Saving Mouse – Chapters 1 – 4 – Preview of book

Caution this story will not be finished here. I have had a lot of requests for this. Some of my readers have asked for a preview of my latest book. I am posting the first four chapters so that people who would like to see if the book will interest them can read a preview. If you wish to read the complete book it van be located on amazon and shmashwords by searching for Sean M. Campbell. It is only available in e-book format.

The full story is 72,000 words long.

For those that read and enjoy this part of the book, thank you.

Now without further delay I give you the first four chapters of “Saving Mouse”.


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Chapter One



“Rebecca! Get your ass in here, now!” Mr. Johnson yelled through his office door.

Out on the floor of the store, Rebecca Saint James nearly jumped out of her skin. She could not remember doing anything wrong. Her mind ran through everything she had done that day.

“Mouse, you better get in there, he sounds pissed,” Paul told her, as she stood there in fright. She didn’t want to be yelled at again today. The principal had already yelled at her for spilling the water in the hall at school. The coach had also cussed her out for not making a single basket during gym class today. Her shoulders wilted as she walked towards the door to Mr. Johnson’s office. She just knew he was going to fire her. She needed this job — her father had started charging her rent since she turned eighteen. This job barely paid for her rent and food, but it did pay it. She reached up and knocked politely on the door when she reached it.

“Damn It, Rebecca! I called you in here! Now get in here!” Mr. Johnson screamed at the top of his lungs through the door.

Rebecca flushed at the anger in his voice and her mistake, and opened the door as she listened to Angela snicker behind her. Oh, how much she wanted to be like Angela — captain of the cheerleading squad and dating the popular boys. She would settle for just having a boyfriend, someone to love her, and make her feel loved. Even her own brother treated her like a nobody.

When she arrived in front of his desk, Mr. Johnson looked up at her, frowning. “You forgot to shut the door.”

Rebecca shrank a little more as she trudged over and shut the door. When she returned to his desk, Mr. Johnson looked at her with obvious disdain in his eyes. “Rebecca, the corporate office has sent me a request. Mr. Talbot needs a gofer for his office for the next few months. His current one is on maternity leave. With your graduation coming up this Friday, I thought maybe you would like to go fill in for the summer. You’re a good worker. You keep your head down and stay out of trouble.”

“Mr. Johnson, I wouldn’t even know what a gofer does. I am not sure I am the right choice.”

“Miss Saint James, a gofer is a cutesy term for someone who does odd jobs around the office. You go for coffee, you go for copies and you go for the mail. It is a no skill job that anyone can do. The simple fact of the matter is I think this is a chance for you to show someone higher up that you are a good worker and you can be more. Please, tell me you will take the job.”

“I will do it.”

“Good! You need to report to the corporate office Monday morning at seven. Sign in with the security desk in the lobby and ask for Miss Wilkes. Be sure and wear a nice dress.”



Saturday night Rebecca sat in her living room, listening to her mother yelling. She had not had dinner ready when her parents got home. They had to wait fifteen minutes to eat and they were pissed. As she sat there with tears in her eyes, she watched across the street. Angela was going to the prom with Billy Stanton. She watched as they came out of her door and walked to the waiting limousine. Rebecca wanted just once to wear a dress like that. No one ever asked her to a dance — no one ever wanted to be seen with her.



Monday morning found Rebecca riding her bicycle the five miles to corporate headquarters. It was a warm morning, but not excessively hot. She dreaded what the summer would bring later on. She did not like the idea of showing up for work hot and sweaty.

She arrived at the Talbot building thirty minutes early. She was happy — she did not like to be late. She parked her bike at the side of the building, locked it to the messenger rack, and entered the lobby.

Behind the security desk were two of the largest mountains Rebecca had ever seen in her life. One of them stood as she approached and asked, “May I help you, miss?”

“Rebecca Saint James,” she offered quietly. “I am here to see Miss Wilkes. She is expecting me.” This big man intimidated her. He could squeeze the life out of her with one hand.

