Page 1 of Haystacks and Hoaxes

Chapter 1: Highway Shenanigans

One week before Christmas

Mila Kingston’s cell phone rang. She almost let it roll to voicemail. After professionally applying makeup to seven high schoolers on their way to a Christmas party, she was running late to the airport.

Unfortunately, she was between jobs and needed the money — the same reason she couldn’t afford to ignore a phone call right now. She had a dozen job applications circulating for forensic artist positions, and there was no way to tell a junk call from the call of a prospective employer.

Blowing out an impatient breath, she lifted the phone to her ear. “Mila Kingston speaking.”

“Oh, hey, Mila! This is Rock Hefner, calling from Lonestar Security.”

She nearly dropped the phone. “Um…hi.”Rock Hefner?She did a silent jig of exultation. He was only the guy in charge of interviewing candidates for her dream job.No biggie…ha! This was huge!

Her knees grew weak. Since she was standing beside her bed, she took a seat on the mattress. Her hip bumped into the suitcase she’d been about to zip closed.

“Do you have a minute to talk?” Rock Hefner’s voice was a delicious baritone. Blockbuster movie material.

Not really.She gripped the phone tighter. “Absolutely,” she lied.

“Great.” He sounded like a really nice guy. He also sounded relieved. “Listen, I know Christmas is only a week away, but what are the odds of scheduling an interview with you this week?”

“This week?” Her voice rose to an incredulous squeak.

“If it’s not possible, I understand,” he assured hastily. “I knew it was a long shot when I picked up the phone?—”

“I can do it,” she interrupted. “Just name the time.” The only long shot from where she was sitting was the fact that an unemployed makeup artist like herself had gone back to college and gotten certified as a forensic artist. It wasn’t exactly a normal career progression, and she had zero job experience in the field, so there was no way she was letting an opportunity like this pass her by. Not even for the all-expenses-paid cruise to the Bahamas her mom and stepdad had gifted her.

Sorry, Mom and Dad!On the upside, if she landed the job, she’d be able to afford to pay them back. They’d have more fun without her, anyway. She was pretty sure they’d only invited her because they felt sorry for her becoming a runaway bride. Literally. She’d been on her way to the altar when she’d discovered that the son of the biggest car dealership owner in Heart Lake had been cheating on her. Her refusal to go through with their marriage had additionally gotten her fired from the beauty salon ownedby his mother.

“My afternoon is free if you’re available.” The faintly wistful note in Rock Hefner’s voice managed to waft across her raw nerves without scraping them further. He sounded genuinely eager to meet her.

Fancy that.He must not have gotten the memo about her wayward teenage years. Her stepbrother, one of the partners who owned the firm, would make sure he read a copy. With any luck, though, it wouldn’t happen until after she got hired.

“My schedule is wide open, sir. I can head there now, if you’d like.” She hoped that didn’t make her sound too desperate.

“Only if you drop the sir.” His voice was teasing. “We don’t go by titles around here. Do you mind if I call you Mila?”

“Not at all.” She was relieved he hadn’t said anything about her last name. Yet. Maybe he’d assumed it was merely a coincidence that hers was the same as his boss’s.

“Fantastic.” There was a pause. “Let’s see. It’s nearly one o’clock. How about you meet me in my office at two?”

“It’s a—I’ll be there.” Out of sheer nervousness, she’d almost said it was a date. Fortunately, she’d managed to correct her poor choice of words in the nick of time.

“Since fighting for street parking during the peak of the holiday shopping season is a losing battle,” he drawled, “I’ll let our gate guard know I’m expecting you. Just flash your driver’s license at him, and he’ll let you in the parking garage. My office is on the first floor, second door to the left in the same hallway you enter the building on.”

“I’ll be there.” Her heart raced with excitement. It was roughly two hours before her flight was scheduled to depart. Yeah, she was definitely missing out on theBahamas.

“Great! I look forward to meeting you, Mila.”

“I look forward to meeting you, too.” She disconnected the line, then wanted to kick herself for doing so. Had she hung up on him too soon? Should she have waited until he’d said goodbye?

She glanced down at the outfit she’d originally planned to travel across the country in, a tan cropped blazer over wide-legged black knit pants, and decided it was chic enough for an interview. Just by looking at the pants, there was no way of telling how much stretch was in the fabric or just how comfy they were. Kicking off her white sneakers, she slipped her feet into a pair of black ankle boots, and voila! Her casual outfit had been transformed into business casual.

Who needs a fairy godmother for stuff like that?If only she would be able to think on her feet just as quickly during the coming interview!

Moving around the corner to peek into her bathroom mirror, she fluffed her hands through her shoulder-length blonde hair. After a moment of consideration, she tied a white and tan scarf around her neck and added a gold bracelet.

Done.

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