Page 4 of Battle of the Bookstores

“I am.”

“Great. It’s important to know what you like, Brian—”

“You have no idea what I like,” he says, eyes flashing. “You don’t even know my—”

“Can we keep moving?” Xander says, returning to his seat. As if we’re the ones who interrupted the meeting.

“Absolutely,” I say, picking up my pen again and facing him. The sooner this ends, the sooner I can go back to avoiding Brian. “You had something to talk with us about?”

“Yes,” Xander says. “I’m combining your stores and Beans.”

Brian chokes on his drink.

I stare at Xander. “Combining…ourstores?”

Xander nods. “It’s been my plan all along, and the pieces are finally falling into place. This neighborhood doesn’t need two bookstores so close together. It’s bad for business, built-in competition.”

I’m about to tell him that my clientele is entirely different from that of a romance bookstore, but Xander’s still talking.

“And you know what people like to do when they shop for books? Drink coffee. Eddie says customers are always coming here and reading. So I figured, hey, let’s combine it all. One big bookstore with a coffee shop in the middle. People can get Harry Potters and parenting books and spy thrillers and sit right down and read them. You know?”

I’m speechless. Appalled. A little nauseated.

Tabula Inscripta has always been a small boutique bookstore focusing on literary fiction and select nonfiction. I spend hours each season curating my selection, just as the prior owner, Jerome, taught me. I imagine his bushy gray eyebrows rising in horror at all these changes.

“But our bookstores are totally different,” Brian says.

“Yes, completely different customer bases,” I say, nodding. “We’re not in competition.”

“Well, you’ll figure it out,” Xander says. “I mean, one of you will.”

I blanch. “What?”

“No reason for me to pay two managers for one store.”

“So—one of us is out of a job?” Brian sounds horrified.

“Who?” I ask, instantly sick. Xander is a man’s man. I know he’s going to choose Brian—the two of them already seem chummy.

“I’m not deciding right now,” Xander says. “Here’s the plan.”

He launches into a detailed explanation, and I do my best to take notes, even though my head is spinning. Construction will start in a couple of weeks, and the stores will stay open during the process. Xander anticipates the process taking three months, and the manager who earns the most profit during that period will be the manager of the new store. The other will be looking for a new job.

“So you’ll hire either Brian or me, based solely on financials?” I hate the idea of being judged by profit—if Xander knew anything about bookselling, he’d know that owning an indie bookstore willnevermake him rich—but at least it’s an objective measure.

Brian frowns. “It’s actually—”

“Exactly,” Xander interrupts. “I anticipate making my decision by Labor Day.”

I sneak a glance at Brian. I can’t get a bead on him. The cardigan, lanyard, and tortoiseshell glasses are giving “small-town librarian,” which isn’t a terrible vibe for a bookseller. The messy hair, I’ll admit, bothers me; he can’t take the time to comb his hair before work? But maybe that’s a good thing—maybe he’s a mess in other aspects of his life, including his managerial skills.

Brian’s eyes flick over to meet mine. My skin prickles again. Behind his glasses, his eyes are warm golden brown, like dark honey, and my stomach coils tight with the strangest sensation. For one split second, I get a flash of us sitting at this table, each with a coffee and a book, reading together.

Ha.No way—he’d probably make snarky comments about my book being better than Ambien.

Plus, he’s my competition.

Brian shifts his weight, which makes his lanyard slipforward, revealing some of the colorful pins. They say things likeMorally Gray>>>,Book Whore,In My Smut Era,Spread Those Pages.

---