Time to Laugh Romance Collection

by Wanda E. Brunstetter

  She tried to limit the possibilities of who the note writer could be; but when she counted the single male members of the office staff, the dispatch office, the foremen, warehousemen, and drivers, the list seemed endless. She didn’t think most of them even knew her name; they only knew her as the payroll clerk. But all it took was one.

  By the time she went home for the evening, she was still no closer to a solution.

  Wednesday morning, Shannon deliberately arrived at work early. She didn’t linger in the lunchroom. She didn’t take time to make a cup of tea.

  Shannon hustled to her desk and opened the drawer.

  Another white paper lay rolled up in her pencil tray, again tied with a red ribbon and accompanied by a chocolate kiss. Her hands shook as she tugged the ribbon open.

  Dearest Shannon,

  Your happy smile

  Shines every day.

  You are more special

  Than words can say.

  Your Secret Admirer

  Shannon nearly choked. She wasn’t special. She was ordinary. Very ordinary. Nor could she figure out who in the world would think she was special, except her parents, who didn’t count in this instance.

  She tried to determine who had access to her desk, and the answer was everyone.

  Apparently, some detective work was in order. The first and most logical step would be to ask, without giving away details, if other office staff had seen anyone lingering around her desk. It would take only two seconds, though, to open her drawer, slip something in and close it. A person wouldn’t have to slow down very much when walking past. Employees dropped time cards and medical forms on her desk all the time. Some even opened her drawer freely to borrow her pens if she wasn’t there and they needed to leave her a note.

  She decided not to ask questions of the men, in case she asked the person who had actually left the note. Most of all she didn’t want people talking. She only wanted to find out who was doing this.

  Footsteps sounded behind her. Todd, with his usual morning coffee in hand, was on his way to the dispatch office.

  “Todd, may I ask you something?”

  He shuffled the mug from one hand to the other. “Ouch, ouch! I can’t stop now. I overfilled my coffee, and it’s spilling on my fingers. Maybe later.”

  Muttering under his breath and leaving a trail of coffee dribbles on the floor, Todd disappeared through the dispatch office doorway.

  For a moment, Shannon had considered that Todd could be on her list of suspects, but she now mentally crossed him off. He could have saved his fingers from further harm by resting the coffee mug on her desk and talking to her for a minute or two before resuming his journey. But he didn’t. He’d kept right on going, not even looking at her as he balanced his too-full coffee mug.

  Oddly, his actions gave Shannon a strange sensation in the pit of her stomach. She wondered if he had intended to give her a taste of her own medicine by virtually ignoring her. He’d done exactly to her what she’d been doing to him since they had begun working together. Intentional or not, it gave her a stab of guilt, now knowing what it felt like to be passed by.

  Shannon continued to stare at the doorway long after Todd disappeared from sight. He hadn’t deserved to be treated the way she’d been treating him. Since they had been working together, he had been friendly and courteous. No one who saw them together would know of their shaky past relationship. For once, he was acting mature, which made her wonder if perhaps Craig could be right. Perhaps Todd had changed.

  Shannon blinked hard a couple of times and shifted her gaze to a blank spot on the wall. What was she thinking? Just as in the past, no matter how much she hoped and prayed he would change, Todd was still Todd.

  The warehouse supervisor thunked a pile of time cards on the corner of her desk, interrupting her mental meanderings. Shannon returned her thoughts to her job.

  The whole day, she didn’t venture far from her desk. Whenever she did leave, she watched it out of the corner of her eye. To her dismay, no one came within touching distance of it when she was nearby, except to drop off more time cards or mail. Short of video surveillance, she didn’t know what else to do.

  Not wanting to waste any more time, she gave up trying and buried herself in the stacks of papers and time cards.

  Shannon flipped the page on her desk calendar. Today was Thursday. She didn’t want to know what was inside her drawer. But before she could begin her work she had to get her pencil. She couldn’t sit and stare at the closed drawer all day.

  Taking in a deep breath for courage, Shannon yanked the drawer open. Sure enough, another note awaited her. With trembling fingers, she pulled open the ribbon.

  Dearest Shannon,

  You’re sweet, you’re kind,

  You’re very smart.

  Just by being you,

  You’ve won my heart.

  Your Secret Admirer

  A sick feeling rolled through Shannon’s stomach. Whoever this Secret Admirer was, she worried in earnest that he was serious. What scared her more than anything was that she had no idea who he might be.

  She needed help. Except she didn’t know whom to ask. She had already figured out she couldn’t ask any of the men. Nor did she want to ask the women in her immediate vicinity. She was too embarrassed to tell anyone what was happening and too afraid they would start to gossip.

  The only person she could trust was good ol’ Todd. Being a man, Todd might overhear talk amongst the other men. If she was lucky, Mr. Secret Admirer might let a few things slip—if someone knew what to listen for.

  The key would be Todd. Once she told him what was going on, she knew he’d keep her secret. Shannon could weasel almost any information out of Craig. But she’d never stood a chance with Todd, which was probably one of the reasons he was so successful at his many escapades.

  For the first time since Todd started working at Kwiki Kouriers, Shannon could hardly wait for his arrival.

