Chapter 39
D aisy had been staring at the same page of her stock spreadsheet for the better part of twenty minutes when she finally admitted defeat and closed her laptop with a snap.
The numbers weren't making sense because her brain was elsewhere, spinning through increasingly dramatic scenarios involving corporate takeovers and For Lease signs taped to her beloved bookshop window.
She'd tried distracting herself by reorganising the children's section, updating her social media posts and even giving the coffee machine a thorough and very much not needed clean.
However, nothing had worked. The GayesBooks situation sat, or more like zoomed, around her head and refused to go away.
The twins were at Annabelle's for the afternoon, Miles had taken his mum to the supermarket and the bookshop was experiencing a very quiet lull that usually made Daisy feel peaceful.
Today, though, the silence just gave her anxiety more room to expand and multiply.
She needed to talk to someone who understood the book world and the GayesBooks threat.
Lotta sprang to mind immediately and Daisy fired off a quick message asking Lotta if she fancied a cup of tea and a chat and not really expecting Lotta to reply.
The response had been immediate and enthusiastic.
Twenty minutes later, Daisy had locked up the shop and was walking through Pretty Beach towards Lotta's house with a newly arrived book tucked under her arm and her mind still churning with worst-case scenarios about what was going to happen to her little business.
Once she turned the corner to see Lotta’s house, Daisy exhaled at one of the loveliest houses in Pretty Beach.
Everything about it was divine and very Lotta; slightly ramshackle, with climbing roses engulfing the front door and window boxes overflowing with herbs.
A wooden sign by the gate read 'Pretty Beach to the Breakers' in faded paint and the front garden was a jumble of late-season colour.
One of the blue and yellow posters Chloe had designed was in the sitting room window and Lotta had also stuck one on the front fence.
Lotta opened the door before Daisy had even knocked, as if she'd been watching from the window.
In a vintage-style soft green tea dress with a cardigan over the top and with a Kindle in one hand and a book in the other, Lotta very much looked the real-life embodiment of the bookish woman seen on her socials.
'Daise! Perfect timing. I've just put the kettle on and there's lemon drizzle cake that's practically demanding to be eaten.' Lotta ushered her through a hallway lined with overflowing bookshelves and into a sitting room that made Daisy's heart do a little skip of envy.
The room was everything Daisy aspired to but had never quite achieved in her own spaces.
Books and more books were literally everywhere, but in a curated rather than chaotic way.
They filled floor-to-ceiling shelves, sat in neat stacks on every available surface, and even served as impromptu side tables for teacups and reading glasses.
A wood-burning stove crackled and the walls where there weren’t bookshelves were covered with framed photographs of authors, bookshops, and literary events.
Fairy lights were strung around the picture rail, a desk with an old banker’s light nestled on the top had chairs tucked under it and everything felt wonderfully cosy and soft.
Lotta beamed and gestured to a velvet chair for Daisy to sit down. ‘It’s so nice to see you. I didn’t get a chance to chat with you at the town meeting. There were so many people there. Here we go.’
Daisy swooned at the gloriousness of the room. 'This is so gorgeous. Wow, you make me look like an amateur.’ Daisy sank into the velvet armchair and immediately felt some of the tension leave her shoulders.
'Twenty years of accumulating book-related paraphernalia will do that to a place. I'll warn you now, once you start collecting signed first editions, there's no going back. It becomes an addiction. Right, tea and cake coming up.'
Daisy looked around at the shelves more closely and realised that many of the books did indeed have a tell-tale look of special editions and collector's items. She spotted several spines she recognised from her own research into valuable books, including what looked like a signed copy of a novel that had won a major literary prize the year before.
Lotta reappeared with a tray that looked as if it had been styled for a country living magazine. 'I should probably confess that I've been looking for an excuse to get my teapot out. I usually use whatever mug happens to be clean and dunk in a teabag.'
'I know that feeling. Though in my case, it's usually because the twins have declared a state of emergency over something and I'm negotiating.'
Lotta poured tea and smiled. 'How are the girls settling into the bookshop life? It must be quite a change for them, living above the shop.'
'They love it. They've got this whole routine where they come down after school and do their homework in the children's corner, then help me tidy up before closing on the days I’m open.
