Ms. Scrooge

by Annabelle Costa

“So,” Tim says, “that’s really amazing about the chocolate campaign. What a great Christmas gift, right?”

  I nod. “Thank you.” Although I can’t help but think being here with him is a much better gift.

  His smile falters slightly. “So do you have a ton of work to do now?”

  “Not today.” I step closer to him. “Today we’re going to see the Christmas tree.”

  He raises his eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

  “Very sure.”

  My phone buzzes again from inside my purse. It’s a text message. Probably a text from Polly about how the Play-Doh I bought is now ground into their carpet. Or maybe some instructions from Charles about the campaign. I glance down in my bag, moving the phone so I can get a look at the screen.

  But the text isn’t from Polly. Or Charles.

  It’s from Marley.

  Merry Christmas, Elizabeth! Enjoy the tree!

  I shove the phone deeper into my purse. I allow my shoulders to relax as Tim kisses me one more time.

  Chapter 31

  Two weeks later

  I’m so nervous, I could throw up.

  Tim has been texting me to relax, but how could I not be nervous? In twenty minutes, I’m meeting with John Janetta, of the Board of Directors. To discuss an “important matter.” I can think of only two possible things he might want to tell me:

  1) Congratulations! You are the new CEO of Janetta advertising!

  2) I’m so sorry. We’ve decided to give the new CEO job to Richard Hall. Better luck next time!

  Tim and I were awake late last night in bed, analyzing both possibilities to death. Well, that wasn’t the only reason we were up late. He’s been keeping me up late a lot lately, if you know what I mean. I’m used to missing out on sleep because of my job, but this is a new kind of sleeplessness. A much better kind.

  “I’m not sure if I even want the CEO job anymore,” I told him. “You don’t realize how much work it is. It’s going to eat up my whole life.”

  “But this is your dream.” He squeezed my hand. “I don’t want you to give up your dream.”

  That’s the thing about Tim. He gets how important my career is to me, even though it means we won’t get to spend as much time together. The only guy I could be with would be the sort of guy who understands that deep down I’m a workaholic. I’m trying to change, but it’s not going to be an overnight thing. Baby steps.

  So in summary, I don’t know what to do. Yes, I want this job. But for once in my life, I’m more excited about who I’m coming home to than what I do at work all day. I don’t want to blow it with Tim. I have a feeling I’d regret that for the rest of my life. Especially after seeing that window into my future without him.

  I’m very torn.

  And in about ten minutes, John will press me to make a decision. John Janetta isn’t a “hey, why don’t you sleep on it” kind of guy. He’s a guy who needs an answer right now, or else he moves on. He’ll offer the job to Richard if I say no.

  No pressure.

  I hear a knock on my door. This is it. It must be John’s secretary come to fetch me early. My heart skips a beat in my chest. “Come in!”

  Except it isn’t John’s secretary. It’s Richard Hall. Dressed in another of his Armani suits with a red power tie, his teeth white and gleaming. I wonder if he gets them artificially whitened. He must. Teeth are not naturally that white.

  He’s here to psych me out. And even though he hasn’t even opened his mouth yet, it’s already working.

  “Hello, Ebbie.” His lips spread into a grin that doesn’t touch his eyes. “You’re meeting with John soon, aren’t you?”

  I don’t correct him for calling me Ebbie. I give up—he’ll never stop. And the truth is, now that Tim calls me that, I’ve gotten to like it again.

  “That’s right.” I wonder if he’s meeting with John as well. He’ll never tell me. “I should get going soon.”

  “Well, good luck.” He winks at me. It’s hard to believe there was a time when a wink from Richard was enough to make me go weak at the knees. I was so stupid. “You’ve got a good shot. I mean, even though I’ve got seniority over you, I don’t think you’re entirely out of the running.”

  I shrug. “We’ll see, won’t we?”

  “And I’m very impressed that you managed to land the Danvier account,” he adds. “Especially after how you screwed up that presentation.”

