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?"

"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.