Page 4 of Noel
“Bah.Freaking.Humbug.”
He laughs.“You’ll do fine.Just maybe smile once or twice.She’s been through a lot.”
I grunt, stand, and head for the door before he can say anything else sentimental.
A Christmas job.
A personal favor.
A client who probably thinks pepper spray counts as self-defense and sugar cookies count as breakfast.
Can life get any worse?
Yeah.Probably.
It always does.
“So when do I need to start?”
“Tonight.She usually leaves work late, so if you hurry, you should catch her.”
Well, that’s just super.
Chapter1
Holly
Big City Events, Midtown Manhattan
“Congratulations, girl!I heard you landed the Callahan account.”
Darlene’s voice carries across the office as I’m shoving my laptop into its case, my third cup of coffee gone cold beside a stack of contracts.
The place is half-dark—most of the team already clocked out—but Darlene Feinman never misses an opportunity to gossip.
She saunters over, grinning, her lipstick as bright as the blinking red reindeer on her sweater.
“Clementine Callahan!I mean, oh my God, Holly!That’s huge!The Drew’s House Holiday Gala?You’re going to be all over the society pages.But, girl, do you know what you’re doing?”
I glance up, tired but amused.
“I’m thirty-one, not twenty,” I scoff.“And I’ve been running events for six years now.It’s not like it’s some big surprise, Darlene.”
“Oh, puhleeze, Holly!”
She flicks her perfectly highlighted hair over her shoulder.
“You’re still practically a baby compared to half the fossils in management.But seriously—Clementine Callahan?Do you know how much pull she has?Between her father’s, now her husband’s, security company and her whole Volkov family connections.Not to mention those superstars she’s always photographed with.”
Her eyes go dreamy.
“Have you seen those men?I mean holy freaking hotness!”
I groan.
“Darlene, please.They’re all head-over-heels for their wives.And I got the account because I’m good at what I do, not just because Clementine and I go to the same yoga class.”
I giggle—and okay, maybe I’m lying a little.
