Erin was tempted to retort that she happened to be friends with the former regional vice-president of a Fortune 500 company, but merely lifted a shoulder in reply. She didn’t think it was any big deal to be on a first-name basis with an owner of a local store. Even if he did market nationwide, thanks to his podcast and one of the best online stores she’d ever surfed.
“Let me call back to Bert and have him bring your order out,” Paul continued, sitting back in his chair. “Multi or one-room?”
“Multi.”
Paul made the call, and Erin studied him out of the corner of one eye. While he was a little bit forward, he was also handsome. His light brown hair, though stylishly cut, almost came down to his shoulders, and his blue eyes sparkled with life. Unlike most of the other people on staff here – including Theodore Greco – his figure was fit, his stomach flat. Of course, that might have been due to his younger age.
But Erin had never bought into the idea that a man over the age of thirty was arbitrarily doomed to a flabby belly that hung over his belt. It had, as she believed about most conditions of less-than-perfect health, to do more with diet and nutrition than anything else.
“He’ll be here in a couple of minutes.”
“Thanks.” Erin unzipped the pocket of her fanny pack that was closest to her body and pulled out her card holder.
Paul leaned forward, elbows on the desk. “Say, that’s a handy contraption you’ve got there.”
Erin smiled. “It saved my life in the classroom. My first year I was forever looking for a pencil and notepad, and it was such a pain to have to walk all the way to my desk to find paper clips and things like that. When I bought this, I felt like I got my sanity back.”
“So you’re a teacher?”
“Second grade.”
Paul’s eyes flashed interest, and he lowered his voice after looking around for a second. “Kind of rough to buy high-end air purifiers on a teacher’s salary, isn’t it?”
Erin bristled. Her financial situation was none of his business.
She must have let her irritation show on her face, because he immediately leaned back in his chair with a contrite expression. “I’m not trying to be nosy or anything. I just thought you might be interested in earning a little extra money on the side.”
Erin shook her head. “I’ve already had this conversation with Theo. I’m not interested in becoming an affiliate.” She loved to write, but she didn’t want to commit to keeping up a blog in order to try to sell Pure Life, Inc. products.
“Oh, no, no, no.” Paul’s eyes widened. “Of course, that’s always an option we encourage happy customers to consider, but I was talking about something else.” He bent down for a moment, opened a desk drawer, and pulled out a wrapped disc. “Free DVD. Don’t even worry about returning it. I think you’ll like what you’ll see.”
Erin stared at the item as Paul tried to hand it to her. But she didn’t take it. “What’s it about?”
He shrugged. “Just a way to earn a little extra money. It’s working great for me. Take a look and let me know what you think.”
Erin felt divided. On the one hand, that Paul wouldn’t tell her straight out what was on the DVD made her suspicious. On the other, she was curious. And sick of her job. And, yes, wishing she had a little extra cash to make her healthy lifestyle – eating only organic food, buying things like shower filters and air purifiers – feel like less of a pinch.
Besides, the same DVD was on the table displaying the supplements. Obviously, it was something Theo was promoting. And if he was promoting it, Erin knew from experience it would be something worth considering.
Finally, she took the DVD from Paul’s hand and thanked him for it.
He handed her a business card. “Call me after you’ve watched it. Or drop by here again. I’d really like to know what you think.”
He gazed at her with an intentness that made her feel…uncomfortable? No, not uncomfortable. Shy. He was looking at her with a kind of attention she wasn’t used to. Like he was interested in her.
As a woman.
The idea made her feel warm and awkward at the same time. She didn’t like it when her emotions fell out of her control, so she looked away, hoping he couldn’t see the blush she felt suddenly heating her cheeks.
Just as she broke eye contact, Bert walked into the reception area with a box, and she let her breath out slowly with relief. If only she could get him to stay there while she paid for the air purifier element.
