Page 67 of The Grump Who Stole Christmas
The conference room was impressive. Twelve foot glass walls, an amazing view of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. My office, if I got the job, would most likely be on this floor. Would have the same views.
Buildings instead of mountains. Metal and steel instead of lumber and brick.
Suits instead of flannel.
“Your work at Hart’s was impressive, Ms. Kringle,” Evan Webb said. Evan was the current CEO of Harbor Benefits. “When we heard you were no longer with them, I immediately started putting feelers out to all the various headhunters in town.”
“You know I was fired, right?”
That was stupid. Why had I said that? The last thing I wanted to do was bring attention to the fact that they had fired me. I was supposed to be framing the narrative as if my job loss had been a consequence of the merger. Not through any fault of my own.
Evan merely chuckled. “That’s what I heard about you. You’re blunt. Cut right to the chase. I like that about you. You don’t waste time.”
I don’t? I wasn’t wasting time, right here, right now? Because I was sitting in this massive conference room, while four men in impeccable suits stared at me with smiles plastered on their faces. I was sitting here thinking my skirt was really tight around my waist and then I remembered the brownies and the pasta and the eggs for breakfast. I was sitting here thinking my toes were pinched in these shoes, and the reality was, I wasn’t listening to half of what these men were saying.
A steady hand at the helm.
Someone to make the tough calls.
A hard ass who would set the right corporate culture of work first, play later.
They wanted someone tough, smart, and driven, for one thing, and one thing only, and that was the success of the company.
Meanwhile my thoughts kept drifting back to all the events happening at the inn. The sledding competition, the pageant Lexie was putting together. Was Dad staying off his feet? Was Paul selling as many Christmas trees as he could in these final hours before Christmas?
Paul.
Was he thinking about me? Missing me? I’d only been gone a day, but I felt completely lonely in this big, massive city. Without my brothers, my dad… my Paul.
“I know Troy from Emerson laid out the benefits package,” Evan said, “But I’m sure you’ll want to review it again in more detail. If you open the folder in front of you it’s all there in black and white.”
I nodded slowly.
“Good,” Evan said, clapping his hands together. “Let’s go over it together. You’re going to make a great addition to the team.”
That’s when I lifted my head and looked at him. He thought my nodding was agreeing to take the job. He thought I was probably happy to go over the benefits package, which would make me a very rich woman. He thought I didn’t care about life and fun and Christmas Eve parties and small town Jamborees and Christmas decorations. Lots and lots of Christmas decorations, even in my office.
He didn’t think I would do something so ridiculous as walk away from a job I’d wanted my entire professional career, to go back home so I could be with my family and a Christmas tree farmer.
An arborist with an ax.
Because things like that didn’t happen in real life.
“I’m sorry, Evan,” I said, standing on legs that were a little shaky.
Was I doing this? Was I really doing this?
“Yes? Is something wrong?” he asked, a furrow in his sculpted brow.
I took a deep breath and hoped like heck the button in my skirt didn’t pop open.
“Yes. There’s someplace else I need to be. After all, it’s Christmas.”
* * *
A hectic raceto the airport, a standby seat on a flight that just opened up, and four hours later, I finally landed in Denver where I’d left my rental car in short-term parking. Only to find myself stranded on the side of the mountain because my rental car ran out of gas just a few miles from Salt Springs.
I couldn’t help it. It was all too much. I started to cry hysterically.
