Baby Batter

by Alexis Angel

  “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.”

  She stops in her tracks, turning to look at me. I can't tell what Elia’s thinking right now, but I want to know.

  “I’m looking to expand my investment portfolio into bookstores. I’m hoping to buy up all the indie bookstores in one region, and then expand to another. Most indie stores are suffering when it comes to sales and profits but I’d like to fix that with the money my trading and medical practice afford me.”

  I’m not sure what Elia thinks of my words, but she looks like she’s considering them. My plan is to give it my best shot, and if it’s entirely impossible, I’ll back off. Oh, and you don’t think I’m just talking about the investments anymore, right? Because even though there’s the conflict of interest coming if and when I buy this bookstore, I know that I plan to pursue Elia beyond teasing her inside the store.

  “Are you sure that you spoke to the owner, Ryan?” Elia didn’t sound frustrated but concerned. I’m intrigued. “He wouldn’t want to see his bookstore, the one that’s been in his family for years get turned into a fidget spinner store.”

  Oh, well Elia seems to assume that the owner will assume I’m going to slash apart everything that makes a bookstore good when I buy it, which I guess is fair. A lot has to be done in the name of profit, but I’d make a wiser investment than a bookstore if I wanted to do that much of an overhaul.

  “No, he was too busy worrying about the fact that you weren’t at work,” I say with a smile. We both know that Ryan’s not involved in the day-to-day operations. That’s one of the reasons I think he’ll sell to me. He isn’t selling to a big box giant, just the friendly neighborhood billionaire doctor. Wouldn’t you?

  “Well, I’m here now,” Elia says. Despite me teasing her again, I can tell she’s done with the flirting portion of our conversation.

  Well, she thinks she is.

  Elia’s moving away from me. Probably too scared of what I’ll say next. She has a fucking answer for everything and I find it sexy as hell. I should stay away from teasing her, but I’m already hooked on getting to know her and hearing more of her sassy comebacks.

  “Your accent.” She points at my lips and then flips her dark hair.

  Mmm, maybe she isn’t done flirting after all.

  “It’s not from here. It’s a Yankee accent.” Elia narrows her eyes at me again, but this time she’s smiling, and she’s teasing me all over again.

  I nod my head.

  Elia cocks her head to the side. “Now, tell me,
Dr. Bookstore, why would someone from New York want to buy a store in Texas? It just makes no sense.”

  I lean closer to Elia, expecting her to move away from me.

  She doesn’t.

  “Maybe you won’t make it through the new company’s payroll, then,” I say just to mess with her. “After all, you have difficulty coming to work on time, which isn’t fair to all the other employees. Is it?” Not that I’ve never been late a day in my life, but punctuality is something I look for in people that work for me. I can see it bothers her that she’s late, though. I sort of moved beyond teasing with this one, and I wonder if I have gone too far.

  Elia doesn’t move back an inch. “Maybe I have better plans. I can think of doing something more interesting than working for a fidget spinner owner.” I see her breath catch in her throat.

  Elia wants to have the last word and I let her get away with it, and not just because I’m loving watching her walk away.

  I watch her walk right out of the store.

  Damn, this girl is kind of a wild, crazy mess. I want to know where she's going…

  Elia

  My eyes narrow at Eric. Why is he still hanging around in the bookstore? Surely he must have better things to do than hang around all day here. Besides, I saw his Rolex watch when he looked at the time earlier. He’s rich. And a doctor. Surely he’s got patients or basically anything else to do but bug me.

  “Is there anything else you wanted?” I ask. “If you’re done, I should probably get to work.” I want him to go...but I feel that odd tinge in my stomach where I kinda also want him to stay. Ugh!

  His eyebrows go up. “Well, actually, there were a few things. But you’re late anyway, so I don’t want to keep you.”

  God, he keeps going on about that!

  He smiles politely, but I can see the mirth in his eyes. I grind my teeth in annoyance.

  “It doesn’t happen all the time.”

  “Is it a rare thing? How often are you late in a month?”

  “Hardly at all.” I don’t give him an exact figure. I haven’t got a clue what that figure is, in all honesty. To save face, I blurt out, “And if you’ll excuse me, I have things to do.”

  He opens his mouth to say something, but I walk away quickly.

  I dart around the store. It’s quiet, which is nothing new. Eric finds something to distract himself, and I use the opportunity to walk to the back and call Ryan. I’m going to find out what’s going on. He never told me about a new owner.

  I pull out my phone and dial, putting the phone to my ear when I hear it start to ring. “Ryan. It’s me, Elia,” I whisper as I continue to watch Eric like a hawk.

  “Hi,” says Ryan, and he sounds flustered.

  I decide to get to the point instead of beating around the bush.

  “I just spoke to this...doctor named Eric, and he says that he’s buying the store.”

  Ryan clears his throat. “That’s right. I’m not too sure about it, in all honesty, Elia. You know as well as I do that the store’s in trouble. Big trouble. Maybe if you spoke to him you could figure it all out. I just can’t work out what to do next.”

  “What do you mean?” Ryan has leaned on me before, because I’m not always a super late loser who flirts with strange men, I swear! But Ryan’s nerves have me suspicious of this whole deal. More suspicious than I already was.

  He laughs nervously. “There’s no hiding the fact that the store’s in trouble. I don’t know what to do with it. That’s why I always talk to you, Elia. I know you care. And this guy wants to buy the store, but not for what it’s worth.”

  “Maybe he hasn’t seen the books,” I mumble, but I didn’t mean to say it out loud. It just came out that way. I can’t decide if I’ve just been super rude to the current owner and the new owner in one blow, or made a good point -- maybe both -- because I hear Ryan perk up.

