Page 14 of A Holly Brown Christmas
Dammit. Crystal had a point. Unfortunately, it was too late to call Violet back. Holly had a feeling she just burned that bridge.
“You can always ask Lucas when you see him tonight.”
But Holly was already shaking her head. “It’s almost like he was a stranger in his own home. It was weird. They didn’t seem to have any family traditions with decorating the tree or anything like that. Maybe he’ll be able to call one of Mrs. Brooks’s friends? Or get me a phone number so I can ask if they know?”
They sat in companionable silence for a moment before Crystal perked up. “I have an idea.”
“Really?” That perked her up as well. “What is it?”
“Hang on. I’ll be right back!” Crystal practically sprinted from the room and was back less than a minute later with her phone in her hand. “Okay, give me the decorator’s number.”
“What? Why? What are you going to do?”
“You’ll see. Just give me the number.”
Holly recited the number and then nervously sat back and listened.
Crystal gave her a thumbs-up. “Yes, hello. This is CeeCee Cassidy of Cassidy Interiors. May I speak to Violet Gray?” She paused. “Oh, wonderful! Hello! It’s lovely to meet you! Listen, darling, I am working on the Brooks family holiday party and I was told you had handled the account for the last several years.” Another pause.
Holly felt like her jaw was on the floor.
“Yes, yes, I just met with Mrs. Brooks' assistant. A darling girl, really. Anyway, Mrs. Brooks is out of the country and I didn’t want to bother her, but I thought I’d reach out—you know, decorator to decorator—and ask if you knew if she had all of her decorations in storage or if you staged the house from your warehouse?”
“Oh, she’s good,” Holly thought. Brilliant, actually!
“Oh, that’s fabulous! Thank you so much! You’ve been such a big help!” Crystal gushed. “And really, you’re so gracious. I’m sure you must have hated losing such a big account!” And yet another pause. “Yes, yes…Mrs. Brooks is positively the best! But your loss is my gain!” She laughed in a haughty way that was almost comical. “Anyway, thanks again! Bye!”
Tossing her phone down, Crystal sat back smugly, smiling.
“And that’s how it’s done,” she said.
“Oh my God! That was amazing! So, what did she say?”
“She said everything is at the house, but it’s scattered all over the place. The only thing her company brought in was the tree. And that’s because it’s a twenty-foot one. So…that’s going to be your next task, I’m guessing.”
All she could do was nod.
“Where would you even begin to find that big of a tree? And can regular people just buy them or do you need to know someone?” Crystal asked.
“One thing at a time, Crystal. One thing at a time.”
“So…wait. Crystal called and pretended to be a holiday decorator?”
Holly had just explained the events of the day to him, and honestly, Lucas couldn’t believe just how committed she—and apparently, Crystal—were to this cause.
“It was amazing, Lucas!” she exclaimed, resting her hand on his arm. They were sitting in the kitchen eating dinner and he found that Holly was a toucher. He wasn’t sure she was even aware that she did it, but it wasn’t the first time she had touched him tonight and he had a feeling it wasn’t going to be the last.
And he wasn’t hating it.
At first it seemed awkward to be hanging out with her in his home—well, his family home—after hours, but then he realized they’d known each other for years. It wasn’t like they were friends, but they were definitely work acquaintances, and he always enjoyed their brief interactions. But now that he was getting to know her on a personal level, he was finding her fascinating.
“The whole point of her calling was to prevent us from going on a wild goose chase to find the rest of the decorations. I didn’t think Violet would give the information so easily, but she did! The tree is going to be the main issue.”
“And why is that?”
“Twenty-foot trees are super expensive. Trust me, I’ve priced them. And obviously we aren’t going to get the one Violet’s company used. I started making some calls today, but there’s not a big rental market for Christmas trees of that size. We may have to get creative.”
“When you say crazy expensive, what are we talking about?”
