Good Morning and Welcome to the LAST Wednesday Words with Friends post in November 2022!
We're continuing our All Christmas thru Christmas with guest, Karen McCullough with her light, contemporary romantic suspense novella set at Christmas, Blue December!
With money disappearing from registers in her department and inventory going AWOL as well, Meg Brandt is having a really bad Christmas.
It’s two weeks before Christmas and Meg Brandt, a department manager at Wambash’s, “the store with the answer to all your family’s needs,” has problems beyond the usual seasonal chaos. Her department is losing cash from the registers. Inventory is leaving the premises unrecorded and unpaid.
Security is focusing on her, since the losses are happening on her watch. Her efforts to track down the source of the disappearances have produced no results, and her career appears to be headed for oblivion. When the store’s new security officer starts showing unusual attention to her, Meg isn’t sure what to think. He’s attractive in any number of ways, but she can’t be sure if his interest is personal or professional.
Excerpt: The sound system suggested that everyone should have a holly, jolly Christmas, but no one around, including Meg, seemed to be heeding the advice. The customer leaning against the sales counter wasn't jolly; the other six waiting in line behind her didn't look at all amused; Heather, the young sales associate, was close to tears; and Meg's stomach begged for another dose of Maalox.
Meg glanced again at the piece of paper she held. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “We just can't accept checks that aren't imprinted.” And especially not for three hundred and twenty dollars, she thought. She didn't say so aloud. Meg looked up and met the woman's furious eyes.
“I don't see why not,” the irate customer said. “I used one at JC Penney just this afternoon.”
Meg didn't voice her doubts on that score. “It doesn't matter. Our store's policy—”
“Are you trying to imply that my check isn't good?” The woman’s pitch and volume rose steadily to levels that were beginning to attract attention in the next aisle. “It's libel or something like that. You're just assuming the check is bad 'cause my name ain't printed on it? I could sue you. Can't you call the bank or something?”
You know very well it's almost nine o’clock and the banks are closed, Meg thought. She swallowed her growing irritation and suspicion with an effort of will and managed to sound calm. “I’m afraid not. Do you have a credit card you could put this on?”
Glancing at Meg, Heather shook her head and said, “The machine wouldn't take either of them.”
Figures, Meg decided, guarding her face. “We could hold these things for you for a day or two,” she offered. “You can go to the bank tomorrow and cash a check. Or, if you prefer, we can put them on layaway. “
“I had to drive twenty-two miles to get here,” the woman protested. “And I got arthritis and it ain't easy for me to move around. I came here special today just to get them clothes.” She launched into a loud, angry tirade that questioned the store's devotion to its customers, attacked its absurd and libelous policies, and impugned the integrity of the associate and Meg herself. Meg nodded to Heather to cancel the transaction and take the next customer's merchandise while she walked around the counter and maneuvered the woman a little to the side. The outburst continued unabated.
She grew even louder after Meg told her that the store manager wasn't currently available, nor was the assistant manager. The woman was turning red in the face, and since she was rather overweight anyway, Meg began to worry about the possibility of her having a heart attack. People were stopping to stare at the spectacle they presented.
Meg was so focused on the angry woman, wondering how she was going to both soothe and get rid of her, that she actually jumped when a male voice behind her asked, “Is something wrong?”
She whirled to face the newcomer, a stranger who, nevertheless, acted as though he belonged there. No, not entirely a stranger. Meg remembered that he'd been introduced at the last staff meeting as the new assistant to the head of security. At the time she'd been torn between wondering why the head of security suddenly needed an assistant and watching the reaction of the female clerks to the new employee, so she hadn't actually paid much attention to him. Anyway that had been almost a week ago, and the preholiday chaos had occupied most of her waking (and some of her sleeping) moments since.
She avoided making an introduction since she couldn't remember the man's name and explained the situation to him. He had cool hazel-green eyes that melted into warmth and fiery charm, which he directed toward the angry woman with all the deliberate aim of an archer. Within minutes he was guiding the woman toward the customer-service desk so she could lodge a formal complaint. Meg breathed a sigh of relief as they left. When the man turned to glance at her briefly as they rounded the comer to the main aisle, she offered him a grateful smile; the look he gave in return held no hint of warmth or charm. It wasn't unfriendly either. She searched her mind for a description. Unreadable. Inscrutable—that was the word she wanted.
Meg initialed the voided transaction slip, hoping she could now get back to her desk and the stack of sales registers that refused to balance out. No such luck, of course. She'd barely tucked her pen back into her pocket when the public-address system summoned her to the Juniors’ department.
Karen McCullough is the author of almost two dozen published novels and novellas in the mystery, romance, suspense, and fantasy genres, including the Market Center Mysteries Series and three books in the No Brides Club series of romance novels. A member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Piedmont Authors Network, she is also a past president of the Southeast chapter of Mystery Writers of America and member of the MWA national board. Karen has won numerous awards, including an Eppie Award for fantasy, and has also been a finalist in the Daphne, Prism, Dream Realm, Rising Star, Lories, and Vixen Award contests. Her short fiction has appeared in a wide variety of anthologies. She lives in Greensboro, NC, with her husband of many years.
Website: http://www.kmccullough.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/kgmccullough
Sounds like a great story, Karen! Thanks for sharing. Wishing you the best of luck and God's blessings with your writing endeavors.
Hope you enjoyed today's post, friends and that you'll stop by weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.
Until next time, take care and God Bless.
PamT
6 comments:
I love the excerpt!
Merry Christmas 1
HI Pam -- Thanks for letting me visit! Thank you, Liz, D.V., and Anna! Merry Christmas to all of you!
Great excerpt. Karen, your name is new to me and your title is going on my list!
I was a department store manager at Christmas so I can relate. Congrats on the novel, Karen.
Looks very good, Karen! Congrats.
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