Someone To Watch Over Me

Someone To Watch Over Me

By Taylor Michaels

***

By Taylor Michaels

Copyright 2012 by Taylor Michaels

All rights reserved. Not part of this eBook may be
reproduced in whole or in part, scanned, photocopied, recorded,
distributed in any printed or electronic form, or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever, or by any information storage and retrieval
system now known or hereafter invented, without express written
permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in critical articles and reviews.

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment.
This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to anyone. Thank you
for honoring the author’s work.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places
and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or person
living or dead is entirely coincidental.

Ebook conversion by Bella Media Management

Cover design by Char Adlesperger

Published at Smashwords

***

“Honey, I’m home.” Morgan sang the phrase out
as she locked the jewelry store’s heavy metal door behind her and
punched in the key code which reactivated the alarm in the retail
area.

Her gaze fell to the dust-covered tables
where she designed and crafted jewelry. Something she hadn’t had
time for in months. She stepped around them as she went to the
paneled office which had been her father’s until a few months ago.
A virtual Mount Everest of unopened mail sat dead center in the
middle of the dark mahogany desk. She took a sip from her Starbucks
mocha latte and savored the rich flavor.
Just as I
expected.

For a moment, the urge to turn and flee
flitted through Morgan’s mind. Her chest tightened as she realized
the workload of managing the store never let up. She tamped down
the feeling, walked in and sank down in the large leather chair.
The message light on the phone blinked to her left. She pulled out
a legal pad and pen before punching the button.

“Morgan, this is Suzie. Hope the New York
trip went without a hitch. Don’t forget about the KDEZ interview
tomorrow. I’d suggest you arrive at the station early. Please call
me to confirm.”

Morgan made a note, and the next message came
up. “Ms. Kennedy. This is Ellen at Copper Creek Resort. I’m calling
to confirm the scheduled walk through for tomorrow at 1 p.m.”
Morgan scribbled the number down and waited for the next phone
message. The phone clicked and no one spoke. Fifteen to twenty
seconds later, the caller disconnected. Morgan hit the delete
button.

The next voice mail came up. Again, silence.
She erased the second one. The next three calls repeated the same
pattern.
What’s wrong with this person?

The computer voice introduced the next call.
Morgan tightened the grip on her pen in anticipation only to have
the mailbox cut off after a few seconds. She reached for her coffee
and took a sip. “Whoever you are you’re starting to piss me off.”
She murmured.

The next batch of voice messages were the
same. The mystery caller dialed in frenzied bursts, and then
stopped for an hour or two only to start again, never leaving a
message.

“This is ridiculous,” Morgan muttered. She
eyed the mail in front of her and reached over and started to sift
through the envelopes, pausing every few seconds to punch delete.
Ten minutes later she managed to clear her voice mailbox and dump
the junk mail into the waste basket.

“Dad, how did you manage?” she whispered as
she stacked the invoices for the bookkeeper. Morgan took another
couple sips of her coffee as she turned on the computer and brought
up the company email.

The phone rang, and Morgan picked up the
handset. “Kennedy’s Fine Jewelry.”

No one answered. Morgan couldn’t be sure, but
she thought she caught the sound of faint breathing. “Hello? Can I
help you?”

The silence on the other end continued, and
she glanced over at the number on the console of her office phone.
The four eight zero area code meant the call came from the East
Valley. Morgan reached for her legal pad and scribbled the number
down. “I don’t know who you are, but I think you have the wrong
number.”

“Morgan?” The deep masculine voice sounded
surprised and excited. “You’re at the store.”

Morgan gulped. Her eyes skimmed the empty
workshop area and then looked back at the alarm status. The motion
detectors showed no activity on the retail area of the store.
Despite being safe behind lock and key, a chill fingered its way
down her spine. She was alone, and this man knew it. “Who are you
and why are you calling me?”

He didn’t answer. Her stomach knotted, and
the coffee she sipped moments before began to burn like battery
acid as the image of a faceless man on the end of the line jacking
off materialized in her mind. She reached to punch the disconnect
button.

“Don’t leave me again.”

Morgan froze.
Leave him?
This guy
sounded too weird to be real. Was she being punked? She played with
the pen in her hands and stared down at the phone number.
Okay
mister, time to stop this game.
She squared her shoulders and
took a deep breath. “Look. I’ve written down your number. Don’t
call again or I’ll notify the police.”

Morgan waited for a reply and prayed he’d
hang up and slink back to whatever corner he’d crawled out of. The
caller remained silent. “Do you understand?” she snapped.

“Don’t do this again,” he growled.

Morgan paused. His anger surprised her, and
she tamped down her instinct to soften her approach. This man
needed to learn a lesson.

“Watch me.” Morgan slammed the handset down.
Who did this person think he was? She didn’t deserve this kind of
harassment, especially now with so many things on her plate. If she
could find out who her mystery man was, she’d turn the tables
around on him. A visit from the police would make him
understand.

Morgan glanced over at the notepad and the
phone number that she’d written down. Frustration faded as
curiosity took over. What would she find if she did a reverse phone
look-up?

She sat back in her leather office chair
forty-five minutes later and raked her hand through her hair.
Playing detective had been an exercise in futility. No matter which
website she used, the result was the same, nothing.

So much for coming in early to the office to
get some of the paperwork done; the sales staff would be here any
moment. As if on cue, the alarm went off with a high pitch monotone
warning. Someone had opened the front door. Morgan listened as a
series of staccato beeps followed. The security code to deactivate
the alarm had been punched in. Morgan slid her chair back and
walked over to the steel door which opened to the retail area of
the store. She glanced through the peep hole and spied Mary. She
opened the door. “Good morning.”

