Her Undercover Billionaire Boss: Christmas Miracles, #1

By April Murdock

A lonely billionaire. A broke, big-hearted retail associate. Unexpected consequences.

Anna Sharpe has suffered too much loss. In spite of that, she's still hopeful and believes in Christmas miracles. Her retail job has been a second home even though she could, and should, make more money somewhere else. The holiday season at Montgomery's Department Store is fun and she's looking forward to another year of joy at work.

Michael Montgomery has also suffered loss. As the sole owner of the legacy left to him by his father and grandfather, he feels pressure to grow his business. But things in his comfy corner corporate office aren't so rosy. Struggles from within and worries about profits make him realize he needs to make some changes. He hears he's out of touch. One snap decision should help him remedy that problem.

Going undercover, he poses as a new associate in his flagship store. Thinking he'll get insight into the business that will help him make better decisions, he's shocked at some of what he learns. But the biggest surprise of all is Anna Sharpe. He never saw her coming.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sweet River Publishing
• Release date: Nov 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223350521

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

You do realize you’ve been singing that song under your breath the entire time you’ve been in my office, Michael Montgomery pointed out to the man who had his feet propped up on Michael’s huge one-of-a-kind desk, hand-crafted from antique copper and rare Brazilian rosewood.

Well, you should be joining in, buddy. Nobody around here should be happier than you during this holiday season, Paul snapped back while shooting a big grin his way. He jutted his chin at the massive plasma screen TV mounted on the wall. The luxurious office, boldly featuring floor-to-ceiling windows, was located in the newest high-tech office building on upscale Michigan Avenue in Chicago. "Bogie Wilson, the current financial wizard, just spent the first half hour of his television show reporting sales projections for Montgomery Inc. hitting an increased twenty percent profitability. That's four percent higher than your own analysts predicted, and putting Montgomery’s at a twenty-seven percent better showing than any competing department stores. So, pal, with me singing ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’—you should be joining in on the choruses—at least."

Who wouldn’t be happy? I’m one of the youngest billionaires in the country, and about to be even richer. Michael smiled back, though he had no doubt Paul Simpson, who had known him since he was eleven, wasn’t the least bit fooled by the effort. Michael shrugged. Of course, he was… grateful. But it wasn’t rooted in his being motivated or nudged by any approaching holiday celebration. As far as Christmas—or getting into the spirit of the season—was concerned, he considered himself, as he did every year, completed unaffected by the holiday hype.

He was, though, appreciative of the hard-working Montgomery men who had come before him, and the company they had established, which he had inherited. His grandfather, Eamon, an Irish immigrant who had come to America with big dreams, had opened a small store with a two-hundred-dollar loan from a bank. Then his father, Riley Montgomery, who had been his best friend and mentor, ran the company until he’d passed away seven years ago from cancer, right after Michael’s mom had died a year earlier. With not much family left, Michael stood alone—proud to represent his family line and the hard work and dedication they’d put into building an empire.

While Paul fixed all his attention on Bogie Wilson’s reporting on the big screen TV, Michael looked back down onto the street below. It was almost dark. He had gotten used to seeing his neatly trimmed and bearded face reflecting back against the backdrop of all the sparkling lights and bold red, green, silver, and gold colors of the holiday season on the other side of the glass. He looked more like his grandfather than his father. Michael brought up a hand and rubbed fingers over his freshly shaped, prominent sideburns. Eamon Montgomery, the patriarch of the family, always wore his hair long, and Michael, had had chosen to do the same. Although, his grandfather would never have had a personal hair stylist on call to keep his mane healthy, conditioned, and styled. What would the elder, who had left a burdensome life behind in Ireland when he immigrated to America as a teenager, sacrificing everything and working day and night, think of the man he had become? Michael found himself searching for the answer to that question way too often.

Coming out of his pondering, his gaze settled on what many called the festive Magnificent Mile below. Did any other American city do a better job of showing off Christmas than Chicago? He doubted it. The city council, civic organizations, and local businesses spared no expense on the elaborate lighting and holiday décor to delight the huge crowds who came from all over the world to experience the Christmas spectacle.

His gaze settled on the flagship store of the department store chain which proudly declared his family’s name, Montgomery’s, and his grandfather’s signature slogan, scripted in fancy, gold, cursive letters. Come one, come all.