  This time, however, when Todd walked through the main office on his way to the dispatch area, he wasn’t alone; he was deep in conversation with Gary, his supervisor. Shannon couldn’t interrupt, especially with such a delicate personal matter. It would have been bad enough if any of her female coworkers found out, but she certainly didn’t want any of the men to know, least of all, Gary. Gary had asked her out a few times, and she’d turned him down, so she didn’t want him to suspect a potential romance was growing right under his nose, even if it was one sided.

  By the time Shannon had an opportunity to talk to Todd alone, she’d lost her courage. Years ago, she knew he would have laughed at her trepidation about an unknown suitor attempting to woo her from a distance, since she wasn’t the romantic type.

  Still, the notes and the effort the Secret Admirer was making touched her heart in a strange way. She didn’t want to hurt the man; she only wanted him to stop.

  She wanted to think Todd would understand why she felt that way, but she wasn’t sure he would. Not that Todd was completely insensitive; she had seen occasional flickers of a gentle side, especially since he’d been working there. She simply decided he wouldn’t understand why she couldn’t let it run its course and stop.

  She figured he’d tell her to enjoy it, too. Todd had always had an insatiable need for attention. He didn’t know when to quit, and he often created a scene when he knew people were watching him. Shannon didn’t like to be the center of attention. She just wanted to be left alone, and that included anonymous romantic notes.

  Shannon flipped the page on her desk calendar. It was Friday. Only one more day until the weekend when she could either put this foolishness behind her or spend some serious time trying to figure out the identity of her mysterious admirer. For a second, she considered coming in over the weekend and dusting for fingerprints.

  Sure enough, Shannon found another note in her drawer, as she had the previous four days.

  After she made a cursory check to see if anyone was watching, she untied the bow, popped the cho
colate kiss into her mouth, and opened the roll of paper.

  This time the note wasn’t a poem at all; it was a message, and it was longer. Rather than take the chance that someone would see it in walking by, she quickly folded it, stuck it in her pocket, ran into the ladies’ washroom, and shut the door. She dug the note out of her pocket.

  Dearest Shannon,

  As you can tell by now, I’m not very good at writing poetry, so I will simply tell you what is in my heart. You are sweet and wonderful, and your laugh warms my soul like the spring sunshine, filling me with hope and happiness. Please keep smiling.

  Your Secret Admirer

  Shannon’s lower lip quivered, and she brushed a tear away from her eye. Who was this man, and why was he doing this? Did he think she might scorn him if he asked her out? A couple of the men besides Gary had asked her for a date, and it was true she had turned them down, but she had done it kindly. She didn’t want to be yoked with an unbeliever, so she didn’t open the potential for heartbreak by dating someone who didn’t share her faith.

  She read the note again then refolded it and tucked it in her pocket.

  She would have to dig seriously for clues.

  The first would be handwriting comparisons. Monday morning she would come in early. Not only did she have access to people’s payroll forms and files, but she also had access to all the time cards. She could start by comparing signatures and see if that would give her some indication of who this could be.

  She would solve this mystery, and when she found out who was behind it she would—

  Shannon shook her head. The first few notes were kind of silly, but the last note had touched her heart. It exuded a simple honesty that told her the sender was, indeed, serious. It was flattering beyond belief that someone thought so much of her yet was so shy he would resort to this.

  For the rest of the day, Shannon buried herself in her work. Over the weekend, she would devise a plan to discover the sender of the notes, as well as figure out what she would say to this person. But for now, she had a payroll deadline to meet.

  Todd walked to his car ahead of Shannon, waved at her as they started their engines, and waved again to signal her to go ahead of him. When she was out of the parking lot, Todd shut off his engine and returned to the building.

  The only remaining employees at this hour were in the dispatch office and warehouse, and everyone was running around at what was always the busiest time of the day. The drivers were lined up at the bay doors, bringing everything in for distribution to be organized for delivery the next business day. As usual, Friday night was the busiest of all.

  He could have danced in with colored spotlights, wearing a clown suit, and whistling Dixie. No one would have given him a second glance. And that was just the way he wanted it.

  Todd walked to Shannon’s desk, opened her drawer, dropped in another note, chocolate kiss attached, and left the building.

  Chapter 4

  Excuse me. I was supposed to be in early today.”

  Faye stepped back for Todd, allowing him to stand beside Shannon while he filled his mug with coffee and Shannon poured boiled water from the kettle into her mug.

  Todd winked at Faye over his shoulder then turned to smile at Shannon while he deliberately overfilled his coffee mug. Balancing it carefully, he slowly began his trek through the office on the way to his station. Mentally, he counted out the time Shannon would take to dunk her tea bag in the water until it was the right color and toss the tea bag into the garbage pail.

  Picturing her task completed, he sloshed coffee over the edge of his mug to make a large splash on the floor. He grumbled loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear, set his cup down on the nearest desk, and returned to the lunchroom. His timing was perfect. He met Shannon in the doorway as she was on her way out, and he was on the way in.

  He stepped to the side to allow her to pass. “I spilled some coffee on the floor. Don’t trip. I need a paper towel.”

