by Maddie James
“I’m pretty sure he doesn’t consider this a game. You didn’t see his face when he found out about all the deception,” Jackie said. “He was furious. More than that, though,” she added softly, “I think he was hurt.”
“New dirt on that from our number one source of somewhat unreliable gossip,” said Teri.
“Margie?”
“Yep. She was right that he was married, but it’s past tense. His divorce was final a few weeks ago, but they were separated for several years. Guess she really took him to the cleaners.”
Jackie sighed and sat down. That certainly explained a few things. She bitterly remembered every word Hal had said yesterday. The words “gold-digger collection” near the top of the list. She should feel relieved. There was no wife. The fact wiped a layer of deception off the weekend, but it didn’t matter now. It just made it more clear to her why Mitchell would be so guarded. And probably unforgiving.
“I need coffee,” Jackie said.
She had spent the rest of the previous day hiding out in their office dreading the ring of the elevators on their floor. She finally left for a long lunch and didn’t come back. Teri had shown up on her doorstep with a six-pack of beer after she left work and pep-talked her into putting in two weeks for the recommendation.
She knew it was good advice. She made this mistake before. Abruptly leaving her former job with no recommendation to put down on a resume made it nearly impossible to find another one. She wasn’t going to let one island fling put her out of work for the next year. Two weeks. She could do it.
It all sounded good when Teri was there opening bottles and talking tough, but somewhere around two in the morning, she resolved not to go to work today. She crumbled into her pillows and sheets and decided that 200 thread count would have to keep her company for the rest of her days because it was all she was ever going to be able to afford with the jobs she was not going to be getting.
It was somewhere around seven in the morning when Leah showed up and shoved her into the shower, ran her through her closet, and seat belted her into her car. She emerged from her apartment clean, dressed, and ready to endure torture at the hands of her vengeful boss.
Now, all those rotten things she had heard about Mitchell Ames were starting to sound like absolute truths. He was ruthless, he got what he wanted, he destroyed whatever was in his path. She and her friends were getting a taste of that side of him. The only thing not quite meshing with the rest of his callous reputation was, suddenly, the talk of the Chicago operation being sold had ground to a halt.
Margie reported to Shelly that the corporate suits all went home disappointed and without a deal. Hal Burton was gone and no one knew why he suddenly resigned. It looked like Mitchell Ames himself was taking over the helm of the Chicago ship. Heaven help them all. They were in for a wild ride and some rough seas.
No kidding, thought Jackie, as she filled up the industrial-sized coffee pot. It was going to be a long two weeks. The only bright spot in the middle of it was Shelly’s wedding this weekend. She’d get to wear that wonderful Christmas-plaid taffeta sash. Yippee. On Tuesday afternoon at 4:00, the next office memo arrived from upper management. Jackie knew exactly where, in that upper management, the memo had originated.
As a result of your misconduct and abuse of sick days, you will be required to donate three hours volunteering in a community Christmas display. Report to Santa in Millennium Park on Wednesday night from 6-9 for your assignment. Your costume will be delivered with a forthcoming memo.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” said Leah. “This has to be classified as a labor abuse, right? They can’t really make us do this, can they? Do we belong to a union?”
“I think we may have to do it,” said Teri. “If we survive until Christmas, maybe Mitchell will forget he’s out to get us and we’ll start the New Year off right.”
Jackie groaned. This was all her fault. As soon as she was out of here when the two weeks was up, Mitchell would probably let her friends off the hook. She wouldn’t blame her friends if they never forgave her.
She should never have screwed with Mitchell Ames. Literally.
****
A company courier arrived at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning with the next installment in the plan of torture.
The photographer from The Sun will arrive in your office at 4:30 p.m. to take a group picture of your “volunteer” efforts for a public relations piece for Ames Worldwide. You should be fully dressed and ready for the photo opportunity. Ames Worldwide requires and expects your cheerful participation in this community service. You may leave work after the photo shoot in order to prepare for your evening’s service hours.
“Holy Mary, Mother of God,” said Leah. “Do we really have to wear this?”
Each of the four accountants received a separate package. Each package contained an elf costume in her size. Leah, Teri, and Shelly had green tunics that reached to their knees. Red and white striped stockings and pointy green slippers with bells were also included. A red turtleneck and a sash (also with generous bells) rounded out the ensemble.
Jackie’s costume was similar, but there were some tweaks. The tunic was very short. The shoes had red sequins and very high heels. There was a green elf hat with dozens of little red bells. One slight move of her head set off a chorus of jingling sound.
“Looks like you get to be the loud, sleazy elf,” said Shelly sympathetically.
Jackie looked over her ridiculous costume and considered her options. She could quit now and walk right out the door. No back vacation pay, no recommendation, nowhere to go. Mitchell would win and she could hide in her apartment and lick her wounds straight into the New Year.
Another option was to take a deep breath and endure the retribution of her hurt and angry boss. She could squirm under the vengeful thumb of Mitchell Ames with all her friends paying the price at her side and be miserable for the next ten days. Or…
She could beat him on his own turf. She could play the game with such style it would take away all his fun. You can’t get revenge on someone who won’t let you have it. That, she decided, was exactly what she was going to do.