  I stare up at Richard’s handsome face. Did he really just say that to me? “You mean,” I say through my teeth, “after you sabotaged my presentation?”

  For a moment, Richard looks taken aback. He blinks a few times, then rearranges his face into a blank expression. He is an amazing liar. I remember Courtney’s comment about how she wished she had the Lasso of Truth to use on him. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “I think you do.”

  He snorts. “How could you say something like that?”

  “Because it’s true?”

  He’s quiet for a moment as he stares at me, his eyes darkening, trying to decide if I have any proof or if I’m just guessing. “Who told you?” Before I can answer, he snaps at me, “Did that bitch Courtney say something? Because she’s a goddamn liar.”

  “It wasn’t Courtney.” Technically, it’s a lie because she did tell me. But I’m not throwing Courtney under the bus. “I saw you doing it.”

  The expression on Richard’s face is making me uneasy. If this were a movie, this would be the point where he would start plotting my accidental death. “So… what? Are you going to tell John about all this?”

  “Maybe.”

  This is yet another thing I haven’t managed to decide on yet. I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what to do with my knowledge that Richard has been sabotaging me. It’s another thing Tim and I discussed in bed. Tim was furious and insisted the right thing to do was to come forward. He said Richard was a backstabbing prick. And if I didn’t rat him out, he would do the same thing to someone else. For the good of society, I need to come forward.

  Richard’s lips spread into a sneer. “It’s your word against mine, Elizabeth. And I hate to break it to you, but I go golfing with those guys. John and I are really tight.”

  He’s not making things up. Richard has always been good at worming his way into the boys’ club that has eluded me for my entire career. Everyone loves Richard—that’s why he got the big office. I’m not nearly as lovable. That’s why the only one at work who ever got me Christmas presents was Marley.

  I fold my arms across my chest. “So that’s your strategy, huh? To threaten me? Before you even try apologizing?”

  “I’m not apologizing.” He narrows his eyes at me. “No way. You have no proof I did anything wrong. Your word against mine. Let’s see who they believe.”

  He’s right about that. I don’t have any proof. Of course, I could bring Courtney into the room and she could confirm my story. But it’s still just our word against his.

  I glance down at my watch—it’s time for my meeting. “You’re right,” I say as I rise to my feet. “Let’s see who they believe.”

  For a moment, a look of total panic comes over Richard’s face. It occurs to me that he was bluffing. Maybe it would be his word against mine, but he doesn’t want a scandal. Not now. This is the sort of thing that could haunt you through your entire career.

  Unfortunately, I still don’t know what to do.

  _____

  John Janetta is the son of one of the original founders of Janetta Advertising. His father was the CEO for many years, but now most of the family isn’t directly involved in the company and just sits on the Board of Directors. I’ve met John mostly during social events, and he seems like a nice, reasonable man. He has a full head of gray hair and his suits don’t look like they cost him several months’ rent.

  When I come into the conference room to meet with him, he smiles meaningfully at me. And that’s when I realize: this is it. The Board of Directors has made their decisi
on. Good or bad, I’m about to find out my fate.

  And I still don’t know what to hope for. The job of my dreams… or having time to explore the best relationship of my life.

  “Have a seat, Elizabeth,” he says.

  I’m shaking so badly that I nearly miss the seat. I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous in my whole goddamn life. Not because I want the job so badly, but because I realize that whatever John tells me will decide the rest of my life. Even the fresh layer of lipstick I applied before the meeting isn’t helping at all.

  I wish Tim were here to hold my hand.

  “First of all,” John says, “I want to thank you for being so patient about this decision.”

  I smile calmly, like I haven’t been going out of my mind for the last several weeks.

  “Of course.” I cross my legs. “This is the fate of your company. You shouldn’t take it lightly.”

  He nods. “I need you to know that we’ve been very impressed with your work here, Elizabeth. You’ve been a superstar at this company. You and Richard have both done very strong work.”

  This is it. This is the moment when the truth about what Richard did to me should come out.

