Just Business

Chapter Eleven: Marcia

 Marcia felt stupid standing there in her honey-coloured dress. It had seemed funny when she had put it on, indulging in an inside joke. But now it felt too tight, too low cut, too high hemmed. It was a dress for girls like Ivy, not like her.

"She seems nice, " Marcia said, just so she would have something to listen to other than her own heartbeat. She took a seat at the bar.

"She is to everybody except for me," David admitted, "But I love her. She keeps me on my toes."

Marcia pushed down the rising wave of jealousy in her gut.

"Oh, that's nice."

She fiddled with a rubber bar mat. David studied her, his eyes glossing over her skin in a way that was both too intimate and too remote. He then smiled a knowing smile.

"She's like a sister to me. If she ever brings home a girlfriend I'm planning on doing the whole 'don't you hurt her' thing. But looking at the girls she goes for, I don't think I'll be that threatening. She likes the strong ones, rugby players and gym rats."

Marcia relaxed a bit, then chastised herself for caring in the first place.

"My brother is at uni. I think there's a lot of girls, but none come home to be threatened. He's not in that phase of life yet," Marcia laughed.

"So he's younger? Must be nice. I have two older brothers, although I've never bought anybody home so I don't know how they'd act."

"Never?" Marcia asked, incredulous. He was too handsome and cool to have never taken a girl home. Unless he didn't want to, and she could add 'player' to the list of reasons she should not be into him but was.

"It just never happened."

"Me neither," Marcia said, although she assumed it was for a very different reason than why David remained single. "I had a school girl thing when I was seventeen, but he moved schools and it fizzled out."

"Doesn't sound like the spark was ever that bright."

Marcia shrugged.

"He was fine, but he wasn't like in the books. Nobody is. I was young at the time, and wanted something that now I don't think exists. Not really, anyway."

"Are you always a pessimist?" he asked.

"Only when the glass is half empty."

"Darling, the glasses at the Raven on Tap are never half empty. Let's make some drinks."

Marcia shivered at the pet name.

"Are they Poe themed?" she asked, hoping her voice was steady.

"No, no. Books in general," he said. "Then a few bee ones for our first display."

Her chest warmed at the word 'our'. It was nice to imagine someone there with her to shoulder some of the burdens.

The warmth frosted over as she remembered who David was. She couldn't afford to see him as an ally, couldn't lower her defences even for a moment. If that hunky, well-spoken, charming Trojan Horse got into Page Turners then she was defeated.

But until then, they needed to work together to make Great British Business a success. She just watched as he made the first cocktail, not wanting to distract him. It came out a cloudy brown, served in a short glass with a criss-cross pattern cut into it.

"Catcher in the Rum," David explained. "AKA a sexed up rum and coke. Spiced aged rum and elderflower cola."

Marcia took a sip.

"That's delicious," she said. The elderflower bought a light flavour to the otherwise earthy drink.

"I'm glad you like it," he sipped his own. "I might use a chapter brand of rum, though. All I had in was this posh stuff, so the cocktail would be a little pricey with our margins. I want to keep everything affordable where possible."