Page 26 of UnLucky Christmas
Are you available to go to lunch later this week with my friend Janelle and me?
She responds immediately with a yes. We text back and forth, and I send Janelle a separate message.Lunch on Thursday. Prepare yourself to take a break.
I’m not expecting a response until after work hours. It wouldn’t shock me if she decides to work overtime the rest of the week to make up for her long lunch break. I don’t care what she says—that woman eats at her desk most days. I’m surprised she even takes bathroom breaks.
An email notification from Callie pops up on my screen.
Company meeting Wednesday at 9am.
Wow. I can’t remember the last time we had a company meeting.
I get up and wander to Callie’s office. Her door is propped open, so I knock before sticking my head in.
“I saw your email. What’s the meeting about? Should we be concerned?”
“Money,” she exclaims.
“Well, that’s always a fun topic. Are we getting raises?”
She smiles. “Let’s hope.”
I sit down in the chair across from her desk.
“On another note, do you have any venue suggestions for our Christmas party?”
She gives me a confused look. “I thought it was going to be at Janelle’s parents’ house like last year.”
I tell her about the surprise renovations deterring our plans.
“We don’t want to cancel it, but we’re running out of options.”
She frowns. “Aww…I look forward to your party every year.”
I sigh. “Tell me about it. After the past few weeks, it’s the one thing I’m looking forward too.”
“There has to be a place to have it,” she says, leaning back in her chair.
“A lot of the nice venues around town are booked up,” I tell her. “And some are out of our price range. Janelle’s parents’ home was free.”
She lets out a deep sigh. “Oh, good point. I didn’t even think about that.”
“Let me know if you think of any options,” I ask her.
“Of course. I want you to have the party.”
I return to my desk, but as the day goes on, I slowly lose the focus I had when I arrived this morning.
As I spin around in my chair, my mind wanders, and for some reason Grant pops in my head. I’m not sure why, but I search his name on social media. When his photo appears of my screen, I suck in a sharp breath.
His profile picture is him and his mother. I recognize her immediately from the photos Macy showed me.
Grant may be one of the rudest men I’ve ever met, but the sweet picture of him and his mom does reveal one redeeming quality. He loved his mother very much. Other than that picture, there’s very little personal information on the page, and it looks like he rarely posts, which is another major difference between he and Macy.
I stare at the picture for longer than I intend to. I can admit Grant is attractive. Very attractive. And his smile is intoxicating—I’ve only seen it a few times in person, but it lights up his whole face.
Wait.What am I doing?
I quickly close my laptop. I think it’s time for me to take a break.
