Page 1 of A Christmas Bargain

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CLAIRE

Inarrowed my eyes at the screen, then reared back and blinked again. And again.

“I’m telling you,” Shawn said as he breezed into my office with another coffee to drop off to me. Steam wafted from the hole in the lid, but I wondered if it would be sweet enough. No caffeinated beverage could be tolerable without pumpkin spice galore at this time of the year.

“You’re telling me what?” I replied cheekily, taking the coffee and sniffing it before tasting. He was my personal assistant and had been for all six years since I’d taken the helm of managing Barone Realty. I’d be lost without him. He knew it. I knew it. But that didn’t mean I liked his I-told-you-so tone, especially before he, well, told me so.

“You’re ruining your eyes with too much screen time,” he said with a sigh as he crossed his arms.

“Bah. That’s nonsense.” I waved him off, sipping the drink. I’d rate it six and a half out of ten. Not bad, but not the best. And a workaholic careerwoman like me would be able to determine subpar caffeine from decent. “It’s the light,” I argued mildly, keeping a smile on my face.

“Light?” He exaggerated a slow look around my office at the corner of the floor. “What light?”

Floor-to-ceiling windows surrounded my workspace on both walls. I had prime real estate on this floor in the skyscraper, and that was how it should be. My sister and I had taken over for Dad to run the business when he retired a while back, and when we took over, we split his massive office suite into two big ones for ourselves.

On a normal day, I could enjoy a fantastic view of downtown Denver. Today, with the unrelenting rain, I was treated to gray clouds and nonstop deluges.

I shrugged, not bothering to argue with him there.

“You’re working too much,” Shawn nagged good-naturedly.

I waved at him again, lacking the energy to counter his point. I put in lots of hours. Maybe it wasn’t wise, but it was how this business worked. Sales didn’t last forever. Deals couldn’t be made when I was asleep.

“I’ll slow down when I’m old,” I teased with a wink at the younger man.

“Whenyou’re old?” He grinned, then ducked when I chucked a balled-up piece of scrap paper at him.

“You be nice. Get in the holiday spirit and all.”

“I am in the holiday spirit. I’m thankful for my job. But I’ll be more thankful if I have job security in the fact that you won’t be keeling over from burning out.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not burning out,” I protested. “Go easy on me. I’m taking the weekend off, aren’t I?”

He huffed a laugh. “Only because you have to. Because it’s a national holiday.”

True enough.As soon as I satisfied my dad with a visit home for Thanksgiving tomorrow, I’d be right back here, light or not. Work simply didn’t wait, and I never liked the concept ofyou snooze, you lose.

“If it weren’t for the holidays, you’d never take a break,” he chided as my sister hurried into my office.

“Hi, Grace— Oh. Whoa.” Shawn stepped back, seeming allergic to a single drop of water on his immaculate shirt and pants. He smoothed down his tie, ruffled by her hasty entrance.

Her long hair was matted to her face. Soggy clothes dripped, and every quick step she took squeaked.Whoa is right.

“Forget an umbrella?” I teased.

“Claire?” She strained to swallow as she pushed her hair back to better stare at me with wide eyes. “I’ve got a problem.”

Shawn raised his brows and backed up. “Uh-oh.” He closed the door after him as he left.

A problem?I tried to smile to defuse her panic.Again?

“You know how I was talking about those tips I got?” She winced, wringing her hands together.

I couldn’t help it. A groan built within me, raging to rip loose.No, Grace. Not again.“Yeah?” I replied through clenched teeth. This smile would not fall. She would not see me falter.

“They… I…” She exhaled a deep whoosh. “They didn’t, um, work.”

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