Page 33

Jude

The Gala Literary job had been posted.

Jude’s throat encountered a sudden drought as her phone slowly loaded the post on the store’s shitty Wi-Fi. She’d been checking every couple of days, just out of curiosity, and now here it was. Manager, Emerging Writers Program. Not that she was going to apply.

Even if things had been particularly miserable at the store lately.

As if proving her point, a woman approached the register, her phone held up to her chin. Jude could tell what she was going to ask before she said it.

“Sure, we can take a picture,” Jude said, unable to keep the weariness out of her tone.

Normally, Jude didn’t mind working the register. But lately, most of the people she interacted with just wanted to talk about Kat.

The woman held up her phone and Jude leaned over the counter, pasting on a smile.

She dropped it as soon as the photo was taken.

At first, she’d tried to see these interactions as an opportunity to understand what life was like for Kat, but after three weeks, she had to admit she was tired.

She was sick of posing for photos, sick of pretending she was delighted to meet these people who only wanted proof of their proximity to fame, sick of making the same exact small talk over and over while having to pretend it was new.

She was sick of it all. But the bookstore was having its best month ever.

Stephen had used the influx of new customers as an excuse to change up their display tables.

He wanted more of what he called “mainstream” books in easy reach: the biggest bestsellers, the celebrity memoirs, the thirty-five-dollar cookbooks with glossy photos.

The Oscars-inspired table had been nixed, and the staff recommendations had been relegated to a shelf near the back.

Jude swiped open her phone and started reading the job listing. The director role offered good benefits and a much higher salary than what she currently made. But her eyes caught on one item in the list of requirements.

Strong public speaking skills.

Jude put her phone down next to the register.

Well, that was it, then, wasn’t it?

She should never have even looked at the posting. She’d only been setting herself up for disappointment.

As another customer approached with their phone hovering at their side, Jude closed out of the tab and put her phone away in her pocket. Then she leaned across the counter and pasted on another smile.