Page 11 of Merry Little Hate Notes

I cleared my throat. “Mom, those words are never coming out of my mouth.” Might as well take my man card now.

“Well, you could think of something else to say.” She sounded disgruntled. “But don’t you think it’s a cute idea?”

Not at all, but I didn’t articulate that. “I was thinking of just easing into things. I stopped and bought her a peppermint mocha this morning on my way in.”

Mom laughed hysterically. “Oh, honey, she’s not going to drink that.”

“How do you know?”

“Because she’s going to find it suspicious after all these years.”

“Perhaps, but at least she’ll know I remembered how much she loves coffee and peppermint. It’s a start.”

“If you say so. But I’m going to leave those sticky notes in your dad’s office on my way to the board meeting at the children’s museum. I’ll drop them off later this morning. You know, just in case your plan doesn’t work,” she mocked me. “Oh, and I emailed you this hilarious list of holiday-themed zingers you can use. Because we both know you could use some help.”

I shifted uncomfortably, wondering what had happened to mymother, who was normally all class and grace. Not the one who was begging to be my wingman and emailing me mean things to say to a woman. “Thank you, Mom. I really appreciate you trying to help. But I’ve got it handled.”

“All right, honey. When you crash and burn, I’ll be waiting in the wings to save you. Get it? Because I’m your wingman.” She laughed.

“Yeah, I got it.” Unfortunately.

“I’m sure I’ll be hearing from you soon,” she sang. “Have a good day and good luck. Bye, honey.”

“Bye.” I stared at the phone after hanging up, unnerved by the conversation and admittedly worried about how things would go with Holly today—and even more worried my mom was going to do something to embarrass me.

I headed toward the stairs and made the climb to the third floor, nervous energy coursing through me. It had been a long time since I’d spent any real time with Holly. I just hoped she wouldn’t hang out in the bathroom all day. And that I wouldn’t have to resort to saying things like,Have yourself some merry little sticky notes.

It felt as if every head turned my way when I walked onto the floor. No doubt I was about to ruffle some feathers. Holly was the best BDR in the company, and every enterprise account executive had been vying for her. Especially Jason Schafer. The guy was a tool and smelled like the nineties, and it was obvious by the way he looked at Holly he was hoping to mix business with pleasure. Granted, I’d like that too, but I would like to think my intentions were pure. Or at least mostly.

Camille Tua, the sales director, made her way to me, all smiles. I wasn’t entirely sure if the smile was real. Being the owner’s son had its drawbacks. While I worked hard and had earned every promotion and accolade, I never knew if people genuinely liked and valued me for me. Or was it just my last name?

“Brandon, it’s good to have you join us here.” Camille held out her hand. “I was just about ready to tell the team the good news.”

I shook her hand, but admittedly my eyes drifted toward Holly sitting in her usual spot near the Bat Cave conference room. People could sit anywhere they chose in open office spaces, but she seemed to always land there. My guess was she wanted the mountain view. Iremembered that after the St. Jameses moved here from Virginia, Holly went on and on about how big and beautiful the mountains were. They’d always fascinated her. She even did a PowerPoint presentation when she was eleven about how mountains were formed and made Christian and me sit through it like we were screening a docuseries. I had no idea until viewing Holly’s presentation that Colorado had one active volcano.

Holly directed her gaze to her laptop screen with determination, pretending she was oblivious to everyone around her who was focusing on me. I had a feeling it was going to be an interesting day. At least she hadn’t darted toward the bathroom yet.

“Thanks, Camille. It’s good to be here.” I reciprocated the warm welcome before letting go of her hand.

Camille turned and, hardly raising her voice, commanded, “Listen up.”

Every account executive and business development rep, except Holly, gave Camille their rapt attention.

“I know you all know Brandon, but I would like you to welcome him to our team. He will be temporarily working out of our office through the end of the year. He’s going to be helping us with some of Marisol’s accounts. Which means Holly will assist him.”

Every head whipped in Holly’s direction, except for Jason’s. His face exploded in red as he glared at me. I was sure he’d expected to take over Marisol’s accounts and get Holly for his BDR. Too much was riding on those accounts, though, and while Jason was a top performer, he also rubbed some people the wrong way with his pushy tactics.

I didn’t back down from Jason’s glare. Instead, I offered him a smile. That did the trick. He thought better of his reaction and lowered himself into a nearby chair to stew. Maybe being the boss’s son did have some perks.

Meanwhile, Holly realized everyone was staring at her and looked up, biting her pouty rose-red lip. I tried not to fixate on how velvety those lips were to touch. But I couldn’t stop noticing how beautiful she was. Her messy bun and off-one-shoulder sweater hugging her willowy figure did me in, as did the way her creamy cheeks blushed from the attention. Yet she still ignored me.

Not that I expected anything less. If truth be told, it surprised me she was here at all. Maybe she’d just come to turn in her resignation—I think my dad half expected her to. And while he realized he would lose a valuable employee, he knew Holly was only spinning her wheels here. She had so much more potential. However, according to him, she’d rejected any talk of being promoted. That was not the girl I knew. While Holly was on the quieter side, she was ambitious and not afraid to take on the world. What had happened to her? Was it my fault?

Holly waved while plastering on a fake smile for our coworkers.

“Okay, everyone, back to work,” Camille barked. “Don’t forget about our team sales meeting at one today.”

For the record, no one went back to work. They all gawked at me, some offering words of welcome, as I walked toward Holly, who was bracing herself by gripping her standing desk. I felt terrible for making her uncomfortable. But this wasn’t a cakewalk for me either. I knew I’d royally screwed up and probably ruined her life. More than anything, I wanted to make amends if possible. It was one of the reasons I was willing to give up half my commissions.

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