Page 28 of Grumpy Glitter Christmas
This was different.
“You’re going to get dirty,” Felicity warned.
Meena looked at her pristine outfit, then grinned. “Good. These leggings cost two hundred dollars. Time to see if they’re worth it.” She dropped to her knees and grabbed a brush. “So where do we start? And please tell me someone ordered pizza.”
“Should be here in thirty minutes,” Grant called from across the room.
“Perfect.” Meena started scrubbing with surprising vigor. “Corporate said I should ‘engage with grassroots execution.’ Is this grassroots enough?”
From across the ballroom: “Mr. Whitaker, the heater won’t explode if you stop watching it.”
“I’m concerned about proper ventilation clearance.”
“It’s code-compliant.”
A long-suffering sigh from Leo.
Meena glanced over, then back at them, suppressing laughter. “Is he always like this?”
“Always,” Felicity and Jade said in unison.
They worked in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Jade spoke. “Meena, when Felicity first told me about you, I pictured someone who only communicated through Excel spreadsheets.”
“Oh, I do that too,” Meena said cheerfully. “But corporate strategists are also capable of manual labor. We just prefer not to advertise it.” She paused. “Though I’ll admit, this is more fun than my usual Friday routine.”
“Which is?” Felicity asked.
“Conference calls with the West Coast, a boring salad, and staring at data until my eyes cross.” Meena made a face. “Which is why when Grant told me this was going on, I may have been too eager to escape my hotel room.” She sat back.
After another ten minutes, Jade straightened. “So, Meena. Real talk. What’s the deal with Mr. Whitaker? Is he always so uptight? Rigid? Emotionally constipated?”
Meena laughed. “Excellent descriptors. But he wasn’t always quite this bad. In college, he was still serious, but he had this dry humor that would sneak up on you.”
“You went to college together?” Felicity leaned in.
“Cornell. Same business program.” Meena’s eyes sparkled. “There was this spring formal our junior year. Someone spikedthe punch, and Grant didn’t notice until he’d had three glasses. He gave this impromptu speech—standing on a chair—about the fiscal irresponsibility of the DJ’s playlist choices. Cited sources. Was passionate about budget allocation at a college dance.”
Felicity laughed despite herself. “He did not.”
“He absolutely did. It was the most hilariously earnest thing ever. Everyone was cracking up, but he was dead serious.” Meena smiled. “That’s Grant—even drunk, he’s giving TED talks about financial planning. He was mortified the next day, of course.”
Felicity looked across at Grant, trying to imagine him standing on a chair, slightly drunk, lecturing about music licensing.
“Underneath all that starch,” Meena said softly, “there’s someone who cares deeply. He just doesn’t know how to show it without a spreadsheet.”
The words settled in Felicity’s chest, warm and clarifying.
“So you two stayed friends after college?” Jade asked. “That’s rare.”
“Mostly,” Meena said, her expression shifting, becoming more guarded. “We kept in touch, saw each other at alumni events, that sort of thing. But then, a few years ago, he started dating Victoria Hale.” She paused, her scrubbing slowing.
Felicity felt her stomach twist. “What happened?”
“Victoria never understood that Grant and I were just friends. She’s territorial. Made comments about how I was ‘undermining’ their relationship.” Meena looked at Grant across the room. “But the real problem was Vermont. She couldn’t understand why he wanted to stay here. Small-town banking is ‘beneath him’ according to her.”
“What did Grant say?” Felicity asked quietly.
“Nothing, for a long time. But then his father died. Heart attack—one day fine, the next gone. Grant took over the branch, and now he feels it’s his responsibility to stay.”
