Page 9 of Merry Kissmas

“See you all after the holidays.”Pierce lifts his arm with a wave and disappears toward the elevators.

I suck in a breath.

“Do you two know one another?”Enzo’s question takes me out of my daze.

“Oh…um…no.”I shake my head, but he tilts his head as if he’s unsure I’m telling the truth.

“Well, let’s get this interview going.I’m sure you’re eager to start your holiday too.”He steps back to allow me to exit the waiting area first.“I’m sorry this interview is so close to Christmas, but Annie and I didn’t want to wait.We’re hoping to kick off the new year having already made a decision.I’d also like to apologize that you had to see the other applicant.Usually, these things are more spaced out, but my schedule just didn’t allow for it this week.”

“No problem at all.”

“There she is,” Enzo says when a woman comes out of an office, walking down the hall.

I recognize her from their website.Annie Mancini.Her dark hair is cut into a bob, and her dress fits her perfectly, showing off an amazing figure.

It’s the way the words come out of his mouth that causes me to turn away from her to look at him.His smile reaches his eyes, and it’s the same way my brother Tre looks at Tessa.As if his world and all his happiness is wrapped up in her.

“Annie, this is Brynn Russell.”Enzo makes the introductions and steps behind me to open a door.

I shake Annie’s hand.“Nice to meet you.”

“You too.Sorry, I was going to come and get you from the waiting area, but I got a phone call from the school.”Her gaze flicks over my shoulder to her husband.“Our son Mateo just can’t seem to stay in his seat.”

“Or stop pranking,” Enzo says as we file into the conference room.

“He learned it from his father and his uncles.”She eyes him hard, and he puts his hands up in the air.

“I’ve apologized many times already.”

We all take our seats.

“Did Todd offer you anything to drink?”

Enzo grabs an empty mug that I assume was Pierce’s and sets it on the table by the wall.

“I’m okay, but thank you.”

During the interview, they each have a way of putting me at ease, but all I can think about the whole time is that I’m going up against Pierce for this job.The competitive side of me that was born as the baby sister to two older brothers rises, and by the time it’s over, I think I’ve done everything I can to show Enzo and Annie I’m the right one for the job.

I grin to myself when I’m leaving, and as the elevator doors slide closed, I anticipate the sweet taste of payback if I get the job over Pierce.

ChapterFive

Pierce

Isit in the back of the cab as a light sprinkling of snow starts to come down.I really hope it doesn’t delay my flight.I don’t hate Christmas, but it’s not my favorite time of year either.It only serves as a reminder of what is missing in my life.

Which brings my thoughts back to Brynn.Not that she’s been far from my mind since our meeting last night.And then again earlier today.

I see now why we were at the same hotel with rooms next to each other.The reservations for us were probably made at the same time when Mancini Advertising booked our trips for the interviews.I looked like an idiot when I ended my interview with Enzo Mancini and stood there slack-jawed, staring at Brynn.It wasn’t my finest moment.

Of course, I knew there would be other interviewees, that I wasn’t the only person Mancini Advertising had reached out to.News traveled fast after I left my professor position at the university.It would be nice to be close to my cousin again—I’ve missed him over the years.Which is one of the reasons why I said I would spend the holidays with him this year since I was already in America.

Brynn Russell.

There she is again, sneaking into my thoughts.She seems so different, but not at the same time.

As the snowflakes melt on the windshield, and I watch the people walking along the sidewalk, my mind goes back to that first night we met.

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