CHAPTER FIVE #3
“Make a second copy of the ball notes for Dex, please,” I said. “He’s on the Witches Ball committee with Ruth now. He’s going to need the information as well.”
“I’m on it.”
With a nod I left her to it and went back to the front counter. Once Taylor and Toni arrived at eleven, Dex ran out to go get everyone a coffee and I stayed at the front counter.
Kate and Circe, my retail neighbors, walked over together. “How’s your new employee doing?” Kate wanted to know.
“Kathleen’s blowing right through any office task I give her,” I said proudly.
Circe smirked. “I can hear her banging away on the keys from out here.”
“She told me she learned to type on a manual typewriter.”
Kate chuckled. “That explains it.”
Circe walked to the doorway and stuck her head in the door. She returned back to me with a look of awe on her face. “Holy shit, she types fast!”
“Any news on Shelby and Sawyer?” Kate asked quietly.
“None,” I said. “If I hear anything I’ll be sure to let you know.”
“Dex and Ruth are going to put the deposit down on the venue for the ball this afternoon,” Kate said. “I think he’s really enjoying working with Ruth on this.”
“He is,” I agreed. “It’s good for him to take a more active roll in the community.”
The cousins went back to their own shops, and Dex arrived a short time later with two trays of drinks. He dropped off Circe’s coffee and Toni’s soft drink, Kate’s tea and Taylor’s latte. He handed me my mocha and placed his matcha on the counter.
“Dunno how you can drink that stuff, Mr. Fitness,” I said, as always.
“Matcha is nutrient dense and rich in antioxidants,” he said patiently.
“Smells nasty, though.” I wrinkled my nose at the bright green drink.
He rolled his eyes at me. “Be right back.” He chuckled and took the final drink—a strawberry and banana smoothie—back to Kathleen.
The typing paused for a moment, probably long enough for Kathleen to take a sip, and then renewed with a vengeance.
Dex closed the door to the backroom behind him as he exited. “I know that I’ve mentioned it to you before, but I really like our new employee.”
“She’s awesome, isn’t she?” I said, picking up my coffee to sip.
“You gotta admire a woman bold enough to wear oversized leopard print glasses.”
“Have you seen her sneakers?” I asked him.
“No.”
“They’re the same type of print.”
Dex grinned. “Lord almighty.”
“I wanna be that cool when I grow up,” I told him.
“Me too,” Dex agreed.
The next two weeks ran smoothly. Ruth and Dex put the deposit down on the venue for the ball, and the uproar had quickly subsided in the community with the news that the funds had been replaced by an ‘anonymous’ donor. Sales were solid at the bookstore, and Kathleen was working three days a week.
I’d started her out with four-hour shifts. On Fridays, Dex’s day off, I had her working the floor. A voracious reader of romance, Kathleen was up on all the popular series, and she was fabulous with the customers. I often found her discussing various plot points or characters with them.
Currently she was ringing up a pair of young women who were loaded down with two separate fantasy romance series. Between the two of them, they were purchasing ten novels.
I stood at her side and bagged up the purchases. While I did so, I learned that it had been Kathleen’s suggestion that they each buy a different series and swap books with each other once they had finished them.
Kathleen gave the customers a wink as she handed them their receipts. “Be sure and report back and tell me what you think of these series.”
“We will,” they said in unison.
I waited until the pair left the bookstore before I turned to Kathleen and said, “I’m giving you a raise.”
“Won’t argue with that.”
“I’m serious, Kathleen. Whenever you work the floor my sales bump up by a good thirty percent.”
Kathleen straightened the neckline of her cheetah print top. “I really enjoy talking about books with the customers. It’s fun.”
I nodded. “Let me ask you this. Are there any fictional series that you believe would sell well here that I don’t currently offer?”
Kathleen pursed her lips. “I may have made a list of a few series I think some of your customers would go for. In fact, I’ve passed along some customer requests to Dex for specific series or individual titles. He said he would order them and let the customers know when they arrived.”
“Were these requests and orders due to you suggesting an author or series?”
“Yup.”
I smiled. “Mind showing me your series list?”
“Sure,” she said. “I’ll go run in the back and get it.”
The store phone rang and I moved to answer it. “New Moon Books. This is Lorna speaking. May I help you?”
“Hey gorgeous, it’s Nash.”
“Hey,” I said, tucking the phone under my ear. “Any luck?”
“Took me a while longer than I’d like, but I finally have some information for you.”
“Excellent,” I said.
“I can either come by the bookstore in a bit; or if you prefer, I’ll drop by your place tonight and we can talk.”
“Tonight,” I said. “About seven?”
“Sounds like a plan,” he said.
“See you tonight,” I said and ended the call.