Page 140 of Will Bark for Pizza
“Too little, too late, I’m afraid. Not to mention, Margene was apparently selling new releases days before they came out. Some of those publishers are still quite pissed about it.” Dylann wore a defeated expression, one that caught around the table. “Ingram closed our account, so that’s been a whole other mess.”
“Ingram?” It sounded familiar, but Lila would be more familiar with it than me.
“It’s the major book distributor,” Dylann explained. “If we had to, we could order solely from them for now. Focus on rebuilding our relationships with publishers over time. But it means our profit margin will be slimmer. Our terms were definitely better working directly with the publishers.”
“Still sounds better than not being able to order books at all,” Lotti said.
“I’m working with a rep to set up a new account, but it might take a few days to get past the red tape,” Dylann said. “We might have to push the soft opening.”
I sank my teeth into a glazed donut, but the sweet treat did little to ease the sour pit in my stomach. The longer we pushed the soft opening, the longer it would be before we had any notable cash flow. In the meantime, the bills would continue to stack up. Everyone was currently working for free, but that couldn’t last. I wouldn’t allow it to last.
“What can we do while this gets sorted out?” Carlos asked.
“We can figure out the new layout,” Thelma said, nodding to my sketch. “That’ll give us an idea of how many bookshelves we’re going to need to order.”
“Or build,” Lotti suggested. “Think Beckett could help us with that?”
I almost said no, but everyone was looking at me so damn expectantly. As though they knew if I asked, he would say yes in a heartbeat.
“I’ll talk to him,” I finally said. “But let’s research all our options. Beckett’s got his own business to run.”
“Maybe he just needs some extra incentive,” Lotti said, wriggling her eyebrows.
“Lotti!” Carlos scolded.
“Just ask him for a favor,” Lotti said. “It’s up to you whether you want to return it.”
Beckett did owe me a favor, from the night of beating him at darts. But now that he gave me one of his potent full-body orgasms, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to use the favor on something so . . . boring.
“Down, Lotti!” Thelma chided.
“What else do we need to figure out?” I asked.
“Updating this godawful decor Margene brought into the store,” Dylann insisted.
“I propose a bonfire to burn anything and everything associated with Satan’s mistress,” Thelma said.
“I second the motion,” Carlos agreed.
The table erupted with plans of heading to Mexico—a popular topic of conversation these days. While they argued about the best way to hunt down a fugitive, I studied the sketch I’d made of a new layout. One that was similar to Mom’s since Margene basically rearranged theentire store and obliterated some of my favorite parts. I added circles for cushy chairs, squares for dog beds, and designated an area for authors to set up signing tables. The reading nook was also high on the list.
I chewed on the top of my pen as I reconsidered Carlos’ earlier suggestion to announce a release date for Mateo’s book during our grand re-opening. I didn’t even have a title yet.
I could hear Beckett’s voice in my head:Sometimes, the things that scare us the most are the ones most worth doing.
“Oh, what the hell,” I mumbled.
“What’s that, dear?” Lotti asked.
“Nothing.”
Before I could talk myself out of it, I picked up my phone and sent a text to Lila.
FORTY-TWO
HUSKER
Tap, tap, tap.