  “Serves you right for cutting in front of Faye.”

  He winked at her, enjoying the slight blush. “She didn’t mind.” He dropped his voice to a whisper. “I think she likes me.”

  Shannon mumbled something under her breath he didn’t think he wanted to hear and headed across the room to her desk.

  Todd hurried back into the lunchroom. While he tugged a few paper towels from the holder, he calculated the seconds Shannon would take to set her mug on the corner of her desk and walk around it as she always did. Once back in the office area, he smiled at the ladies who were nearby as he returned to the splotch on the floor. He squatted down to wipe it at the same time Shannon sat in her chair. He had deliberately spilled his coffee where he would have an unencumbered view of her as she opened her drawer.

  From his vantage point near the floor he watched as she hesitated. She turned her head ever so slightly from side to side to see if anyone was watching, which fortunately didn’t include him, even though she was aware he was there. She pulled the drawer open.

  He heard her soft intake of breath when she saw the note. Again, her head moved from side to side. She paused and gently pulled the ribbon open. Todd’s heart pounded as he mentally recited the words he’d worked so hard to write.

  Dearest Shannon,

  Monday is here, the weekend is gone.

  Which is good, because Saturday and Sunday were much too long.

  My heart ached with loss. I didn’t know what to do.

  I couldn’t see your smile from home, and I missed you.

  Your Secret Admirer

  Moving ever so slowly, she tucked the note back into the drawer.

  Todd lowered his head and smiled to himself as he swiped the paper towel over the floor one last time. She didn’t throw the note in the garbage can, and she was eating the chocolate kiss, meaning that so far all was well.

  He stood, tossed the paper towel into the nearest wastepaper basket, and picked up his mug. He slurped some coffee off the top then began walking toward the dispatch office.

  Shannon raised her head and looked straight at him. “Todd, may I ask you something?”

  His heart stopped then started up in double time. The only reason she would want to talk to him would be to ask him about the note she had just read. He wasn’t ready to talk about the note or any of the others before it. He hadn’t even completely figured out what he was going to say, day after day. He simply wanted to keep telling Shannon how special she was and that she held his heart in the palm of her hand. Not that she would fall in love with him just because he wrote bad poetry. His goal was to prove he was serious and really did love her, despite the rotten and immature things he’d done to her in the past. Hopefully, when the time came for him to reveal himself, they could put the past behind them and move forward into a real relationship.

  But he couldn’t talk about any of that now. He was already nervous about what he was doing and still not confident it would work. In fact, he was afraid he might blurt out how he felt if she confronted him. He didn’t want that to happen in the middle of the office. Most of all, he didn’t know if he could handle her rejection.

  He wrapped his fingers around his mug, glanced at the door to the dispatch area, then turned back to Shannon. “Gary wanted me here early today to go over some special requests for a new customer. How about if I catch you at lunchtime?”

  Her posture sagged, not much, but just enough to note her disappointment. “I guess. I’ll see you later, then.”

  Todd walked to his station as quickly as he could with his full coffee mug. He almost had to push the image of Shannon reading his latest note out of his mind so he could begin his perusal of the paperwork Gary had already spread out over the counter.

  He was now starting the fourth week of his job. He was familiar with procedures, better acquainted with the rest of the staff, and confident enough in his abilities that he was comfortable working there.

  The words on the papers blurred before him. After seeing Shannon every day, he wa
s also more in love with her than ever before.

  But, before he could think any more about Shannon, Gary appeared beside him. He rested his finger on one of the requests their new customer had stipulated before signing the contract. During their last meeting, they had been trying to determine if the expense of paying the overtime needed to fulfill the request would be worth it to secure the new business. “We’ve got everything covered except for this. What do you think?”

  Todd cleared his throat, which helped clear his thoughts. “If we can convince Charlie to take his coffee break half an hour later, then we can send him here”—he pointed on the map to an area on one of the other drivers’ runs—“and send Tyler in the other direction. With the slight delay, we can send Charlie to the industrial park, then to their new warehouse in the new development. That way, we can meet their schedule without compromising the other appointments. We can get Bob and Hank to do the rest of Charlie’s run and use hired cartage or a part-timer to do what Bob and Hank leave behind. That would eliminate the need for any overtime.”

  Gary rubbed his chin. “I never thought of that. That would work. Great idea.”

  Todd suppressed his smile. “Thanks,” he mumbled, trying not to look like a child receiving praise from his favorite teacher.

  Gary gathered the papers and began sorting them back into order. “I see you’re friendly with Shannon,” he said, without looking at Todd. He paused, letting the silence hang.

  Todd’s satisfaction for a job well done dropped as heavily as a lead balloon. He didn’t know why the relationship he had with Shannon was any of his supervisor’s concern, but Gary’s continued silence told him he was waiting for clarification.

  Todd turned to study the man. He didn’t know what Shannon thought of him. He only knew Gary and Shannon appeared to share nothing more than a companionable working relationship. But Todd wasn’t stupid or blind. Even though Gary, as the operations manager, spent much of his time in his office, he also worked with Todd and the other two dispatchers. While the men worked, they talked.