Call Us Forever: Call Center Series, #4

By Janet Berry

Pretending you don't love someone is easy, right?

For Daniel Bradshaw, it's going to be impossible. He's loved Ava Stone for as long as he can remember, and now she's back and closer than ever.

Ava moved back to Texas to get away from an ex, not expecting her new job to bring her close to the one who broke her heart.

Staying focused on work just got a lot more difficult.

***This book was previously released as Loving You the call center series book 4. The title, cover and blurb have all been changed.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Janet Berry
• Release date: Feb 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9798215624265

Book preview

Acknowledgements

For my Uncle Frankie.

Thank you for walking me down the aisle.

It was one of the most important moments of my life, and I’ll never forget it.

I love you.

Chapter One

Daniel Bradshaw sighed, running his hand through his shaggy blond hair.

He needed a haircut.

He stared at the email in front of him, his elbows leaning on the desk. 

He was surprised that they were bringing in a new operations manager, as they already had two: himself and Tom Harper. They didn't really need another, as they ran their call center without issue. 

Well, not completely.

There was the assault on Gage DeNiro by one of the managers with a baseball bat, and then the fight between Chad Larson and Duncan Reilly. Not to mention the assault on one of the subject expert officers just last week.

There were rumors that corporate was going to shut their site down, and that scared him. 

He had a little bit in savings but would need to get a job quickly afterwards to stay afloat. 

Calm down. Don't get ahead of yourself.

They hadn't been shut down yet. Their weekly meeting was coming up, and their numbers had been climbing, so there was still hope. 

If Destin wanted to bring in a third operations manager to see if that would help, then he would deal with it. The same way he'd been dealing with all the manager and employee changes since he'd become OM. 

Tom stepped into the office just as Danny looked down at his computer, frowning at the numbers on the screen. 

Just see the numbers? He asked. 

Yeah. That's definitely not what I was hoping for. 

Tom shook his head. I know. I don't know what happened. Something is off here.

Agreed. I feel like the mid-week reports show better numbers and then we get the end of week, and they take a nosedive. Something is going on. Probably with the system. 

Danny scrubbed his hand over his face. I'm going to talk to Jack and see if he can tell if the system has been messed with. There’s just no way the numbers can be this bad.

I understand. Our agents are kicking ass, but for some reason, they aren't getting credit for it. Such bull. 

Danny double checked the numbers for the third time in about ten minutes. Has this ever happened before? 

There has only been one time it was this bad, but that was when Clive put the numbers in wrong. Thankfully, Eduardo was here to fix it while I was out of town that weekend. 

Tom had been here since the site opened four years ago and was the only operations manager to stay when others had vacated the position. 

Danny learned all he knew from Tom about the ins and outs of this place.

His laptop dinged, and they looked at the computer, Tom's eyes widening. 

Apparently, our new OM is going to be here tomorrow, a week ahead of schedule.

Danny arched a blond brow. Why?

I don't know, but she landed today and is coming in tomorrow to check everything out. 

What time do you come in tomorrow? Danny asked, looking down at his phone as it buzzed.

I’ll be here at ten. What time do you come in?

I’ll be here at eight. What time is she coming in?

Tom looked back down at his computer. It looks like she’ll be here at nine. So, you’ll be here when she gets here. Don’t charm the pants off her, okay?

Danny laughed and shook his head. Don’t worry, I won’t. Besides, Harper might have something to say about that.

Tom’s face took on the same look it always did when Danny talked about Harper Davis. He definitely wasn’t a fan of Danny’s girlfriend.

I know, I know, Danny said, holding his hands up.

Just be careful, is all. There was a reason her last boyfriend was fired.

Danny rolled his eyes. He knew the story.

Hey, by the way, what is the new OM’s name? Danny asked as Tom closed his laptop.

Her name is—

A knock on the door announced Delia Jacobs. 

Hey Tom, Bradford is looking for you, she said, hugging her laptop to her chest.

Okay, I’ll be right there.

She nodded and left the doorway, and Tom turned away, grabbing his laptop, and heading out the door, leaving Danny alone in the office again.

The next morning, Danny arrived at the office early, feeling unprepared for the new arrival.

He flipped on the light and put his laptop on his desk, looking over at the new empty desk they’d brought in for the new OM.

I still don’t know her name, he murmured.

His phone buzzed, and he unlocked it, a text from Harper popping up.

Have a great day at work! I will see you in a little while. :heart emoji:

He texted her back and then locked his phone, setting it down on his desk.

He and Harper had only been going out for a few weeks now, and it was going fine.

Danny wanted to wait a few months before going out with her, but she was okay with dating him so soon after her breakup. 

Her last boyfriend had been fired for slandering her name all over the call center and although Harper was a manager, and she had broken the rules by dating an agent, she didn’t deserve to have her name slandered all over the place just because she broke up with him.

Tom didn’t approve of her dating an agent, and as a manager, there was a strict policy against it. As Carter’s direct supervisor, Harper could have shown him preferential treatment over the other agents. Which was unacceptable.

 Harper was disciplined after the whole incident, but she kept her job.

Danny thought that was fair; people make mistakes, and it’s hard to avoid who you fall for.

His mind went back to a mistake he made, but he shoved it away, ignoring the sharp jab of pain it caused.

He jumped when his phone rang, and he grabbed it quickly. 

Danny Bradshaw.

The guard on the end of the line told him that there was a woman here to see him, and Danny confirmed he would be down in a minute.

He put the receiver down, put on his best charming smile, and headed downstairs to meet her. 

A few minutes later, he made his way down the large stairs that filled the lobby, the young woman standing near the visitor’s desk. Her face was turned to the floor-to-ceiling windows that covered the front of the building.

The security guard, Ensel, stood near her, and he motioned towards Danny. When she turned, Danny’s heart stalled in his chest. 

Her face spelled out her surprise when she whispered, Danny?

Ava?

Chapter Two

Ava Stone stared at Danny Bradshaw, the man who broke her heart five years ago. Anger welled up at the sight of him, and she made a fist, squeezing tightly to avoid hitting him.

Ava? What are you doing here? he asked, his arms crossing his chest.

I’m here for my new job. It was her turn to cross her arms. What are you doing here?

I work here. I’m one of the operations manager for a communications company in this building.

You work for a communications company, in this building?

Yes. Why?

Because I’m starting a new job with a communications company today.

Well, he said, his arms falling to his sides, "There