Page 49 of Make You Mine This Christmas
Yes. Hmm... how to get Austin to bring you over early...
Brody
I’m going to try to sneak out early and take a rideshare, but a backup plan is a good one.
Blaire
Just make sure to wear him out good tonight.
Sorry, that’s inappropriate. I had another half glass of wine after I finished my first.
You could also tell him I want to talk to you about a contract for next year’s festival. Because I do. See, business and pleasure.
Please forget I said pleasure.
Brody
I’m blushing, but I feel like the cahoots has already started. See you tomorrow.
* * *
From: [email protected]
December 20
Re: Setting up meeting for first week of January
Hi Austin,
Richard Harris here with the Winterberry Glen tourism office. Well, a one-man office. But that’s what I’d like to schedule a time to talk to you about after the first of the year. Can you please get back to me with your availability at your earliest convenience? This is my last day in the office for the year, but I’ll be checking emails regularly.
Looking forward to connecting.
Best,
Richard
Chapter 22
Brody
The last family of the final weekend day of this holiday season walks out the door, the kids waving all the way. The air is jubilant. We saw more people in the last two days than we have any other weekend this month without any major hiccups. One more full day tomorrow and special hours on Christmas Eve the next day, and another Santa season will be behind us. It’s always the same—looking back, I can’t believe how fast it’s flown by. It seems to be faster every year.
Austin laughs at something Jimmy is saying over by the donation station. I know I’m smiling like a fool while I watch him. Maybe there’s good reason this season has felt so light. It’s been easy to forget my time here is temporary and that Austin and I still haven’t talked about what happens when I have to go back to Stamford.
The season has been such a success not only because I have Austin back in my life, but the crew here is one of the best I’ve ever worked with. I need to make sure it gets on Monica’s list for January to offer Jimmy a consulting contract to figure out how to implement his system throughout all the long-term gigs we do next year. It may be the perfect thing to help us level up.
Jimmy and Austin are still engrossed when I stand up to stretch. Walking around to the other side of the false wall behind my chair, I fish my phone out of my pocket. Monica’s name pops up when I wake the device up, like she knew I was thinking about her. The call ends before I can get to it, and I see I have another fifteen missed calls from her over the last two hours since our last break.
“Shit,” I mutter, hitting call.
“Oh, Brody, thank God. I mean, Mr. Walker, hello.” She sounds more flustered than I’ve heard her in the three years since I hired her, and she’s held this company together by seven threads all pulling in different directions more than once.
“Brody is fine, Monica. What’s going on?”
“It’s Ted.”
