Today I’m
hosting romance author, Kenzie Michaels. Following is her interview with a
character from one of her books.
I decided
to do something different today. Normally when launching a new book, it’s
customary to interview the main characters, but since this book has been out
for some time now, it is time to interview someone else. Back in 2012, my
alter-ego was brave enough to sit down with Nancy, former assistant
manager/dining room hostess at the country club in my book, “Appetite For
Desire,” which was published first in 2011, then republished in 2016. Enjoy!
Thanks
Kenzie:)
Hello
Nancy. How are you today?
A little pissed off. I’ve been
out of work for nearly a year now, and was just issued a summons this morning.
I’m being sued. SUED! By one of my most loyal customers. (dabs heavily made up eyes) Do you know how hard it is to find work in
this lousy economy? (sniff)
Who’s
suing you? And for what?
Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know.
Mr. James Sr, one of our most affluent members of the country club, makes
more money per minute than I do in a week. So I didn’t feel he’d mind
sharing some of his wealth. And mind
you, it was only a teensy part of his income, and I did share it with one of
our best waitresses. We were only about a month away from our goal when
Lily came down with a bad case of bronchitis and Mr. James’ son came back to
town. If only we hadn’t been so
short-staffed that night….I let one of our new girls, Courtney, take the job,
and the idiot grabbed the wrong clipboard. I had everything arranged, but
she took the real invoice and the whole scheme unraveled when the son got nosy. All because his dad suddenly wanted only
Courtney to be his server. Hmph!
You do
understand that’s a crime-
Oh good lord….don’t sit there and
pretend you wouldn’t skim a couple of bucks from people’s account if you had
the chance.
Actually,
no, I wouldn’t.
I thought you were unemployed.
I’m
self-employed; and right now, my royalties are increasing at a nice rate.
But this isn’t about me; it’s about you.
I’m giving you a chance to explain yourself.
You’re not here to judge? I
thought this was a deposition.
No; I’m
interviewing you for anyone out there who wants to understand you a little
better. What made you decide to ‘skim money’ from a client’s account?
It was very simple. I have a
child entering college next year, and my deadbeat ex-husband was supposed to
foot the bill. But he was downsized out of a job and had to dip into our
son’s savings in order to maintain his lifestyle while he looked for another
job. I did some calculating and realized some of our patrons don’t check
their bills closely; they just pay whatever amount we send. I tried several patrons before settling on
Mr. James, and had a set amount I was aiming for. As I said, one more
week would have met our goal, and I’d slowly ‘wean’ him from the extra
payments, so things wouldn’t look suspicious.
I did NOT count on his son looking into his accounts.
I imagine
you’re pretty resentful of both Courtney and Dustin.
I misjudged Courtney; she’s smarter
than she looks. No, the one I’m the most furious with is Dustin James.
How dare he go snooping through his father’s accounts and asking
questions about the monthly bills the past year? Why couldn’t he just
chalk it up to inflation or something?
I’m also upset with Lily. If
she’d not gotten sick in the first place, none of this would have happened.
People
can’t control when they’re going to be ill, Nancy.
In my business, you take the
over-the-counter medications. Wait staff should only go to the doctor
during golf season when they’re bleeding, spiking an ungodly high fever, or
unable to talk. Get sick on your days off or in the winter time. Not during our busy season! That’s what Tylenol is for.
So you
feel the end justifies the means? Is that what you’re saying?
Hell yes. Didn’t you ever hear
of Robin Hood? He stole from the rich and gave to the poor. I
wasn’t trying to bankrupt anyone; I had a set amount I needed, and then I was
going to stop. And when the ex got back to work, I was going to slowly
replace the funds, saying an audit had taken place, or a clerical error had occurred.
Is this
your first offense, or have you faced charges before?
(sniffs) This is the first.
That
you’ve committed a crime, or been caught?
(Looks around and leans forward,
lowering voice) This is just between you and me, right? I-
Excuse the
interruption, Nancy, but before you reply, I just want to make you aware that
other people will read this.
(Sits up) Oh…I see. Well, this is the first time I’ve ever been
charged.
So you’ve
done this before, just never been caught.
Who do you think you are, Jack McCoy
from Law and Order?
(holds up
hands) I’m just trying to get at the facts, ma’am.
Okay; now you sound like Joe Friday
from Dragnet. And you call yourself a writer? What’s next, a Perry Mason reference?
(rolls
eyes and mentally counts to ten) Let me get this straight. You feel you’re justified in what you did;
you’re sorry you were caught; and you’re angry with the circumstances which led
to your being fired. Do you feel that rules only apply to certain people?
