Five minutes later, Merry returned to her till with the awful knowledge that she and Ben were literally the only two people on the entire floor. Customers milled around growing increasingly frustrated, most of them leaving with tuts and moans. She did her best, but it was like fighting a rising tide, and eventually she resigned herself to the fact that she was destined to fail.
By one-thirty, she was so desperate for the toilet that she literally ran from a customer as they were speaking. She flew through the staff door and into the nearest restroom, almost sobbing with relief as she sat down. She didn’t hurry back, taking a moment to wash her hands and splash some water on her face. She gulped down a few sips, wondering if she’d even get a chance to have lunch today.
Think of the money, Merry, she told herself as she walked out of the restroom.
She was halfway down the corridor when she spotted somebody up ahead, standing alone by the staff door. They were holding something close to their face, and when Merry got closer she saw that it was an envelope stuffed with some kind of paper.
“Diane?” she said. Diane jumped, snapping the envelope closed and turning to Merry with a huge grin on her face.
“Merry!” she said. “Are you okay? You look like death.”
“Yeah,” said Merry. “It’s been a tough shift. Speaking of which, any chance you can come help? The crowds out there are huge, and it’s just me.”
“No can do,” said Diane. “I’m out of here.”
“What do you mean?” Merry asked. “Are you working a half day?”
Diane looked left and right down the corridor, then leaned in.
“Have you not had an offer?” she whispered. Merry shook her head.
“No, what do you mean? What kind of offer?”
Diane held up the envelope. It was closed, but whatever was inside was making it bulge.
“I shouldn’t be telling you this, but somebody just gave me a huge paycheck.”
“What? Why?”
“To walk out the door,” Diane said. “That’s it. To just go.”
“I don’t understand,” said Merry. “Who?”
Diane started to answer, but the staff door crunched open and Ben ran in.
“Can’t stop! Must pee!” he yelled, racing for the men’s restroom.
“You’ll find out,” said Diane, stuffing the envelope into her handbag. “But it’s someone high up, someone from head office. Look, I’ve got to go. Hang around and you’ll get yours too. Oh, and Merry.”
“Yeah?”
“I know I go on a lot about my rich boyfriend, and I’m not entirely sure I’d be with him if he was poor, but don’t ever listen to a fool like me. It doesn’t matter what somebody does for a living, not if you love them.”
“Oh,” Merry giggled. “I don’t love… I mean, it’s not like…”
“Yeah, sure,” said Diane. She winked at her, then walked through the door.
“It’s really not like that,” Merry said to herself as she walked back to her cash desk, but she wasn’t entirely convinced herself. When was the last time a man had made her feel the way that Christian did? Even though things hadn’t exactly been smooth between them, she still grinned every time he entered her head, like a kid waking up on Christmas day. And he was as special as Christmas, she knew. Christmas came only once a year, and a man like Christian was even rarer. You met somebody like that maybe once a lifetime, and when it happened you had to be ready to take a chance. You had to unwrap that present there and then, or you might never do it.
It was all so confusing, and it wasn’t helped by the fact that as soon as she stepped out of the door she was attacked by a dozen people wanting her help. She fought through the afternoon as best as she was able, and by the time six o’clock rolled around she was on the verge of passing out. She tried to escape the next customer—a huge man in an expensive suit and bowler hat—but he actually grabbed hold of her arm to stop her from escaping.
“I demand service!” he roared. “Do you know how long I’ve been waiting?”
“I’m really sorry, sir,” she said, trying to pull herself free. The man was so big that she was suddenly scared. “Please, I’m sure somebody else will—”
“No, not somebody else,” he said. “You!”
There was a chime from overhead to signal an announcement.
“Would Merry Sinclair please come to the front desk,” it said in a deep, melodious voice that sounded extremely familiar. “This is an emergency. Would Merry Sinclair please come to the front desk.”
“That’s me,” she said to the man, pointing to her nametag with her free hand. “It’s an emergency.”
The man looked at her badge, then let her go, huffing and puffing dramatically. Merry ran from him, rubbing her arm where he’d been holding her. She rode the staff elevator down, wondering what on earth could be happening that merited an emergency. Maybe they’d got a message from home, she thought as she ran across the atrium to the customer service desk. Maybe something had happened to her mom or…
Christian stood behind the desk, beaming at her. There was a queue of people in line, waiting to be seen by one of the other members of staff there. Christian was wearing jeans and a dark blue sweater, and even though he still looked tired his smile made Merry feel like she was waking up after a nine-hour nap.
“Hi,” she said. “You called? There’s an emergency?”
“Yeah,” he replied, walking out from the desk and leaning in, kissing her on the cheek. She caught a whiff of something musky and fresh, the scent making her feel weak at the knees. He must have showered upstairs, she realized, and found herself blushing at the thought. “A very serious emergency.”
He led her across the atrium, still smiling. It was contagious, because she started smiling too.
“What?” she said.
“Well, you’re coming to the ball with me tomorrow,” he said. “And there’s a problem.”
“Christian, what’s going on?” she said. “What problem?”
“You told me you didn’t have anything to wear!”
