Riley cocks her head, waiting, but Dane looks like he’s ready to jump out of his chair.
“Fiona approached me about becoming an investor. In the store, I mean.”
Brenna arches an eyebrow at Riley, who purses her lips knowingly. They’ve made up! I knew they would. And something tells me Amelia Mae’s behind that, too.
He continues. “That isn’t right for us, but it got me thinking about my business model. I want to make you all co-owners. The bookstore should be a cooperative, not a company. Technically, it already is, but I haven’t been giving you credit for that. We’ll share the decisionsandthe profits—and we’ll also figure out how to increase them so that everyone is compensated as they should be.”
No one says anything. And for once, I cannot interpret their body language.
Natalie’s the first to break the silence. “Are you sure? I’m only here in the summers. That might not be fair for everyone else.”
“I’m sure, though I understand why you might feel that way,” he tells her, nodding thoughtfully. “But I also remember you had another job lined up and chose to work here instead. I want to reward you for that. To be clear, company shares would be based on seniority and tenure. And in the interest of fairness, that buy-in would adjust each year or whenever a person begins working here or decides to leave. I acknowledge that this model may not be right for everyone, and I getthat, too.” He looks at Riley. “Some of you have other options that may prove to be more attractive.”
Riley, who has been jotting down notes on her clipboard, lifts her pencil and regards him. “Come on, Miguel. I just accepted the manager position. Now are you going to finally let me sell e-books or what?”
He laughs. “Don’t expect me to like or understand it—but as I said, that decision’s no longer mine alone to make. Speaking of decisions, I’ve been meaning to ask: Do we have Zara Aboah’s event on the books?”
“I was waiting to find out if we were closing, but we have a tentative date for the first Tuesday in October.”
“Fantastic, thank you. Can you tell her I’m excited she’ll be here?” He stops and shakes his head. “You know what? Just send me her contact info. I’ll call her myself.”
She beams at him. “Done.”
“I do have one more suggestion to run past you all while I have you,” he says, oblivious to Dane’s squirming.
“Is the JMB event back on?” asks Natalie.
“I think that ship has sailed. In fact, I’d like to recommend that we head in a different direction…and truly make this store a romance destination. Amelia designed this to be a place where readers who adore love stories are celebrated, not shamed, and Riley’s right—instead of that being a feature, it could bethefeature. We’ll sell all kinds of books, of course, but the majority will be romance. We can even do a big event if Riley’s still interested in throwing it.”
She’s blinking back tears. “Did you have a personality transplant?” she asks with a clipped laugh.
“Even better. I read a bunch of Amelia’s novels during theblackout and realized the power of a love story. I want to celebrate that, not hide it at the back of the store.”
Brenna beams while Natalie claps. And Riley—well, she’s officially crying now. “I’m so happy,” she tells him.
“I was hoping you’d be on board since it was your idea. I’d like to have a big reopening event next Friday to mark the occasion. Now, that’s soon, and it’ll be a lot of work.”
“Not if we all chip in,” says Natalie.
“You don’t—” He catches himself. “I’d love your help. Thank you.”
Dane’s got his hand up in the air again. “Uh, chief?”
“I’m sorry,” says Miguel. “You’ve been waiting all this time to tell us something. What’s up?”
His mouth is half grin, half grimace. “Can you and I go somewhere to talk?”
Forty
Miguel asks Dane if he’ll meet him for lunch at an Italian restaurant in the next town over. The place is so-so, he explains, but they have outdoor dining with big fans everywhere, so I can tag along. I’m not in as much pain as I was before, but he bought me a humiliating if effective cooling vest and a portable water bowl, just to be on the safe side. Admittedly, I can’t really feel insulted by his trying to take care of me—not when I can no longer pretend that I don’t need help. I guess that’s one more thing Miguel and I have in common.
“Over here,” says Dane, waving at us from a table in the corner. He stands when he sees us, and I lick his palm by way of a greeting. “Hey, Harold.”
“Hi, Dane,” says Miguel. He starts to reach out a hand to Dane, but then he suddenly changes his mind and puts his arms around him.
“Chief, are youhuggingme? On purpose?” Dane’s joking, but the catch in his voice says this is a big deal for him. “Riley really got to you, huh?”
Miguel laughs lightly as he lets Dane go. “That’s what friends do, right?”
