Page 4 of Merry with a Grumpy Boss

“Lulu, I thought you were taking Max for a walk. Go!” Willa Leigh shooed her daughter out of the lobby, muttering, “This conversation was not meant for ten-year-old ears.”

“Eleven!” Lulu shouted as the door swung closed behind her.

“Ten going on sixteen.” Willa Leigh shook her head, face softening as she watched the girl trot off with Max before turning back to Odette. “What’s the next step?”

“Huh?” Odette spun around to open a new box of paw-shaped magnets, part of the swag going into the bags. Her silky black coils danced around her broad face.

“The next step in The Plan.” Willa Leigh emphasized the last two words as if referencing a top-secret military action to save the world.

“Ohhh,” Odette drawled, gears spinning behind wide espresso-brown eyes. “The Plan!”

“What plan?” Ginger paused in her assembly-line approach to filling the slick bag she pinched between thumb and forefinger.

“The Plan to convert Haywood-the-Grinch into the man who loved Christmas,” Willa Leigh said.

“Oh, no.” Ginger saved her hands as if warding off bad juju. “I have to work with the guy. Two months and twenty-seven days.”

The other two women laughed but persisted.

“Think of it as a challenge.”

“You’re doing it for Love Beach.”

“If anyone can turn their grumpy boss into a holiday hero, it’s you.”

“Besides,” Odette said coyly, sharing a sideways look with Willa Leigh, “the man is fine. I saw him picking up coffee at Caffeine Beach yesterday.”

“Because he doesn’t like my holiday blend,” Ginger groused.

“Is he hot?” Willa Leigh asked.

“Scorching, if you go for the buttoned-up corporate type.” Odette pressed a finger to her temple, remembering. “He definitely uses product on his hair. It’s short on the sides with just enough length on top for a bit of curl. Dark blond although I’d bet money it was coppery-blond when he was little. In the right light, you get these flashes of auburn.”

“Aw, if the Mistress of Merry had babies with Hot Grinch, they’d have cute little redheads. Go on,” Willa Leigh said.

“Guys—” Ginger warned but they ignored her.

“I’m not sure about eye color—he was wearing sunglasses—but he definitely works out. Big broad shoulders that filled out his tailored suit, and a tight?—”

“His eyes are blue,” Ginger snapped.

“Thought you might have noticed.” Odette passed a Cheshire smile to Willa Leigh, but kept her gaze on Ginger. “Haywood is exactly your type.”

“Is not!” Ginger protested.

“Is too.” Odette was unrelenting. “Willa Leigh, name our girl’s three favorite romantic movie leads.”

“Richard Gere inPretty Woman.The Proposalwith Ryan Reynolds.” She furrowed her brow, deep in concentration, then clapped. “Hugh Grant inLove Actually.”

“See any similarities?” Odette quirked a brow.

“So I like well-groomed men with style.” Ginger toyed with the white pencil stenciled with the rescue’s red logo before jamming it into a bag. “Haywood is a far cry from Richard, Ryan, or Hugh.”

“Any hero worth his salt—or, in your case, red and green sugar sprinkles—needs to be redeemed.” Willa Leigh had abandoned the task at hand, pulled into Odette’s proposal. “Kobe was easy because we were already in love, but it still cost him $2.5 million.”

“Which provided this state-of-the-art facility for Love Beach’s homeless and hapless animals.” Tears shimmered in Odette’s eyes as she gazed loving around the brand-new building.

“If ever a man needed saving, it’s Haywood. Can you imagine what his childhood was like if he grew up to hate Christmas?” Willa Leigh looked troubled.

---