Merry laughed.
“I can’t believe you used the public address system for that,” she said. “You’ll get in so much trouble!”
“It will be fine,” he said. “They can’t fire me, I’m the only janitor left—well, apart from Harvey, who’s about a hundred years old. To be honest, I walked past jewelry on the way out and saw you there, figured you needed some help escaping.”
“I did,” she said. “Thank you. I don’t know what’s going on right now, but it’s getting bad. Where is everyone?”
For a moment, Christian’s expression hardened. But then he smiled again.
“Let’s not worry about it,” he said. “I’ve finished my shift, you’ve finished yours. Go grab your coat, and let’s go fix this emergency.”
“Where are we going?” Merry asked as they walked up 5th Avenue, her arm locked in his. It was dark, but the Christmas lights that lined the streets made the city glow like a winter wonderland, and Merry herself seemed to glow with happiness as he led her along.
“You’ll see,” he replied. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“Mind what?” she replied.
Christian led her around the corner into the Rockefeller Plaza.
“More hot chocolate?” she asked. But he passed the chocolate shop and stopped outside the Devlin Storm store. He opened the door for her, but she hesitated, just like he’d thought she would.
“Christian, what are we doing here?” she said, looking up at him with sad eyes. “I can’t afford anything from this place.”
“I knew you were going to say that,” he said.
“I don’t think you can either, can you?” she went on. “I mean, Storm stuff is really expensive.”
Christian took a deep breath. Once again, he wondered if he should just come clean and tell her everything. There was a good chance she’d hear him out, then forgive him, wasn’t there? But they hadn’t traveled far together, and i
t had been a rocky road in places. If he waited a few more days, until after the ball at least, then it would give him a chance to show her who he really was. That way, at least, she wouldn’t have to judge him on a single lie.
“What I’m about to tell you is going to sound crazy,” he said. “But bear with me.”
“Okay…” she said, one eyebrow rising.
“I actually know Devlin Storm,” he said. “I happened to meet him once, while I was working overseas.”
“Seriously?” Merry said, her mouth dropping open. “He’s, like, a billionaire, isn’t he?”
Christian nodded.
“And isn’t he supposed to be, you know, horrid?” Merry asked. “That’s what all the gossip pages say.”
“He’s an acquired taste,” said Christian. “But not a bad guy when you get to know him. Anyway, I actually saved his life once.”
“Really?” said Merry.
“Really,” he said. “I helped him out in the mountains after he’d injured himself.”
It was the truth, although he wasn’t going to tell Merry everything that had happened. It had been a couple of years back, during a fundraiser in Colorado. It was a $50,000-a-plate dinner to raise money for victims of the earthquakes in Indonesia, and the room had been full of hugely wealthy men and women. The day after, they’d organized a cross country trail, and he and Devlin had taken part. Devlin had been fitter, but he’d overstretched himself and while climbing a rocky slope in the middle of the mountains in the dead of night he’d slipped and fallen. Christian had carried Devlin back through a half-mile stretch of rocky wilderness to the club house, where he’d been treated for hypothermia and a snapped tendon in his knee.
“You saved Devlin Storm’s life?” Merry said, shaking her head. “That’s just too weird not to be true.”
“Anyway, he told me he owed me, big time,” Christian said. “And that if I needed anything at all, I just had to call him. Well, call his team.” He smiled at her. “So I did, this morning.”
He had, after spending half the day wondering how he could buy Merry a new outfit for the ball without blowing his cover. He knew he could have taken her to any store in the city, and bought her absolutely any outfit she desired. But he would have had to tell her the truth, and more than that he didn’t think it would impress her. He had the funny feeling that if he threw money at her she would turn around and walk away. It was one of the things that drew him to her. Doing it this way was, ironically, much more honest.
He took Merry’s hand, and led her through the door.
“Go wild,” he said. “Pick anything you like.”
“Seriously?” Merry said, breathless with excitement.
“Seriously,” he replied. “Merry Christmas!”
20
It really was like Christmas!
There were no other customers, but three beautifully dressed sales clerks stood by the door and welcomed Merry inside with smiles and warm greetings. When they were in, they closed the door and locked it, turning the sign to ‘Closed’.
“We’re all yours!” said one of the women, who was wearing a name badge that said Patricia. “Devlin says anything goes, anything you want.”
“This is… I don’t know what to say,” Merry said, and it was true, she was speechless. She looked at Christian. “This is amazing.”
“You’re worth it,” he replied.
“Our formal dresses are over here,” said Patricia. “The winter range has been very popular this year.”
She led Merry across the room to a display of elegant, mesmerizingly beautiful dresses of all shapes and colors. Two she recognized from red carpet interviews from TV, and one, she was sure, had been modeled by the First Lady during the last State of the Union address. None of them had a price tag, which wasn’t surprising, but she knew from the limited range of Devlin Storm dresses they had at Carroll’s that they retailed at thousands of dollars apiece. Sometimes tens of thousands. Sometimes, incredibly, even more than that.
“I really shouldn’t,” she said, biting her lip. “They’re not really meant for somebody like me.”
