Short Story - "The Rescue"
Here's how it works: The short story begins here on my blog. The entire story, beginning and end, is at
http://prismbookgroup.com/blog/
Friday evening, six-thirty. As if the arrival of another weekend wasn’t bad enough, the holiday season was looming. Loretta Buckley put down her pen, looked at her office clock, and sighed. What excuse could she use for not going home this year?
Walking down the hallway of the Buckley TempPlacements, Loretta hoped to find someone else still working. No luck. Desktops were clean, typewriters covered, lights off. The click of her high heels echoed through the empty corridor as Loretta wandered into the employee break room. The percolator was unplugged, meaning the last of the coffee was already down the drain.
Inside the refrigerator she found a bottle of ketchup, milk for the coffee drinkers, and half of an unwrapped cinnamon roll. Slamming the fridge door shut, Loretta regretted skipping lunch. Now hunger would prevent her from working her usual two or three more hours. Maybe she should call her friend Doris and see if they could get together for drinks and dinner.
After returning to her office, Loretta walked to the window and lifted a slat of the Venetian blinds. Traffic was flowing normally, thinning out somewhat. She dialed Doris’s number. No answer after twenty rings. Probably a bad idea anyway. Doris would want to talk about holiday plans, and Loretta was in no mood to discuss that topic. Still, listening to Doris would be better than eating alone again.
The mechanical buzz of a floor buffer droned from the floor below, occasionally drowned in the sound of flushing toilets. A nondescript woman wheeled a huge barrel to the door of Loretta’s office. “Good evening, ma’am. Will it be all right if I empty your trash?”
“Certainly.” Loretta pulled the circular can from beneath her desk and set it within easy reach. “How are you this evening?” she asked.
“I’m blessed, thank you.” The woman smiled broadly, emptied the paper from Loretta’s wastebasket, and moved down the hallway.
“Blessed, indeed,” Loretta muttered to herself. “Old as the hills and working for minimum wage on the night shift.” She sat at her desk and looked through the latest vacancies. Lots of temporary Christmas help through the holiday season, simple placements. She had several good applicants for the car dealer’s billing clerk. Nothing out of the ordinary, other than a requisition for someone to fill in for an ailing hotel concierge.
Loretta was taken aback by the sound of a man’s voice. “Excuse me. Is this where I apply for a job?”
“It would be if we were open,” she said, resuming her review of the paperwork in front of her. She waved a hand in the man’s direction. “Come back next week, during normal business hours.”
“I’m sorry if I startled you,” he said.
Loretta shot him what she hoped was an icy stare. “How did you get in here?”
“I just walked in,” he said. “I’m John Harrison, and I’m willing to do any kind of work. I did all sorts of odd jobs in college, and when I saw your sign I thought—”
“The cleaning crew must have left a door unlocked, but we are closed.” Loretta had no interest in hearing a hard luck story. “Come back Monday and someone will take your application.” The man was handsome, tall, well-built, with a resonant voice.
Harrison raked his fingers through the thickness of his dark hair. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to impose, but my situation is getting desperate.”
...Continued on the Prism Book Group website. Enjoy!
Carlene Havel,author of "A Hero's Homecoming"
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_nos...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Carle... http://www.prismbookgroup.com/AHerosH...
Friday evening, six-thirty. As if the arrival of another weekend wasn’t bad enough, the holiday season was looming. Loretta Buckley put down her pen, looked at her office clock, and sighed. What excuse could she use for not going home this year?
Walking down the hallway of the Buckley TempPlacements, Loretta hoped to find someone else still working. No luck. Desktops were clean, typewriters covered, lights off. The click of her high heels echoed through the empty corridor as Loretta wandered into the employee break room. The percolator was unplugged, meaning the last of the coffee was already down the drain.
Inside the refrigerator she found a bottle of ketchup, milk for the coffee drinkers, and half of an unwrapped cinnamon roll. Slamming the fridge door shut, Loretta regretted skipping lunch. Now hunger would prevent her from working her usual two or three more hours. Maybe she should call her friend Doris and see if they could get together for drinks and dinner.
After returning to her office, Loretta walked to the window and lifted a slat of the Venetian blinds. Traffic was flowing normally, thinning out somewhat. She dialed Doris’s number. No answer after twenty rings. Probably a bad idea anyway. Doris would want to talk about holiday plans, and Loretta was in no mood to discuss that topic. Still, listening to Doris would be better than eating alone again.
The mechanical buzz of a floor buffer droned from the floor below, occasionally drowned in the sound of flushing toilets. A nondescript woman wheeled a huge barrel to the door of Loretta’s office. “Good evening, ma’am. Will it be all right if I empty your trash?”
“Certainly.” Loretta pulled the circular can from beneath her desk and set it within easy reach. “How are you this evening?” she asked.
“I’m blessed, thank you.” The woman smiled broadly, emptied the paper from Loretta’s wastebasket, and moved down the hallway.
“Blessed, indeed,” Loretta muttered to herself. “Old as the hills and working for minimum wage on the night shift.” She sat at her desk and looked through the latest vacancies. Lots of temporary Christmas help through the holiday season, simple placements. She had several good applicants for the car dealer’s billing clerk. Nothing out of the ordinary, other than a requisition for someone to fill in for an ailing hotel concierge.
Loretta was taken aback by the sound of a man’s voice. “Excuse me. Is this where I apply for a job?”
“It would be if we were open,” she said, resuming her review of the paperwork in front of her. She waved a hand in the man’s direction. “Come back next week, during normal business hours.”
“I’m sorry if I startled you,” he said.
Loretta shot him what she hoped was an icy stare. “How did you get in here?”
“I just walked in,” he said. “I’m John Harrison, and I’m willing to do any kind of work. I did all sorts of odd jobs in college, and when I saw your sign I thought—”
“The cleaning crew must have left a door unlocked, but we are closed.” Loretta had no interest in hearing a hard luck story. “Come back Monday and someone will take your application.” The man was handsome, tall, well-built, with a resonant voice.
Harrison raked his fingers through the thickness of his dark hair. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to impose, but my situation is getting desperate.”
...Continued on the Prism Book Group website. Enjoy!
Carlene Havel,author of "A Hero's Homecoming"
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_nos...
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Carle... http://www.prismbookgroup.com/AHerosH...
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