5. Jess
5
Jess
W hat a shitshow.
As I climbed into the passenger seat of Cecil’s car, I replayed the disastrous meeting back in my head.
I’d messed up. Cecil had hired me to represent Mrs Davis’s wishes. To hype up the idea of the library and sell her vision. And what had I done? I’d stuttered like an idiot and made it sound like the worst idea ever.
And that annoying Theodore loved every second of my humiliation. He sat there in his tailored suit with his annoyingly handsome face and intoxicating scent and grinned.
When he’d asked what market research I’d done, I wanted the ground to swallow me up. Yeah, I wasn’t a businesswoman, but anyone with common sense knew that to start a business you had to have done some kind of planning or analysis.
Obviously given the short notice, I couldn’t have been expected to have done anything extensive myself, but I should’ve at least taken two minutes to get some rough figures on the size of the romance market.
I could’ve asked Cecil if Mrs Davis had looked into it so I could’ve said something better than ‘a lot of women read romance books.’
Fuck’s sake .
And if all that wasn’t bad enough, when I went to the toilet and saw myself in the mirror, I realised I’d buttoned up my blouse wrong. So I’d sat through that whole meeting looking like a child who’d gotten dressed in the dark.
Reason one million and one why it was a good idea not to accept the offer to run the library.
‘So that was interesting .’ Cecil started the engine, then pulled out of the car park. Thankfully he’d offered to give me a lift home.
‘It was a disaster. I’m so sorry I let you down. Of course I don’t expect to be paid for today.’
‘Nonsense. You’ve earned every penny.’
‘Hardly.’ I knew a lot of people would just agree, take the money and run, but that didn’t feel right. ‘I was late and I didn’t say anything useful.’
‘Don’t be so hard on yourself. This has all been sprung on you at short notice and you had no time to prepare. Especially given the fact you’re juggling multiple jobs. Despite how you feel it went, I think the vendor is interested.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Yes. He likes the idea of the library. He can see it has potential. If he didn’t, he would’ve just accepted the offer from Eaves Enterprises. By inviting you to formally pitch, he’s giving you a chance to prepare a proper presentation.’
‘You mean he’s giving you or whoever you hire the chance to prepare.’ I frowned. I’d already said today was a one-off.
‘Jessica.’ Cecil pulled over on a side road, turned off the engine, then turned to face me. ‘Accept the offer. Just think: you’ll have the opportunity to create something really meaningful. You’ll honour Meredith’s dying wish. You’ll create a legacy for her and for yourself. And you won’t have to work three jobs anymore. You’ll have a proper salary. Enough to rent somewhere nice and get a new car that won’t break down. I’ll even throw in a new smartphone. What do you say?’
Hmmm.
I paused. I had to admit, he’d struck a nerve and made some good points. If I took this job, I wouldn’t have to deal with any more sleazy customers at the bar. And there’d be no more cleaning offices or people’s bottoms.
I hated where I lived. My car was a piece of shit, and don’t even get me started on my crappy phone.
Mrs Davis had given me a lifeline. An opportunity to change my fortunes and create something special.
Now I understood why she’d asked me all those questions about my hopes and dreams.
I’d told her I’d be happy just to have a decent job and salary. So now I had that chance and the option to live a less stressful life, I’d be crazy to turn it down.
What Cecil said was true. I genuinely believed that creating a romance library would be meaningful.
And it’d be much better for the community than some fancy luxury flats that only a small percentage of the people from that town could afford.
But what if I failed?
‘If I say no, will you find someone else?’
‘No.’ Cecil shook his head. ‘Meredith made her wishes very clear. She wanted you to run it.’
‘And if I don’t, what will happen to the books and her money?’
‘Well, as far as the money goes, no doubt her son would try and come after it.’
‘Can he do that?’
‘Anything’s possible. As for the books, he’d probably try and destroy them out of spite.’
My stomach churned and bile rose in my throat. Cecil didn’t realise it, but his words had just opened a wound I’d been trying to heal.
‘I’ll do it,’ I blurted out.
I still wasn’t convinced I was up for the task, but I’d give it my best shot.
I owed it to myself to at least try. And even though we barely knew each other, for some reason, Mrs Davis believed in me, so I owed it to her too.
‘Excellent news!’ Cecil beamed. ‘Do you have somewhere to be right now?’
‘No. You hired me for the day, so I told my other jobs I couldn’t make it in.’
‘Great. Let’s go to my office and go through all the paperwork. The clock’s ticking. There’s just two weeks until the presentation, so the sooner we formalise everything and get started, the better.’
‘Yeah, about the pitch…’ I paused. ‘I have a question. ’
‘Fire away.’
‘What happens if I don’t secure that particular building? Mrs Davis’s will said that I’d have a salary for a year to get the library up and running. But what if the vendor sells the building to Eaves Enterprises? What then? Do I have to find another location and keep working on that instead?’
‘No.’ He sighed. ‘Meredith’s instructions were very specific. It’s that particular building she wanted and that building only. It has to be secured. Failure is not an option, I’m afraid.’
Shit.
In a way, that seemed unfair. Especially as I had no control over how much Eaves Enterprises chose to bid.
‘But what if the competition outbids us?’
‘Remember what the vendor said: it’s not just about the money. It’s about the idea and how it will benefit the community. That’s why the presentation is so important. Nail that and build a relationship with the vendor and I’m sure everything will fall into place. This is a golden opportunity, Jessica. It could change your life. The question is, how hard are you prepared to work to make it happen?’
A surge of adrenaline pulsed through me. Cecil was right. If I could put together a killer pitch and win that Edwin guy over, I really did stand a good chance of securing this building.
After everything I’d been through in the thirty-one years I’d been on this earth, I wanted a better life. I wanted a happier future. And this was my chance.
I hadn’t dared to dream before, but now maybe I could.
I was doing this.
Although this was going to be so far out of my comfort zone it might as well be outer space, I was going to do everything I could to nail that pitch, secure the building and get Mrs Davis’s romance library off the ground.
And now I’d set my mind to it, no one, not even a sexy rich guy named Theodore Eaves, was going to stop me.