Several people have asked to see this, so here it is--the first half of Chapter 1 of "A Credit to Love"



_____________________







Chapter 1



Caitlyn Jordan moved away from the cash register with a sigh. Most days, she loved her job as manager of a greeting card store, but with Mother’s Day only two days away, the store had been crowded all evening. Teenagers were crowding into the store in little mobs, examining gifts and cards, then leaving the store in chaos when they realized they didn’t possess the necessary funds for the collectibles. Around six that evening, hassled fathers had begun herding their children into the store for cards and stuffed animals. The two sales clerks working with her that night had spent half the night at the gift wrap table, turning out finished packages complete with fancy ribbons.



She idly moved to a display, wondering as she straightened silk flower arrangements when she would have a husband and children to shop for last-minute Mother’s Day cards. At 28, she had watched nearly all of her college friends marry and many had started families.



Caitlyn hadn’t even had a date in over a year. The last one had ended in disaster—her pastor’s nephew, a nice enough young man most of the time, had attempted to kiss her goodnight at the door to her apartment. Caitlyn had instead offered a handshake and fled to the safety of her living room alone. There had been other offers, but she had declined—work had kept her busy enough that she rarely had time for socialization outside church, or to even contemplate what was missing in her life.



She sighed and reached for the glass cleaner to wipe down the shelves. She could have assigned one of her employees to the task, but she needed something to busy herself with for the last hour the store was open—the mall management set their hours, and closing early would have resulted in a hefty fine, not to mention lost business, as customers still milled in and out, searching for the perfect card.



Nine p.m. couldn’t come fast enough—Caitlyn didn’t know how the girls who closed on a regular basis could do it. The store owners periodically reminded her that she was the manager and could choose her own hours—and not work the late shifts. She felt it unfair, though, to keep banker’s hours while her employees worked until 9—or later during the Christmas season. Carl and Jackie Dawson left the scheduling to her discretion, though, so the late Friday nights had become a weekly ritual at Dawson’s Cards and Gifts.



“Cate, can we lock the gate?” Jessica Lyons, a college student Caitlyn had hired a week earlier, tentatively approached her manager an hour later.



“Go ahead—Jodi has the keys.” Caitlyn lifted her head and nodded to woman with the keys in her hand. Jodi Adams hadn’t looked like an ideal employee two years ago when Cate had decided to give the high school drop out a chance—a single mother of two toddlers abandoned by her boyfriend, Jodi hadn’t held a steady job since the birth of her daughter, now five. But her calm demeanor in her interview, her soft-spoken, professional responses to Caitlyn’s questions, and her honesty about her lack of education had convinced Cate to hire the woman, a decision she had never regretted. Jodi was studying hard for her GED, and the Dawsons had considered promoting the younger woman to assistant manager when that was completed.



Caitlyn hadn’t told Jodi yet for fear of spoiling the moment and putting more pressure on her, but she hoped the Dawsons wouldn’t change their minds. Angie Torres had been an ideal assistant manager, but had taken a manager’s position at a nearby shoe store six months ago, and they had been unable to replace her with the same caliber of employee. Two other assistant managers had come and gone since then and Cate’s current assistant was one write-up away from being fired. Caitlyn dreaded counting down the registers—Kara had opened the store that day and sales had been booming. That almost always led to mistakes, and Kara couldn’t afford another one. Father, she prayed, please let her hold on until Jodi finishes her GED. The raise that Jodi would receive as an assistant manager would enable her to quit her second job as a night shift janitor, something she’d been longing to do.



The sound of the vacuum cleaner snapped Caitlyn out of her reverie. Jessica was pushing the vacuum around the store while Jodi counted down one of the tills. Cate moved to the other cash register, hoping there wouldn’t be any significant errors to keep them at the store later than necessary.



It was not to be. Jodi’s register was forty dollars low, and Caitlyn’s credit card slips were off by . . . a million dollars? A feeling of dread crept over her. Surely someone hadn’t authorized a seven-digit charge on someone’s MasterCard—even if they had, it wouldn’t have gone through, would it? She sorted the slips as Jodi recounted the drawer and noted any unusual transactions.



There it was—a credit slip for $1,000,037.54. Caitlyn had to recount the zeros to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. She reached for the phone.



“Carl, it’s Caitlyn. I hate to call this late, but we have a problem with the credit slips.”



“How much are they off this time?”



“A million dollars.” There was silence on the line for a moment.



“Did you find the transaction?”



“Yes.” She read her boss the information off the slip he would need to call the credit card company to cancel the transaction immediately.



“Cate, who rang it up?” Caitlyn searched the slip, a feeling of dread rising.



“Kara.”



“You know that’s the last straw—when she comes in tomorrow, collect her keys. Is there anything else?”



“No, Carl.”



“We’ll talk about hiring a replacement for Kara on Monday. Find someone to cover her shifts tomorrow and Sunday, at least. Good night, Caitlyn.”



