Zachariah: The Manager

Providing good customer service can be rewarding. But when the customer is annoying and sexy as hell? That can be a challenge, especially when you've crossed paths before and she wasn't easy to forget... Excerpt: Zachariah Ralph, a gangly-looking college kid, knocked on the glass surrounding my office. “Mr. Givens, there’s a customer on the line asking for you.” “Thanks, Ralph.” I studied the flashing lines and sighed. I needed someone who could handle the in-store portion of the job. Ralph made an excellent technician, but his customer-service skills were seriously lacking. “Which line?” He shrugged sheepishly. I glanced at my watch, 4:25, not long before quitting time. Perfect. With any luck, I could shortcut traffic, take my mother something for dinner, talk, and be home by seven. That would leave plenty of time for exploring the benefits of my latest high-tech gadget. The new Tablet offered me everything I wanted and more. First, I needed to send this week’s timesheets to the corporate office, then take my tour around the store and turn off the display computers for the night. I snatched up the phone and handled three of the five calls; none of them were the customer who’d asked for me. Ralph was still on the original call. I answered the next call in time to hear an angry curse and the phone disconnect as soon as I spoke. At the same time, the door to the shop flew open and a light-skinned woman wearing heels, a skintight skirt, and a loosely buttoned shirt stormed up to the counter. She didn’t appear pleased. “First of all, the customer service phone etiquette here sucks.” She glared at poor Ralph, who appeared to shrink two inches from her glare. Then she zeroed in on me. She squinted in recognition. I remembered her as well. How could I forget a woman with eyes the color of steel and skin the color of coffee with too much cream? Her body was worth every ounce of admiration. “You…” She pointed a red fingernail at me. “You’re…” she referred to a paper she held, “Zachariah Givens?” “Yes,” I said, ignoring the flash of heat running to my groin. The woman was sexy and annoying at the same time. Unfortunately, it was difficult to appreciate her looks while she shot daggers at me. “You came to my hotel two months ago and said I needed to upgrade my computer when it crashed. You patched it up—thanks again—but now I need a new one. Like, yesterday. I need what you listed here, but instead of one, I want three of them. I don’t have time to waste doing this again.” She waved the paper in front of my face. My hands remained gripped on the counter top as I counted to ten, and then to twenty. Patience. Let her vent, get it out of her system, and then we could move on. “Well, aren’t you going to look at this?” She waved the paper again, sending a slight breeze of perfume. Damn, she smelled good. I counted to thirty, then reached out and waited for the paper to settle in my hand. Our eyes held for a moment before I looked at the sheet. Yasmine Phillips. That’s right. Hers was one of the last jobs I did as a technician before my promotion to store manager. I studied my notes. “Do you still need authorization to place this order?” “No, my father has no choice because the computer didn’t just crash, it burned. I still have the metallic taste in my mouth.” I glanced up. Bad idea. Her tongue ran over pale pink lips. Another shot to my groin. I adjusted my stance, glad to be standing behind the counter. “We don’t have three of the computer systems I listed. We have two of them—” “Two? That’s not enough.” I glanced up. “I can get a third one from our sister store, but it will take a day or two.” “Not acceptable.” She chewed on her bottom lip. I looked at her mouth. Focus, man. Why did this woman turn me on? She was nothing like anyone I’d ever dated. Then again, dating was the last thing on my mind since Melissa left. I did not want to think about Melissa. Not now, not ever. #### -From Jaded (A Butterfly Memoir), Chapter 2 A devastating breakup leaves Yasmine Phillips in shambles. Unable to trust another man with her heart, she focuses on the one thing she can control — starting her own business. When her computer crashes, taking months of hard work with it, she must rely on computer genius Zachariah Givens to save her. A complete opposite of the men from her past, she doesn't expect the passion that ensues. But just as she finds happiness, she learns the truth about the other woman in Zachariah's life. Buy now! Amazon Nook Kobo Google Play iBook Smashwords Be sure to follow my website, newsletter, and connect with me on BookBub in order to stay in the loop for contests, giveaways, and sneak peeks of other works to come! -MJ #MJKane #MJKaneMedia #TheButterflyMemoirs #Writing #Life #Books #Authors #NewReleases #Blogging #Bloggers #Blog #AHeartNotEasilyBroken #Jaded #Shattered #SundayBlogShare