The middle-aged lady glanced over after
relocking the front door and smiled. “Hi. You’re here early. Is
Sarah here yet?”

“No.”

Mary ambled toward Morgan after picking up
her purse and lunch container. “Good. I wanted to talk with you
about co-hosting a baby shower for Sarah. Sarah will be due in a
few weeks, and she could still use some items.”

Morgan fought the urge to wince. She’d
planned to hold a baby shower when Sarah announced her pregnancy
five months ago, but lately fate seemed to have conspired against
her. Since her father’s heart attack and by-pass surgery, she’d
taken on the management of the family jewelry store. Now with the
upcoming charity fundraiser, the baby shower plans had slipped
through the cracks again. Morgan forced a smile. “That’s a great
idea. I’ll host it at my house.”

Mary nodded. “I hoped you would volunteer
your place. I’ve compiled a list of people we should invite, but we
need to come up with a date and run it by Sarah. ”

Morgan pulled the back office door wider so
the saleswoman could enter. “Mary, what would I do without
you?”

The woman walked over to the refrigerator and
placed her lunch inside. “You would have managed.” She cracked a
quick grin and added, “But it’s nice to hear I’m appreciated every
now and then.”

“Does Sarah know if she’s having a boy or
girl?”

“Girl,” Mary replied.

Morgan bent over, entered the combination and
opened the safe. “How did Bill handle the news?”

“Sarah’s husband was an outdoorsman. When she
first became pregnant he had talked about teaching his son hunting
and fishing, but he came around. Now he’s talking about teaching
his daughter when the time comes.”

Morgan chuckled. “How many people are on your
list?”

“I have fifteen. Just a few close friends and
family. Is that okay?”

Morgan opened the door wider so Mary could
reach in and pull out the first tray of jewelry. “That’s fine. In
fact, if we have a few extra people, I can squeeze them in.”

Mary pulled the tray which held the
fundraiser items and handed it to Morgan. “Here, you set up the
display for this one.”

Morgan glanced at the jewelry. An elegant
diamond necklace and a sapphire ring with matching earrings were
spread out in the tray. The Ceylon sapphires were a vibrant shade
of cornflower blue, and for a fleeting moment an image of her
brother Samuel pinged through her thoughts.
His eyes were
blue.
If he were alive today, he’d be here as the store manager
instead of me.

Mary handed another couple trays to Morgan
and then she pulled another three for herself. The pair walked to
the retail area. “When do you want to schedule the shower?”

Morgan’s attention snapped back to the older
woman. “Would a month from now work? I definitely want to get past
the fundraiser so we can give Sarah’s party the attention she
deserves.”

Mary nodded. “That’s fine. That still gives
us about a month before Sarah is due. I wouldn’t suggest holding it
any later. Who knows, this baby may decide to come early.”

The pair opened separate cases and began to
display the jewelry when the phone rang. Morgan jerked around.
Is it him?
She glanced around and caught Mary looking at her
with a puzzled expression. Morgan took a quick breath and grinned.
“Surprised me.”

For a second, she considered asking Mary to
answer the call, but the little voice inside chided her to get a
grip on things. Morgan slowly set the diamond rings down and
answered the phone. “Kennedy’s Jewelry, can I help you?”

The caller hung up, and her stomach knotted.
Oh, God. Not again.
She turned and looked out the front
window of the store.
Is he out there right now watching
us?

“Showers are a lot of fun,” Mary said.

“What?” Morgan looked over and watched as the
mature woman finished positioning the bracelets.

“Showers, whether baby or wedding, are
fun.”

Morgan pressed her lips together and
pretended she’d not picked up on the subtle hint her employee had
made. She leaned over and started to arrange the engagement rings.
“I suppose.”

The woman continued. “Perhaps we’ll be having
a wedding shower for you soon.”

Morgan swallowed and her fingers paused over
a diamond ring she’d placed on a velvet display fixture before
pulling back. “I don’t think so. Brad and I have decided to take a
bit of a break.” She cast a glance over at Mary and found the woman
staring at her.

“What’s wrong? Isn’t he ready to settle down
yet?”

“What makes you think it’s him? Maybe I’m the
one who isn’t ready.” Morgan said.

“Dear, I see you when people come in the
store with their children. You always ask to hold the babies and
give a piece of candy to the kids. I think you’d rather play with
them than wait on their parents.” Mary replied. “You’re ready to
find a good guy and start a family. If Mr. Brad Marshall isn’t
ready, then it’s his loss.”

Mary smirked. “You sound like my mother. Did
anyone tell you that?”

The sales clerk chuckled, “Once a mother,
always a mother.”

“Speaking of, Sarah is here.”

Morgan walked around the counter, unlocked
and opened the door for the young blonde woman to shuffle in. Sarah
was slightly out of breath as she entered the door. “Goodness, I
swear the walk from the car to the door gets a few feet further
every day.”

Mary chuckled as Morgan retorted, “I wonder
why.” Sarah flashed a good-natured smile at the pair.

“Honestly, if you need to sit down and rest,
do it.” Morgan added.

“Oh, I do.” Sarah replied. “Mary keeps a
close watch on me.”

Mary walked up to the young woman and placed
her hand on her arm. “Sarah, Morgan is going to host a baby shower
for you.”