You’re here!” Abbie and Katie cried, helping Charlotte from the car and into a group hug. It was obvious they were thrilled that she was home, but just as obvious something wasn’t quite right.
“Charlotte, don’t forget. Keep your eyes and heart open to miracles. They happen when you least expect them. All you have to do is believe,” Nick called out to her.
Later, she’d wonder how Nick knew her name, but right then, she was caught up in the moment. She was home and with the two women she loved best in the world.
They looped their arms through hers and hustled her to the glass doors.
“Come on, let’s go to Kate’s office, and you can fill us in on everything about Christmas,” Abbie said, holding the door open before once again putting Charlotte’s arm in a stranglehold. “Kate picked up the wine, and I went to the deli and bought you those mini paninis with roasted eggplant, zucchini, and fontina that you love. And, wait for it…a double order of grilled polenta topped with truffled mushroom ragout. Sounds delish, doesn’t it?”
It sounded so amazing that Charlotte’s mouth actually began to water. She was to food what Kate was to wine and Abbie was to beauty products. The last time Charlotte had a decent meal was two days before the infamous board meeting at Per Se with her lying, cheating husband. Still, as much as she was tempted to make a mad dash to Kate’s office, a warning alarm went off in her head. Even though she’d promised her father not to talk about the promotion with Kate and Abbie, they knew there was a board meeting tonight.
Which is why when her best friends tried to bodily drag her to the bank of elevators, Charlotte dragged her booted feet and yanked them to a stop. “What’s going on? And don’t say ‘nothing.’ You know everything that goes on at Bailey, Abbie, which means you know that, in less than fifteen minutes, my dad is going to introduce me to the board as the new chief medical officer.” She crossed her arms when her best friends fake-gasped and shared a look that was more Now what? than OMG, that’s amazing! “Don’t try and pretend that you both didn’t know. As soon as Abbie found out, she told you, Kate.”
They deflated right before her eyes, and her heart deflated along with them. “He already told the board, and they shot him down, didn’t they? That’s why you didn’t respond to my texts or pick me up at the airport.” She squeezed her eyes shut and squinched up her face in an attempt to keep her emotions at bay. Her father was all about the stiff upper lip. He probably wouldn’t care that she looked like an idiot keeping her emotions in check, as long as she did so.
She’d been looking forward to seeing the faces of the board members the moment her dad announced her promotion. It was the public vindication she’d been craving this past year. For years, her father had treated Jeremy like the son he’d never had, and she’d started to feel like the daughter he’d never wanted. And as much as she may have understood why he kowtowed to Jeremy and Samantha’s demands and sent her away, standing in front of the board as he rendered his decision in their favor that night had hurt almost more than Jeremy cheating on her.
“No, that’s not it at all. It’s—” Abbie broke off as the doors to the elevator opened, and she gently nudged Charlotte inside.
“Don’t keep me hanging. What is it?”
“Just a minute,” Kate said as she and Abbie stared at the doors. They waited until they closed and Kate had pressed the button to the twenty-fourth floor before turning to face Charlotte, who by then had sagged against the gold-veined glass wall, suddenly more tired and disappointed than the week she’d been banished to Christmas.
“Maybe you should sit on the floor,” Kate suggested, obviously concerned Charlotte might end up there anyway.
“The elevator hasn’t been mopped yet. She’ll get her coat dirty,” Abbie said, though she looked like that might not be such a great loss. “Just…lean against the wall, take a couple of deep breaths, and…”
“Jeremy’s hedge fund bought up shares in Bailey, and he now holds a seat on the board. Between him and Samantha, they control thirty-five percent of the company. Twenty minutes ago, he called for a vote to remove your dad as chairman of the board.” Kate blurted it all out so quickly that she was breathless by the end.
So was Charlotte. She covered her mouth with her hands to slow her breathing before she hyperventilated and passed out. “Please tell me the board didn’t do that to my father,” she said, her voice muffled by her hands.
Abbie closed her eyes and nodded.