  Tell him, Ebbie. Tell him what Richard did. Tell him what kind of person Richard is.

  I open my mouth, the entire story on the tip of my tongue. But somehow the words don’t come out. And I realize I never had any intention of telling him what Richard did. If I get this job, I want it to be on my own merit. I don’t want it to be because I knocked Richard out of the running. Even if he deserves it.

  “Thank you,” I finally say.

  If I get the job, that’s great. If I don’t, then it wasn’t meant to be.

  It’s time to hear my fate.

  “But you’ll be happy to know,” John says, “that the board has made a decision. Congratulations, Elizabeth!”

  Congratulations? Does that mean…? “I’m the new CEO?”

  He grins at me. “You got it.”

  “But…” My head is spinning. This whole thing feels so surreal. “What about Richard?”

  John coughs into his fist. “Since you’re going to be the new CEO, you should know something. This is between us, yes?”

  I uncross my legs and lean forward. “Of course.”

  He clears his throat. “Richard has had some significant allegations brought against him recently. One of our former secretaries accused him of sexual harassment. And just this morning, two more women came to me to speak up against him.”

  Wow.

  So it turns out Richard took himself out of the game.

  “Oh…”

  He sighs. “It’s a shame for his career, but the truth is, we had already decided on you, Elizabeth. We all think you’re amazing, and we really want you to have the job. This just made the decision a little bit easier.” He smiles at me. “So should I assume you’re accepting the position?”

  A week ago, I would have been jumping out of my chair and screaming with joy. Well, no. I would’ve been more reserved. But I would’ve been screaming with joy inside my head.

  But now, all I feel is a sinking sensation in my chest. I know what this job means. I know the hours it will require. This job means Tim and I are done. How can I have room in my life for a relationship when I have a job that will consume my every waking hour?

  There’s more to life than work. I don’t want to die on the snow-covered street, successful but alone. I want to spend my last moments with the people I love.

  I have to say no to him.

  My phone buzzes in my pocket. John is watching me, but as surreptitiously as I can, I sneak a glance at the screen of my phone. It’s Tim again.

  Don’t even think about turning down this job.

  That’s the worst part. He’s the best guy I’ve ever dated. He’s the only guy I’ve ever dated who really cared about me. Which is why he doesn’t want me to make the ultimate sacrifice for him.

  I chew on my lip. There’s got to be a way I can make this work.

  Chapter 32

  Christmas Day, One Year Later

  It’s six in the morning and I’m wide awake.

  As you might recall, the first time I ever woke up next to Tim, I started screaming at him. It’s something we can now look back on and laugh.

  We wake up next to each other every day now. It’s the best part of my day. We moved in together six months ago, and I haven’t regretted it for a moment. I still feel like I’m floating on a cloud. I had always been terrified of living with a man, but I love every moment of living with Tim.

  I watch him sleep for a few moments. His chest rises, and he blows air out through his lips softly. He doesn’t snore, thank God. Is it weird that I think he’s sexy when he’s asleep? I can’t help it.

  I’m usually the first to wake up every morning. Six in the morning and my eyes fly open like clockwork. Alarm or not. Usually I hit the showers and try not to wake him up because he’s not an early bird like me, but today is different.

  Today? Why, today is Christmas Day.

  I put my hand on Tim’s shoulder and shake him until his eyelids flutter. The boy could sleep till noon if I would let him. I’m really jealous. But today I’m not going to let him.

  “Ebbie?” He rubs his eyes with the back of his hand—he’s cute when he’s sleepy. He rolls his head to look at the clock on our nightstand. “Jesus. You know it’s six in the morning, right?”

  “Yes,” I say. “But it’s Christmas.”

  He grins sleepily at me. “That it is.”

  He wraps his arm around me and pulls me closer to him. On weekends, we usually start our day off with about an hour of lovemaking. Speaking of the best part of my day.