“I am Robert. I am pleased to meet you, Miss Saint James. Miss Wilkes is indeed expecting you.” As he handed her a badge to pin on her dress he continued. “You can take the elevator to the forty-third floor. Her desk will be the first thing you see.”

As Rebecca walked through the lobby to the elevator, she watched the people around her. Men and women moved through the lobby, busy with the work of the day. She felt out of place here.

Rebecca was alone in the elevator, and she was getting nervous. She didn’t belong here. Everyone she saw was wearing clothes that must have cost hundreds of dollars. She was in a dress that came off of a department store clearance rack. It was the best dress she had, though. She would just have to muddle through the day, and tell them they needed to find someone who could dress better.

The doors slid open and in front of her stood a large oak desk. The woman behind it was dressed like an executive. Her neat pant suit was dark gray with a soft coral blouse underneath. She looked up as the elevator opened and saw Rebecca standing there. Rebecca could see the disapproval in her eyes. “You would be Miss Saint James, I believe.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rebecca said in a quiet voice.

“My name is Barbara, everyone just calls me Barb. You will need to learn to speak up. We are all old here and don’t like wearing our hearing aids.” Rebecca could hear the joke in Barbara voice as she talked about the hearing aids. “I am also going to have to ask you to dress a little better tomorrow. This is a high-level executive office and department store clothes just won’t cut it. Now, Mr. Talbot will be here any minute and would like to have a cup of coffee ready when he gets here. He takes it with one sugar and one cream. His cup is the black one that says ‘Worlds biggest asshole’ on it. You will find the break room just around the corner.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Rebecca said, trying to be a little louder but failing miserably. She walked into the break room with tears threatening to roll out of her eyes. As she looked for Mr. Talbot’s cup she heard a slight sound behind her. She spun, almost knocking the sugar off of the counter, to see a young man dressed in a very nice suit. His clothes reminded her of her inadequacy and she burst into tears.

“What’s wrong, miss? Did I startle you?” His kind voice spoke as she looked at the floor. Even his shoes cost more than she made last month. He was so handsome! She was ashamed to be standing here in front of him, wearing her twenty dollar dress. Her tears started to fall like a river. “Are you OK?”

“I am just afraid I am not going to be able to work here. I don’t own a better dress, let alone enough to last a week. I am just what the kids in school call me, poor white trash.”

“I am sure you will work out just fine. You don’t need to worry about it, things will work out. Now you might want to get Mr. Talbot his coffee. He is really grumpy until he has at least a full pot in him.”

Rebecca looked up into the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. They were so kind looking. His sandy blond hair was cut short and just a little mussed looking. He was clean shaven with a ruggedly handsome face. His smile was something out of one of the cheesy romance novels she liked to read. She bet he had a string of women throwing themselves at his feet.

Once she had composed herself a little, he left her to finish making Mr. Talbot’s coffee. She took the coffee and a couple of napkins and started back to Miss Wilkes’ desk. Miss Wilkes was not there, so she looked around and saw an office door at the end of the hall that had “Michael Talbot” engraved into the door with brass inlays.

Rebecca walked up and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” a voice said through the door. She turned the knob and entered to see the back side of Miss Wilkes standing between her and the desk. When Miss Wilkes stepped aside Rebecca burst into tears again. Mr. Talbot was the man who had spoken to her in the coffee area. Oh, God! Could this day get any worse?

“Please come in, Miss Saint James, and sit down.” Mr. Talbot said to her gently. “Is there anything I can call you besides Miss Saint James?”

“Mouse, my friend calls me Mouse.”

The significance of the singular on the word friend struck Michael’s heart. This poor girl had been treated roughly all her life. “I don’t like Mouse. I think it is a little demeaning. Rebecca is a bit long. Do you mind if I call you Becky?”

“No, sir, that will be fine,” she squeaked out through her tears and sniffles.

