by Lola Kidd
"I'm done." Lenni set the list down on her father's desk.
"What is this? All of the jobs are crossed off."
"None of them are right for me. It was such a sweet offer, but none of these are right for me. Please tell Mr. Hansen thanks but no thanks."
Her father's eyebrows shot up to his nearly his hairline. "What?"
"I don't like any of them."
"There are fifteen jobs here," her father sputtered. "How can you like none of them?"
She took out her notebook. "I made some notes if you want to look at them."
"Come on, Lenni. You have to be kidding me. These are good jobs."
She pursed her mouth. "Have you looked into any of them?"
"Not in depth. I looked at the job descriptions and they seemed great."
"Not for me," she insisted. "I have a perfectly fine job. I'm not going to take anything that I don't love."
It was nice that someone as important as Beckett Hansen had tried to help her out, but she couldn't do it. None of these jobs would make her life better. She was going to hold for something else. She had time. She could search for something perfect.
Chapter Five
Beckett stared at the screen for a moment trying to comprehend what he was reading. "You have got to be kidding me."
He read and re-read the email from Professor Belle. It didn't make any sense. It couldn't be real. He had gone through all the trouble of contacting his assistant and writing to the Scrabble alpha himself. He had taken time out of his day and this was the thanks he got.
Thanks but no thanks. Not interested.
What the heck! Was this all an elaborate prank? Some kind of ploy by some tabloid or paper to confirm that he was in fact in Hope Springs? This was a strange way to get a story if that were true.
His fingers gripped the mouse so hard he heard it crack in his hands. He looked down and saw he had caved in a side. With a howl he threw it against the wall. He would ask Patrick to find him another.
This couldn't be a trick. He had looked up Belle. He was a professor at the community college in the next town. He taught business classes with a focus on entrepreneurship. He had lived in Hope Springs for years and had once been married. His wife had died in the mid-Nineties. An unexpected death from cancer. The obituary was terribly sad. They'd had one daughter, one Lenore Belle.
The daughter had been dating the son of the Scrabble Pack alpha and she had recently graduated from the community college. The Belle family seemed legitimate. If this was a prank, they were taking part in it. Didn't sound like something the professor would commit to. He couldn't find much about the daughter. Unremarkable except for her exceptional beauty. But Professor Belle was sincere. Beckett was many things, but a bad judge of character wasn't one of them.
Which meant that Lenni had actually turned down his help. He shot off an email to the professor voicing his displeasure. This was unacceptable behavior. You didn't just ask someone for help and then turn them down. Not when it had seemed so dire. He wanted an explanation beyond a "no thank you."
He got up to find Mrs. Potter while he waited for a more adequate reply. He found her kneading dough in the kitchen.
"I got an email back from the professor."
"Oh. Which job did she choose?"
"None."
She stopped mid-turn and pulled her hands from the dough. "Excuse me?"
"None. She doesn't want any of them."
"That's ridiculous," she huffed before continuing with the dough. "Why did he come out every day if she didn't want help?"
"That's what I said. I emailed him back asking what her problem was."
"Are you sure these people are above board?" She threw the dough viciously against the countertop and turned it again. "It would be a complicated scheme, but maybe they're trying to cozy up to you. See if they can get something out of the deal."
"That was my first thought too, but I looked into the family. They're established in town. Not exactly well-liked since the father is so eclectic. He's like the town weirdo. He's a nut but he's their nut, you know? I've seen him at the pizza place before and he seems pretty harmless."
"That doesn't mean they didn't get greedy. Maybe they saw an opportunity. Where is the girl working now?"
"That little bookstore in town. I think it's call Pat's Pages or something."
Mrs. Potter put the dough down and went to wash her hands. "I've been in there before. There are only two people who work there. I think I know the girl."
"Really? What's she like?"
"Nice. Very polite." Mrs. Potter said slowly as she dried her hands. "I have half a mind to go in there and ask her what she's thinking. That shop is going to close soon. They've already cut their hours."
"I'm going to go check for a reply from the professor. I'm pretty unhappy with this."
"Even if she doesn't take any of the jobs, you still did well," Mrs. Potter said gently. "You stopped that boy from harassing her. You went above and beyond."
"I just asked someone else to do the work," Beckett said gruffly. "I didn't do the leg work on the jobs, but I did write to the pack alpha. Either way, I'd like some kind of explanation."
He went back to his office and checked his emails. Nothing. He was going to be agitated until he got a better idea of what went wrong. He thought those jobs looked good. But what did he know? Maybe none of them were good for Lenni.
It was only a few weeks before he had to leave for Jasper's wedding. He should have known better than to get himself mixed up in something now. He had an important role to play in the wedding.
What if this were a tabloid story in the making? He didn't need a scandal before Jasper's big day. There was so much on his plate, and now this had thrown a wrench into it all.
He wished he didn't care, but he wanted to know what had gone wrong. He didn't deserve to be blown off like this.
