‘Oh God,’ said Emilia. ‘Jackson, it’s really sweet of you, but the shop’s in debt. I can’t afford to give it the refurb it needs. There’s – there’s about a million reasons why it’s not a good idea. Anyway, I’ve shaken hands on the deal. I can’t go back on it.’
‘You can,’ said Jackson. ‘I’ve got a confession.’
‘What?’
‘I didn’t really come in here to buy books. I was under cover.’
Emilia frowned. What was he on about?
‘You’re not from the Inland Revenue?’
‘No.’ He took a deep breath. ‘I work for Ian Mendip. I was supposed to try and persuade you to sell the shop to him.’
Emilia tried to take in what he was saying.
‘Bastard!’
‘Who – me, or him?’
‘I don’t know. Both of you.’ She looked furious. ‘So you didn’t want to read to Finn at all? That wanting to be a good father line was just a bluff—’
‘No! It was to start with, I suppose—’
‘Get out,’ said Emilia, pointing to the door.
Jackson stood his ground.
‘Look, I don’t feel good about it. Once I’d met you, I couldn’t go through with it. I didn’t realise you were going to give in.’
Emilia shrugged. ‘Well, it’s too late. I can’t afford to stay open. Not now. Look at it. It’s completely ruined. It’s going to cost a fortune to fix the damage.’
They both looked at the mess.
‘I’ve got a suggestion.’
Emilia rolled her eyes. He wasn’t getting the hint.
‘Thank you for your interest, Jackson, but can you please just leave me alone? I’m not in any mood to listen.’
‘Just give me one minute, will you?’
The two of them stared each other out. Emilia sighed. ‘One minute.’
‘I’ve looked at the plans for the glove factory,’ Jackson told her. ‘I’ve looked at the car park and measured it out. I’ve done the maths. If you knock down that flat-roofed extension at the back, where the office is, and sell Mendip a third of the car park, it gives him the parking space he needs for four more units, which will make him an extra two hundred grand.’
‘Two hundred grand?’ Emilia’s eyebrows went up.
Jackson nodded. ‘So he could afford to give you half that.’
Emilia took what he’d said in. ‘A hundred grand? For a bit of car park?’
‘I know you’ll lose the extension the office is in, but I don’t think that’s a problem, because you could put the office down in the cellars. They’d probably need a bit of work but as long as they’re solid and dry …’
‘You’ve really thought this through, haven’t you?’
‘Yes. Because I don’t want the book shop to go. And I don’t want you to miss the opportunity to make a few quid out of Mendip either, if it’s there to be had. He’s a greedy bugger.’
‘Are you sure he’ll agree to it? He’ll be furious if I don’t sell, surely? He’s not going to want me to make money out of him.’
Jackson grinned. ‘If he doesn’t have that bit of car park, he’ll end up losing money. He’ll give in eventually. I know him. He’s more interested in profit than pride.’
‘He’s not going to be very happy with you, is he?’
‘Well, that doesn’t matter, because I’m not going to work for him any more. I’m giving in my notice. I’m setting up on my own.’ He grinned. ‘In fact, you can be my first client, if you like.’
‘Ah. So there is something in it for you?’
‘I was kidding. Sort of …’
Emilia folded her arms. She looked around the shop. It was a disaster. It smelled terrible and she’d had to pull up most of the carpet. She couldn’t imagine order restored.
‘You’re going to have to empty the place anyway, to repair the damage. So while you’re at it, you can get it replastered. Do a bit of rewiring. Put in some smart lighting and sound …’
Emilia looked at him evenly. ‘Why should I trust you? You’ve already admitted trying to stitch me up.’
Jackson put up his hands. ‘Fair enough.’
There was silence for a moment.
‘How long would it take?’ asked Emilia.
‘Don’t you want a quote first? And it depends what you want. What sort of finish.’
Emilia walked over to the counter and found Bea’s plans. She handed them to Jackson.
‘That’s what I want.’
Jackson started leafing through it. ‘This is really cool. But you could do it, no problem. Three weeks would do it, I reckon.’
‘Give me a price. Let’s make it happen.’
‘Seriously?’
Emilia pulled out her phone.
‘Do you want to listen while I tell Mendip …?’
Mendip was livid, but as Jackson predicted he capitulated eventually. Knowing the extent of his skulduggery, Emilia played hardball with him. She secured a hefty cash deposit from him for the deal, which would allow her to finance the repairs.
Andrea was open-mouthed with admiration. Even though Mendip was her client, she was jubilant.
‘Don’t feel too bad about pressuring him,’ she told Emilia. ‘He’ll do well out of the glove factory. Everybody wins this way.’
Mendip was surprisingly calm when he heard that Jackson was leaving him. Though he didn’t know that it was Jackson who’d given Emilia the inside info.