Corporate Christmas

by Bernadette Marie

  With a new sense of urgency in her life, Chloe walked to the back door, and threw on her coat. She would ride out the holidays in Aubrey Heights, and then she would call Tyler and take him up on his offer. For now, she was going to go into town and spend a few dollars on a fancy coffee—or hot chocolate—before heading over to Melanie Peet's quaint little gift shop to ask for a job to get her through the holidays.

  Jason had meant to dig up Chloe's phone number again, but he got caught up in contracts with a new client. At lunch, he'd planned to take a cab to her apartment. He could remember the building, and from there, he'd figure it out, but Deb had called an internal meeting and William made sure Jason was present.

  As the sky outside his window grew darker, and he'd seen Jody rise from her desk with her coat on, he knew the office would quickly empty out. He planned to be on those elevators with the masses for the first time since he'd set foot into the offices of Mason Arts. No late nights for him as long as Deb was around.

  Making his way around the desk, he picked up his messenger bag, and pulled his coat from the hook by the door just as it opened. Unwelcome and unwanted, Deborah King walked in and shut the door behind her.

  "We need to go over this contract proposal for Giant Auto," she said as she dropped a file on his desk and then fell into one of the empty chairs in Jason's office.

  "Tomorrow. Time to go home now."

  "Time to work, Jason, or did you forget how to do that? You never leave at the first bell," she taunted. "Let's go over this."

  At that moment he was tempted to simply walk out. She wasn't his boss. She wasn't his manager. As far as he was concerned, he still held rank, but Giant Auto had followed him to Mason Arts, and he owed it to them to give them the service they expected from him.

  "You have twenty minutes."

  Deborah crossed one leg over the other and bounced her foot. "Do you have a date?"

  "It's none of your business what I have. Work is work, and my life is just that. My life."

  "It never was before, Jason. Don't you remember our long nights in the office?"

  He could feel the heat rising in his face as he swallowed down the ball of anger that choked him.

  Walking back to the door of his office, he hung his coat back on the rack, and opened the door before taking his seat behind his desk.

  There were not going to be any blurred lines this time. He was in control here. And he would write the rules of the relationship they would have—which would be strictly a working relationship.

  Chapter 22

  An hour later, Deborah sauntered out of his office and Jason leaned back in his chair, exhausted. The woman could nitpick every detail of any document associated with an account. He'd given her twenty minutes and she'd taken an entire hour out of his evening, and he was fuming over it.

  Jason walked to the door and pulled his coat off the rack again. He swung it on and wrapped his scarf around his neck before fetching his messenger bag and heading toward the elevator.

  He'd walked the other direction on purpose, so as to not walk by Chloe's… Deborah's office. There was no way in hell he was going to talk to her for one more moment.

  Pushing the button on the elevator, he impatiently waited for it to arrive. When it did, he hurried in and pushed the button.

  Just as the doors were closing, a hand slid between the doors to open them and Deborah stepped inside.

  "Might as well ride together, right?" she said as she tossed her hair over her shoulder and stood right next to Jason in the otherwise empty elevator. "Like old times, eh?"

  Jason clenched his jaw. No, he wasn't going to engage the woman in conversation, especially when he knew where she was going with it.

  Realizing she was nearly touching him by her proximity, he managed to inch away slightly, only to have her close the gap between them.

  He watched the numbers on the elevator count down. They were almost to the lobby when he noticed her reach for the toggle switch that stopped the elevator between floors, and the car came to a halt.

  Gripping his messenger bag in his hand, he turned his furious attention to her and only grew angrier when she smiled.

  "Your empty claims of what happened between us before don't scare me, Jason. You were equal parts to blame for the failure of my marriage."

  "I wasn't aware you were still married when that started."

  "But you learned and were still involved."

  Jason moved to start the elevator’s descent again, but Deborah blocked his advance with her body.

  "I'm done, Deborah. Release the elevator."

  She laughed as if she were a villain in an animated movie. "Don't tell me you're not interested in me anymore. I wouldn't believe you if you did."

  "My interests are directed elsewhere."

  She tapped her red nail against the toggle, not yet releasing it. "Where are they directed?"

  "None of your business."

  "Chloe Richardson?"

  Hearing Chloe's name on the lips of the vixen before him made him ill.

  "As I said, none of your business."

  Deborah clicked the toggle back and the elevator jolted back to life. "Oh, darling, it is my business. After all, she left her job wide open for me. Honestly, how can you be interested in someone who is not very serious about her career? One day with me in the office, and she quit."

  "I think there's more to it than that."

  "She's threatened. I'm healthy competition. I guess she couldn't handle it."

  The numbers counted down and the display finally showed L. The moment the doors opened, Jason slid through them and kept walking.

  "I'll see you tomorrow," she called after him, but he continued to walk out of the building.

  It was dark outside, and snow had started again. Jason waved at the nearest taxi, and it pulled over for him. He gave the driver directions to the nearest intersection he could remember to Chloe's building. Less than ten minutes later, he paid his tab, and climbed out into the snow.