That sign, and those words, served as a testament of the decades of hard work and sacrifice of those who had come before him. Despite the fact that there were so many high-end stores like Bulgari’s, Tiffany’s, Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus, and the rest on the same block, something about Montgomery’s had a much broader appeal. Tourists and locals flocked to his family’s store in droves, thanks to the brilliant businessmen in his family that had led the way, teaching him everything he needed to know to be at the helm of the now ten-billion-dollar company.

He sighed inwardly. His best friend’s statement held much truth in it. No one should be happier than him. Surely, if he couldn’t find a way to get in touch with the ‘spirit’ of the season, Michael Montgomery concluded, there had to be something truly wrong with him.

It never gets old, Paul said, coming to stand next to him.

Yeah, he responded. With each passing holiday season, the sparkle and glittering lights of Chicago’s Magnificent Mile were more beautiful than the last. But why did it all seem to put a spotlight on the emptiness he felt inside?

Hey, his friend pointed to the television. Here comes Mr. Charming now, he said. Paul strolled over to the desk, snatched up the remote, and turned up the volume.

Michael took a seat behind his desk, rolling his shoulders and leaning in as he fixed his attention to the show on the big screen. He tapped the fingers of his right hand on his desktop as he waited to see the direction the interview would take. Bogie Wilson’s people had wanted the man who sat at the helm of Montgomery’s department stores for the hour-long show that put a spotlight on captains of industry and their success stories. Michael had sent Kurt instead.

Kurt Fuller been appointed by Michael’s father when he’d been diagnosed with cancer. Fuller was a shark negotiator in obtaining the best locations, at cutthroat prices. He had a reputation for bringing his rivals to their knees and taking them down before they figured out what was happening. Riley Montgomery had assured his son that he considered Kurt Fuller a valuable and loyal ally and an asset to the company. Michael suspected that his father wanted a man on board to handle the dirty business and keep his son from having to wallow in the mud.

Kurt had proven himself to be a valuable asset, and had helped with a critical expansion of the opening of another seventeen Montgomery’s department stores over the last ten years, helping to catapult the business into a stellar financial growth period. All of that good stuff didn’t mean that Fuller and Michael didn’t have their issues with each other, though.

There had been clashes, and over the last year, Michael had noticed some of Fuller’s business moves had been unsettling. A few board members, who made late night calls to Michael, shared their concern that Fuller was seeking to arrange private meetings with select members behind Michael’s back. After some investigation, nothing particularly nefarious had surfaced, but that incident was just the latest in a string of worrisome behavior on Fuller’s part that had put Michael’s guard up.  

Bogie Wilson flashed his super-white teeth as he prepared to introduce the man sitting next to him. He said, We’ve spent the first half hour of this show talking about Montgomery’s success. Now we’ve got the great pleasure of talking with someone who can give us some insight into the workings of this amazing business model. A man who, some say, has his finger on the pulse of this company. Business adviser to Montgomery's CEO, who also sits quite prominently on the board of directors. A first-time visitor to our show, let’s give a big welcome to Kurt Fuller. A spattering of clapping was heard off-screen.

Good to be here, Kurt said as he and Bogie shook hands.

Kurt Fuller, at thirty-eight, was just seven years older than Michael. But the man’s prematurely graying temples made him appear much older. There were times he also annoyingly liked to act like he held decades’ more wisdom than Michael.

Bogie asked Kurt, Is it true Michael Montgomery’s grandfather managed to somehow convince a banker to loan a brand-new Irish immigrant to Chicago two hundred dollars? A two-hundred-dollar loan, which, by the way, was quite a bit of money back then?

It’s all true, Kurt answered.

Well, that’s quite a return on that investment, I'd say, Bogie joked, and other people off-camera could be heard laughing in response.

For those of you who don’t know Kurt Fuller, he’s been Michael Montgomery’s business adviser for close to seven years now, isn’t that right? Bogie asked.

I did do some business with Mike's father, Riley, before that, Kurt told him.

Yes, I read that. Long roots with the company. So here’s the question I have. Montgomery’s. Why is it that they continue to see such substantial growth?

People love us, Kurt replied with a tight smile that suggested he’d anticipated and was ready to wrangle with the direction Wilson would undoubtedly go next.

Well, Kurt, that may be true. But let’s just get it out of the way, shall we? So, yeah, lots of love from customers and from the stock market. The numbers prove that. But… Bogie paused for dramatic impact, "…not so much love from your employees. Over the last few years, employee satisfaction has taken a substantial dive. What do you have to say about that?" The interviewer propped an elbow on the table and confronted the man in front