“Barb, since you insulted Becky’s clothes, you need to take my credit card and buy her some clothes suitable for this office. I want you to treat her to an afternoon at the spa, as well.” He then turned back to Rebecca. “I will expect each morning the first thing you do is get my coffee, then report to Barb for any other work we need done. There are five offices on this floor and Barb runs it like a prison camp. She is, however, very efficient and keeps us all going when the old shit hits the fan. She will teach you everything you need to know about the job. Did anyone discuss your pay while you are here?”

“No, sir,” Rebecca said, hoping they would not cut her pay. She could barely cover her expenses as it was.

“You were just sent here without being told anything about this job?”

“I was told I would be a gofer.”

“Yes, that is exactly what you will be, but it is also a little bigger job than that. You will be expected to go for things all over town when needed. Do you have a car?”

“No, sir.”

“I thought I saw a bike in the rack. Barb, please have the pool issue her a car for her running around. You do have a driver’s license, right?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good! Don’t be afraid, Becky, — I don’t bite… hard. Barb, please make sure she has a couple of decent pair of office shoes as well. She is going to be on her feet a lot and needs better shoes than those flats she is wearing. Before you leave, please get me Mr. Johnson’s phone number.”

“I will send it to you in an email,” Barb said softly.

“Last thing, Becky, you are going to be making a little more than you made over at the store. Your pay here will be a thousand a week. I expect you to spend about a third of that on clothes. I am not disappointed in what you are wearing but you will need to be sharply dressed to impress our visitors.”

Rebecca felt faint. That was four times what she made at the store. She had no idea that a high school graduate could make that kind of money. She would actually be able to afford to pay for her food and rent at the house. She might even be able to buy a TV for her room.

When Rebecca looked up, she saw Miss Wilkes standing there holding out her hand. “Let’s go down to the carpool, Becky. You can drive. That way we won’t need to transfer our purchases from one car to another at the end of the day.”

“But I can’t get them home on my bike.”

“No, dear, you will have a car. It belongs to the company and they pay all the gas and maintenance. When you arrive in the morning, park in the company spaces and they will check your car and gas it up. If anything happens, call the number they will give you and they will have a tow truck out as fast as possible,” Barb explained as they entered the elevator.

After some paperwork in the basement garage area, they pulled out onto the street with Rebecca behind the wheel of a smart little Mini Cooper sport. This car had all of the bells and whistles; it even had a built in GPS. Barb programmed an address into the GPS and Rebecca started following the instructions to their destination. Rebecca had to ask. Her curiosity was killing her. “Miss Wilkes, I am not going to be able to afford to pay Mr. Talbot back for these clothes. I mean if he expects me to keep buying new ones. Then I won’t be able to pay for these.”

“Hun, first of all, we are going to be working together, and if you keep calling me Miss Wilkes, you will make me feel very old. Please call me Barb. Second, Michael will not expect you to pay him back. He likes to maintain an image at the corporate office and he is willing to spend money to do so.”

“He can’t afford to buy me clothes. I heard him tell you to use his credit card.”

Barb actually started laughing. When she got herself under control, she turned to look at the hurt expression on this poor child’s face. “I am so sorry, Hun. I really wasn’t laughing at you. The fact that you have no idea who he is — is just so precious. Baby, have you heard of Talbot International?”

“Yes. They are the parent corporation that owns Talbot’s Hardware, the place I worked.”

“How about; Trader Talbot’s, Talbot’s Fine Furniture, Talbot’s Electronics, Talbot’s Shipping, or Talbot’s Mercantile?”

“I have heard of them, but what do they have to do with Mr. Talbot?” Rebecca realized just how stupid that question sounded just as soon as she asked it. “You mean he owns…?”

