Did he have a hangover? The old Gray refused so much as a sip of alcohol, but she didn’t really know him anymore. “If you have a headache, I have Tylenol and Advil, or Gram kept essential oils in the desk drawer, and she has peppermint that is really good for—”
“That’s okay. I just need to wake up.” He gave her a sideways glance. “How much coffee haveyouhad?”
Maybe she was a little overcaffeinated. “Mind your own beeswax.”
The dog spotted Chaucer and dashed after him.
Gray frowned.“Shadow.”
Shadow, huh?Shelby smirked at him.
When he caught her eye he squelched a grin. “Shut up.”
“Someone’s getting attached.”
“It’s only temporary.”
“If you say so.” The bell jingled downstairs. Shelby tossed Gray a smug look as she headed down the stairs. “We can resume the conversation about my idea when you’re properly caffeinated.”
Three more customers came and went before Shelby had a chance to hunt down Gray. She found him in the Religion section where he was shelving books that had come in yesterday. “I just sold aOne more chaptertee and aBookmarks are for quitterscap. Also four novels. I love Saturdays.”
“That’s great. How’d your book club go last night?”
“The discussion went well. Everyone loved the book.” They’d read Annabel Monaghan’s summer release. “But as I anticipated, the news about the reduced discount wasn’t exactly popular.”
“That’s to be expected. It won’t equate to that much per book, but it’ll add up over time for us.”
“Ellen Lyons all but threatened to buy hers from the evil empire. But when the others came to my defense, she backed off.”
“Good job. I know that wasn’t easy for you.”
Gray’s steady gaze and smile warmed her. He seemed almost... proud of her. She shook the thought away. “Thanks. How are our numbers looking for the month so far?”
“Up from last November. I’m encouraged.” He held his hand up and they high-fived.
“That’s great news. We still have a long way to go though. Which brings me back to that idea I had.”
“Phoebe Bell, local author of mysteries, if I remember right.”
“Local, yes. But in the past ten years her book sales have exploded.She’s hit theUSA Todaylist with her last several releases, and she has a zillion fans on social media—even if she does have someone else managing the accounts.”
“She has to be, what? At least sixty by now.”
“Mid-sixties, I think. Anyway, she’s launching her new release here in early January, which will be great for the store.”
“I saw that on the schedule but didn’t realize what a boon it will be.”
“Last launch she sold over 150 hardcovers. We had a line out the door and past Patsy’s Boutique.”
“That’ll be great then.”
“So back to my idea. What if we set up a preorder special on the book? Don’t scowl. It doesn’t have to be huge. Just 10 percent maybe and then Miss Phoebe could get the word out to her following that they can preorder a signed book at a discount. We’re only two months away from her release, so we’d have to get right on it.”
“What about shipping costs?”
“We could either tack that onto the price or absorb it.”
“If we give a discount we can’t eat the mailing cost. Even if we ship them via media mail it won’t be cheap. What if we sell at price and absorb the shipping cost? Her readers will still get a signed copy and that should excite her fan base.”
