Black Bottom Murder: A Frosted Love Cozy Mystery Book 6 (Frosted Love Mysteries) by Carol Durand, Summer Prescott

discussion at the moment, she merely told Chris and Ben
that they were free to go and that they’d talk more about what had happened
later. She stood at the counter watching them go, surprised to see Chris
meeting up with a young lady who looked like she had been waiting for him.
Missy thought that it was cute and was glad to see yet another example of young
love until the girl turned around, staring inside the shop. Missy would know
that insolent glare anywhere – apparently Chris was dating Echo’s obnoxious
sister, Safflower.
    Because
of the previous day’s robbery, Missy let Cheryl and Grayson handle the majority
of the baking at the LaChance store, spending most of her time puttering around
at the Dellville shop. She subtly observed how Ben and Chris worked with each
other, and tried to figure out how she could unravel what had actually happened
during the theft. Chris was behind the counter when Missy saw Safflower
crossing the street, headed for the shop. The haughty brunette came in,
lounging on the front counter, smudging the glass and flirting with Chris.
Missy deliberately moved to the seating area, where she could both see and hear
the couple, under the pretext of wiping down the tables and pushing in the
chairs. She filled the napkin dispenser, as well as the cinnamon and sugar
shakers, wondering when Chris intended to stop flirting and attend to the tasks
that she was currently doing. After a particularly loud burst of giggles, she decided
to be more direct in her approach.
    “What
are you planning to purchase today, young lady?” she asked Safflower, drawing a
contemptuous look.
    “Why
would I bother buying anything here, when I can get whatever I want for free?”
she challenged, turning her back on Missy and batting her eyes at Chris.
    When
Missy turned her gaze to her employee, he rushed to explain. “I give her
cupcakes Ms. G., but I pay for them with my own money,” he assured her.
    Missy
brought her icy stare back to Safflower. “Well, if you’d like to continue
making a paycheck that will allow you to buy all the cupcakes you’d like, this
young lady needs to leave so that you can actually do your job rather than
leaning on my counter flirting while you’re on the clock.”
    “Yes
ma’am,” Chris said meekly, leaning over to whisper something in the rude young
woman’s ear.
    “Whatever,”
she sniffed. Turning to look at Missy, she glared and said, “I’ll leave
whenever I feel like it, Missy. Fortunately for you, I no longer want to be in
this dump.”
    “That’s
Ms. Gladstone to you, young lady, and you’d be well advised to get a move on
and not come back,” Missy raised a disapproving eyebrow.
    “I’m
going to tell Echo that you were rude to me,” she threatened on her way out.
    “You
do that, darlin.’ You do that.” Missy nodded, fed up. By the time she turned
back around, Chris had cleaned the glass counters and taken the register drawer
to Ben, who would count the proceeds in the business office, per the new
protocol. It added to Ben’s responsibilities, but it was the only way that
Missy could think of to prevent robberies for now.
    When
she walked into the employee break room for a bottle of water, she saw Chris
putting on his jacket, getting ready to leave.
    “I’m
really sorry about that, Ms. G., I finished all of my tasks for today. Am I
fired?” he asked, shoving his hands in his pockets and keeping his head down.
    “No,
Chris, you’re not fired, but you might want to take a good hard look at the
company you keep,” she advised.
    “Yes
ma’am,” he replied, heading for the door. “Have a good evening.”
    “You
too, Chris.”
    Missy
hadn’t been back to visit with Echo since she had given her little sister a
piece of her mind, and didn’t know how she’d be received, but crossed the
street anyway, determined to talk things out. She was relieved when she walked
in and saw that Echo was behind the counter and that there was no one else in
the