“Yes, Hun, he owns them all, and hundreds of others with other names. He probably spent and made twenty million dollars while we were talking this morning. Six years ago, when he was eighteen years old, his parents, brother, sister and grandparents were all killed on the way to his graduation from high school. The investigation showed that the company which owned the truck which hit them was negligent and at fault due to poor maintenance of the vehicle. They settled out of court with him for one hundred million. The accident had cost him his entire family and they did not want the bad press a lawsuit would bring.”

“That is an awful lot of money.”

“If you think that is a lot of money, you might want to pull over and let me finish. In a year, he had turned that money into over five billion. Now, six years later, he owns one of the largest corporations in the world. He is worth more than fifty billion dollars. He wants to sell the business and retire, but the few people in the world who could buy it, don’t want it.”

“His wife is one lucky woman,” Rebecca said it before she even thought, then covered her mouth and started blushing.

“He is not married, Hun. He doesn’t even have a girlfriend. The money has poisoned his social life. All he seems to meet are gold diggers and sluts looking for easy money. It has made him gun-shy with women. I wish he could find a sweet girl who would love him for him. Ah, here is the store, park around back.”

Rebecca looked up at the sign. It read, “Office to Club, Men’s and Women’s Fine Clothing”. Rebecca had heard of it, but never thought she would be inside it. Many of the girls from school had come here to buy their prom dresses. “I can’t go in there! I can’t even afford socks in there.”

“You are so precious! Michael is paying and he gave me carte blanche. He said to buy you some clothes and he was very specific. He wants you to have a couple of party dresses, as well. He even said to pick out some things to help you feel pretty. Now let’s go in. James will be so happy to meet you.”

Rebecca parked and followed meekly behind this dynamic woman. She wished she could be as confident and beautiful as her. She knew nothing in this store was going to make her beautiful. She looked down at her dime store watch and saw the time was now 8:01 AM. It had been an hour and a half into her new job and she had already been told how inadequate she was. Now they were going to try and make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

The next three hours were a whirlwind. Rebecca was led all around the shop by a man named James who thought he was just one of the girls.

Rebecca thought she was going to die of embarrassment when they went into the lingerie area. James looked at her in her dress and said. “Let me guess — size four granny panties and a plain white bra? I think we can do better than that.” The next thing she knew he was thrusting packages with very lacy thongs and boy short type panties. “You probably would die of embarrassment if I gave you g-strings, so these will do. Now we need to get matching bras.” And off tornado James went to another area.

Rebecca just stood there. This man was a storm in a clothing shop. She had not even tried on anything. From behind her, Barb spoke easily. “Don’t worry, Hun, that man knew the size of every one of your body parts the moment you walked in the door, He knows this is a rush job and he will be much more attentive to your wants and needs when you come in on your own.”

It was eleven thirty by the time the total rung up on the cash register. Rebecca felt weak in the legs when she saw the number. The total was over thirty thousand dollars. She had just about managed to recover from that when James squealed, “You cannot wear that watch with my clothes! I would die of embarrassment!” Then he went running off and came back a few minutes later. On top of the pile he sat a black gold watch with a single diamond set in the center of the crystal. The total changed from just over thirty thousand to just over thirty-five thousand.

Rebecca couldn’t help it. Her legs turned to water. She slid to the floor as smoothly as a silk and just sat there. The watch cost more money than she made in five months. “I can’t let him buy me that watch! It is too much. It cost five thousand dollars.”

“Oh fiddlesticks!” James said patiently. “Michael would kill me if I let you walk out of his store with that thing on your wrist. At the very least he would think I had lost the ability to spend his money in extravagant ways.”

Barb leaned down to take her hand. “Don’t worry about it, Hun. We have all been through it. Michael wants us all very well dressed. We never know who will come through those doors at times. One day he might be talking to the governor of the state, the next the prime minister of England. He wants everyone to know the five people that work on that floor belong there. Part of that is the image.”

“What does he expect us to do to earn this?”

“He expects us to do our jobs to the best of our ability — nothing more, nothing less. Now, let’s go get some lunch. Then we need to get you a cell phone. Then we have an appointment at the spa. He wants you to feel as pretty as you are.”



