Just Business

Chapter Seventeen: Marcia

The Monday that technically marked the start of Great British Business came and went. Marcia spent the whole day on edge, jumping every time someone came into the shop. David was her rock all through the day, calming her frequently and dealing with more than his fair share of customers when she was overwhelmed.

They had taken to texting frequently, only stopping when they were actually face to face with one another. They had not spoken about the kiss amongst all those messages, but Marcia had long ago accepted she would never be the one to mention it first. She still cringed when she thought about it, how she had practically thrown herself at David, and how he probably had only gone along with it because of some cocktail of politeness and alcohol. She had been reckless and stupid, and had put her bookshop on the line in doing so. It wouldn't be happening again.

Seeing the two shops combined strengthened her resolve. This was what David wanted, to take everything her family had built and make it his. All he had to do now was clear out the books and he had everything he wanted. But she was going to find a way to save Page Turners, no distractions.

Despite her best efforts, Marcia's mind still strayed. The more she got to know David, the less she could imagine him ripping into Page Turners. He seemed too soft, too gentle. He also was notably content, happy in himself and his achievements. Would he really throw her to the side just to grow something that he often claimed was perfect as it was? If she were brutally honest, Marcia didn't know how to feel about the whole situation, but she refused to let her defences down totally.

On Tuesday she was slightly less panicked, and by Wednesday she was too burnt out and tired from all her stress to feel much of anything. When the filming crew arrived an hour before opening on Thursday, Marcia felt nothing but mute relief.

"I love it," Candice said, striding into the shop with no form of greeting. "I absolutely love it even more in person. Hey! Make sure you get some B-roll of that display."

She pointed at the honey display, and two black-clad crew members rushed to do her bidding. They seemed endless, these crew members. They ran everywhere, doing everything. And all were at the beck and call of Candice.

David came into her part of the shop, making Marcias heart convulse in her chest.

"Hiya Candice, nice to finally meet you in person."

"Nice to meet you as well. Now you're both here, you can follow me," Candice said, beckoning them. Marica looked at David, allowing his comforting smile to infect her and bring her back down to earth. They were taken outside, and Marcia was shocked to see the streets lined with pristine white vans, their bulking bodies filling the small cobbled street.

"So this episode is just first impressions. The judges will go around the shop now while it's empty, then they'll come back later undercover. We don't want you two meeting them just yet, so we're going to ask your staff to leave for a bit. We're going to need you two for an interview if that's okay?"

The question was clearly rhetorical, but both answered in the affirmative anyway.

"Great," Candice continued. "We can either set up somewhere outside here, or if either of you have a private space inside that would work?"

"I do, maybe," Marcia replied, not enjoying the idea of filming outside. The wind was picking up and her hair would be all over the place. "I actually live in an apartment above the shop, we could set up in my living room if it works?"

"Lead the way and the crew will see if it'll work," Candice commanded. All obeyed.

Marcia was a neat person by rule, and the stress of waiting had just made her clean more. It was normally an annoyance that proved unnecessary, but now Marcia was glad of it. Her living room was clean and tidy, although maximalist by design. It dripped in tapestries and wall hangings, the colour scheme reliant on an emerald green/ gold aesthetic. Greco-roman statues lounged on most surfaces, some of them with succulents growing from them. Books littered the space, not contained to the wall-sized bookshelves. Many were artful hardbacks or special editions of classics, with fabric covers and gold-gilded pages.

The living room was given the seal of approval, although it was decided furniture had to be moved to accommodate cameras. To this end, Marcia and David were told to wait in the kitchen, out of the way.

"Your house is really nice," David admitted as soon as the door shut.

"Oh, it's fine I suppose," Marcia said. The few times she had people over who weren't Ivy and Ally, they had found it overwhelming or comedic. One short lived situationship had dumped her on the spot, saying the interior decor proved his suspicions she was 'high maintenance'.

"No, I'm serious, I love it. Too many people these days live in beige boxes with stainless steel everything. Your place feels so alive."
He said the last word on an exhaled breath, making it sound full of wonder.

"Thank you," she said genuinely. "To be fair, I had a long time to plan what I was going to do with the space. I always loved the apartment. My grandparents rented it out to a family friend when they ran Page Turners and she used to babysit me. When she moved into a care home I went straight in."

"How old were you?" David asked.

"Nineteen. I was commuting to school and working here. I already lived with Nana Matilda and Rudy at that point, and I was ready to have my own space."

"You must have been lonely living alone at that age."

Marcia considered. She had felt lonely, sure, but she had assumed it was teen angst everybody felt.

"I was fine," Marcia said. "I dealt with it. I didn't have much time to feel lonely anyway, and then Ivy and Ally moved back and we just kind of picked up where we left off."

David crossed his arms, something intense in his eyes. Marcia had the acute feeling of failure, although she was not quite sure why. She didn't know why she felt the need to deny that she ever got lonely, especially to David who also seemed perfectly fine on his own.

"I like it here," she defended.

"I'm sure," David shrugged. "But could you love it if things were a little different?"

He leant in as he spoke, and Marcia didn't know if he was hinting at what he proposed she change.

"Well, things aren't different," she snapped. He raised an eyebrow, humour flitting across his face.

"I'm just saying I don't buy this introverted, fine being alone thing. You're not built to be by yourself."

"You're just trying to convince me to invite you over more. It's not my fault you didn't bother to decorate your place."

David shifted, moving so his hand was on the counter, effectively trapping Marcia in a corner. She looked up, catching his eye and finding herself incapable of breaking their locked gazes.

"Maybe I am trying to come over more," he admitted. "Your sofa looks so comfy, and your place is so close to mine."

"And there's no other reason you'd come over?" she breathed. "Just the sofa."

"And you've got a bigger TV than I do."

"Anything else?"

He cast his eyes over her body, her skin burning wherever his gaze touched.

"What do you think?" he asked

Before Marcia could respond, the kitchen door opened.

"We're ready for you," said one of the crew.

"Sure," David said, throwing off one of his smiles. "We're ready, aren't we darling?"