“Actually,” she said slowly in answer to Shelly’s sympathetic comment, “I think I’ll look pretty hot in this outfit.”
Leah and Teri glanced up swiftly with a look of surprise, but then a look of understanding flickered over their faces.
“You know,” Leah said, “I think a little Christmas spirit may just do us some good.”
“We can get in the mood early this year,” Teri said.
“When life hands you lemons…” Jackie began.
“You add them to the margarita mix?” Leah asked.
“Margaritas are at least partly to blame for this whole mess,” Jackie said.
“Maybe they’ll let us keep these outfits and we can wear them again next year,” Shelly suggested. “Or maybe even for the company Christmas party this year.”
That was something Jackie had forgotten about entirely. The party was this Friday night. She and her friends had talked about it and decided they probably wouldn’t go because they had Shelly’s wedding on Saturday and too much to do to get ready for it. It would be funny, though, to show up in their elf costumes.
“Guess we better try them on and do up our makeup, too,” Jackie said.
Chapter Nineteen
Mitchell swiveled in his desk chair and watched the rain change to a light shimmering snow. It was beautiful, one of the reasons he liked it so much here even though he could live anywhere in the world. Was that why he decided two days ago to cancel the entire sale of the Chicago office? Sentimentality about the weather? About this being his first solo business? About something else…or someone else?
Jimmy invited him to Key West for the Christmas holidays, since he and his girlfriend Marybess were the only family Mitchell had. They had always been there for each other. Mitchell’s mother died from cancer he didn’t even know she had when he was just shy of fourteen. As for th
e man who fathered both him and Jimmy, all that business stress must have gotten to his heart. He died of a sudden heart attack when Mitchell was in college.
Would their dad have eventually changed the terms of his will to include Jimmy if he hadn’t died suddenly? He would like to think so, and that’s why Mitchell shared his wealth with his half-brother. At least as much of his wealth as his brother was willing to take. Jimmy didn’t want to pile up money, he was happy to rent mopeds and save animals.
Where did that kind of contentment come from? Maybe Jimmy was lucky to be the illegitimate son. No inheritance, no problem. Jimmy didn’t have to wonder if Marybess loved him for his money or himself.
Spending the weekend as an anonymous regular guy with Jackie was as close as he could get to the carefree life of his half-brother. Believing that Jackie was blissfully unaware of his wealth made him feel free.
But it had all been a lie.
Jackie knew who and what he was. Maybe not that first night, he had to believe that. But she knew when she accepted his breakfast invitation and spent the whole day with him. She watched him let himself go and have fun.
Took a risk, and now he was paying for it.
He didn’t know what to do about the way his groin tightened whenever he saw, touched, or even thought about Jackie. He knew he would be saner and his life would be less confusing if he had never seen her that night on Duval Street. He should have just let her walk out the door two days ago when she said she was quitting. But he couldn’t. He needed time. Two weeks to keep her where he wanted her. If he wanted her.
Mitchell stood up and watched the snowflakes falling faster now. It was going to be very cold playing Santa’s elves in the park tonight, he thought grimly.
****
Jackie and her friends smiled brightly for the camera at the pseudo-press conference in the large fourth floor meeting room in their building. It was an auditorium-style room frequently used for large presentations and webcasts. The reporter from The Sun asked them questions about their service hours and they gave him cheerful quotes and happy smiles to make it the best PR piece Ames Worldwide had gotten in years.
The four elves struck a pose and hugged each other for a last picture. Maybe it was the bright flash of the camera, but Jackie was sure she saw Mitchell in the shadows in the back of the room. Good. Let him see that she was not going to be broken by his imperious nonsense. If he wanted to take his hurt feelings out on her and her friends, he would find out they were not such easy targets. She would play his game and match him, point for point.
When the conference ended, there was no sign of Mitchell. The elves made their way to the parking garage and got an unpleasant surprise. The day had turned much colder while they were in their office building. Snowflakes swirled from the sky and piled in little drifts around the cars on the outside of the parking garage.
“This is going to be the coldest three hours of my life,” groaned Leah.
“Especially for you, Jackie, since you got the slutty elf costume,” Shelly observed.
Jackie caught a snowflake on her tongue. “Think my sunburn will keep me warm?”
On a quick stop by her apartment, Jackie found a red turtleneck to add under her green tunic. Thanks to her slender figure, the extra layer fit under the tunic just fine. She added a pair of wool tights underneath the red and white striped tights that came with the outfit. It made the pointy red high-heeled shoes feel tight, but it would be worth it. Jackie dug through her hall closet and came up with a pair of red wool gloves with insulated lining.
She faced herself in the mirror and smiled for practice. She would not quit or give in. Mitchell would not win. Santa and her friends were counting on her.
“I want a Barbie car,” said the first little girl in line. She was bundled up in a puffy pink coat, so small Jackie had to kneel down to hear her.
Jackie led the little girl to Santa and then returned to the front of the line to usher in the next boy. Snow clung to the eyelashes of a little boy as he leaned close to Jackie.
“Are you really an elf?” he asked.
