The Naughty List by L.A. Kelley Read Free Book Online

she called nervously.
    ****
    A puff of air hit her face. The clothes on the return rack behind the counter fluttered mysteriously. With trepidation, Rosalie pushed aside the hangers, but to her relief saw only the wall.
    “Air conditioning is on the fritz,” she mumbled to herself. “Terrific…what else will go wrong?”
    Rosalie ripped off the elf hat and gave her head a vigorous scratch before mashing it back on her head in disgust. Only then did she notice the fancy chocolate bar wrapped in gold foil. The note on top read, For Rosalie—forget the Motivation Memo. Santa said to tell you you’re on the Nice List. Rosalie smiled. Trust Marissa to try to cheer her up when she had more pressing problems of her own.
    Rosalie finally caught up with Marissa during break. She thanked her only to receive a blank look. “I didn’t write the note. Sounds like you have a secret admirer.” Her friend’s eyes lit up. “Maybe it’s Anthony.”
    “Doubtful. He isn’t exactly the shy type. Besides, we haven’t so much as exchanged hellos since Stephanie glommed onto him.”
    “A mysterious stranger, then—tall, dark, and handsome.”
    “My, my, aren’t you full of optimism? Maybe he’s short, funny-looking, and on the run from the law.”
    She squeezed her shoulder. “My advice, then, is to work with the first two and ignore the third until the cops pound on the door.”
    The anonymous message lifted Rosalie’s spirits all day. She even caught herself humming Christmas tunes, the first time since Stephanie took over. She smiled all the way across the parking lot. As Rosalie reached for the car door, she experienced a sudden anxious feeling of being watched. She glanced around, but no one paid the slightest attention. She shrugged off the unease and drove away, belting out a second chorus of Jingle Bells.
    ****
    David watched from the shadows. As employees filtered out of Penrose’s, he unconsciously searched for Rosalie. The sight of her happy expression unexpectedly lifted his spirits. She had an awfully nice smile. He welcomed it back.
    He entered the store exhilarated, but after another fruitless night and exhausting search, grew anxious and depressed. He experienced irrational anger at Penrose’s, as if the building purposely kept him from his goal. In a fit of pique, David swiped another candy bar from Stephanie’s office and left Rosalie another note. He lingered behind the clothes rack again to watch her reaction. Rosalie read the note with a chuckle, before tucking the paper in her pocket.
    David made a quick decision to hang around for a while. Maybe he couldn’t get a fix because The Book was in some sort of container moving about the store . The idea was a long shot, at best, but David searched cautiously all morning, careful not to attract any attention from the security cameras. He kept a watchful eye out for any possible method to conceal The Book.
    After an unsuccessful circuit of the four floors, depression set in again. Before leaving to catch a few hours sleep, he found himself inexplicably drawn to Customer Service. Rosalie stood at the counter wearing the stupid elf hat; calm, patient, treating everyone in a friendly, professional manner.
    David ducked around an aisle and spied on her as she handled a blender return. The chunky girl had a butterfly tattoo peeking out from under a tank top two sizes too small. As soon as Rosalie opened the box, even from his hiding place, David got a whiff of margarita. Obviously used, Rosalie asked politely if something was wrong with the blender.
    Butterfly Boob snapped at her. “Just give me my money back, bitch.”
    David scowled. The scam was obvious. Now that the party had ended, she returned a perfectly good blender, not caring in the least the appliance couldn’t be resold. Butterfly Boob knew it, he knew it, and Rosalie knew it, too. For a moment his mind toyed with a vision of Billy hunting down Butterfly Boob and dragging her ass off to the