“We were trying to come up with a way to stop them. That’s why we didn’t return your calls or pick you up at the airport. We were…There was nothing we could do. I’m so sorry.” Kate rubbed Charlotte’s arm, glancing at Abbie.
Charlotte lowered her hands from her mouth. “There’s more, isn’t there? What aren’t you telling me?”
“You know how Samantha’s husband, Harold, died last month?” Kate asked.
From the look on her best friend’s face, Charlotte had a good idea where the conversation was headed and didn’t know how she felt about it. She didn’t love Jeremy anymore, of course. How could she after what he’d done to her and now to her father? She just wished he’d go away and leave them alone. “He married Samantha, didn’t he?”
Kate made a pained face and cast a glance at Abbie, who nodded and then added quietly, “They’re having a baby, honey.”
“Oh.” This time neither a stiff upper lip nor eyes squeezed shut could cover Charlotte’s reaction to the emotional hit. For years she’d tried to convince Jeremy it was time to start a family. He always managed to come up with an excuse that sounded reasonable and shut her down. And now he was going to be a father with someone else. Samantha had gotten everything Charlotte wanted, the baby, her family’s company, and her husband. “Merry Christmas to me,” she murmured.
Her response made her think of what Nick the cab driver had said to her only moments before. It was almost like the older man was psychic and knew what she was about to walk into. She didn’t believe in miracles, but boy, could she use one now. There had to be some way to stop them. “What about me? I have a voting share. They held the meeting before the posted time. We’ll demand another vote. I’ll talk to the other board members.” The doors slid open, and she took off, running toward the boardroom before Kate and Abbie could stop her. She wouldn’t let Jeremy and Samantha win.
“No, wait. Don’t go in there, Charlotte! You’re supposed to be in Christmas,” Abbie yelled after her.
The warning didn’t really register, but it wouldn’t have made a difference if it had. Charlotte had already pushed open the doors and everyone had turned to stare. Including her impeccably groomed ex, who’d claimed her father’s seat at the head of the long boardroom table. The table where he’d first boinked his new wife. Who knew, though? Maybe it hadn’t been their first time. Charlotte stepped further into the boardroom then froze when her gaze moved from Jeremy to his perfectly coifed blond wife, who sported a healthy pregnancy glow.
Jeremy frowned, looking decidedly unhappy to see her. What he didn’t look was ashamed or apologetic. “Well, this is a surprise. What are you doing here, Charlotte? As I understood from your father, your contract at CGH isn’t over until next month. Part of the agreement was that you weren’t to return to New York until your—”
“Really, after what you’ve just done to my father, what you did to me, you have the nerve to sit there and—”
From behind her came a groan, and then Kate was there, grabbing her by one arm while Abbie’s fingers wrapped around her other arm. Charlotte’s father leaped from his chair, moving to stand in front of her, blocking her view of Jeremy’s smug face.
Benjamin Bailey put his hands on her shoulders and whispered frantically, “We changed the term on your contract to protect you. It’s ironclad. He can’t break it without opening the door for you to sue. I told Jane we decided it was best to transition in the new year and gave her the month off with pay.”
“I have to go back to CGH? What about the job you promised me? I thought—”
Her father’s hazel eyes reflected the same desperation she’d seen in her own gaze in the months and weeks leading up to the night she caught Jeremy with Samantha. Charlotte blinked, startled by the thought. It didn’t make it less true, though. She just hadn’t been ready to face it until now. Her marriage had begun unraveling long before that infamous night.
“Please, do this for me. I’m not going to let them push me out, but until I can come up with a plan to fight back, I need to know a member of this family is still part of Bailey Healthcare,” her father pleaded, looking older than his sixty-eight years.
“Sorry to break up the reunion, but I’m sure, like me, the rest of the board would like to know what Charlotte is doing here. It must be something urgent for her to show up looking like…” He trailed off with a shudder, as if personally affronted by what she chose to wear to the meeting.
Abbie’s and Kate’s fingers tightened around her arms. “He’s just trying to goad you into giving him an excuse to fire you,” Kate whispered.