He opened his web browser and searched for Lenni again. It was so strange not to have an online presence in today's age. Even he had private social media accounts. His buddy Jasper had run into the same problem when he met his wife. It turned out that his wife was the daughter of what was basically a shifter mob boss. A good-natured, law-abiding mob boss, but still someone who lived in the lawless, unregulated shifter lands.
He knew that the Belles were humans from town, but what if they were involved in some nefarious goings-on? Maybe the Scrabble Pack was having problems and the son needed the girl to extort Beckett. He could see that happening. Maybe the girl had seen a chance after her father met him in the pizza shop.
It sounded outlandish, but people had done stranger things to get a piece of his father's fortune. His stepmother had pretended to be a simple nanny while she was really cozying up to his dad. It had turned out well for her. Even if they divorced now, she would get a nice chunk of his fortune.
Maybe Lenni Belle was up to something and her father was the patsy that she tricked into helping her.
He checked for information about Ned Scrabble. He hadn't thought to look up information on the young wolf. He didn't care for the pack, but he didn't think they'd do anything to hurt him if he stayed out of their way. The alpha had been so nice when he'd gotten the letter. All the wolves he'd met in town were distant but still respectful when he ran into them.
There was nothing about any strife in the pack or a disagreement between the alpha and his son.
Beckett read into the evening until his fingers started to cramp. He shouldn't have thrown the mouse. It was probably still usable before that.
He shot an email off to a PI he knew. He wanted info on the Scrabble Pack and Ned in particular. He also wanted to know more about Lenni Belle. There might be something the investigator could find. He should have called his brother. Johan was a great investigator, but this was too personal.
Ned and Lenni had met on MateMe! too. That was Johan and his father's pet project. He knew they were secretly hoping that he would use the app to find a mate or at least date. Fat chance that would happen. There
were so many problems and he might end up with a crazy who just wanted to date a rich shifter. He didn't know why they even let humans on the app.
He stood up and stretched his fingers and back. He was obsessing over all of this. He knew he was but couldn't stop. He hated being told no. Not when he put himself out here like that. This was exactly why he didn't do it often. People were so fickle and difficult to trust. Reason 207 he would never use his family's little app. How could you ever trust someone you met like that?
Chapter Six
Lenni checked the parking lot. It had been two whole days since she'd seen Ned. It looked like he'd finally gotten bored of following her around.
"All clear," she happily reported to Mr. Brooks.
"Great. I've got to hurry if I want to be on time." He grabbed his bag from under the counter. "Don't forget to text me as soon as you get home."
"Will do." She saluted him. "You can count on me, Captain."
He chuckled on his way out the door. "What will I do without you, Miss Belle?"
He left for his doctor's appointment and to drop off the day's cash while Lenni finished cleaning up. They could have closed sooner, but there was a couple buying a load of books for the town's summer camp.
She felt fine staying by herself at the store. It was the afternoon for goodness' sake, and Ned hadn't been around at all. Her father and boss were wary, but she was only a little creeped out. She knew that Ned wasn't going to hurt her. He was going to figure out that she wasn't his mate and would move on to someone else.
Her friends online assured her that shifters could get it wrong too. Sometimes they wanted someone to be their mate so badly they pretended it was true. It sounded bizarre to her, but she took their word for it. She wished she could speak to a shifter in real life about it all. Her father could give her theory, but he couldn't tell her from experience. She needed more shifter friends.
She went through the stacks, picking up books and making sure the displays were faced properly. There wasn't much to do outside of sweeping. With so few customers, the store didn't get trashed. She got most of her stocking work done during the day and cleaned the bathroom an hour before close. With no cash to count, the only thing left to do was a quick check of requests on the shop's email address. Sometimes people asked them to invite their favorite author to read at the store. Lenni was going to try to fulfill every request this summer. If she could get an author every week, maybe they'd be able to open the store an hour or two more each day.
Her dream was to get two authors a week, or maybe six authors each month. She was looking into more obscure authors too. Ones that might not be popular now but who had at least a cult following. There were five requests that day and she wanted to look up each author and find out how to contact them before she went home for the day.
A sharp rap on the front glass made her jump halfway through her task. Lenni turned to the door, wide-eyed. The curtains were drawn and the sign was turned to Closed. There was no way she was opening the door.
"Hello!" a woman said loudly from the other side of the door. Lenni could hear her clearly even at the back of the shop. "Hello! It says you should be open for two more hours. I can see you moving around in there. I'm a paying customer."
The voice sounded familiar. Lenni crept to the front of the store. She peeked out the windows farthest from the door. She recognized the woman standing outside. She was an older woman, short and stout with graying brunette hair. She was dressed in a pantsuit and carried a big pocketbook. She came in once or twice a month to pick up the latest thrillers and an armful of romance novels. The woman had varied tastes and always spent big. Lenni didn't know her name, but she felt like she knew the woman well enough to let her know why they were closed.
She didn't want to lose a regular customer.
She unlocked the door. "I'm sorry, but we've already closed for the day. The cash register is already closed out and all the money's gone. I couldn't wait on you if I wanted to."
The woman frowned. "Oh dear. I was hoping to kill two birds with one stone today. It's fine. I'm still working through my books from last time. But let me ask you, are you Lenni Belle?"
