Tax Cut by Michele Lynn Seigfried Read Free Book Online Page A

ears…over and over again. I discovered he had left me at least ten voicemails. Persistent little bugger , I thought.
    The first message was casual . “Hey, Chelsey, it’s Mike; call me back.” The next nine got progressively creepier. By the end of message ten, he was proclaiming his undying love for me and telling me he would fight to the death for my honor.
    “Oh , great! I’ve got a stalker,” I said under my breath. This was just my type of luck. I wondered why I couldn’t have a gorgeous guy like Kris calling me and professing his love, but instead, I had this nut head over heels for me. I realized I hadn’t heard from Kris recently. Despite the embarrassment, I was disappointed that I hadn’t seen him since our catastrophic meeting at Federici’s. I had been too busy with starting a new job to call him, and I guess he was still having his own issues at work. I sighed.
    The phone rang, and my heart leapt into my throat, and not in a good way. I went into a panic, thinking it was Nero calling. Luckily, I had caller ID at work. It was Babs Todaro.
    “Hello, Babs. How can I help you?” I asked.
    “That village president is a crook,” she said. “He is taking all of our money and giving it away.”
    “How is he giving it away?” I asked, humoring her.
    “He is giving it to those people to build their cemetery.”
    I was amazed she was still on the cemetery kick.
    “I saw him,” she said. “He handed an envelope filled with money to the tooth fairy.”
    “The tooth fairy?” I asked, trying not to laugh.
    “Yes, the tooth fairy. My nephew is friends with the tooth fairy.”
    “Who is your nephew?” I asked.
    “I have to go now; they are outside. I’m going to go tell them they don’t have a permit for their cemetery and they are going to have to move it somewhere else.”
    “Okay, Babs, have a nice day.”
    “What did Babs want this time?” I heard a voice say. It was Bryce. He must have overheard me talking. No surprise there. I could spit on his office door from my desk. I hadn’t noticed his clothes earlier, but I realized he wasn’t dressed so nerdy today. The last couple of days, he had worn a sweater vest overtop of a button-down shirt with a tie. Today, he skipped the sweater vest and was donned in a royal blue button-down shirt and black pants that fit perfectly in all the right spots. It was the first time I thought he was handsome. I might have been interested in him if I hadn’t had Kris on my mind and if I hadn’t had an aversion to dating coworkers. Once upon a time, I had been interested in someone from work—a cop at my last job. I was a nervous wreck around him because I had such a crush on him, then, as luck would have it, he turned out to be a criminal. No more coworkers for me.
    “I don’t know —something about money, a tooth fairy, and the cemetery.”
    “I think she told me about the tooth fairy once too,” he said with a giggle. He turned and stepped back into his office.
    I went over to the coffee machine, helped myself to a second cup, and snuggled back into my chair, starting my paperwork for the day. If nothing else, Coral Beach provided me with an awesome leather chair, which was super comfy. My phone rang again. Mike Nero. I hit the “do not disturb” button.
    Bryce came to my office several minutes later and told me someone was calling his extension for me. When he revealed it was Mike Nero, I asked him if he would do me a huge favor and tell him I was in a meeting. I told him I would owe him one.
    Nero told Bryce he needed help with a dog license. Bryce fibbed and told Nero that he knew all about dog licenses and that he could help him with something. He refused Bryce’s assistance and insisted I call him back. Bryce took his phone number and handed it to me. I pitched it into the garbage. Bryce looked at me and started to laugh.
    “What was that all about?” he asked.
    “I’m quite embarrassed. I feel silly telling you this, being that I just