to the back to skim the blurb. ‘Because I’m a guy, you thought I’d like a sports romance?’ he said as if reading my mind.
‘It’s a good book!’ I replied, deliberately avoiding answering his question.
‘We’ll see. So, shall we discuss the bar today, then?’ he said, abruptly changing the subject.
‘But we didn’t finish the retreat discussions yesterday!’ I replied.
‘I got the gist. We have enough to work with for now. The main thing is that, based on what you suggested, we don’t need to make any major changes that weren’t already in the plans.
Using a room for reading just requires decorative changes and the right furniture, for example.
I’ve spoken to Theo about whether or not an open-plan kitchen diner will be possible, so I’ll keep you posted.
There’s still many more stages to go through, but the bar is more time-sensitive because we’ll need to get that open before summer. ’
‘Makes sense,’ I replied, thinking that Ben actually sounded like he knew what he was talking about. And he’d gone a whole five minutes without saying anything insulting or inappropriate.
I had to take the wins where I could get them.
‘So what kinds of things do you think the target audience will expect from a bar? Any thoughts?’
Did I have any thoughts?
I could talk for hours, maybe even days, about what my dream book bar would look like.
‘Well, of course, we’d need a space where readers can get a clear view of the beach.
So maybe there can be like a viewing point with clear glass and high stools so they can take in the panoramic sea views.
And a long table or window ledge where they can rest their books and their drink,’ I added and Ben nodded.
‘Oh, and it’d be a good idea to have charging points or plugs, so if they’re reading on their Kindle they don’t have to worry about the battery running out.
Then again, Kindle batteries last forever, so maybe it’s not important. ’
‘No, I think it’s a good idea. They might need to charge their phone to take selfies of the view too.’
‘That’s true,’ I said, stunned that we actually agreed on something. ‘But it’d also be good to have beds or sun loungers. So that people can lay down and relax in the sun with their book, like they’re on holiday.’
‘Got it.’ Ben typed some notes on his iPad.
‘And again, they’d need somewhere to rest their drink and book, so they don’t spill it on the loungers. Oh, and we’d need blankets for the nighttime.’
‘Of course. Those can be added later. We’ll also invest in patio heaters and we’re looking into the costs of a retractable roof, because the British weather is unpredictable.’
‘Good,’ I said. This was so much easier than I thought. He was actually being civil.
‘At some point we’ll also need to discuss how much to charge for access too.’
‘Charge?’ My mouth dropped open. ‘We can’t charge people to come!’
‘Of course we can!’
‘No! It should be free for members.’
‘In case it’s escaped your attention, Jeffries, we’re running a business here. Not a charity.’
‘Can’t you just get the money from the cost of the drinks?’ I protested.
‘It won’t be enough. We run the risk of people coming to the bar, buying something cheap like water or tea and sitting there all day reading. That won’t pay the bills. We need to make it a premium experience.’
‘I disagree!’ I snapped, thinking that I was crazy to believe that we were getting on.
‘Oh.’ The office door opened and Jackson stepped inside, his eyes wide. ‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just need to grab something.’
‘No worries,’ Ben replied, just as I said, ‘Go for it!’
I was glad of the interruption.
‘Thanks,’ Jackson said, walking over to his desk. ‘How’s the brainstorming going?’
‘We’re making progress,’ Ben added.
‘Pff,’ I replied.
‘Just shout if you need any ideas from me or Jane. We’d love to help.’
‘Appreciate that,’ I smiled.
‘I keep forgetting!’ Jackson slapped his forehead. ‘Jane and I found a book for you when we were in London a few weekends ago. There was a stall with non-fiction books and we thought it’d be useful. Hold on.’ He rooted through his desk drawer. ‘Found it! Here you go.’ He handed it to me.
When I saw that it was a book about writing your first novel in thirty days, I quickly turned it over so that Ben wouldn’t see it, then shoved it in my bag.
‘Thanks! That’s really kind of you to think of me,’ I said and I really meant it.
At this point I needed all the help I could get.
I’d read a load of books on writing, but somehow I was still stumped.
I had a day off on Sunday, though, so I’d promised myself that I’d knuckle down and get some words written.
‘You’re welcome. Hope it helps. Anyway, better get back. Good luck with the brainstorming!’ Jackson left the room.
‘Was that a book about writing a novel?’ Ben raised an eyebrow.
‘None of your business,’ I snapped.
‘It was just a simple question,’ he sighed.
‘Why do you care? Looking for another thing to use to wind me up? Or are you going to laugh and say it’s stupid, just like you do about romance novels?’
Ben’s eyes popped with shock.
‘Why would I laugh?’
‘Because you think that romance novels are ridiculous.’
‘I never said they were ridiculous. I said they were predictable. And I don’t know why you’re so bothered about my opinion.
Contrary to what you might believe, I’m not an idiot.
I know romance is one of the most popular genres in the world and that it’s an industry worth billions of dollars.
Just because the books are not my cup of tea doesn’t mean that I can’t see the joy they bring to others.
And as for laughing at you for trying to write one, I’d never do that. ’
‘Yeah, right.’ I rolled my eyes.
‘I mean it. I’m not an author, but I know it’s bloody hard work. Loads of people talk about writing a book, but not many actually do it. So if you’re making an effort to follow your dream, that’s something to admire, not ridicule.’
My mouth dropped open, then snapped closed, then fell open again. It wasn’t often that I was speechless.
I studied Ben’s face, looking for evidence that he wasn’t being serious.
Any minute now he’d say, ‘Only joking!’
But I waited. And still nothing.
I could be wrong, but maybe he was actually being genuine.
Ben looked at his watch, then stood up.
‘I’ve got to meet Theo. I should have enough info to pass on to him and Jess for now. Meet same time again tomorrow? Maybe then you can let me know how I can help with your social media stuff. Deal?’
‘D-deal,’ I stuttered.
‘Cool. Laters, Jeffries.’ He opened the door, then closed it behind him, whilst I was still sitting there in a state of shock, wondering what the hell had just happened.
Pretty sure that Benjamin Buttface had just been nice to me.
I wasn’t expecting that.
At all.