Miracle.”
“Who? No, that wasn’t the name.”
“No, it’s Merkle or Michaels or something like that. The name badge mistakenly says Miracle, and she insisted that’s what we call her.”
His father seemed confused, which was fine with Jake. He felt he was being rather clever to keep J. R.’s attention away from the robots.
J. R. ignored the comment. “You asked for this Mrs. Miracle or whoever she is to be transferred and then you changed your mind. Do I understand correctly?”
“Yes. After I made the initial request, I realized she was a good fit for the department—a grandmotherly figure who relates well to kids and parents. She adds exactly the right touch.”
“I see,” his father murmured. “Okay, whatever you decide is fine.”
That was generous, seeing that he was the department head, Jake mused with more affection than sarcasm.
“While I have you, tell me, how are sales of that expensive robot going?”
Jake wasn’t fooled. His father already knew the answer to that. “Sales are picking up. We sold a total of twenty-five over the weekend.”
“Twenty-five,” his father said slowly. “There’re still a lot of robots left in the storeroom, though, aren’t there?”
“Yes,” Jake admitted.
“That’s what I thought.”
He made some additional remark Jake couldn’t quite grasp, but it didn’t sound like something he wanted to hear, anyway, so he didn’t ask J. R. to repeat it.
As he entered the toy department, clipping on his “Manager” badge, Jake was glad to see Mrs. Miracle on duty.
“Good morning, Mr. Finley,” she said, looking pleased with herself.
“Good morning. I apologize for being late—”
“No problem. I sold two Intellytrons this morning.”
“Already?” This was encouraging news and improved his workday almost before it had started. “That’s wonderful!”
“They seem to be catching on.”
The phone rang just then, and Jake stepped behind the counter to answer. The woman at the other end of the line was looking for Intellytron and sighed with audible relief when Jake assured her he had plenty in stock. She asked that he hold one for her.
“I’ll be happy to,” Jake said. He found Mrs. Miracle watching him, smiling, when he ended the conversation. “I think you might be right,” he said. “That was a woman calling about Intellytron. She sounded excited when I told her we’ve got them.”
Mrs. Miracle rubbed her palms together. “I knew it.” The morning lull was about to end; in another half hour, the store would explode with customers. Since toys were on the third floor, it took time for shoppers to drift up the escalators and elevators, so they still had a few minutes of relative peace. Jake decided to take advantage of it by questioning his rather unusual employee.
“I thought I saw you on Saturday night,” he commented in a nonchalant voice, watching her closely.
“Me?” she asked.
Jake noted that she looked a bit sheepish. “Did you happen to take a walk around Central Park around ten or ten-thirty?”
“My heavens, no! After spending all day on my feet, the last thing I’d do is wander aimlessly around Central Park. At that time of night, no less.” Her expression turned serious. “What makes you ask?”
“I could’ve sworn that was you I saw across from the park.”
She laughed as though the question was ludicrous. “You’re joking, aren’t you?”
“No.” Jake grew even more suspicious. Her nervous reaction seemed to imply that she wasn’t being completely truthful. “Don’t you remember? You suggested I take a stroll through the park.”
“I said that?”
“You did,” he insisted. He wasn’t about to be dismissed quite this easily. “You said it would help clear my head.”
“After a long day at work? My goodness, what was I thinking?”
Jake figured the question was rhetorical, so he didn’t respond. “I met Holly Larson and her nephew there,” he told her.
“My, that was a nice coincidence, wasn’t it?”
“Very nice,” he agreed.
“Are you seeing her again?” the older woman asked.
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I am.” He didn’t share any details. The less she knew about his personal life, the better. Mrs. Miracle might appear to be an innocent senior citizen, but he had his doubts. Not that he suspected anything underhanded or nefarious. She seemed. Jake couldn’t come up with the right word. He liked Mrs. Miracle and she was an excellent employee, a natural saleswoman. And yet. He didn’t really know much about her.
And what he did know didn’t seem to add up.
Chapter Eight
Aspire to inspire before you expire. —Mrs. Miracle
Holly felt as if she was walking on air the rest of the way into the office. It didn’t matter how rotten her day turned out to be; no one was going to ruin it after her conversation with Jake.
She’d spent a miserable Sunday and had worked herself into a state after she’d discovered Jake’s position with the department store. Son and heir. Now, having talked to him, she realized her concerns were irrelevant. Okay, so his family was rich and influential; that didn’t define him or say anything about the person he really was.
The question that, inevitably, kept going around and around in her mind was why someone like Jake Finley would be interested in her. The reality was that he could have his pick of women. To further complicate the situation, she was taking care of Gabe. Lots of men would see her nephew as an encumbrance. Apparently not Jake.
Holly was happy they’d gotten this settled. She felt reassured about his interest—and about the fact that he’d promised not to purchase the robot for her. Mickey had offered, too, but she knew he was financially strapped. Besides, getting Gabe this toy for Christmas—as her gift to him—was important to Holly.
She couldn’t entirely explain why. Maybe because of Bill’s implication that she wasn’t good with kids. She had something to prove—if not to Bill or Mickey or even Jake, she had to prove it to herself. Nothing was going to keep her from making this the best possible Christmas for Gabe.
Holly entered her cubicle outside Lindy Lee’s office and hung up her coat. She’d been surprised to find her boss in the office on Saturday afternoon and had tried to keep Gabe occupied so he wouldn’t pester her. Unfortunately,
