Page 17 of Silver Linings
“Stop it. I’m saving myself for your wife.” I laugh. “I’m going to pull reports of our inventory so we can go through and see what we can relocate to a new home. That way, we can clear space to bring in new titles and appeal to a wider demographic.”
Holly nods. “That’s where the monster books come in, I presume.”
I walk over to the computer system at the cash wrap and start punching in dates from the past two years, pulling reports, from our bestsellers to our slowest sellers.
“Amongst other things, yes.” As the list prints, I admit, “I’ve been diving into the numbers now that I have full access to them and,” I hesitate, “it’s pretty bad. Pat never said anything, but as a whole, the store was barely breaking even. It seems miraculous she only decided to sell now.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.” I step out from behind the register. “We need to really expand our selection, bring in more genres, host events and mixers for authors and our community. Weneedto set ourselves apart.”
My mind is whirling a million miles a minute, and Holly doesn’t even have a moment to contribute before I’m rattling off more things and pacing the length of the store.
“Author signings, launch parties, trivia nights.” I stop my pacing and turn to Holly. “Are you getting this down?”
She jumps into action and murmurs what sounds likeyes, masterto the tune of Igor,but I don’t have a moment to entertain it before I’m on to the next thought.
“Monthly book clubs. Oh! It can be interactive. We’ll hold polls on Instagram for people to vote on the book for the next month. Oh my God—A SINGLES MIXER!” My abrupt shout scares the bejesus out of Holly, but she nods and continues writing down everything I’m saying. “What would be better than hosting a singles mixer for book lovers when ninety percent of this city is aggressively horny all the time?”
“It’s probably all the monster erotica,” she deadpans.
“Definitely a contributing factor for sure.”
Holly surveys the shop with her hands on her hips. “So, inventory first. What comes after?”
That is something I’ve been thinking about for days. How exactly do I want to make this place look and feel? Brownstone Books definitely has a rustic sort ofcharmto it, though some would describe it as dilapidated. It definitely needs upgrades. About half of the shelves are in need of repair or total replacement, cracked or sagging in the middle. The stairs leading to the top loft have been roped off and out of commission foryears. Those will need to be fixed so we can use the second floor again.
There’s a lot I want to do. I didn’t realize how many ideas I have been storing in my mind for what this place could become—what itwouldbecome.
“While we wait until I get everything finalized with Pat and the property lawyers, we’ll take care of all the excess titles. After that, I’ll start looking into DIY-ing versus hiring a contractor.”
“You’re thinking of doing this on your own?” Skepticism is clear in her tone.
“If the cost of a contractor is out of budget, yes.”
“I really don’t think you should attempt this alone without some sort of…supervision.”
“I cannotbelievewhat I’m hearing. What kind of feminist are you? Women didn’t endure the suffrage movement for me to hire amanto do what I can do myself,” I scoff in mock outrage.
“You are one hundred percent going to break something.”
“Yeah, probably, but emergency room visits are all a part of the adventure!”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m telling Makena.”
“Go ahead. I’m not scared of him.” I absolutely am.
“You absolutely are.”
“Don’t be a narc. I’ll tell him myself; he’s going to ask when I get his advice on styling for the store anyway.”
She chuckles. “Good, because you need adult supervision for this.”
I level her with a stare that conveys I am not amused as I walk back around the cash wrap and grab the report I printed. I split them in the middle of the stack, handing half the pages to Holly.
“Help me go through these so we can figure out what we should and should not donate.”
We work in companionable silence, only the sounds ofFolklorefloating from the speakers of the store. We start by referencing the list and grabbing the books off shelves or out of the stockroom when my phone pings with a text notification.
