Page 62 of A Cozy Kind of Christmas
“Cabin-ish?” she shot back, closing the door behind them. “You’re the guy—the wordsmith—who’s going to run my department? Great. Insult to injury.”
“Oof, brutal,” he said, still smiling. “But fair.”
“I’ll say.” She moved to the living room with a purpose.
“Okay, first of all, you can add ‘ish’ to anything these days without getting an infraction from the grammar police,” Connor said, adjusting the flowers. “It’s perfectly acceptable. And for the hundredth time, I am not running your department.”
“Oh, right, sorry. My bad.” Johanna patted her chest twice and glared at him. “You’re taking over the entire operation.”
“Johanna, come on. Don’t be like that.” Connor trailed at her heels and surveyed the cozy space. “Where should I put these?”
“There.” She pointed to the coffee table. “Anywhere. It doesn’t matter. I’m going to trash them anyway.”
Connor carefully rested the flowers and chocolate on the coffee table. Then he propped himself on the edge of the couch and pressed his hands together, giving her his best puppy dog stare. “Can we please talk about this?”
“What do you want to say? You interviewed for a job you knew I’d been preparing for for weeks—years, honestly—without bothering to tell me. You went behind my back and interviewed for the job I’ve been working my ass off for, landed said job, and now for all intents and purposes, you’re my boss.” She threw her arms across her chest. “How did I do? Does that pretty much sum it up?”
“Yes, but no.”
“There’s no such thing as a ‘yes but no,’” she snapped. “Need I remind you of the rules of English grammar again?”
“Yes, you nailed the summary of our situation,” he said calmly. “But no, that’s not how everything went down. I didn’t apply for the job.”
“Oh, sorry. Forgive me. You got me there. So you gothandedthe job without jumping through dozens of hoops, perfecting your pitch, without the months of playing office politics like me. And now you’re upset because I’m mad and not going to slip back into bed with you? Is that more accurate?”
“Sleeping with you would be a major HR violation if I were your boss.” He narrowed his eyes seductively, running them from Johanna’s head and letting them linger on her chest for a moment.
“Exactly!” Johanna’s voice turned cold. “You just proved my point. This is why there’s nothing more for us to discuss.” She stepped back, giving him a hard stare. “It’s a shame you wasted your hard-earned promotion cash and a full day flying all the way across the country for what? One more ego trip?”
Connor flinched.
Then he exhaled slowly and stood up.
“No, you still don’t get it.” His voice was solid and controlled now. “I turned it down, Jo. I’m not taking it. I never was.”
Her breath caught.
“I’m not going to be your boss because I didn’t take the goddamn job.” Connor flung his hands in frustration as he spoke. Then he paused and took a slow breath, meeting her eyes. “I said no, Jo. I told them no. I don’t want the job. I want you.”
FORTY
MEG
Meg sipped the hoppy Christmas beer, tasting a hint of chocolate and cranberry, and stirred the hearty corn chowder before returning her attention back to the letter.
I’m sorry for letting you leave that day. I’m sorry I didn’t chase after you. I should have. If anyone should have left their job, it was me, but I was scared, Meg. You’ve always been the brave one. Jill and I talk about it all the time. We wish we could be as fearless as you.
Fearless?
Ha!
Meg didn’t have enough fingers to count everything she was terrified of.
Spiders.
Snakes.
Heights.