  Standing in the dark, with only streetlights to illuminate the addresses, he counted buildings until he thought he knew which one was hers. An old brownstone with multiple units. He walked up the steps and looked at the names next to the buzzer. At least this part of his day had gone correctly. 2B—Richardson it said.

  Sucking in a deep breath of cold air, Jason pressed the button. It buzzed, but there was no answer. He buzzed again, and still no answer.

  Walking back to the street, he looked up at the windows. One set of windows was illuminated. The other set was dark.

  At that moment someone walked out the door, and he hurried past them and up the stairs placing his phone to his ear. "Yeah, I'm coming in right now," he said to mislead Chloe's neighbor, he assumed, and make his way into the building.

  He walked up the flight of steps and stopped at the door that said 2B. Scrubbing his hand over his face, he knocked. Again, there was no answer. Maybe, he would leave her his business card, then she would know he'd been there.

  Jason dug his wallet out of his pocket and pulled out a business card just as the door across the hallway opened.

  "You looking for Chloe?" An older lady stood in the doorway in a bathrobe.

  "I am."

  "Who are you?" she inquired quizzically.

  Jason turned to the woman and gave her a warm smile. "My name is Jason Mitchell. I work with Chloe at the advertising agency."

  The woman nodded slowly taking in the sight of him, as if she were committing it to memory. "Chloe isn't here."

  Jason tucked his wallet back in his pocket. "She wasn't at work today. I thought I would come by and check on her."

  "She left Friday. You should go home now."

  Controlling his expression, as well as he could, he continued to smile. "She left on Friday?"

  "Bright and early. Long before the sun. I'm taking care to gather her mail and water plants. I have a key. I'm not going to let you in, but I have a key."

  "I don't want in. I just
want to know that she's okay."

  The woman opened her door just a bit more, and Jason took that as a good sign. "She went back home."

  He thought for a moment about their conversation when they discussed where she was from. "Aubrey Heights."

  The woman smiled now. "That's it. I expect she'll be gone through the holidays."

  So she'd left her job, and gone back home. Why would she do that, he wondered?

  Jason took the business card he had pulled from his wallet and handed it to the woman. "If you hear from Chloe, will you tell her I stopped by? I'm worried about her, and I just want to follow up."

  The woman took the card and studied it, just as she had him. "Are you dating her?"

  Jason chuckled. "No."

  "Well, you should consider it. She doesn't have people check up on her. She could use someone like you."

  He wanted to laugh, because he wasn't sure she needed anybody like him. But somehow, he had won the lady over. "Maybe you'll give me a good recommendation if you talk to her."

  "Merry Christmas," the woman said before she shut her door.

  "Merry Christmas," Jason repeated, only now remembering Christmas was just two weeks away.

  He looked at his watch. It was nearly eight-thirty. There were some serious decisions to make before he went back into the office the next morning.

  At that moment, he wished he had gotten her number. He’d made so many phone calls since he’d last called her, her number was buried in his phone anonymously. He supposed he could narrow it down, but…

  He wished he had acted on those feelings he was having. Would it really have made a difference? Still, he couldn't believe Chloe had walked away from a job that she had invested so much time in. He didn't know her well, but he felt as if he did. He would guarantee there was more to the story.

  As he walked down the street, toward the intersection, the snow picked up, but he didn't feel the cold or the wind. All he felt was the heartache of missing Chloe.

  Perhaps it was stupid, but he was old enough to realize that you didn't let something good slip through your fingers. He'd been enamored with Chloe from the moment he met her. He reached his gloved hand to the scar now forming on his forehead. There would never be a day in his life when he wouldn't think of her.

  Should he make the bold move and head to Aubrey Heights? Or should he go back into the office, deal with the situation at hand, and reconsider his lot in life?

  He hailed the next taxi to come along and headed toward home. It was going to be a long night.

  Chapter 23

  Melanie Peet hadn't even the let Chloe finish her sentence when she had asked for a job, before throwing her arms around Chloe's neck and shouting, "Yes! Yes! Yes!"

  Now, on her second day of work, Chloe dusted the display case closest to the front door. Looking outside onto the streets of Aubrey Heights, she smiled, taking pleasure in the sight of the winter wonderland.

  New snow had fallen overnight, and even though the plow had cleared the road, the snow still glistened in the sunlight. Perhaps on any other weekday the people would've stayed home. But, with only two weeks until Christmas, tourists had flooded the small town to take in the holiday spirit.

  Even on a Tuesday morning, she could hear carolers across the street. A chestnut vendor had opened up next to the coffee shop. The small ice-skating rink at the end of town was filled with students who were out of school. How had she ever left this? Oh, the city held its own charm, but nothing would ever be as magical as Christmas in Aubrey Heights. Or so she thought until the door opened and a man walked into the store.

  "Jason?"

  He pulled the stocking hat from his head and wiped his boots on the mat. "For a small town, you're hard to find."

  She couldn't believe she was standing there looking at him. It was Tuesday. Tuesday near his lunchtime. Tuesday, when she knew there had been a meeting scheduled with Gloria Vandenberg at noon.

  "What are you doing here?"

  He smiled, and she wondered if he could see the bead of sweat she felt on her brow. "I came looking for you."