“One multi-room air purifier element,” Bert said cheerfully as he set the box on the desk. His dark brown hair had a few streaks of gray, and he was overweight. Too old for her, and too ugly. Married, besides.
Exactly the man she needed in this room right now.
“How is your wife these days?” Erin said as she handed her check card to Paul. “I hope she’s feeling better.” When she was there a few months ago to pick up a new shower filter, Bert had told her that his wife had just been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome.
Bert brightened. “Oh, she’s doing so much better, thanks to the world of nature.” He went on to explain the dietary changes, supplement additions, and other natural remedies his wife had been using to relieve her symptoms.
Erin’s question achieved its goal. By the time Paul had given her a receipt and she was ready to leave, Bert was still there, talking in animated tones about how great his wife was doing – with the help, of course, of several of the products in the Pure Life warehouse.
Erin rejected both men’s offers to help her out to her car, and when Paul jumped up to open the door for her as she navigated out with the DVD balancing on top of the large box, she made a concerted effort to avoid looking at him.
She didn’t need to start liking a guy. Her life was complicated enough right now as it was.
**********
Jim Rogerson knew starting a multi-level marketing company would be complicated. But he hadn’t realized it would be this complicated. Even with all the high-tech security, robbing a bank would be an easier way to make a lot of money fast.
But he was in too deep to quit now. Besides, he’d seen the numbers. In five years, he’d be a rich man. A very rich man. And at that point, the company could go to a very hot place under the earth, as far as he was concerned.
But only under one condition: he had to find a product to beat all other MLM products. And he had just the thing in mind.
It was sitting in a small warehouse of a small business known as Pure Life, Inc. And one of the newest up-and-coming distributors of Rogerson’s fledgling company, Paul Court, was going to help him get his hands on it.
Other Books By Emily Josephine
Like the above excerpt? Then don’t miss the next book in the “Choices And Chances” series, His First Choice.
There are four total novels in this series, and you can purchase all four at a deep discount by purchasing the boxed set. Search “Choices And Chances boxed set.” Make sure the author is Emily Josephine!
The “Texas Hearts” series, consists of five full-length novels. You can download the first one, The Envelope, for free. (Make sure the author is Emily Josephine!)
You can also buy the entire “Texas Hearts” series in a box set format. By doing so, you will save nearly half of the cost of purchasing each novel individually. It is available today at a great discount price. Look up “Texas Hearts” by Emily Josephine. (There is another “Texas Hearts” romance series that is NOT written by me and is a lot steamier than my books. Buyer beware.)
You will probably also enjoy my stand-alone mail-order bride novel, Redeeming Laura.
How about ramping up your own romantic life? No More Broken Hearts teaches you the low-stress, sure-fire way to find your soulmate.
About Emily Josephine
A former sugar addict, Emily is now a fervent health nut. A former schoolteacher, she is now a rabid advocate of homeschooling. A former too-much-stuff-city-dweller, she is now living her dream as a semi-min
imalist rural homesteader.
In between planting seeds, reading to her son, and making videos of her homestead, Emily writes both non-fiction related to health and simple living, as well as inspirational novels with characters who are as radically anti-mainstream as she is!
Connect With Emily
Her tweets are few and far between, but if you want to follow her on twitter, you can do so at https://twitter.com/crunchycoach. Her videos are at least automatically tweeted, so you can easily stay updated with those via twitter.
Of course, you can subscribe to her YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/crunchyemily1.
You may send encouraging e-mails and testimonies to
[email protected].
Remember that you can download your free copy of my e-book Take Back Your Life: 3 Steps To Designing The Life You REALLY Want, as well as be the first to know about her future publications, by visiting her blog at https://liveyourdreamswithemily.com.
ONE MORE THING… If you enjoyed this book, please take a minute to write a positive review of it at your favorite online book retailer’s site. It will help others to find and enjoy this novel, as well.
Thank you very much, and I wish you every blessing!
Emily Josephine
Thank you for reading books on BookFrom.Net Share this book with friends