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THE NEXT DAY AT WORK was terrible. And I mean...terrible.
It should have been fantastic—a huge milestone triumph. My coming out party into the world of financial business. I got to the office early, and with the utmost gravitas, solemnly placed my printed copy of the merger on Patti Macer’s desk. Her eyes widened as she picked it up and flipped through the first few pages.
“This has to be half an inch thick,” she exclaimed.
“It’s about three hundred pages.”
She shook her head in disbelief. “With a glossary and everything...?”
I stifled a smile. At the last possible moment, I had remembered the page Tom removed for our ‘work dinner’ last night, and slipped it back in. “Yep, it’s all there.”
She leaned back in her chair and actually took off her glasses, staring at me like she’d never quite seen me before. “Harks, I don’t know how you did it.”
I beamed with pride but contained myself with a casual shrug. “I had some help. Both Michael and Thomas pitched in over the weekend. It was really a group effort.”
Her eyebrows shot to her hair. If I had only said Michael’s name, I think there’d be a good chance that she’d shut the door and sit me down for an interrogation regarding inter-office relations. But Tom’s name was above repute. When I added it on, I saw her visibly relax. Then she picked up the merger and started smiling so hard, I thought it might split open her face.
“Jenna,” we both sat up a bit straighter as she said my name for the first time, “this is above and beyond all my expectations. I’ll be sending the California branch a letter of thanks immediately for all your hard work.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Don’t even mention it—I’m a New Yorker now. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.”
Like, seriously, please don’t mention it.
Then, in true, awkward Macer style, she rose slowly from her chair and slowly extended both of her hands. I wasn’t sure what exactly was expected of me here, but I took them as gravely as I could and held on until she nodded finally and I was kindly dismissed. As the door shut behind me, I paused for a moment, wondering if I’d just been knighted.
I decided I loved the idea.
And so, riding high on a wave of adrenaline, I took off down the hall.
It was like a movie. People came out of their offices in slow motion, clapping and cheering me on. People I’d never seen before patted me on the back and offered me their congratulations. I shook my head like it was nothing, walking through their rows of applause, but I couldn’t help but throw a beauty pageant wave Jamie’s way as he peered outside to see what all the commotion was.
“I take it this means you got the merger done?” he asked with a congratulatory grin as we headed down the hall for the morning staff meeting.
I tossed my hair back with casual arrogance. “Sure did.”
He cocked his head to the side. “Or I should have said, you got your part of the merger done? You know, you’re not the only one who worked all weekend.”
“Yes well,” I stretched ostentatiously, lowering my arms quickly as it pulled up on my already rather short skirt. “I think they just recognize true talent when they see it.”
“Uh-huh.” He gave me a sarcastic grin, indulging my victory lap. “So what do you say, Superman, should I take this ‘write to California’ memo Macer just sent over seriously or what?”
I snatched it out of his hand at the speed of light. The next second, it was crumpled up and tossed into the nearest trash. “What memo?”
“Goodness, I’ve created a monster.”
“A monster that just wrote a three-hundred-page merger, son!”
He blinked mildly. “Did you just call me son?”
My cheeks flushed, and I ducked into the conference room. In moments like these, I had the unfortunate habit of slipping into certain colloquialisms a girl like me just couldn’t pull off.
Once the rest of the office had settled down, Mr. Trask walked slowly inside, flanked by both Larchwood brothers. The rest of my co-workers sat up automatically a bit straighter, but I kept my eyes firmly on the wall. To be frank, I didn’t trust myself to look at either one.
I didn’t trust myself not to smack Michael across the face—again. And when it came to Tom...? There was a long list of things I didn’t trust myself not to do.
“This is going to be a very short meeting,” Trask said robotically, going through his list of notes. “First of all, I’d like to thank legal and PR for putting together something so quickly. I know it wasn’t a fun weekend for anyone here. But that brings me to my second point.” His colorless eyes peered out from overtop his papers. “Miss Harks?”
