The Art of Discipline: Dani’s Discovery (The Mockingbird Chronicles) Read Online Free PDF Page A

yet.
    They seemed nice enough, but only time would tell. She only hoped that they turned out to be friendlier than Emma. Already Emma had found fault with the way Dani stacked books, ordered items, rang up customers, and closed up shop for the night. If it was anywhere but her uncle’s store, she’d probably have sold and hightailed it back to Chicago on the second day.
    “Dani, have you gone over the invoices for the mysteries we ordered?”
    Dani rolled her eyes and turned from her spot dusting the shelves to glare at Emma. The redhead was wearing a dark pair of jeans and a jade-green blouse that matched her eyes. Shaking her head at her co-owner’s rather casual appearance, Dani’s retort was stopped when the bell on the door jingled and their employees entered en masse. Stevie, the tall blonde, led the group, her arms carrying three pizza boxes. Behind her, the slightly shorter raven-haired woman, Anna, was carrying paper plates and napkins. She was followed by the teenager, Will, his short blond curls bouncing about and framing his face as he carried in the drinks.
    “Dinner is served, ladies,” the young man announced as he set the drinks down on the checkout counter before turning and locking the door. Flipping the open sign to closed, he picked the drinks back up and headed up to the crow’s nest.
    Shoving the paper plates and napkins at Emma, Anna smirked. “Okay, boss, you cart that up there, and I’ll make sure Dani doesn’t lose us.”
    Emma chuckled. “Anna, you just don’t want to carry anything upstairs.”
    “Damn straight, boss,” Anna returned, brown eyes twinkling. “Come on, Dani, you can sit next to me and tell me everything about yourself.”
    Accepting Anna’s invitation, Dani followed her up to the crow’s nest and found herself actually enjoying the friendly banter between the employees. With a little bit of a shock, she realized that their employees were more family than she had thought. Stevie and Anna were actually partners, and Will, who they treated like a son, apparently lived with them as well. Wondering just how liberal her uncle had become, she placed her empty soda can on the table in front of her as she picked up a slice of pizza. She took a small bite as she continued to watch the interaction around her.
    “So, Dani, early bird or night owl?” Will asked.
    Dani thought for a moment before answering, “Both I guess. I tend to get up early but stay up late as well.”
    “All that means is that you’re burning the candle at both ends,” Anna interjected. “But I’m sure Emma will be able to help you with that.”
    “As long as it’s not too early—she’s a bear in the mornings!” Stevie teased.
    “Oh come on, Stevie, you’re just jealous because you find it impossible to sleep past eight,” Emma laughed.
    “Damn right I do. I mean, why do you need to sleep past that anyway?”
    Will laughed, “Because some of us would prefer to see the moon rise rather than the sun rise.”
    “Yeah well, never thought I’d see the day where Sean opened at 10:00 a.m. instead of 9:00 a.m.,” Anna winked at Dani. “But then again, he usually liked for his manager to be here on time when the store opened.”
    The group erupted into laughter, and Dani couldn’t contain the small smile that the teasing brought.
    Filing away the information about Emma’s sleep preferences for another day, Dani reached for another diet soda but was stopped by Emma. “Time for water, I think. You need to be on your game for inventory.”
    Dani rolled her eyes, “I’m a big girl. I think I can handle another soda.”
    “How many is that for you today?” Emma pressed.
    Dani shrugged her shoulders. She really had no idea how many sodas she’d had. “I don’t know, five, maybe six.”
    “Ah,” Emma answered. “Well, let’s get to work then,” she continued picking up a bottle of water for herself.
    Dani looked down at the can in hand and sighed as she put it back and grabbed bottle of