Page 1 of The Enemy Plot
1
Meet My Enemy
Alice
With each second that ticks by, I get a little more anxious, alternating between biting my nails and straightening the book display I’m putting together. Not even the smell of ink and paper, or the fact that I literally have the best job in the world, can calm my nerves right now.
“Relax, Alice.” Emma rolls her deep brown eyes. “He hasn’t even done anything yet.”
Heis Deacon Collier, our selfish neighbor who blasts his music at all hours, disturbing the peace and quiet of ourhappy bookish life. And in the short few weeks I’ve known him, “hatred” has entered my vocabulary for the first time. I now have an enemy list, and his name is the only one on it, surrounded by skull and angry emoji stickers—don’t judge; scrapbooking soothes me.
I scoff. “Yeah, but Iknowhe will.” Because his only aim in life is to torture me.Us.All the small business owners on Warlington Lane. Though I sometimes feel he’s getting a special kick out of annoying me.
“Let Emz handle it next time, then,” Hayley says, glancing over her shoulder as she shelves the Young Adult section.
I dropHating Youby Katie Angel on the Enemies to Lovers display with a loud thud. “I’m capable of taking care of myself, thank you.”
Okay, I’ve been a people pleaser my entire life. But that ends now. I will not let Deacon Collier win, nor will I ask my best friends for help.Istarted this battle, and I’ll finish it. Victorious.
Mr. Darcy, our bookstore cat, rubs himself on my leg, and I pick him up. I barely start to scratch his neck, and he’s already purring. He’s definitely not as grumpy as the original Darcy, but his black-and-white tuxedo coat tugged at our Jane Austen heartstrings.
“I know you can fight your own battles,” Hayley says, shaking her head of short pink locks. “I’m just saying, kicking butt is Emma’s specialty. Remember when she chewed out that first banker we went to for a loan? The one who belittled us? It wasn’t pretty.”
Emma barks out a laugh, her black fringe quivering with the movement. “He deserved it. He called our bookstore project ‘a cute little venture that could never be profitable in Brooklyn.’”
“Ew. I hated that guy,” Hayley says, going back to shelving. “Joke’s on him.”
Here’s the thing. As much as I didn’t agree with that banker, and his comments put a damper on my faith in this bookstore for a few days, I didn’thatehim. There’s only one man who has ignited that emotion in me. “I don’t need your help, Emma. I got this one.”
She lifts her hands in surrender. “Suit yourself. Oh, look,” she says, her eyes returning to the computer screen. She’s behind the counter, supposedly ordering books, but her tone tells me she wound up online. “There’s a cover reveal sign-up for Evy Lunsford's next book.”
Called it. She’s browsing Bookstagram. Giving Mr. Darcy a kiss, I put him down, and he saunters toward his sleeping corner
“Oh, fun!” Hayley says, getting down from one of the rolling bookshelf ladders. “When is it?”
“In two weeks. I’m signing up. Should I put you girls down too?”
“You know I love cover reveals,” Hayley says with a bright smile.
“Sure, count me in,” I say, arranging the books into a neat pile. “Do you know if she’ll be releasing audio?”
I prefer audiobooks over paperbacks or e-books. Listening to stories is livelier, and I can absentmindedly color books or do my scrapbooking at the same time. There’s nothing more relaxing in the world. Plus, hearing books read aloud really helped me with my English, especially my accent. My mom was American, and I was born here, but I lived my entire life in France with my dad and my brother. We spoke English with our mom until she passed away when I was young. My dad encouraged my brother and me to keep up our English. But when Maxime eventually left for the US to play hockey, I lost my conversation partner. Listening to audiobooks was a way to maintain my English conversation level and perfect my pronunciation. Not to mention how sexy some of these narrators’ voices are. Do I ever buy an audiobook just for the narrator? You bet I do.
“Mmm,” Emma says, her eyes scanning the screen. “It doesn’t mention audio, but I’m sure she will. All the books in this series have been made into audiobooks.”
“By the way, did you finishUntil You?” Hayley asks me, hands propped on her hips as she scrutinizes the store. Hayley is the one with an eye for design. Her Bookstagram account is the prettiest, and she’s responsible for the cozy bookstore vibe we’ve created.
I bring my brown hair into a ponytail. “Non. I have a few chapters left. I’m also on the last page of my coloring book.”
“Then what are you still doing here?” Emma asks, arching an eyebrow.
The store is about to open, but I’m off today. We take turns working so one of us can always have a day or half-day off. But frankly, when you’re running a bookstore—and might I add for the benefit of Mr. Banker, asuccessfulone—it doesn’t really feel like work. But we agreed to stick to the schedule. Because we do need time off, even if we don’t always notice it.
“Fine, I’ll go upstairs.”
Dragging my feet, I trudge to the back of the store and up the stairs to our apartment. Because yes, on top of owning a bookstore, we also live above it. Every bookish girl’s dream.
Grabbing my coloring book and crayons from my neatly organized desk, I lie down on my soft pink comforter. I put my headphones on and press play on chapter twenty-six of my book. It’s the man’s POV, and I’m instantly thrust back into my beloved fictional world. One where men are dreamboats who have feelings and share them with their girlfriends, who take those girls on perfect dates and deliver swoony grand gestures.