Aveline by Leah Connelly

Author:Leah Connelly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Leah Connelly
Published: 2023-06-21T00:00:00+00:00

8.

Aveline aced the interview. She wasn’t sure how – maybe her quick-witted responses to the questions.

“What’s the difference between a latte and an espresso?”

“One is a shot and one is a drink.”

Maybe it was because Kevin, the manager, had always been friendly with her. Emmaline had always had a crush on Kevin and Aveline suspected the feelings had been mutual. Anyway, they needed someone immediately.

She’d been hired to work in the café, but Collen convinced Kevin to let Aveline assist him with Moncreiffe O’Leary’s book signing. On the day of the event, the knots in Aveline’s stomach tightened.

She and Collen had planned to come in early that morning and spend an hour arranging chairs, tables, and copies of Moncreiffe’s books that had arrived on the previous night’s truck. Moncreiffe would arrive at nine, they would brief him at ten, and he would start the reading at eleven. The signing would follow the reading at noon, they would pack up at one, and Moncreiffe would leave at exactly one thirty.

Aveline’s car wouldn’t start. She called Collen to pick her up, which he did without hesitation, but it set them back thirty minutes. Then, the cash registers at the café and the bookstore wouldn’t start, so they had to call tech support.

Then, they discovered one of the boxes of books had been placed directly underneath the leaky spot in the ceiling. And last night, it had really rained. Fortunately, only a few of the books on top had gotten wet.

At 8:45 a.m., the phone rang in the store. Aveline answered. “Books and Bubbles, how can I help you?”

“Yes love, this is Orla, Moncreiffe O’Leary’s assistant. He wanted me to let you know he is on his way, but he got caught in a touch of traffic so he might be thirty to forty-five minutes late.”

But eventually, things calmed and Moncreiffe did arrive. Moncreiffe barely registered Aveline’s face when she greeted him at the front entrance. “Can I get you anything?” She asked, trying not to make eye contact. She need not have worried though, as he seemed oblivious to her presence. “Ah...yes. How about an Earl Grey, with cream? And a cranberry scone. They smell delicious.” Then he returned to practicing reading from one of his books in different voices.

Aveline decided not to make the same mistake as last time. She would ask all her questions first during the Q&A. But after his reading, Mr. O’Leary announced, “My apologies, but in the interest of time, I am going to skip the question and answer session today. I must be going, but I would love to sign autographs and answer brief questions as you come through the line. Thank you.”

Aveline jumped to the front of the line while Collen distracted Kevin. “Mr. O’Leary. We met before. Do you remember me? My name is Aveline Dyer and I attended your speaking event in Columbus last month.”

Mr. O’Leary eyed her warily. “No,” he said. “I’m afraid I don’t remember. Last month is quite nebulous to me.

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