“It’s okay. I won’t let him get to me,” Charlotte promised as she shook off their hands and stepped around her father. “I’m here to present my interim report to the board.”
“Do you really think an interim report on the revenue of a small-town hospital in the middle of nowhere warranted a trip to New York? You’ve probably expensed the company more than CGH earned in the entire time you were there. Hmm, Danielle,” he lifted his chin at the woman sitting to his right, “make a note that Ms. Bailey’s expense account for the past year is to be verified down to the last cent. Now, if there’s nothing further…”
Charlotte curled her fingers into fists, fighting the urge to launch herself across the table and wrap her hands around Jeremy’s scrawny neck. There was nothing she wanted more than to wipe the self-satisfied smirk from his cocky face. She wouldn’t let him get to her. She wouldn’t let him win. “No, nothing at all,” she said in a measured tone.
“Good, then we’ll expect you at your desk at CGH at nine a.m. tomorrow morning.” He shared a self-congratulatory smile with his wife.
When Charlotte thought about it later, she’d realize that wasn’t the moment that made her head explode and lose control of her temper. It was when her husband’s new wife held Charlotte’s gaze and rubbed her noticeable baby bump with a smile that said, I won.
Her fingernails digging painfully into her palms, Charlotte managed to force her face into an apologetic expression. “Samantha, how rude of me. I forgot to offer my condolences on the loss of your husband. You have my deepest sympathies, truly. Harold was such a kind and generous man. It must bring you some measure of solace to know that he’ll live on through his child. Did he know you were pregnant before he dropped dead?”
Several members of the board gasped.
“What? Did I say something wrong?”
* * *
“Hold it! Hold the elevator, please!”
Now that was a voice Matt Trainer hadn’t expected to hear again—unless he did something stupid like call her. As far as he knew, Dr. Charlotte Bailey, former CEO of Christmas General, had left yesterday morning with no intention of ever coming back. The woman couldn’t wait to shake off the snow of his beloved town, which was how he’d known it would be a complete waste of time to even think about contacting her, no matter how attracted he was. And he was very attracted to Dr. Charlotte Bailey. He had been from her first day at CGH.
But while Charlotte had practically been salivating at the idea of returning home, Matt would never leave the small mountain town. The citizens of Christmas had welcomed him with open arms when he’d most needed it. No one here knew his story or why he’d turned down a lucrative position in California after his last tour of duty.
“Stop! Stop the elevator!”
Charlotte. Right. Matt stuck his arm between the doors and pushed back the left one to see the woman he’d hugged goodbye less than twenty-four hours before staggering toward the elevator with a large red purse hooked around her neck—swinging from side to side—while she attempted to drag three suitcases behind her. Continuing to hold the door open with his shoulder, he lifted his booted foot and hit the Stop button on the panel while stuffing the elaborately foil-wrapped box of chocolates from the local candy store, Sugar and Spice, inside his leather jacket to free up his hands. Dr. Paul McBride, the chief of staff, was away and had asked Matt to deliver the chocolates to Charlotte’s replacement
“What happened? Did they end up canceling your flight on account of the snow?”
“If only,” she muttered and gave the handles of her bags a hard tug when their wheels apparently stuck to something on the floor. Which caused the third and smaller suitcase to wing across the white tiles and bounce off the suitcase in her right hand, throwing her off balance. She tilted to her right and then overcorrected and lurched forward. His hands now free of the chocolates, Matt grabbed her before she took a header into the elevator. The purse swung around and whacked him hard.
“What have you got in that thing? Bricks?” he asked, unable to let her go to rub his shoulder.
Charlotte looked up at him, her eyes bloodshot and glassy. She was one of the most self-possessed and unflappable women he knew, but if he hadn’t already guessed that she was about to cry, the quiver in her bottom lip would’ve given her away.
“Hey, I was just teasing. It didn’t hurt that bad. Honest.” He smiled. But instead of reassuring her, she hiccupped a sob and did a face-plant into his chest.