Page 22 of Love Letters to Christmas

Brian frowns. “I’m not sure why you aren’t taking this seriously, boss.” He throws a hand out toward the presentation. “I added so many patriotic puppy pictures.”

Tone seamlessly level, Liam says, “They’re adorable.”

“Do you know how hard it was to find a chiweenie in an American flag outfit? I couldn’t. I had to ask Frank to photoshop a bandana onto the little guy. She said she’d do it for fifty bucks. I gave her fifty bucks so you could have a chiweenie in a flag bandana.”

“I appreciate your efforts.”

Brian plants his hands on his hips. “Andstillyou’re telling me no?”

Liam hasn’tsaidno. He’s not actually said much of anything. He has sat there. In front of us. And glared. Silently.

Brian begins pacing, cutting his fingers through his hair. “How many presentations do I have to put my heart and soul into before this poor deprived office can have another month ofjoy? How many times do I have to bother Frank? How many activities do I have to plan? How many spreadsheets! How many schedules!”

“Brian—”

Brian slices his pointer finger toward our boss. “No. No more excuses.” He sniffs. “Just tell me the truth. Is it HR? Have they banned whimsy?” His hand clenches in a shaking fist. “Micheal.”

“It’s not Micheal.”

Brian’s nostrils flare. “Erin,” he seethes.

Liam lays a hand across his face. “It’s not Erin, either. It’s not HR. We can only support one event of this magnitude a year, and I pick Valentine’s Day.”

Valentine’s Day…not…Christmas? I knowChristmasis my last name, but I don’t think I’m being partial here by finding it a bit odd that Valentine’s Day takes precedence over the most popular holiday in the world. Well. Not that having a month-long Countdown toFlag Dayof all things wouldn’t also have been odd, but if Brian saysitis actually the most romantic holiday of the year, then it is the most romantic holiday of the year, trumping Valentine’s by a substantial margin.

I lower my flags as Brian shakes his head. “My disappointment is immeasurable.”

My stomach twists.

“Bri—” Liam starts.

Brian lifts his hand and looks away, sucking in a dejected breath. “I’ll solicit fundraising.”

“It’s not the funds. It’s the distraction from work.” Liam threads his fingers together, muttering, “Our clients rely on us, and silly string battles in the lobby during work hours was not…the best business decision.” His shoulders slump. “In hindsight.”

Surely,surely, hindsight was not required to come to that conclusion; nevertheless, is not morale important in this building? Only happy employees can create happy clients! “S-sir?” I begin, and Liam’s heavy attention falls on me. Gulping, I say, “Is there nothing we can do? Even if it’s not at this scale…maybe some of the plans can still be used? The…least obtrusive ones, perhaps?”

Rubbing his jaw, Liam sighs and says, “Perhaps for Christmas we can reevaluate our capabilities.”

Brian points his remote at the projector and presses a button that shuts the whole thing down. “Welp. Thank you for your time.” He disconnects his laptop and tucks it in his arms, against his sweater vest. “A-mail-ia and I will be leaving early June 14th.”

Amber hums, cocking her head. “Really? You’re leaving the mailroom early?”

“Really.” Brian sniffs. “We’ve a wedding to attend. Please mark it on his schedule, Madam Secretary.”

Liam’s brows lift, and he looks between Brian and me. “A wedding?”

“That’s nearly as fast as ours,” Amber says.

“No, it isn’t.” Liam faces his wife. “It’s a month away. After our reunion, we were married in a matter of days. They’ve been reunited for over a month already. We were fastest.”

Brian, unamused, says, “It’s not our wedding. And there’s no race on who can marry their childhood friend faster. You’ve already, obviously, won.”

Satisfied, Liam settles back in his chair. “I have, yes.”

“Yet poor loser Brian can’t have his Countdown to Flag Day.” Brian turns thewoeup tenfold. “Back in my hometown, they have an entirefestivalfor Flag Day.”

They…do? I blink at Brian, wondering when that happened. How come I’ve only just left home, but I’m already out of a loop that Brian’s somehow maintained for years?

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