Page 8 of Sleigh Rides With St. Nick

"Yes, yes, I know.It's just an added advantage that it gets our toys into the hands of children who then cherish the memory until they're old enough to buy them for their own children."

"What?No, that's not the point."

He shrugged."Accidental bonus.You're just going to have to accept it."

I sighed."Maybe it's time to get out of the toy business.I can just buy what I need from somewhere else."

The look he gave me said everything I needed to know about his thoughts on the matter.And that was fair.We have some semblance of this conversation every year.Without the company, I wouldn't be as aware of what the children actually wanted for presents, and that would lead to disappointed faces.

"I much preferred it when you were just holding feasts," Pieter muttered.

"We're doing that too," I reminded him."It's next week."

"Yes, I know.I'm honestly surprised you sleep."

"It's only one month a year."

"And you could have stopped doing any of it years ago."

"Hardly.There are always going to be people who want to have a good night out, and children in need of presents," I said.

"And yet we can't use either for marketing," Pieter muttered.

"There are plenty of other things we can use," I responded."And if this marketing company we've contracted can't figure out what to do without resorting to that, then I don't think we should be working with them."

Pieter nodded."I won't say anything."

"When are they arriving?"

"In five minutes," he said."It's just an introductory meeting, all we have to do is tell them what we're about as a company, and anything we don't want to do.Or anything wedowant them to focus on."

"All right, I can manage that."I got to my feet and pulled my suit jacket off the back of my chair so I could put it on."Let's get this over with.I want to go down to the factory floor and make sure the toys for the sleigh ride have been put aside."

Pieter rolled his eyes but didn't say anything about my revelation.I knew he wouldn't.The sleigh ride was important to me, and he wouldn't do anything that compromised it, even if he did find it frustrating that I sometimes got caught up with the extracurriculars of the season rather than actually running the business, but that was just part of what the season meant for me.I'd founded Cringle because of the sleigh ride and getting toys to children whose parents couldn't afford much for the season.That would always come first.

And it wasn't as if Pieter didn't have his own hand in it.While he'd gotten out of the confectionery game years ago, he always made sure to have his pockets full of sweets to give to the children who came to the sleigh ride.His love of giving was one of the reasons the two of us had become good friends.

But what we did for the sleigh ride was something for us, and I had no intention of anyone from Miracle Marketing Solutions knowing anything about it.

Chapter4

IVY

I tried to calm the nerves bouncing around inside me.This was the first time I was working as the lead on an account, and I was under no illusions that it was because my bosses wanted to give me this, it was more that everyone else was busy and this close to Christmas there was no juggling two accounts.

Added to that was the fact that a toy company didn't have this kind of thing sorted months in advance, which made me wonder exactly how difficult the job ahead of me was going to be.No matter what the client turned out to be, I was going to make the most of it.There was no way I was going to mess up this opportunity to prove my worth to my boss.I might have only gotten this position by chance, but if I did well, it could mean better accounts next year.

The door opened and I got to my feet, smoothing down the skirt of my suit and preparing to meet my client.

My eyes widened and my mouth went dry at the sight of the man entering the room.He looked even better than he had at the Jinx mixer, with his silver-white hair neatly styled and the suit fitting him perfectly, the maroon shirt beneath the perfect pop of unexpected colour.

"Nick?"

My surprise was echoed on his face."Hello, Ivy."

The man with him gave him a strange look, as if not expecting us to know one another.

I cleared my throat."Sorry, that isn't how I was supposed to introduce myself.Hello, I'm Ivy from Miracle Marketing Solutions."I held out my hand.

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