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Chapter Thirty: Waffle Irons and Other Weaknesses
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2025-07-02 08:00:27Callie hadn’t expected things to feel different after the audit—but they did.
It wasn’t just the lifted tension in the store. The whole team walked lighter now. Naomi actually whistled while restocking the seasonal aisle. Marcus replaced his ironic apron with a plain black one. Even Brenda smiled, twice, which felt suspicious.But the biggest shift?Eli.Ever since the surprise HQ visit, something had subtly changed between them. He still cracked jokes, still pretended not to understand basic barcode functions, but his attention was more focused now. His teasing had softened at the edges. And when she caught him watching her, there was something else there—something quiet and intent.Maybe it was the way he’d spoken up for her during the team meeting.Maybe it was the way he’d waited for her in the office afterward, name tag in hand.Or maybe—it was the way her heart had fluttered when he told her, I believe in you.
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The Secret Billionaire in Aisle 9 Chapter Thirty-Three: Tinsel, Mistletoe, and Maybes
The first snow of the season came early that year.Light flakes drifted across the BuyMore parking lot, clinging to windshields and dusting the large inflatable Santa someone (probably Marcus) had unboxed a week too early. It wasn’t enough to stick, but it was enough to make everything feel softer—like the world was settling into something gentler for a while.Inside the store, it was holiday madness in full swing.Red and green banners were taped to every aisle end. A playlist of aggressively cheerful carols played on loop. There were twinkling lights on register counters, glittering snowflakes hanging from the ceiling, and a mysterious bowl of unwrapped peppermints that no one would admit bringing in.But beneath the surface chaos, the staff had begun settling into something else: comfort.A rhythm.A weird little family.And, for two particular not-quite-couples, something else entirely.Something slowly bloo
The Secret Billionaire in Aisle 9 Chapter Thirty-Two: Almost, But Not Quite
The day started with a power outage.BuyMore’s fluorescent lights flickered once, buzzed like a dying wasp, and then blinked out completely.Half the staff froze. Naomi dropped a stack of clearance signs. Brenda muttered something that sounded suspiciously like a curse in French.In the quiet dark, Eli’s voice cut through:“Okay, show of hands—who just accepted death?”Callie, standing by the front register, rolled her eyes. “Very helpful, thank you.”“I try,” he said cheerfully, somewhere in the gloom. “Do we have a flashlight?”“Top shelf in aisle two,” she called. “Right next to the ‘Help, I’m panicking’ survival kits.”Someone giggled. Probably Marcus.A few minutes later, emergency lights flickered to life, casting the store in moody, amber-tinted shadows.Not ideal for customers. But oddly atmospheric.Callie exhaled, adjusting the radio on her hip. “Brenda, can you check if IT h
The Secret Billionaire in Aisle 9 Chapter Thirty-One: Gum, Gossip, and Unspoken Things
Brenda did not believe in workplace romance.Not because she was against it in theory, but because she had been working retail for twenty-three years and had seen more love triangles crash and burn than seasonal Christmas displays.She also didn’t believe in flirting.At least, not on purpose.But lately, Marcus had been… weird.Not bad weird. Just different.Less sarcastic. More attentive. He’d started showing up ten minutes early, helping her unload the morning shipment without being asked. He complimented her playlist selections in the breakroom. He even stopped chewing gum during team meetings—which was basically an act of sainthood coming from him.And then there were the comments.Casual. Quick. Almost too easy to dismiss.Like yesterday, when she wore her vintage denim jacket with the rhinestone collar, and he’d walked past her and muttered, “Brenda, if style was a felony, you’d be serving life.”
The Secret Billionaire in Aisle 9 Chapter Thirty: Waffle Irons and Other Weaknesses
Callie hadn’t expected things to feel different after the audit—but they did.It wasn’t just the lifted tension in the store. The whole team walked lighter now. Naomi actually whistled while restocking the seasonal aisle. Marcus replaced his ironic apron with a plain black one. Even Brenda smiled, twice, which felt suspicious.But the biggest shift?Eli.Ever since the surprise HQ visit, something had subtly changed between them. He still cracked jokes, still pretended not to understand basic barcode functions, but his attention was more focused now. His teasing had softened at the edges. And when she caught him watching her, there was something else there—something quiet and intent.Maybe it was the way he’d spoken up for her during the team meeting.Maybe it was the way he’d waited for her in the office afterward, name tag in hand.Or maybe—it was the way her heart had fluttered when he told her, I believe in you.
The Secret Billionaire in Aisle 9 Chapter Twenty-Nine: Under The Microscope
The first sign that something was off came with a phone call at 8:37 a.m.Brenda answered, listened for a moment, then turned to Callie with wide eyes.“They’re on their way,” she said. “From headquarters.”Callie blinked. “Who’s they?”Brenda handed her the phone, already buzzing again. “Big. Corporate. People. No one’s saying names. Just that they’ll be here in twenty minutes.”Callie’s stomach dropped.She was still halfway through inventory logging. The electronics display hadn’t been adjusted since last week. And worst of all, Marcus was wearing his novelty apron that read I Put the “Pro” in “Problematic.”“Okay,” she breathed. “Let’s move.”Within minutes, the entire team was mobilized.Naomi redid the impulse-buy layout. Marcus reluctantly changed aprons. Brenda disinfected every surface she could find like a woman possessed. Even the music overhead—usually a strange loop of outdated boyband hits
The Secret Billionaire in Aisle 9 Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Wait
The next morning, Callie woke up with the same buzzing energy that had carried her through the day before—but it had soured overnight into anxious anticipation. The kind that wrapped around her stomach like an over-tight belt and made her coffee taste like cardboard.She stared at her phone screen while brushing her teeth, willing a notification to appear.Nothing.By the time she got to BuyMore, the usual rhythms had returned. The floor was back to its semi-scuffed self, Brenda was sipping sludge again, and someone had managed to spill powdered creamer all over the breakroom counter like a sugar bomb had gone off.“Back to the beautiful chaos,” Naomi said as she walked by with an armful of hanging signs. “You hear anything?”Callie shook her head. “Not yet.”“Well, fingers crossed. If they don’t promote you, I’m quitting and starting a commune.”Callie raised an eyebrow. “A commune?”“Yeah. No hierarchy. Just v
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