Jemma sighed, and wrote. ‘Anything else? Business experience?’
Raphael laughed. ‘You’ve worked with me, Jemma, what do you think?’
Jemma put her pen down. ‘If you can fill in the basic duties of the post, that’s more or less it for the job description,’ she said. ‘And you can work out the experience and the qualities you want.’
‘Oh yes,’ said Raphael. ‘Not like Brian. That’s mainly why I’m doing this, so that I don’t end up with another one of him.’
‘So how does the recruitment process work?’ said Jemma.
‘Oh, we always have lots of candidates,’ said Raphael. ‘I normally tell them to bring three books, shove them in a room together, and see who’s left at the end.’
Jemma remembered the graduate scheme recruitment processes she had gone through, and revised her opinion of them to actually quite humane. ‘What about the people who don’t make it?’
‘Oh, they can always try again,’ said Raphael. ‘They generally find a home somewhere. Many of them end up working in normal bookshops. Mostly, you see, they just like books, and the rest of it is a bit of an add-on.’
‘As opposed to the people who think they’ll be working in a normal bookshop, then find out that isn’t the case,’ said Jemma. ‘OK, so once you’ve added the duties and written the person spec, you advertise the job somewhere appropriate. I’d suggest for a role like this that you should have a closing date of three weeks to a month from the date you post the advert—’
‘A month?’ Raphael’s eyebrows were almost in his hairline.
‘Yes,’ said Jemma.
‘And where do I advertise?’ said Raphael. ‘I was planning to mention it to my staff and see who was up for it.’
‘And then put them all in a room, I suppose,’ said Jemma.
‘Of course,’ said Raphael. ‘How else am I meant to pick someone?’
‘You remember when I made you interview me?’ said Jemma.
‘But that was different,’ said Raphael. ‘That was for the bookshop.’
‘You could write competency-based questions that would show you how people cope with emergencies, what sort of books they would want to acquire, and what knowledge they have of storing books appropriately,’ said Jemma. ‘Or you could give them an emergency scenario and ask what they would do.’
Raphael picked up his coffee cup and drained it. ‘This is much more work than I thought it would be,’ he said. ‘Why don’t you just take the job?’
Jemma goggled at him. ‘Don’t be ridiculous, Raphael,’ she snapped. ‘I have no idea how to look after valuable books, I don’t know what I’d do in a knowledge-related emergency, and I’ve spent less than six months working in a bookshop.’ She felt heat creep up her neck. ‘I’m not qualified, according to your criteria, and apart from anything else, you can’t afford me.’
‘Oh,’ said Raphael. ‘Is that your final word on the subject?’
‘Yes, it is,’ said Jemma. ‘I’m surprised at you, Raphael. The system you’ve got at the moment is why you ended up with someone like Brian working for you. There’s no job security, the pay is terrible, and I sincerely doubt that this is a family-friendly job. Frankly, I’m disappointed.’ She stood up, and pushed her chair in.
As Jemma turned to go she saw Carl framed in the great oak doorway, staring at her. ‘Excuse me,’ she said, marching towards him, ‘I have a bookshop to run.’ And still staring, he got out of her way.
Chapter 4
Jemma arrived back at her own bookshop to find a small note hanging from the knocker. Stocktake in progress: please knock or ring for admission. She let herself in and, as ever, was surprised when no bell rang. There was no bell. She imagined Brian’s face at being summoned by a bell, like a grocer, or a vendor of something he would consider less classy than books.
‘I’m back,’ she called, removing her jacket. ‘Are you in the stockroom?’
There was no answer, but presently Maddy appeared with not a hair out of place. ‘Sorry, I was in the middle of something,’ she said. She looked Jemma up and down, taking in her slightly increased smartness. ‘You were quick.’
‘Yes, it turned out to be recruitment advice, so it didn’t take long.’
Maddy’s eyes opened a little wider. ‘Recruitment advice?’
‘That’s right,’ said Jemma. How much did Maddy know? She couldn’t be sure, but she could see that Maddy was interested. ‘Seeing as I’m back, would you mind showing me the ropes? Of the stocktaking, I mean.’
Maddy smoothed her hair. ‘I, um – yes, of course. Come this way.’ She smiled, but it lasted only a moment before it flickered and went out.
Over the next half hour, Jemma was inducted into the mysteries of book care. Maddy showed her the special boxes that the most valuable books were kept in, often made to measure, and the thermostat in the stockroom. ‘I always check it when I come in, and when I leave for the day,’ she said. ‘If it’s colder than nineteen degrees or warmer than twenty-one, I take action. And if it’s a particularly hot or cold day, I check it at lunchtime as well. It only takes a second, but it’s essential for peace of mind.’
‘And how do you know where everything is?’ asked Jemma.
Maddy laughed. ‘Oh, that’s easy. Each set of shelves has a letter, and each individual shelf, a number. We arrange books by subject, so botany goes here’ – she pointed – ‘and art here.’ She twisted round and pointed the other way. ‘So when we bring in a new book we type its details into the computer, add the shelf code, and that’s it. If it has its own box, of course, we label that. There’s a label maker under the counter.’
‘I see,’ said Jemma, gazing about her. Brian’s stockroom was perhaps a sixth of the size of Raphael’s, if that, and meticulously organised. ‘Do you find that the books stay where you put them?’
‘I’m not sure what you mean,’ said Maddy. ‘The shelves are very sturdy, so we’ve never had any collapses.’
‘I’m sure you haven’t,’ said Jemma. She ran a finger along the nearest shelf when Maddy wasn’t looking, and it came away clean. ‘I mean, have you ever come in here for a book and found it wasn’t where you expected it to be?’
Maddy shook her head. ‘No, never. The system is agreed. So long as everyone knows what’s going on, nothing should go astray.’
‘And you’ve never… You’ve never found a book in your stockroom that you didn’t expect to be there?’
Maddy’s head-shaking became more vigorous. ‘We keep track of everything,’ she said. ‘If we found something unexpected in the stockroom, that would mean it hadn’t been catalogued.’ She frowned as if this possibility had never occurred to her. Then she gazed at Jemma. ‘Would you mind me asking,’ she said, ‘what the position is that you were advising on?’
‘I’m not sure I can,’ said Jemma. ‘I haven’t been sworn to secrecy exactly, but it isn’t my job to discuss.’