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Chapter Fourteen: Resetting the Shelves
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2025-06-23 08:00:04The awkwardness between them was not subtle.
It wasn’t a quiet thing, either—not the kind of silence that comes from mutual understanding, or even mutual indifference. No, the tension between Callie and Eli had the weight of unspoken words, misfired glances, and half-formed hopes trailing behind every interaction like static cling.And everyone at BuyMore felt it.Brenda noticed first, of course—she always did. Then Marcus made some joke about a “romantic cold front moving through Aisle Nine.” Even Brenda’s usually oblivious backup cashier, Jared, caught on and whispered something about “former lovers” under his breath while restocking batteries.The only two people who hadn’t talked about it?Callie and Eli.Until today.It was mid-afternoon when Eli finally cornered her in the stockroom, under the humming flicker of an aging fluorescent bulb. She was hoisting a box of shampoo refill packs onto a metal shelf, pointedly
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The air in the executive wing of the BuyMore headquarters carried a chill far sharper than the store’s stockroom back in Queens. Every footstep along the sleek marble flooring echoed too cleanly. Elijah Dane Whitaker—Eli to the people who mattered most—walked with quiet, purposeful strides, but even he couldn’t silence the tension laced in his breath.He was no stranger to board meetings. As the company’s current CEO—though still unofficial in the public eye—he had sat at these tables countless times before. Sometimes as an heir. Sometimes as a strategist. Sometimes as a reluctant figurehead. But never quite like this.Because this time, he wasn’t just defending a quarterly metric or restructuring a marketing plan.He was defending a store.A team.People.People he cared about.Callie.Brenda.Marcus.Naomi.Ron.His people.The boardroom door opened without ceremony. A long mahoga
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The interview room had been quiet for almost twenty minutes.Callie sat in the breakroom, her foot bouncing beneath the table, clipboard clutched in her lap though she didn’t need it. Across from her, Naomi pretended to read a flyer on employee wellness pinned to the bulletin board, though her eyes kept darting toward the hallway.It was past eleven in the morning, and the second day of interviews had already seen a half-dozen employees called in. Brenda had returned an hour ago looking calm but quiet. Ron had emerged confused and muttering something about “words per minute.” Even Marcus, always steady, had needed a moment to sit alone and breathe after his session the day before.Now, it was Callie’s turn.A clipboard-wielding HR rep in a black skirt suit called her name with polite authority: “Callie Morgan?”Callie stood quickly, smoothing her BuyMore vest. “Yes.”Naomi gave her a tight smile and whispered, “You’ve got this.”
The Secret Billionaire in Aisle 9 Chapter Eighty-Eight: Like Family
The second day of interviews arrived cloaked in the same sterile air as the first, but with a deeper tension humming in the hallways. The employees of BuyMore filed in quietly, their chatter subdued, their usual playful energy replaced with guarded glances and nerves.Brenda clutched her clipboard a little tighter as she clocked in.The white laminated sign outside the conference room still read: "HR & Corporate Stakeholder Assessments In Progress", and the hallway that led to it may as well have been a tunnel into the unknown.Marcus greeted her at the front register. He looked tired but grounded.“You okay?” he asked, slipping her a wrapped granola bar.Brenda took it, smiled faintly. “I will be.”He gave her hand a discreet squeeze before walking away.Brenda tucked the granola into her cardigan pocket and breathed in deeply.She had always been the calm one. The voice of reason during store meetings, the sof
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The conference room-turned-interview-hub was thick with tension, fluorescent lights humming overhead like an electrical warning. Marcus sat in one of the plastic chairs lined up along the wall, his left foot tapping a steady rhythm that had long passed soothing and drifted toward irritating.He glanced down the hallway where Naomi had disappeared nearly an hour ago. She hadn’t said much when she came back—just gave him a thumbs-up and mouthed something that looked like “weird questions.”Now, Ron was up next. The big guy had been muttering under his breath ever since he was called in. Brenda sat two chairs away, flipping through her phone, but Marcus could tell she wasn’t really reading anything. He wasn’t either. His mind was too full.The rumors had spread like spilled detergent across the store: corporate was conducting individual staff interviews. And not for performance evaluations. Not for training modules.This was about who would stay and
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The email came through at exactly 6:43 a.m.Eli was standing in his small apartment kitchen—technically a company-owned property hidden within a commercial complex, passed off as a modest unit for field training purposes—halfway through pouring himself a cup of coffee when his phone buzzed with that distinct chime.It was the encrypted line.The one only the board used.He stared at the screen for a second longer than necessary. Then set the coffee pot down and swiped to unlock.SUBJECT: EXECUTIVE NOTICE – STAFF EVALUATION INITIATIVE (SEI-3)FROM: Board of Directors – BuyMore Retail HoldingsTO: E.L.D. Whitaker, Acting CEOPRIORITY: HIGHDear Mr. Whitaker,As part of the current BuyMore Restructuring Initiative Phase III, the board has authorized an independent third-party review and interview cycle of all staff members across underperforming branches.Your assigned location—BuyMore Midtown Branch 27
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The BuyMore breakroom was louder than usual for a Thursday. Between Naomi humming a throwback pop song while decorating the whiteboard calendar and Ron from tech support bringing in donuts from the corner bakery, the usual early-morning lull had shifted into something lighter. Warmer. Almost cheerful. Brenda stirred her coffee slowly, eyes on the hallway beyond the breakroom’s open door. She hadn’t said a word in the last five minutes. Marcus, seated beside her with a donut halfway to his mouth, was the first to break the silence. “You’re staring.” Brenda didn’t flinch. “I’m observing.” “You’re sipping like a detective watching a prime suspect from behind a newspaper.” Brenda side-eyed him. “And?” Marcus smirked. “And I take it this has something to do with Callie and Eli?” Brenda finally looked at him fully, her smile just shy of triumphant. “You noticed too?”
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