I don’t understand the question.
Rules are rules.
But do you
feel some are meant to be broken, or that everyone breaks a rule from time to
time?
(fidgets in chair and examines
scarlet fingernails) When you put it that way….yes, I suppose I feel some
rules don’t apply to some of us. After all, I am-WAS- the
supervisor. I’m authorized to determine
which rules can be bent in certain circumstances.
So you feel
entitled to take whatever you want. Does it concern you that readers
won’t like you?
Not at all. The only other
thing which upsets me is Kenzie called my voice a ‘nasal whine’. I do NOT
sound like that.
(Yes, she
does) Do you plan to appear in any of Kenzie’s other books?
I certainly hope NOT! (sits up
and glares) She’s caused enough trouble
for me. Unless…..
Unless?
(smiles and leans forward) Do you
think she’d be willing to set me up with a nice, handsome, single lawyer?
I don’t really need a younger man; just someone who’s in his late 50’s or
early 60’s. Someone with experience, if
you get my meaning. Someone who’s, ah, been missing something from his
life lately. (winks)
(sigh)
I can certainly ask her if she’d be willing to do that. But no
promises. Her writing is sort of on the
back burner at the moment.
(pats my hand) You tell her to
do it or I’ll come back and haunt her until she writes it.
Thank you
for sitting down with me today. Nancy-did Kenzie not give you a last name?-is
Courtney’s supervisor at the country club in Kenzie Michaels’ Appetite For
Desire, available now at Amazon, in Kindle Unlimited.
A
Scene With Nancy:
“Courtney! Where is she? Courtney
Bright!” Nancy’s nasal voice was an octave higher than normal as she stormed
through the swinging door of the club’s kitchen. “Courtney!”
“I’m here; what’s the problem?”
Courtney backed out of the walk-in, balancing bowls of coleslaw and potato
salad. Oh God…she found out I was eating again…
Nancy waved the invoice under the
girl’s nose. “You call this accurate?” She screeched. “Where do you think we
buy our food, the local farmer’s market? You didn’t charge him nearly enough!”
Courtney set the salad bowls on the
stainless steel counter and checked the invoice. “But…that’s what Becky told me
when she hired me. The prices are listed on the clipboard.” She went to the
wall and found the one she’d used the night before. Flipping to the back, she
ran her finger down and showed it to her manager. “See?”
“Well I never,” Nancy huffed,
beginning to calm down. “I’ll have to check the rest of the receipts. There’s
been a mistake somewhere. And I’m going to find it!” She spun on her high heels
and left the kitchen.
Do you have anything else you’d like
to add Nancy?
I’d like to state my last name is
Nicholson*; I’m 42 years old**; my beautiful blonde hair is natural***, and I’m
considered quite a catch, if you believe some of the gentlemen who flirted with
me before I was fired. Anyone who is on my side and who’d like to hire me
can contact me through Kenzie’s website….(knock at the door and an officer
pokes his head inside the room)…What the hell is wrong now?
Sorry to interrupt Molly, but Nancy
was supposed to be back home now. Her free time is up.
Not a problem; we were just
finishing up. Nancy, I’ll pass along your message and thank you again for
your time.
I didn’t know that damn ankle
bracelet would warn you if I was a few minutes late! Hands off me; I’ll
go by myself. (Stands and exits the
room)
Officer? I didn’t realize she
had an ankle bracelet.
Yes; it’s part of her plea
agreement. She has to wear it for two more months. (tips his hat)
Sigh….just goes to show sometimes
you don’t get the whole story!
*Nicholson: Her maiden name
**42 yrs: Actual age, 53.
***She is definitely NOT a ‘natural’
blonde….or at least not in the past twenty years.
And anyone who still wants to hire
Nancy, please be assured your note will be placed in the circular file.
Blurb
Dustin
James is shocked to learn the sexy blonde he met two days earlier is none other
than his father’s caterer who also works at the country club he’s recently
joined. When he can’t keep his hands off of her, is lust for her sexy body all
he wants, or is it love?
Courtney
Bright defied the rules by admitting her attraction to the new customer at the
country club. But when she realizes her feelings aren’t just sexual, will she
take a chance on love, or is her job more important?
“Appetite for Desire” is available
through:
Connect
with Kenzie Michaels
Their chance encounter resulted in a steamy affair, but will his former gang and a parole officer tear them apart?
Writing is the fruit of happiness.