Lunch was at a restaurant only a block away from the store. Once they were seated Rebecca looked at the menu. There were no prices on anything. “How do I know what I can order?”

“By what you want to eat, dear, I have the card so I get the menu with the prices. Just decide what you want. The lobster is out of this world here, but I highly recommend the scallops around the world plate. It is ten scallops each one prepared differently. It is fantastic.”

“That sounds so expensive.”

She looked up to see Barb smiling. “It’s really cheap, Hun, it is only ten scallops.” Barb lied to her blandly.

“I don’t like being lied to, Ma’am.”

“Hun, he is treating you to lunch today. We could eat everything on the menu and he wouldn’t even arch an eyebrow at us. Well, he would because he would wonder where we put it. But he wouldn’t care about the cost. Just order what you want to eat. It will make him feel good. He treats us to lunch most of the time anyway. He always says happy employees are loyal employees.”

“He has spent so much on me today! He has already spent more money than my father makes in a year. I can’t ask him to spend any more.”

“You’re not asking, Hun — he is telling you to let him. He is your boss and you are paid to do what he tells you. He told you to enjoy yourself. So enjoy yourself. You also might want to get used to it. He sends all of us ladies out to the spa once a month. He says it is the least he can do for us putting up with him.”

“I guess I can try the scallops. I have never had them before. The only seafood I have ever had is tuna.”

“Let me guess — canned?”

“Yes.”

“That is not sea food, Hun. That is poison.”

The waiter approached and Barb ordered their lunches. Then she said, “And could you bring us a plate of the tuna flakes with crackers.”

“Absolutely, ma’am, may I recommend a white wine with your meal?”

“Not today, thank you. We are still technically working. I think some of that wonderful herbal iced tea will be perfect.”



Rebecca was lying in a tub of hot water with cucumber slices on her eyes, the mud mask on her face smelled like tropical fruits and the water smelled of gardenias and lilacs. On each side of her, a lady was working on her fingernails. “So after they finish making me into a fruit salad, I am supposed to get a massage, haircut and makeup done?”

“Mmmm-hmmm,” Barbara moaned from the tub next to her.

“And they are supposed to work on my feet after they finish my hands?”

“Mmmm-hmmm.”

“And he sends us here once a month to do this?”

“Mmmm-hmmm”

“Okay, this I could get used to.”

“Mmmm-hmmm”



Rebecca was standing in front of a mirror with three panels so she could see herself from all angles. But she had no idea who was looking back at her from those mirrors. The girl in the mirror was wearing a navy blue pencil skirt and cream blouse. She had a navy blue blazer over the top of the blouse and very nice high-heeled sandals on her feet. Even though she couldn’t see them, the underwear she had on under the outfit made her feel a little on the sexy side. But the face was what she did not recognize. That could not be her. She reached over to her purse and pulled out her horn rim glasses so she could see herself better.

“Oh, dear! Those are never going to go with any of your outfits. I wish I had known you wear glasses. We would have already stopped at the ophthalmologist’s. Let me call Michael.”

Rebecca started to tear up, but she had to admit the glasses were ugly. But she only needed them to focus at a distance.

Barb spoke as she came back in, “It’s all set up. Dr Lindsey is waiting on us and you will be able to pick up your new glasses on the way home tonight.”



They came back into the office an hour and a half later. They had purchased seven different pairs of glasses, each in a slightly different style and color. Rebecca had never thought that glasses needed to match your outfits, but Barb had assured her they did. She even had a prescription pair of sunglasses for driving.

As they walked off of the elevator, Mr. Talbot was standing at Barb’s desk looking at the rolodex. He turned to see them, “Very excellent choice. We only have a few minutes before the day is over but I am preparing for a trip to Tampa next week. Is there any chance you can work a little late and help us catch up some of the stuff we need to do?”