“Do I look like an elf?”
“You’re shivering. Elves are supposed to like the cold,” he said.
“You are a very observant little boy. What are you going to ask Santa for?”
“Batman. A real one that can fly.”
“Good choice. You’re up,” said Jackie.
The boy was right. It was freezing and the snow continued to fall. As long as Jackie kept moving and stayed close to the throng of parents and children, she stayed warm enough to survive the first two hours. Her friends were in the same boat. They took turns helping the photographer and ushering kids to Santa.
“One more hour,” Teri growled as she switched places in the lineup with Jackie. “If I hear Jingle Bells over the loudspeakers one more time, I’m going to hang myself with a strand of Christmas lights.”
“Maybe we’ll get out of here early,” suggested Jackie. “Santa has to be freezing his sleigh bells off.”
Teri laughed. “My feet are numb and my face is frozen in this fake smile, but I have to admit, it’s kinda fun.”
“If only Mitchell Ames could see us now,” said Jackie.
“Didn’t you notice?”
Teri nodded slightly toward the edge of the illuminated Santa scene. Standing by a park bench just outside the ring of people and lights where Santa had his display, she saw a familiar figure. He was dressed in a long black coat and was, undoubtedly, watching her.
Great. He came to make sure we’re putting in our time. He’s probably enjoying watching us freeze our elf-butts off in these skimpy costumes. At least she and her friends were cheerfully doing their jobs and not shrinking from anything, even the incredible cold that pierced their bones and the snowflakes which brushed their cheeks. For the first time all evening, Jackie regretted that her smile was permanently frozen on her face. Maybe if she rubbed her cheeks enough, they would warm up and relax into the frown that Mitchell deserved.
She had fifteen minutes to go, and she passed the time by cheerfully shepherding the last of the kids and parents through the Santa wish-line. She tried not to look, but every time she glanced in Mitchell’s direction, he was still standing in the same position. Maybe he’s frozen and can’t move, she thought. Serves him right.
Jackie and her friends shivered openly now and it was hard to talk to each other because their faces and lips quivered with the cold. The crowd dispersed almost entirely, but the snowflakes continued to fall, a little faster now. Santa got out of his chair and declared it over for the night. Shelly and Leah packed up the photography equipment and carried it to the truck that came to pick up Santa and his props. Teri and Jackie rolled up the velvet ropes and packed them, too.
Jackie glanced over to the park bench where Mitchell had stood in the cold for almost the whole last hour. He was gone. The cold must have gotten to him and he was probably in his nice warm limousine right now. That suited her just fine. There was nothing she could think of to say to him.
He was deceived and hurt by her actions in Key West and he could not forgive her. She knew. She relived that scene in Hal’s office a hundred times in the last two days. If she could have explained to Mitchell how much she loved being with him over the weekend and how much she wished it had started and ended differently, she would have. But she knew he would only think she was lying.
Now, it was too late. He was gone. There was a small empty space in her heart when she saw he was no longer standing sentinel by that park bench. She squared her shoulders and tried to stop the full-body shivering that gripped her. It was nonsense to harbor any feelings for Mitchell. Despite what they had shared, it was over. They left it in Key West on the beach.
Someone turned off the lights on the tree and it was suddenly very dark where Jackie stood. She felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned around quickly. Santa was standing there holding out a long black coat.
“Fella asked me to give this to you. Sa
id you looked like you needed it,” he said.
Santa put the coat over her shoulders with his white gloved hands. It was still warm inside. Jackie snuggled into the rich black wool and soaked in the warmth from Mitchell’s body. She closed her eyes and held the collar up to her nose and breathed in the scent of him. She opened her eyes and glanced around, but he was nowhere to be found in the dark night. She wondered if he was somewhere watching her as she drew his big coat closely around her shivering body.
Chapter Twenty
On Thursday morning, Jackie forced herself to get out of her nice warm bed. She had lain awake shivering for half the night. Well, it was mostly the shivering that kept her awake. It was also thinking of Mitchell.
Her friends had looked at her curiously when they saw her wearing a man’s black coat, but they didn’t ask any questions. They knew who it belonged to. She snuggled in the coat all the way home in her cold car and wore it into her apartment. It was draped over a chair in her bedroom. All night. That was another factor keeping her awake. When she tried to forget about Mitchell, a little trace of his scent would find her.
Especially when she went over to the coat and breathed deeply.
A hot shower, some warm clothes, and a pair of sensible shoes. That was what she needed. Jackie pulled on a too tight silk turtleneck, a red wool blazer, and gray flannel trousers. Her feet ached too much for heels, so she settled for black Mary Janes. Definitely not a sexy ensemble, but who was going to care? This was really more a combat uniform than work clothes. She wasn’t even halfway through her mission to stick out two weeks at Ames Worldwide for a letter of recommendation.
Jackie made it through the lobby and up the elevators to the eleventh floor without anyone noticing that she had a man’s coat over her arm. She didn’t have a plan for returning it, but it had to leave her apartment. For sure. When she got to her office, her friends were gathered around the coffee pot clutching hot steaming mugs. Leah had a small blue paper in her hand—another inter-office memo.