  "Why?"

  Jason chuckled. "You sure do ask a lot of questions. Do you have anything in the store I can ship to my mother in two weeks? I have a few things for her, but she likes when I overindulge."

  When he tipped his head as if he were making sure she was awake, she realized she hadn't answered him. She stood there dumbfounded that he was even at the store.

  "You came six hours to buy your mother something for Christmas?"

  "Had to rent a car, too. I don't own a car."

  Still, she stared at him in disbelief. "There was a meeting today. At noon."

  Jason turned his wrist to look at his watch. "Looks like I missed it."

  Melanie removed herself from her perch behind the cash register and walked toward them. "Hello," she said, and Jason turned his attention toward her.

  "Hello," he repeated the greeting.

  "Can I help you find anything?"

  "I found what I came looking for.” Jason shifted his look back at Chloe. “Any chance you have a coffee break?"

  The corners of Melanie's mouth turned upward into a grand smile Chloe noticed.

  Taking the duster from Chloe's hand, Melanie looked at Jason. "They have fantastic hot chocolate and apple fritters you cannot pass up at the coffee shop. I'm good here, take as much time as you like," she directed her comments to Chloe.

  Chloe turned to her and stared. What was she doing? This was no time to send her employee away to talk to a man. They had work to do.

  "I'm not done yet," she scowled through gritted teeth.

  Melanie nodded at her. "You are for right now. Take a break."

  The humor on Jason's face was undeniable. She wasn't sure she should be angry at both of them or just at Melanie. Fine, she find out what he came for, though she couldn't imagine why he had driven so far.

  "Let me get my coat."

  When Chloe returned from the back with her coat on and her hat in her hands, she noticed the smile on Jason's face. There was some kind of contentment in his eyes, and a gentleness to him she'd only seen when he'd hugged her that day in his office. Shouldn't he be in a state of panic? He was missing a meeting—an important meeting.

  "I'll be back in thirty minutes," Chloe said to Melanie and for Jason's sake as well.

  Melanie gave her a nod and went back to her place behind the counter.

  Pulling on her cap, Chloe walked past Jason and out onto the cold streets where tourists looked in the windows and carried shopping bags from each store. Leaving for coffee in the middle of the day was asinine—as much so as Jason not being in the city at his meeting.

  * * *

  The coffee shop was bustling. A small quartet sang carols in the corner of the store and the scent of chocolate hit Jason the moment they opened the door.

  Chloe hadn't said a word to him on the short walk over, but she'd talk to him soon. What choice did she have? Would she really turn him away after he'd driven that far to see her?

  He followed her to the counter where she ordered a hot chocolate. As she reached for her money, he stepped up and ordered one as well, just as Melanie had recommended, and a fritter.

  "We're both on the same ticket," he said as he pulled a twenty from his wallet and handed it to the young lady at the register.

  "Thank you," Chloe said without looking up at him.

  "You're welcome." As their order was fulfilled, he looked around and spotted a small booth in the back corner that was unoccupied. "Why don't we sit back there?"

  "Fine."

  Chloe picked up her drink from the counter and headed to the table while Jason waited for his fritter. When he had his order, he walked toward the table where Chloe sat, her hat still on, and her coat buttoned to the lapel.

  "This has to be the cutest coffee shop I've ever been in," he said as he set down his items, pulled off his coat, and hung it on the back of the chair before taking a seat.

 
; "It's very quaint," she said sharply before taking her first sip of her hot chocolate. "Why are you here?"

  Well, it was a conversation starter for sure, he thought as he sipped the rich hot chocolate, making sure to not leave whipped cream lingering on his lip.

  "I heard that you quit, and I wanted…"

  Her hands gripped the sides of her cup, and as she raised it to her lips, he could see them trembling. "I quit, huh?" She muttered the words behind the cup before taking a sip.

  "That's what I was told."

  Controlled, she lowered the cup to the table and clasped her hands in her lap. "I was excused from my job by William Mason."

  "Excused?"

  "And I quote, your services are no longer required at Mason Arts."

  Jason eased back in his seat. "Byron told me you resigned."

  Color filled her cheeks. "No surprise there. William has been trying to get rid of me since he started. Why fight it? No one wants to work with me, then why should they have to?" A tear formed in her eye and she wiped it away quickly before resting her arms on the table and beginning to shred her napkin between her fingers. "Gloria Vandenberg will be fine with the firm. Others will forget I even existed."

  "Deborah King took over your office."

  He watched as she shredded her napkin into even smaller bits.

  "I'm glad she has a place to work."

  "You don't have to be like that. You don't have to be strong and positive."

  Her head darted up and her eyes locked with his. "You're right. I could find a corner and sit there and cry. Or, as I did, I could pick up my life, come back home, work through Christmas, and start fresh next year."

  "I think that sounds like a nice plan."

  "Good. I have your blessing," she said as she pushed her cup to the center of the table. "I have to get back to the store."

  Before she could make her exit, Jason reached across the table to cover her hand with his. "Have dinner with me tonight. I'm staying at the Inn and I was assured they do an amazing dinner."

  Chloe's shoulders dropped. "They do."