“I would love to, sir, but my parents will be expecting me to have dinner waiting for them when they get home.”

“What is your address? I will have something delivered for them.”

Rebecca gave him the address and he pulled out his cell phone. A few seconds later, “Randall, can I trouble you to have a couple of your excellent barbeque platters delivered to 1515 Windsdale Avenue. Yes, the customers should be arriving right at six thirty. Make sure they don’t have to wait on them. While you are at it, please send five platters up here. We are going to be working late. Yes, go ahead and send some of that fine German beer and a pitcher of iced tea. Put it on the company tab. Thank you.”

He then turned and looked at Rebecca, “Must be your night to cook?”

“I cook every night, sir. My parents say that since they support me, I should have to work for my room.”

“Well, at least your job gave you spending money. Now you will have more.”

“No, sir, my parents make me pay rent, and one third of the utilities and food. It doesn’t leave much left over when the week is done.”

Michael just stared at the girl in front of him. They made her work because they supported her, and then made her pay for everything to support herself. This poor girl was a natural submissive. His heart started to skip beats. God! He so wanted to train her. He could turn her into a goddess amongst women. It was not his place to argue with her, but she was getting screwed by her parents.


Chapter two



Rebecca unlocked the door to her house. It was very late, and she had left almost all of the outfits she and Barb had bought in the car. She would bring them in tomorrow. All she had was one bag, with her outfit for tomorrow. She shut and relocked the door, when she heard her mother behind her. “Where the hell have you been, and what the fuck are you wearing?!” She screeched at the top of her lungs.

“I was at my new job, Mama. I need to dress nice for it.”

“Well, if you can afford those clothes, then you can pay more towards your rent. Obviously we are leaving you too much money!”

“I didn’t buy them. Mr. Talbot did.”

“So now you’re whoring around for clothes?!”

“Mama, it’s not like that! He bought them because it is a high-end place of business and he needs me to look nice.”

“I suppose the whore paint on your face was his idea, too!?”

“Yes. He paid to send me to a spa, as well. He needs us all to look nice.”

“No one living under my roof is going to act like a whore and spread her legs for clothes. You take every bit of that back and tell him you are quitting!”

“I will not! He needs me. They are very busy and they need help with smaller tasks!” Rebecca did not know where that came from. She had actually raised her voice at her mother.

“You will take them back or I will beat you and drag you through the streets naked to his door! I will not have a whore living under my roof!”

Rebecca blew up. “I will not take them back! I am not a whore! And I will be damned if I will live under your fucking roof even one more minute, you fucking bitch!” Rebecca spun to open the door so she could walk out. She felt the sting of the slap to the back of her head like she had been hit with a frying pan. Without thinking about what she was doing, she swung the bag in her hand. She forgot about the boots in the box. The weight of the boots gave the bag a lot of force. Her mother fell to the floor screaming.

Rebecca did not even stop to see if she was alright. She ran out the door as fast as she could get it open. As she ran across the lawn, her father caught her from behind. “How dare you hit your mother?!” He spun her and slapped her hard enough to drive her to the ground. When she landed, her car keys spilled out of her hand and onto the lawn. Her father snatched the keys up and screamed, “You will leave this house like you came into it! With nothing!” He then reared his foot back to kick her. Before he could launch the kick, two things happened — a police siren blooped and a black car pulled into the driveway.

Rebecca was not sure who was there, but suddenly she was picked up into very strong arms. She looked up into the face of Michael. “What happened, Becky?” She suddenly burst into tears and buried her face in Michael’s shirt.

“Ma’am, I am Officer Burnside. Are you alright?”

She tried to speak through her tears and sobbing, “They threw me out because of the clothes.”

Michael’s blood began to boil. “Get in your car, Becky. I will check you into the Montaign for a couple of weeks, until you can get an apartment.”

“Daddy took the keys.” When she looked, up the bruise on the side of her face was already starting to darken.

Michael’s sharp intake of breath was an audible hiss.