Page 30 of The Sound Of Us

“I’ll get them up, Ben. Please?”

“She said you need to get them up first.”

“I just want one.”

Ben rolls his eyes at me. “She’s lying.” And then to Casey, he says, “Which one?”

“Bad Wrong Things.”

“You already have that one.

“Not the special edition illustrated cover.”

Ben checks that the door is still locked. “The story is still the same.”

“Benson Turner, how dare you say something so vile?! I’m going to kill you right now.” And then, with the puppiest puppy dog eyes, she tells me, “Axel, please open the door. I just need that one. I already have a place on my shelf for it. Just that one, I promise. Just that one and All The Battles We Surrender.” She points to the window display I’d just set up with stars in her eyes.

“Ha!” Ben shouts triumphantly. “You said one.” And then to make sure everyone knows he was right, he tells me, “You heard me say she’s a liar, right, Ax? I just said it, didn’t I?”

“There’s hardly a difference between one book and two books, Benson. It’s not like I was asking to buy twenty,” Casey counters.

“C’mon Ben. Let her in. No matter what, she’s still a paying customer.”

Casey’s smile spreads across the glass. “See, Benson, that’s the kind of customer service assistant I want working for me when I take over this place. You—you—I’m gonna fire you. That’s the first thing I’m gonna do. And I’m gonna give Axel a nice big promotion to manager and you’ll be just some bum snorting up fake cocaine under the bridge downtown.”

“Wow, Casey. That got dark real quick,” Ben says dryly.

“Fake cocaine?” I ask. God, I’m really out of the loop with things.

Ben laughs. “Don’t ask.”

“Hey, Benson,” Casey calls out in a sing song voice. “You have a customer.”

Ben growls and moves to the door. It’s Meribeth Collins, assistant to David Shapiro, from next door. Casey stands so close to Meribeth you’d think they were two easels stuck together. Ben tries to pry Casey away when Meribeth crosses the threshold, but Casey just grins and slips inside.

“Only one book,” he tells Casey grudgingly after greeting Mrs. Collins.

“Mrs. Collins, I have your order ready,” Ben says, reaching over the counter for a box. “Three psych thrillers and one Louis L’Amour.”

“Any manager recommendations from your JamieReadsRomance section this week?”

“Oh yeah,” Ben says while his eyes follow Casey as she browses the NO AMOUNT OF SOAP WILL HELP SORRY NOT SORRY section.

He picks up two books from the table and adds it to the box.

While Mrs. Collins waits to pay, Ben snags my attention, and points his index and middle finger at his eyes and then at Casey. Watch her.

It occurs to me we’d all still be okay if we had to use signs to communicate with each other.

Casey slides up next to Mrs. Collins. With two books in her hand. Ben smiles at her, but his eyes are shooting daggers. Can’t go crazy with an actual customer in the store, I guess.

“What?” she hisses. “I was just looking. I’m not actually taking both.” And then she leaves All The Battles We Surrender on the side of the counter.

Once Mrs. Collins has paid, Casey moves up, looking between me and the door nervously. I round my eyes, shaking my head. Don’t do it. I look at Ben. He hasn’t seen anything.

Just as Mrs. Collins reaches the door, Casey grabs both books, throws a bill at Ben and sprints after Mrs. Collins. She miscalculates the timing and ends up flying into the glass door and then landing flat on her back.

Nothing can stop this book addict, though. I can barely contain my laughter. She scrambles to her feet, yanks the door open and flies out with Ben hot on her heels.

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