Christian appeared by her side, and he took her arms gently in his, turning her to face him.
“Merry,” he said. “I haven’t known you long, but I can say without any doubt that you are one of the most amazing people I have ever met. Your beauty comes from a place deep inside you, it radiates from your kindness, your generosity, and it lights up my whole world. Many people have worn Storm dresses, but none of them shined as brightly as you do. These dresses aren’t meant for anyone else. They are meant for you.”
A chorus of quiet “awwws!” rose up from the three sales clerks, and Patricia looked like she was wiping a tear from her eye as she gestured to the display.
“Please, try on anything you like,” she said.
Merry did. Even though tiredness gnawed at her bones she was buoyed up by happiness. Things like this didn’t happen to people like her, but here she was, in one of the most exclusive stores in the city, trying on dresses that cost more than an entire year of rent. It made her feel awful that the money people spent on clothes like this could keep her fed, could help her parents out of a hole, but this was different because she wasn’t paying for it, it was a gift. Besides, she could always sell it after the ball.
She felt terribly guilty for even thinking it, and rushed into the dressing room to try on the next dress. They were all sublime, they flowed like water over her body, seeming to fit as if they had been tailored to her every curve. Each one that she tried on seemed more perfect than the last, and she felt like royalty as the assistants buzzed in and out of the room, catering to her every need.
Christian sat outside, his grin growing wider and wider every time she emerged from behind the curtain. Trying on the dresses was amazing, but the best part of the experience, the thing that made her feel truly special, was the way he looked at her. It was as if those chestnut brown eyes didn’t see the dresses at all, they just looked right into the heart of her, right into her soul, seeing the woman she always dreamed of being. He looked at her like he loved her, like he’d always loved her—as if through the entire history of the world, in countless lives, they’d known and cared for each other. It was such a ridiculous thought that it made her giggle, but such an exhilarating one she could have danced all night.
She wasn’t sure how much later it was that she gently eased off the last dress, hanging it on its cushioned hanger. Patricia popped her head around the curtain with a genuine smile on her face.
“How you doing, sweetie?” she asked. “Did anything take your fancy?”
“All of them,” she replied. “Oh, they’re so wonderful. I never in my whole life thought I’d even get to try on something like this, let alone own it.”
“You can have two,” said the woman. “Three, if you like. Mr Storm called us himself, he told us that there were no limits.”
“I couldn’t,” said Merry. “One is more than enough.”
“It’s so refreshing,” said Patricia. “You’re not like any of the other women who shop here. They’d be piling dresses to the ceiling and running out the door—without so much as a thank you, I should add. But you’re so sweet.” She seemed to remember something. “Wait here.”
She dashed out of the changing booth, leaving Merry standing there in her underwear. She was only alone for a moment, though, before Patricia returned. There was a dress draped over her arm, and Merry’s jaw actually dropped when she saw it. It was perfect. There was literally no other word to describe it. She had never in her life seen a more perfect piece of clothing—it was black silk, hundreds of elegant, diamond-flecked snowflakes stitched into the shimmering fabric. It seemed almost like a living, breathing thing as Patricia held it up, the cloth unfurling to the floor.
“Oh!” said Merry.
“Nobody else in the world owns one of these,” Patricia said. “Few people have even seen it. It’s an exclusive, Devlin designed it for a leading lady who
se name I can’t tell you. She never wore it, because they fell out, and now here it is. She was about your size, do you want to try it on?”
Merry nodded. Oh please be my size, please please please.
It was, it flowed onto her like a second skin, cool and soft and impossibly comfortable. She hardly dared turn to face the mirror, and when she did she barely recognized herself. The woman who stood there stood tall and proud, her eyes were bright and full of happiness, her smile beaming back from the glass.
“I…” she said. “I…”
It was too much. A tear escaped her eye, winding down her cheek.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“It’s quite something,” said Patricia.
Merry wiped the tears away, then turned to the curtain. Patricia pulled it to one side, and Christian’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He stood up slowly and walked to her.
“It was made for you,” he said. “Somehow, the stars aligned, and this dress found the person it was made for.”
“It’s amazing,” Merry said. He touched her arms gently, meeting her eyes.
“You’re amazing,” he said. “This is all you. The dress is just the ribbon on the most perfect present I have ever seen.”
“I can’t take it,” said Merry. “Can I? I mean, it must cost so much money. Shouldn’t we check? I’m talking too much, I can’t stop, it’s just all so incredible. But I can’t keep it. Can I?”
Christian laughed, opening his arms so that she could step into them. She rested her head against his chest, hearing that wonderful, reassuring thump of his heart, and he wrapped his arms around her. Part of her wanted to kiss him, but part of her was happier here, in the comfort and safety of his strong arms. She could stay here forever, she thought.
“You’re going to need these too,” said Patricia. Merry reluctantly pulled free of Christian and looked at the assistant. She was holding a pair of black heels with red lacquered soles, and she offered them to Merry. “Devlin Storm doesn’t do shoes, but these Louboutins were brought in to accompany the dress and they’re just going to go to waste. They’re a six.”
My Christmas Billionaire Page 14