“Good night.” Jodi was waiting when Caitlyn got off the phone. “Jodi, I hate to even ask, but can you cover Kara’s shift on Sunday?” Jodi’s eyes widened slightly.



“I’ll have to see if Mom can watch Tiffany and Casey.”



“That would be great. I’d do it myself, but I’m in charge of the Mother’s Day luncheon at church and will be there all afternoon. Will you still be able to make it to the service and come in at noon?” Jodi nodded. “Great. I need to do a little more paperwork tonight, but you and Jessica are free to go.” Jodi and Jessica let themselves out through the security gate. Caitlyn double-checked the locks and returned to her desk as the phone rang.



“Good evening, Dawson’s Cards and Gifts. This is Cate, how may I help you?”



“I need to speak to your manager. Now.” The man on the line sounded extremely harried.



Caitlyn smiled, knowing it would project in her voice. “I’m the manager here at Dawson’s, sir. How can I help you tonight?”



“You can give me the name of whichever of your employees tried to steal a million dollars from me!” Caitlyn’s hand came up to her forehead. Kara’s mistaken charge from earlier was already coming back to haunt them.



“Sir, I assure you that we are taking steps to correct the situation. The employee in question is being disciplined appropriately and our owner is in contact with the credit card company to cancel the entire charge, including the price of your purchase.” Cate knew she’d have to make sure to mention that to Carl the next morning, but she thought it was only fair.



“You’re taking steps? Well, while you’re taking steps, my boss is threatening to have me thrown in jail for fraud—that was a corporate credit card!”



That explained the million-dollar purchase going through, Caitlyn reflected. “Sir, I would be happy to speak to your employer about the situation, if it would help, and I’m sure our owners would be glad to do the same.”



“Yeah, the senior partners of my law firm want to talk to the manager of a rinky-dink little card shop. That’s a good one.”



Caitlyn’s smile became a bit more forced. “Sir, is there anything else I can help you with this evening?”



“Just see that those charges are reversed immediately or you’ll be hearing from our firm.” The click on the line told Cate the man—she hadn’t caught his name—had ended the conversation as abruptly as it had begun. She shook her head and returned to her paperwork. It wasn’t long before she paged for a security guard to walk her to her car.



“Nice night, isn’t it?” Jeff Sanders, an off-duty police officer who earned extra money by working as night security at the mall, stood nearby as Caitlyn locked the outside entrance to the store.



Caitlyn looked up at the clear sky. A dozen stars spotted a navy canvas adorned by a full moon, and a warm breeze tugged at her skirt hem. “It’s lovely. It’s finally beginning to feel like spring is here.”



“Before we know it, we’ll be wishing for winter again,” Jeff observed as they moved towards her car. Cate cast a sidelong glance at him and noticed that he was watching her. Jeff was also fidgeting, completely out of character for a man who was normally cool and confident. He caught Cate’s look and blushed a deep crimson.



Mercifully, they arrived at her car a few seconds later. “Thanks for the escort, Jeff.”



“A pleasure, as always.” He paused for a heartbeat. “Caitlyn, I was wondering . . .” She waited. “Would you like to catch dinner and a movie sometime?”



A million excuses came to mind. They worked together—but not really. He wasn’t her type—but how would she know that? They made small talk during routine encounters, but didn’t know each other very well, really. Finally, she decided to go for it. “I’d like that, Jeff.”



A look of relief spread across his face. And he is rather handsome, Caitlyn told herself. “When would be good for you?”



“A weeknight would probably be best. I haven’t made out our schedule for next week yet, so tell me what evenings you have off.”



“Tuesday?” She nodded. “May I pick you up at 6?” Cate responded in the affirmative and Jeff jotted down her address, then helped her close her car door and waited until her vehicle started before walking back toward the mall. As she drove away, she could almost see the spring in his step. Caitlyn smiled to herself. It had been quite awhile since her last date, and Jeff was always easy to talk to. She’d just have to make sure to work Tuesday into the schedule. Kara could . . .



She mentally slapped a hand to her forehead. Trying to schedule her evening off would be a bit more challenging now that she was losing her assistant manager. She’d simply have to open on Tuesday instead. Sunday and Monday were her normal days off, but a little shuffling would be in order until they could hire a replacement for Kara. She would need to talk to Carl about advertising for the position, unless they were going to promote Jodi immediately.



Caitlyn shook her head again. The situation at the store was going to be a sticky one, no matter how they chose to replace Kara. Jodi was really the only person on her staff who was ready to take on the position, but Carl and Jackie had been rather adamant that she would not be promoted without finishing her GED. Cate knew she was getting too personally involved with the situation, but she wanted badly to be able to promote Jodi and reward the woman’s hard work over the past two years.



Tonight, however, she refused to think about work any more. The plans for the night included a rummage through her closet and a phone call to her college roommate so they could giggle like old times. Caitlyn had her first real date in ages coming up, and she planned to enjoy at least the preparation for it, no matter how the event itself ended.