Every head swiveled around, and Jamie nudged me comically in the back. “He actually doesn’t remember which one you are,” he whispered with a chuckle.
Taking my cue, I raised my hand slightly, and half stood to get his attention. The second those eyes fixed on me, I tried to sit back down, but he motioned for me to keep standing.
“I’d like to take a second here to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of our most recent addition. Miss Harks was given this assignment in her first week, and managed to single-handedly write the bulk of the first draft—finally getting us back on schedule with the Chinese.”
The room burst into applause, and my cheeks flushed pink. “Oh no, it wasn’t just me—” I tried to say, but both Larchwoods were clapping along with everyone else. Blushing even brighter, I gave a small smile and sank back into my chair, intensely pleased but uncomfortable with all the attention.
When it finally died, Trask stepped forward again and began running through the rest of his list. To be honest, I scarcely heard him. It was too caught up in the excitement of the moment. My first big day. My first big splash into the world of financial investment. And it wasn’t with just any company; it wasn’t with some second rate Wall Street firm.
This was Larchwood. It was exactly where I wanted to be.
“Which brings me to my final point—the company retreat.”
There was a low murmuring all around me, and I looked up in surprise. Larchwood had company retreats? For a second, I imagined a five class resort in the Bahamas. A kind of super-concentrated spa. People bathing in sunsets and rum. Luxury hotel rooms...
My eyes flickered to Tom before I could stop myself, but he was staring straight ahead, face drained of all emotion as he listened to whatever Trask was saying now. Michael, on the other hand, didn’t miss a thing. I saw his wide smile in my periphery, and I dropped my eyes quickly to my lap, praying for the end of the meeting.
I didn’t have to wait long. All at once, the lights snapped on, and people started filing out. I squirmed my way to the door through a crowd of ‘great job, Jenna!’ and ‘congratulations, Jenna!’ My face, it seemed, had been stained a permanent shade of pink, and I was still beaming when I was accidently half shoved right into Tom.
And that...is when my perfect day came to an end.
“Sorry, Tom,” I grinned quickly, “I didn’t mean to—”
“Congratulations, Miss Harks.”
The voice was stiff and formal. No sign of recognition. No hint of anything we’d shared the night before. But while I had been expecting that, what I wasn’t expecting was for him to bypass normal and swing completely in the other direction.
I looked up in surprise, but he was already halfway down the hall, his perfect hair disappearing into the crowd as he weaved his way back to the elevator to ride it to his own floor at the top of the building. My mouth fell open as I watched him go, a strange lump hardening in the back of my throat. But before I could make heads or tails of it, another mid-level executive came up to offer his congratulations, and I pasted a hasty smile on my face.
I didn’t know if it was fooling anybody. I didn’t know if it was even fooling myself. But I kept at it with a vengeance, refusing to let myself slip.
Only once did my eyes wander to the elevator at the end of the hall, but again, the only person to notice was Michael. In fact, Michael seemed to be watching the day’s developments most carefully. He stood up the second our eyes met—to apologize, congratulate—I didn’t know what, but I didn’t care. The instant he started heading toward me, I headed straight back to my office. It wasn’t until I was sitting behind the heavy desk that I realized the door didn’t have a lock. But fortunately, although I saw his feet pause on the other side, he at least had the decency not to come in.
The rest of the day passed quickly. At a company like Larchwood, there was always more to do, and although the first draft of the merger was complete, by five o’clock, Macer had loaded up my desk with enough things to keep me busy until the end of the year. I stuffed them all into my briefcase and stumbled to the lobby along with everyone else when it was time to go home.
On the way back, I ducked into Starbucks. I couldn’t tell you what made me do it. Maybe I was half hoping to see him again. Maybe I was hoping to make sure that there really was an upper floor and I hadn’t made up the entire whirlwind weekend in my head.
