Great. Just my luck.
I can’t afford to be in a taxi, and the meter’s running while we’re stuck in traffic. I pull my Kindle out of my purse and select one of the three books I’m reading at the moment.
“We’re here, love,” says the driver suddenly.
Holy crap! Forty dollars for a taxi ride? When did that happen? I quickly go through my purse and pull the bills, and I hesitate handing them over. It feels as though I’m giving him my life savings.
As I hand over the cash and thank the driver, I have a different sense of panic, thinking about the money I just spent. I could have bought a new phone. I can’t believe that it’s nearly ten and I’m even later than I thought I’d be from the time I woke up this morning. My body’s trembling as I stall outside the door. I know I’m wasting even more time.
I glimpse inside the store, and suddenly my legs are moving fast to get me inside.
I see Dana talking to someone in a suit. Normally, there’s no one interesting in the store. Certainly not a guy in a dark gray suit, with dark hair and attractive green eyes.
I walk in, interrupting the conversation he’s having with Dana. “Good morning.”
Dana stares at me. I’m not looking directly at her, but at the tall, dark-haired stranger in front of her. I’m drawn to him and flirting is second nature. When I realize that I’m blowing my boss off and my nerves went from shot to jumpy, I know at this point that I have to roll with it. So I stretch out my hand and say, “I’m Elia.”
Instead of shaking my hand, the stranger raises my hand to his mouth. He kisses my knuckles. It sends a jolt through my body.
“A pleasure to meet you, Elia,” he says, lips brushing my hand before he raises his eyes and smirks, probably at my blushing face.
Dana seems kind of mesmerized by the strangeness of this moment, and it seems to keep her from firing me now. She looks at her phone and distractedly introduces the stranger. “Elia, this is the potential new owner. He’s buying the bookstore. Seeing as you’ve decided to show up for work, I’ll be heading off. You can work for a change. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
I don’t hear her. The only thing that’s on my mind is that this guy’s going to be my boss, and if I’m not mistaken, he’s flirting with me.
Maybe working here isn’t so bad after all. I’m so embarrassed that Dana said all those things…worse that they’re sorta true. I do work hard, but I’ve just been so bummed lately. I don’t want this potential new owner to think, hey, fire this dipshit. If I could summon any energy, I’d worry about that more. But I’m staring into those emerald pools of his and trying to breathe normally and not project a serious case of ogling crazy eyes.
Eric
If this is what owning the bookstore means, then I’m glad that I’ve decided to make this investment. This newcomer, Elia, that just walked in a few minutes ago is gorgeous, and she’s flirting with me like crazy.
I’m still holding her hand after I pressed my lips to it. She snatches it back. I almost laugh when she holds it tenderly against her chest, her face growing redder by
the second. Elia can’t seem to decide if she wants to be flirting with me or not, and I like the idea that she’s losing her self-control right now. That’s always a good effect to have on women.
“What time were you supposed to start?” I ask. “I can see that Dana’s pretty frustrated, must have been a while ago.” I can’t help but tease her.
“You’re looking to buy the place, huh?”
I avoid her question, seeing as she avoided mine.
“You must be more than a little late to just be coming into work.” I continue teasing her, making a serious face as best I can, though a smile is tugging at the corners of my mouth. “Or do you guys work in shifts? Because I’ve been here with your friend for more than an hour, and she’s been doing all the work on her own. Where have you been, Elia?” I emphasize her name just see the effect it might have on her.
But she’s no longer flirting, crossing her arms now. She narrows her eyes at me for a second.
“My alarm didn’t go off. My phone’s old and I should probably buy a new one since this isn’t the first time it’s happened. If Dana hadn’t woken me up, then who knows what time I would’ve got in!” Elia sounds exasperated, which is pretty much the worse thing to be when starting your workday. She shakes her head. “To make matters worse, there was traffic on the way.”
“If you’d been here on time, then you wouldn’t have been stuck in traffic.” Yeah. I couldn’t help myself.
She’s lost for words, momentarily.
Elia looks adorable when she’s flustered but I should probably stop teasing her…soon. “I didn’t even know the store was for sale. Ryan never said that she was selling. How do I know that you’re buying it? You could be looking for bookstore secrets.” She waves a book at me.
This girl just works in the bookstore, and she’s being challenging. More than the owner, Ryan, was when I made him an offer! Still, I love that she’s teasing me back at least. The whole refusing to answer questions thing, would is not a thing that would normally what would excite me, but everything about Elia has me intrigued.
She moves around as if she’s going to start working, even though her purse is still strapped safely around her arm. She looks like someone looking to purchase a book, not someone who works here. It’s as if she’s completely lost and doesn’t know what to do with herself. Have I thrown her so off balance? I lick my lips, liking the thought of that.
“The shop wasn’t for sale until I made an offer,” I tell Elia. “Besides, I’ll have to take another look at the profit and loss statements if this bookstore is doing so poorly that the staff can’t even afford phones or even an alarm clock to get to work on time.”