Chapter Thirty-Nine #2
Brenna leans toward him, but Riley just frowns. Maybe that’s why he addresses her first. “You called it—I did need help. I still do. I was drowning in my grief, and holing up on my own only made it worse, for both me and the store. That cost all of you a lot, but especially you, Riley. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she says quietly.
“It’s not, but I appreciate that,” he tells her. “Also, I gave your therapist a call this morning. She’s not taking new clients, but I’m seeing her colleague next week.”
Her eyes widen. “Really?”
“Really.”
“That’s amazing, Miguel,” says Brenna.
“Thank you. It doesn’t feel amazing yet, but I bet it will in time.” He looks around the nook. “Natalie, you’ve been asking for more hours, and I haven’t given them to you because, well—” He points at Riley. “Because I wasn’t listening to our new manager here. That changes here and now.”
“Are you serious?” Riley exclaims. “You’re making me manager? I thought we were closing?”
“We might, but not yet. And yes, I should have named you manager a long time ago. I owe you an even bigger apology for that, and I hope we’ll be able to talk privately later. For now, will you forgive me?”
She bounds over to him but then stops short. “Is it okay if I hug you?”
He nods and stands, and she throws her arms around him. “Thanks, Miguel.”
“Thank you, Riley,” he says gruffly.
He turns back to the rest of the staff. “We’re not closing in September.
Riley’s right—romance is selling, and I asked Kathy to give us one more month before she raises the rent.
Believe it or not, she agreed. I don’t know if I’m being unrealistic, but if you’re all on board, I’d like to try to find a smaller and less expensive building for us by January so that we don’t have to close then.
Or at least not close anytime soon. I’m willing to sell my home if that’s what it takes. ”
Dane holds up his hand like one of the kids at Story Hour.
“I promise, just a few more things and I’ll give you the floor,” Miguel says to him. He takes a deep breath. “So…”
“What is it?” says Brenna, and Natalie’s jiggling her leg so vigorously that her chair’s rattling.
“This place was our vision, Amelia’s and mine,” he says, turning to regard the rest of the store.
“I’ve been thinking of the bookstore as her legacy, but thanks to Harold, I finally started reading through her backlist, and I realize that no four walls could ever truly serve that purpose. Amelia’s stories are her legacy.”
They all nod in agreement, and Riley wipes the corner of her eye.
“You four kept the shop open while I pretended to, and that was nothing if not a labor of love. As Riley recently reminded me, there’s no other place like this around here, where people can stop by with their dogs or their kids or just themselves and know that they’re welcome—no exceptions.
Even those who are down on their luck can read a book that they can’t afford to buy here, and we will open our doors for them again and again.
Lakeside is so much more than a bookstore.
But I can’t keep it up and running by myself. ”
“You don’t have to, chief,” says Dane. “We’ve got you.”
“I know that you do.” Miguel clears his throat. “That’s why I’d like to propose something…a bit unconventional.”
Riley cocks her head, waiting, but Dane looks like he’s ready to jump out of his chair.
“Fiona approached me about becoming an investor. In the store, I mean.”
Brenna arches an eyebrow at Riley, who purses her lips knowingly. They’ve made up! I knew they would. And something tells me Amelia Mae’s behind that, too.
He continues. “That isn’t right for us, but it got me thinking about my business model.
I want to make you all co-owners. The bookstore should be a cooperative, not a company.
Technically, it already is, but I haven’t been giving you credit for that.
We’ll share the decisions and the profits—and we’ll also figure out how to increase them so that everyone is compensated as they should be. ”
No one says anything. And for once, I cannot interpret their body language.
Natalie’s the first to break the silence. “Are you sure? I’m only here in the summers. That might not be fair for everyone else.”
“I’m sure, though I understand why you might feel that way,” he tells her, nodding thoughtfully.
“But I also remember you had another job lined up and chose to work here instead. I want to reward you for that. To be clear, company shares would be based on seniority and tenure. And in the interest of fairness, that buy-in would adjust each year or whenever a person begins working here or decides to leave. I acknowledge that this model may not be right for everyone, and I get that, too.” He looks at Riley.
“Some of you have other options that may prove to be more attractive.”
Riley, who has been jotting down notes on her clipboard, lifts her pencil and regards him. “Come on, Miguel. I just accepted the manager position. Now are you going to finally let me sell e-books or what?”
He laughs. “Don’t expect me to like or understand it—but as I said, that decision’s no longer mine alone to make. Speaking of decisions, I’ve been meaning to ask: Do we have Zara Aboah’s event on the books?”
“I was waiting to find out if we were closing, but we have a tentative date for the first Tuesday in October.”
“Fantastic, thank you. Can you tell her I’m excited she’ll be here?” He stops and shakes his head. “You know what? Just send me her contact info. I’ll call her myself.”
She beams at him. “Done.”
“I do have one more suggestion to run past you all while I have you,” he says, oblivious to Dane’s squirming.
“Is the JMB event back on?” asks Natalie.
“I think that ship has sailed. In fact, I’d like to recommend that we head in a different direction…
and truly make this store a romance destination.
Amelia designed this to be a place where readers who adore love stories are celebrated, not shamed, and Riley’s right—instead of that being a feature, it could be the feature.
We’ll sell all kinds of books, of course, but the majority will be romance.
We can even do a big event if Riley’s still interested in throwing it. ”
She’s blinking back tears. “Did you have a personality transplant?” she asks with a clipped laugh.
“Even better. I read a bunch of Amelia’s novels during the blackout and realized the power of a love story. I want to celebrate that, not hide it at the back of the store.”
Brenna beams while Natalie claps. And Riley—well, she’s officially crying now. “I’m so happy,” she tells him.
“I was hoping you’d be on board since it was your idea. I’d like to have a big reopening event next Friday to mark the occasion. Now, that’s soon, and it’ll be a lot of work.”
“Not if we all chip in,” says Natalie.
“You don’t—” He catches himself. “I’d love your help. Thank you.”
Dane’s got his hand up in the air again. “Uh, chief?”
“I’m sorry,” says Miguel. “You’ve been waiting all this time to tell us something. What’s up?”
His mouth is half grin, half grimace. “Can you and I go somewhere to talk?”