Although Alicia shot me a quick smile on my way in, no one came by to take my coat. The manager didn’t come out to make my drink; there was no cinnamon flower on top. I paid quickly and left, chiding myself all the while.
What had I been expecting? To find everything as it had been the day before? I was the one who had said that it would be like it had never happened. I couldn’t exactly be hurt when things went back to normal. But no matter what I did or how I rationalized it to myself, I couldn’t shake the heartless look in Tom’s eye as he stared down at me. That wasn’t normal.
I had expected him to be distant, but I hadn’t expected him to be cruel.
And I certainly hadn’t expected to get hurt in the process...
The rest of the week was even worse.
Not only was Tom aloof and cold, but he started actively ignoring me. I would walk into a room—he would leave. I would cc him in an email. I would get a response only through a third party. It got to the point where Patti Macer took me aside one day and discreetly asked if there had been some sort of confrontation between us to set him on edge. I didn’t know what to tell her. She then told me it takes him awhile to warm up to new employees. If I remembered correctly, he seemed to warm up to me pretty good. In the end, I simply played dumb and was dismissed back to my office.
When I got to work on the Friday before our holiday break, there was a large bouquet of flowers on my desk. I closed my eyes in momentary relief. Finally—at least he made some sort of contact. But while my heart soared, my mind reeled back in horror. Sure, I was thrilled to have received some kind of token, but couldn’t Tom have at least tried to be a little discreet while we were at work?
“Got a secret admirer, Jenna?” Jamie called from across the hall.
I grinned and shut the door, quickly making my way over to the desk so I could read the card. I wondered if he was going to apologize for his behavior all this week. I wondered if he was going to invite me back for another ‘work dinner.’ A little smile crept up my cheek at the idea. But when I opened the card, the smile melted right off my face.
Dear Jenna,
So proud of you for all your hard work.
Always thinking of you.
Love, Grandma
Let me take this moment to say...my grandma was dead.
My whole body froze, temporarily lost in the overwhelming aroma of roses. I was still staring in bewilderment at the card when my door pushed open, and Michael stuck his head inside. “I hope you like my present.”
My eyes flickered twice between him in the card, before my face clouded in anger. “This was you? You sent these?”
He flashed a quick grin. “Well, I didn’t want to sign them myself and make a big deal of things at the office. Discretion’s the name of the game, you know. So I used a code name, so I’d be incognito.”
Before I had a chance to retort, he breezed back down the hall, leaving the door wide open in his wake. With a little shriek of frustration, I tossed the card in the trash and slammed it shut behind him. It was still very early. Hardly anyone was in the office yet, and I wasn’t really afraid of who might see. Tensions were so high these days, what with Christmas just around the corner, they probably wouldn’t have thought anything of it anyway.
With a grand sigh, I slumped into my chair, dropping my face into my hands. How did a week that started so magnificently end in such a depressing rut. Tom had been avoiding me like the plague—which not only hurt my feelings but started office rumors that I’d offended him in some great way. Michael was finding every excuse possible to stop by, and now, had apparently started sending flowers; and Macer had decided after the merger and our strange two-handed-handshake that I was some kind of superwoman and was giving me the workload of five people.
All in all—things sucked!
There was another knock on my door. My head snapped up in irritation. Oh, the man certainly had some nerve.
“What?!” I demanded, up and ready for round two.
Much to my surprise, it was Tom, not Michael, who stepped inside.
For a second, we just stared at each other. The terrible week hung unspoken in the air between us, and he opened his mouth with an apologetic frown. Then his eyes came to rest on the bouquet of roses. All at once, his hesitant expression darkened dramatically as whatever he was going to say flew right out the window.
“Who are those from?” he asked with soft menace. “Your boyfriend?”
That’s when I snapped.
My eyes narrowed, and I stood up slowly behind my desk, fixing him with a scalding glare. He didn’t get to be an overly-distant jerk and leave me to answer awkward questions all week, and then come over the second he saw some roses. It didn’t work like that.
