Free Preview of Saving Mouse - A Heartwarming Story of Self-Discovery and Love

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

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THE END