  This last year with him has been amazing. I still get a tingle every time he touches me, but more than that, I’ve come to realize that Tim is a really great guy. He’s thoughtful and considerate and really funny. There’s nothing more wonderful than spending an evening on the sofa with him, watching a movie.

  Oh, and when my computer breaks, I don’t have to freak out anymore. He just takes it and fixes it like it’s nothing. One time I almost started crying when I spilled coffee on my laptop keyboard and it stopped working, but he took it apart and replaced it for me. I didn’t think that was possible!

  Honestly, there should be a superhero whose super power is being able to fix computers. That beats a Lasso of Truth any day.

  Ever since Tim and I started dating, I’ve been determined not to screw up this relationship. Or should I say, I’ve been determined not to let my job screw it up. When I agreed to accept the job as CEO, I made a number of demands. Some people demand a certain salary or a huge office, but what I demanded was time. I told John I wasn’t going to come in weekends. I needed several personal assistants. I needed a guarantee that my hours wouldn’t get out of hand or else I would walk.

  I thought he would laugh in my face. But he didn’t. He gave me everything I wanted.

  I guess they really did want me badly.

  I’m not going to say it hasn’t been a struggle. There have certainly been times when I’ve gotten on my laptop on the weekends to work. But I haven’t gone to the office. And I put down my computer every night in time to have dinner with my boyfriend. Courtney has become my right hand woman, and she’s been invaluable.

  “You’re always waking me up way too early.” Tim yawns and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. He smiles at me. “You’re really lucky I love you too much to get mad at you.”

  “I am lucky,” I say.

  That’s another thing. Tim loves me. And I love him.

  If I die tomorrow, I won’t be able to say I’ve never been in love.

  He leans in to kiss me. I melt against his touch, my heart already speeding up at the feel of his fingers running through my hair. But unfortunately, it looks like one of us forgot to close the door to our bedroom all the way. Because before things can go any further, we hear a loud meow and Alexander jumps into our bed. Act
ually, it’s amazing that he isn’t in here already. Well, him or one of the other five cats.

  Yes, we now own six cats.

  It’s a bit of a long story. I would imagine anyone who owns six cats has a bit of a long story to explain it all. The best I can say is that since I’m not single anymore, nobody can call me a cat lady. I managed to hide Alexander successfully in my apartment for six months without my landlord finding out, but when Tim and I decided to move in together, I insisted we get a place that allowed cats.

  But our new place was too far away from the alley where all the other cats lived. I couldn’t imagine not coming by to feed them every day. They were counting on me! So I ended up adopting them. All six of them.

  Tim has been incredibly understanding about this. Not every guy would be cool with their girlfriend wanting to adopt six cats. I’ve got to give him some credit for that.

  “Hey, buddy.” Tim sits up in bed and strokes Alexander’s soft black fur. He’s really good with the cats. It’s moments like these when I start to imagine what he would be like as a father. I imagine him cradling our child in his arms. One of the first things I told Marley was that I didn’t want to have children, but the more time I spend with Tim, the more I’ve been rethinking that decision.

  Maybe I do want children. And I can’t imagine picking a better partner for this journey.

  Of course, then I have to mentally slap my own hand. I am not going to get ahead of myself. Tim and I have been together for only a year. I don’t want to rush him.

  “I’ll go feed them.” He winks at me. “Then let’s open our presents. I think there’s some good stuff under the tree.”

  I grin at him. This is the first Christmas in a very long time when I’ve woken up to a pile of presents under the Christmas tree. I am almost embarrassingly excited over it. “I can’t wait.”

  “Is there anything in particular you’re hoping for under the tree?” he asks me.

  “I’d love some jewelry.”

  Actually, I’ve kind of got everything I want at this point. I’ve got the job of my dreams and the guy of my dreams. But when your boyfriend starts digging around to see what you’d like for Christmas, it isn’t fair to give an answer like that. So when we were walking by Tiffany’s a couple of weeks ago, I pointed out a bracelet in the window that I thought was really beautiful.