I snatched up my copy of the merger and kicked my rolling chair halfway across the room as I stormed past him on my way out. “They’re from my dead grandma!”
Five minutes later, I was in the copy room. My face flashed neon blue as the machine scanned each page of the merger, humming mechanically as I angrily switched out the papers after every turn. This was intern’s work. Assistant’s work. The work that I’d be doing if Katie McGill hadn’t gotten back on that plane to California. But despite the somewhat cramped and musty quarters, I rather liked it down here. At least I knew for a fact that I wouldn’t be running into any Larchwoods in the copy room.
“Jenna?”
Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!
I whirled around in frustration. “What do you want, Tom?” Before he could say anything, I quickly added, “And I thought it was ‘Miss Harks.’”
He slipped inside and shut the door behind him, eying my face with caution. “Why are you in the copy room?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said. The machine beeped and I shoved another paper inside. “And what do you care? I’m surprised you even know where this place is.”
“I had to ask someone,” he said.
“Seriously?”
“Kidding. Just trying to lighten the mood.”
When he didn’t get a reaction, he stepped closer, resting a tentative hand on the merger to stop my constant motion. “Will you—will you stop and talk to me for a minute?”
“Now you want to talk?” I asked scathingly. “Okay, fine Tom. What do you want to talk about? How you’ve been openly snubbing me for the past week? How this entire office thinks I must have run over your dog or something because of the way you’ve been treating me?”
He sighed, so soft I could barely hear. “That wasn’t my intent.”
“Well, that’s certainly what happened.” I finally abandoned my frantic copying and turned around to face him. “You know, it’s just my second week here, Tom. I can’t afford to have any kind of scandal with the boss. So we kissed. Who cares? Why couldn’t you just have acted normal about it instead of treating me like some kind of pariah?”
He rallied defensively. “I was trying to treat you just like everyone else.”
I folded my arms sarcastically across my chest. “Really? Do you up and leave the room whenever Jamie walks inside? How do you think that makes me look, Tom?!”
He threw up his hands in frustration. “Well, what do you want me to do?”
“Just be normal,” I emphasized each word. “Treat me normally, look at me normally!”
“How am I supposed to look at you normally?” he shouted back. “How am I supposed to look at you at all, when all I want to do is—”
He was on me the next second, mouth coming down hard over mine before I had the chance to refuse. I jumped up onto his waist as he slammed me back against the wall. He held me there with one hand, lips trailing their way down to my collarbone.
I pushed on his chest as hard as I could. It wasn’t strong enough to move him, but it certainly caught his attention and he immediately stopped. We stared at each other, panting before I spoke.
“What the hell are we doing?”
He took a step away, and I slid to the floor. The door wasn’t even locked. He wedged his foot against it as a precaution as he looked at me.
“This...is not working.” His heated eyes raked over every inch of my skin as he smoothed back his hair and pulled himself together. “I can’t focus. I can’t think—”
“So what do you suggest we do about it?” I demanded breathlessly. I was just as out of sorts as he was, only I didn’t have my own floor of the building to run away to afterward.
He looked at me intently, choosing his words with care, before he finally made up his mind. “I have a cottage in the woods—upstate.”
“A getaway?”
“Spend Christmas with me.”
I blinked. “You want me to spend Christmas with you? And how exactly is that supposed to help this attraction, this chemistry we both can’t deny?”
A flash of dark mischief flickered deep in his eyes, and the corner of his lips turned up in an anticipatory smile.
“We’re going to figure it all out.”
“And what does that mean?”
“I’m going to take you away for a cozy weekend.”
“I’m not sure what you have in mind, but...”
“I promise it will be platonic and we’ll have separate bedrooms. But we can get away from the city and enjoy a cabin nestled in the snow-covered woods. There’s no pressure. It’ll just be two people getting to know each other.”
“You just want to spend a weekend trying to convince me to love Christmas.”
“Maybe.”
I laughed.
“All right.”