Evie's become obsessed with arranging the picture books by colour, and Margot likes to write little notes about the books she's read and leave them as recommendations for other children. '
'That's adorable. Future book influencers in the making.'
Daisy accepted a very generous slice of lemon drizzle cake.
'I suppose that's part of what's worrying me about this whole GayesBooks situation.
We've finally found our place, you know?
The girls are settled, I'm building something I'm proud of, and now there's this threat that could take it all away. I’ll still be able to live there, obviously and I’m in a better place than I was before.
It just feels very precarious at the moment. '
Lotta settled into the sofa opposite Daisy.
'I've been following the situation on the Facebook group and I have to say, I'm impressed by how the community has rallied.
The response here has been very organised and determined.
That town meeting was next level. The next thing is the demonstration.
Pete has started talking about banners.'
Daisy shook her head. 'But do you think it'll be enough? I mean, we're talking about a company with professional marketing teams and unlimited resources. What can a few flyers and a petition really do against that?'
Lotta sipped her tea thoughtfully. 'More than you might think, sometimes. I've been in the book world long enough to see how these battles play out, and community resistance can be surprisingly effective. The key is understanding what these companies are actually after.'
Daisy felt more hopeful than she had in days. 'What do you mean?'
'Well, companies like GayesBooks aren't just looking for any old retail space.
They're looking for locations where they can establish a foothold and then expand.
They want places with good footfall, loyal customer bases, and preferably, competitors they can easily undercut.
But they also want places where they won't face too much opposition, because bad publicity costs money and can affect their expansion plans elsewhere. '
'So, you think they might actually be put off by the campaign?'
'I think they might be reconsidering whether Pretty Beach is worth the hassle. The thing about corporate chains is that they're ultimately about profit margins and growth targets. If a location looks like it's going to be more trouble than it's worth, wouldn’t they just move on to easier targets?'
‘I feel as if they will probably decide to push ahead regardless.'
Lotta nodded. 'Then you don't try to compete on their terms, because you'll lose. You compete on your terms.'
'Which means what, exactly?'
'It means you give people something that GayesBooks can't. You’re already doing it and that is why it’s gone so well: personal service, curated recommendations, events that bring the community together, a space that feels like home rather than a retail outlet.
You make your bookshop indispensable in ways that have nothing to do with price or convenience. '
Daisy thought about her regular customers, the ones who came in not just to buy books but to chat about what they'd been reading, to ask for recommendations for their book clubs, to bring their children for story time.
She thought about the reading corner that had become a gathering place for local mums, and the events she'd started hosting with Lotta’s followers.
'I suppose I am already doing some of that. '
'You're doing more than some of it. You're creating exactly the sort of community hub that big chains can't replicate.’
‘It’s all so horribly unknown.’
'I've been running book events and working with independent bookshops for a while now.
I've seen shops face all sorts of challenges - online competition, rising rents, changing reading habits, and yes, corporate chains moving in nearby.
The shops that survive and thrive aren't necessarily the ones with the best locations or the biggest marketing budgets.
They're the ones that understand their community and give people reasons to keep coming back that have nothing to do with just buying books. '
Daisy absorbed this, turning it over in her mind. 'So, you think the bookshop could survive even if GayesBooks does move in?'
'I think your bookshop has something that no corporate chain can replicate, which is you. Your personality, your taste, your relationships with your customers, and your understanding of what Pretty Beach needs. That's not something that can be mass-produced or rolled out across multiple locations.'
'But surely some people will be tempted by lower prices and more convenience?'
'Some will, absolutely. But others will value what you offer more than they value saving a few pounds and word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool there is, especially in a place like Pretty Beach.'
'I suppose I have been building that kind of customer loyalty without really thinking about it.'
'Exactly and that's something that takes time to develop. GayesBooks can't offer years of relationship-building and community trust. At least not straight away.'
Daisy nodded and took another sip of tea.
Lotta certainly sounded as if she knew what she was talking about and she’d been in the game for a while, for sure.
Daisy, however, wasn’t quite as confident or positive, really.
Deep down, she felt that the only thing that would save the bookshop in the long term was a miracle and how was one of those going to happen in a place like Pretty Beach?