  “Exactly! And he doesn’t want to see them. He just wants to buy the place sight practically unseen, though obviously he came in today. There’s something not right, Elia, and let’s face it. The store’s in trouble. But I’m feeling a bit sentimental about it all. My parents owned this place and they passed it on to me. Even though selling probably makes sense, and it isn’t an unfair offer, I just don’t know if I can sell my parents’ dream.”

  I know the full story about his parents’ dream for the place. They died before they could really do everything they wanted to with the store. The store was different back then. Back before there were Kindle devices and digital readers. That’s what Ryan claims is the reason for the store’s downfall: the rise of the Internet booksellers and digital reading.

  There are other bookstores in the area that aren’t suffering the same way ours is. Okay, so not ours. I just work here. When I show up on time. Ryan is the current owner and every time I suggest something to him, he claims that it’s too much work.

  The truth is that Ryan doesn’t know how to run a business, but I have a feeling that a man like Eric does. That’s why he wants it so badly. He knows exactly what to do with it so that it makes him money, and I’m guessing it won’t involve keeping it a bookstore.

  I know that I’m not an option here, but I wish my ideas for making the bookstore were acted on by Ryan, ever! I just want to save this place…and saving it from Eric if he’s planning to gut it doesn’t seem like it is going to make much of a difference compared to Ryan keeping the store and continually ignoring every idea that I’ve ever had to improve it.

  “I’ve made a mess of it!” Ryan cries.

  A wave of guilt washes over me. Ryan wants my help...but he doesn’t actually plan to improve the store. He’s a nice guy, but he wants to make excuses. Eric is not a nice guy and he wants to make money.

  Guess that makes me the only person who wants to help the bookstore.

  I figure my best chance is to help Ryan. Besides, he asked for my help anyway.

  “Eric Vanderville wants to buy the store and the only thing that’s making me hold on to it is sentiments. I need to let go, but I would only sell if I know that he wants to keep it as a bookstore. Otherwise, I couldn’t live with myself. I’ve taken out a loan on my apartment but I’d rather be homeless than give it to him if he wants to do something else to it.”

  Eric Vanderville. I’ve heard that full name before, but I don’t know where.

  I inhale and press my lips together, trying to think of what to say, what to do. “Ryan, please stop worrying. Leave it with me. I’ll talk to him. Just don’t worry about it right now because neither of us knows anything concrete yet.” I chew my lip, hoping that will assuage Ryan’s concerns at least for now so that I can get to the bottom of this.

  I hear Ryan swallow. “I shouldn’t put so much pressure on you.” He sounds worried, but this time that I might be brushing him off, or like he’s not sure that I should be doing this. Maybe Ryan remembers that he is the owner and I’m just an employee, but I have to make him remember how much I care about the future of the store.

  “It’s fine, really!” I hope that I don’t sound off-puttingly eager. I feel so off balance today.

  I rub my forehead and just then I catch a glimpse of Eric walking towards me.

  Shoot! I need to get off the phone and fast. His eyes are focused on me and he has a book in his hand.

  “Ryan, I need to go!” I feel bad for this, but I don’t wait for Ryan to reply and I hang up on him.

  Eric stands in front of me. “Did you have a nice talk?” His eyes have a mischievous glint that my traitorous body responds to immediately.

  I narrow my eyes at him, pushing down those thoughts and thinking again about where I’ve heard his name before. “Eric Vanderville,” I say aloud, trying to keep my voice even. I’m not getting frustrated with him. Not flirting. Just talking. I need to forget all the insta-lust and get on with my mission. But I open my mouth again and I can’t form any words.

  His eyes slide down my body, then back up. I know he’s flirting again, and I don’t know how to resp
ond to it.

  Well, how to respond appropriately. Because a small part of me is like, girl, flirt back! I have to ignore the inner ho. I don’t need her screwing me out of a job. Yeah, I know what I did there! Mr. Fancy Rich Doctor probably doesn’t care about anyone but himself, and he thinks that he can just stroll in here and get whatever he wants.

  Now, I’m starting to feel a different kind of fire inside, and it helps me find words. “I was talking to Ryan, the owner.” I don’t say any more because there’s something in the way that Eric is looking at me now.

  Like he’s amused.

  Ugh!

  He reaches out and grabs a book behind me, but for the couple of seconds before his hand connects to the book, I think he’s about to touch my face. I actually thought he was going to brush my hair behind my ear or something...like he was going to kiss me.

  I feel stuck in time and I just don’t know how to process any of this. I take a deep breath, because my heart is racing at just the idea of him touching me.

  Eric looks over the paperback in his hands, but seems to be looking over it and at me. I think he must know what kind of an effect he has on me, judging by that smug smirk on his face.

  I inhale again and turn my head to the side.“Do you mind if we start again?”

  “Start again?” Eric asks with that bewildering amusement that makes him both incredibly handsome, all devilish charm in an extremely well-fitting suit, and incredibly annoying. But I’m a girl on a mission here. I want to figure out what he’s up to and save this poor bookstore from going under, if I can help it. Even if it would be a merciful death.

  “Yes. Instead of you picking on me, Eric Vanderville, why don’t we sit and talk about your plans like adults.” I chew the inside of my lip, realizing that I probably sound ridiculous. I just work here. He doesn’t owe me any explanation. Frankly, I don’t know why we’re talking again, or why we talked so much earlier.

  He clears his throat and says, “Yes. We can do that at dinner.”

  “What?” I ask. I snap my mouth shut so that I’m not staring at him stupidly. He didn’t deny picking on me. Eric didn’t dismiss me or say this was none of my business.