"Yes." Lenni's palms began to sweat.
The woman put out her hand. "My name is Eugenia Potter. I work for Mr. Hansen and I was wondering why you turned down all the jobs he sent you?"
Lenni's cheeks burned. She struggled to find an answer that would satisfy this woman. She couldn't believe the nerve of this man. She turned down his offer so he not only hounded her father, he sent one of his people to badger her in person? She recognized Mrs. Potter as a regular customer and didn't want to insult her, but this was ridiculous.
"None of them were right for me. I'm perfectly happy with my current job. I don't want to give up my great job for something less than perfect."
Mrs. Potter pulled up her sleeve to look at the beautiful silver watch on her arm. She checked the sign on the door and tapped it. "You're closing two hours early today, right? How many hours did you get? Three at most if my math is right. That isn't a full-time job and we were led to believe that you were looking for full-time employment. Your father was very insistent that Mr. Hansen help you find gainful employment."
"I was, but none of those jobs interested me." Lenni took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. What was wrong with these people? So she didn't want a job. No big deal. Why did they all care so much what she did? Her father had been asking her about the jobs nonstop. He was texting her new job postings daily and telling her that the jobs Beckett Hansen found were much better than anything else available.
She got it. He'd found her great jobs. But none of them interested her. She couldn't help it. They all needed to lay the heck off.
"What if I had a more exciting, better paying temporary job to offer you?" Mrs. Potter asked.
"I don't want a temp job."
"I think you could do this job and still be able to come back to Pat's Pages once you're done. It would be like taking a vacation. A very well-paying vacation. More money than you'd make here in a few weeks."
Lenni shook her head and kept a tight smile on her face. Her cheeks were starting to ache. This conversation felt like it had been going on for hours. "I don't think so. Thank you for the offer. I can't leave Mr. Brooks alone in the store."
Mrs. Potter arched one eyebrow. "You haven't even heard my offer, dear. And the shop is only open twenty-one hours a week, maybe twenty-four. I think Mr. Brooks could get along just fine without you for a few weeks."
Lenni smiled and took a deep breath. She'd hear the woman out if that's what it took to get her to go away. "Okay, shoot."
"Mr. Hansen has a big event coming up. I'm going to be accompanying him to it, but I would prefer to be a guest at the event instead of assisting him. I'm more of a house manager after all and not an assistant. I've been begging him to find somebody, but he's been very stubborn. With your credentials, I think you would be a good fit to help us out."
She wanted to say no. This was crazy. But she had a good feeling the event was the upcoming Collins wedding. It would be a dream to get to attend the wedding even as an assistant. Not exactly a vacation, but it would give her a chance to make some connections too. Maybe she could do some virtual assistant work for some of Mr. Hansen's billionaire friends. She'd heard of that before. Heck, maybe this could turn into a permanent position with the Hansen household right here in town. That would solve her job problem. She could work part-time for him and also stay at the store and keep living at home.
That would be a dream come true. Her mind worked fast to think about all other possibilities. It didn't matter what kind of work it was if it was only temporary. She could quit if it was something too strange. Like accompanying him as some sort of geisha or something. She didn't think that would be the case but it didn't matter.
"I haven't had any experience being an assistant."
"But you do have work experience. You've been here for a few years right?"
&
nbsp; "I have."
"Well, that's more than enough experience. I can train you in a week to do this job. It really isn't that hard. And it's a very specific job we're hiring you to do."
"Do you think he'd say yes? I mean, it doesn't sound like he wants to hire an assistant."
Mrs. Potter smiled. "You leave that to me, dear. If you'd like the job, you can start this evening."
"I'll do it." Lenni said before she could have second thoughts.
"Wonderful. Come up to the house around six and we'll get all the paperwork squared away. I'll show you around the estate and let you know your duties."
"Great. Thank you so much."
"Thank you. I really do need the help."
Lenni couldn't believe it. She was going to the wedding of the year! She had a brand-new temp job and she was going to rubbing shoulders with billionaires. She hoped Mr. Brooks wouldn't be too mad when she told him her exciting news.
Chapter Seven
Mrs. Potter came into the living room preening. She was excited to tell him something. Probably something that would end with an "I told you so."
"Out with it already, Potter. I'm waiting with bated breath," he teased her as he put down the paper he was reading. "You look like the cat that swallowed the canary."
"I have solved two of our problems this afternoon." She held up two fingers. "Two. I wanted to stress that. I solved not just one but two things that have been bothering you."
"Which two would that be?"
"I went to Pat's Pages and spoke with Lenni Belle."
He straightened up. She was drawing this out, but he was interested now. Professor Belle had sent a second apology email and said he was trying to talk his daughter into taking one of the jobs. She had no reason besides "I don't want to." Which was fine by Beckett. You can lead a horse to water but can't make it drink, right? But the professor was insistent that his daughter needed a new job. He no longer believed that they were trying to pull a fast one on him. It had taken his PI less than twenty-four hours to get back to him and there was nothing unbecoming in the Belles' past. Everything was aboveboard.