Suzy
“Darling, don’t you want any pumpkin pie?” Mom wants to know. Sitting next to me at the square table, she’s decked out in all her Christmas glory with dangling, glittery ball earrings, blinking lightbulb necklace, and snowflake bracelet. “I didn’t make it this time, I promise.”
“She’s watching her figure,” snickers Joyce in between scoops of pie dripping with whipped cream. “It’s that new man. Making her nutso.”
“I’m full,” I say with a measured look at Joyce, the petite but pretty table wreath wrapped around a votive candle glowing between us. “That was a lot of food, thank you very much.”
In her ugly holiday sweater, Kaia rolls her eyes. “No man is worth skipping dessert.”
Joyce points her crumb-filled fork at her. “I hear that, sister.”
“What man?” Mom perks up, sending her earrings swinging, but just as quickly deflates. “Not that same one, is it?”
“Don’t you know?” Kaia doesn’t downplay the derision.
“Bats,” I supply helpfully, reminding the table my safe word with Mom and her visions as I scoot my dessert plate aside. “I’ve not lifted it yet.”
Joyce mumbles something about best keeping it that way.
Mom huffs with impatience. “What man?” she asks again.
“Carlson.”
I kick Kaia under the table. She shrugs before tearing into her pie.
“This man’s name keeps coming up.” Mom takes her time to consider me. Tiny lights on the shimmering tree wink from twenty feet away as though counting down the seconds. “Why don’t you bring him over for lunch on New Year’s Day?”
That’s the worst idea ever, and Mom is full of bad ones. “We’re just friends,” I explain quickly, shooting a warning glare at Kaia. He’s also the new COO. Not a good idea at all. “It would be weird to invite him over when there’s nothing between us.”
“Except a condom.”
“Joyce! We do not speak about such things at the dinner table,” Mom reproves. “Christmas, at that. God, you remind me of your father. One time at a party for mediums, the man insisted on doing a naked séance. For crying out loud, even spirits were afraid to see that. They’d been through enough!”
Ignoring Mom – as we all do - Kaia waves her fork in my general direction. “Suzy’s right. There’s no point inviting him.” Before I can bestow a grateful smile, she continues, “He’ll probably be too hungover from that New Year’s Eve party.”
“What party?” I ask, frowning at her.
“Some party one of your coworkers is having. I heard everyone is going. Hector asked me to join him. Wait.” Kaia peers at me. “Aren’t you going?”
Melissa. She invited everyone but me. Even my sister knows about it, and she doesn’t work at HC.
Ignoring the bitterness rising in my throat, I try to respond as casually as I can. “No, not my thing.”
I’m fuming, but I don’t show it. Not when I’m stretching my mouth until it pains in a mockery of a smile for the rest of the meal, not when we’re opening the one gift we each received from the family member who picked our name, and most certainly not when I embraced them at the end of the long evening with the delicate scarf from Joyce hanging around my neck.
Carlson and I don’t really talk about HC or its people. He certainly didn’t mention his plans to go to Melissa’s on New Year’s Eve. Would he still go now that he’s an executive? Let Melissa the iWhore cozy up to him?
The thought has me smoldering all the way home.
I want to call him, but I won’t. I was the one who put a firm hand between us. We’re friends, I remind myself ferociously. Besides, he’s spending Christmas with his mother. I’m not going to be that woman that pesters him when he’s with other people.
Slamming into my apartment, I yank open the fridge and stuff the leftovers Mom insisted I take right next to the large container of beef stew Carlson made.
I found it sitting on my desk as soon as I got into the office yesterday. There was no note, not that I needed a hint. Thinking to thank him for his thoughtfulness, I called his office instead of his cell. After all, we were at work. Linda revealed he had left and was at various jobsites throughout the day. I texted him instead. His reply was quick but brief.
You’re welcome.
Beef stew never tasted so good. The tender, perfectly seasoned meat with carrots and potatoes simply melted in my mouth. He made me so much that I couldn’t finish half of it during lunch that day.
When my phone rings, I thought for a second that my musings have conjured up a call from the man himself, but it’s Gemma’s name that appears.
“Gem-Gem.”
“Su-Su! Merry Christmas!” Gemma’s blissful greeting fills my ear. “Did you have a good time with your family?”
“Same old, same old,” I tell her. “How about you?”
“You know Brad. He’s a lover of giving. He didn’t have much when he was growing up. Now that he has more than he needs, he enjoys making others happy. He’s chatting with my dad right now, so I thought I’d call. So, you heard the good news?”
“What news?”
“About Carlson being the Interim COO. Brad’s been on him about that for a while. Thank God Carlson finally agreed. Brad was really stressing out after Marty’s stroke.”
“Oh. Right.” I know this is a good thing, but I just can’t work up the same enthusiasm. “I’m sure Carlson will be great at it. Everyone seems to be in support of him.”
Including Melissa. She’ll be even more faithful in attempting to set her sharp, black claws on him.
“Everyone but you.”
Gemma’s quiet statement gives me pause. “I support him, of course,” I declare. As much as I want us to grow together without the possible interference of work, I’ll back him as much as I’m able. “I’m happy for Carlson and HC.”
“It’s temporary,” she reassures as though she didn’t hear my superficial denial. “I’m not supposed to divulge this.” Her voice lowers. “He doesn’t really want the job, but there’s no one else right now.”
“Why wouldn’t he want to be COO?”
“I don’t know. He wouldn’t say, and that’s one thing Brad doesn’t want to talk about either, but if Brad has his way, Carlson would take it on permanently.”
The CEO always gets his way, doesn’t he?
“Gemma,” I start hastily, knowing I have to clear the air, despite the fact I’m sure she knows how I feel. “I don’t know what you heard, but Carlson and I are just friends.” Perhaps if I repeat it enough, I can convince myself.
“Suzy.” She mimics my tone. “Come on. Don’t give up on him. He’s worth every second of heartache you might be feeling right now.”
Give up on him? That would imply I have a part of him.
“Heartache?” I scoff even as the organ in question is throbbing. “I’m hardly pining for him. Besides, he’s going out with Melissa.” Going out might be a polite euphuism for what she has planned.
Like a switch was flipped, Gemma’s voice instantly takes on a hard edge. “Melissa who?”
“Melissa the Office Witch,” I clarify scornfully.
“No, he isn’t.” Like me, Gemma can’t stand her. “I’ll kill him first.”
“Are you really that surprised? I mean, now that he’s COO, Melissa is all over him. More so than she was before.”
“But he doesn’t care for her,” Gemma insists as if baffled. “Doesn’t even bother to glance her way.”
He’s going to be doing more than glancing. “I overheard them, Gemma. He’s going to her New Year’s Eve party.”
“No, he isn’t,” she says again, only this time it’s with absolute confidence.
“He is,” I argue miserably. “I heard it.”
“He isn’t, because he’ll be with me and Brad on New Year’s Eve.”
“What?” I stare at the contents of the fridge, realize it’s still open, and shut it. “Since when?”
“Since today. We’ll be back in a few days. Brad wants to have a small get together. Champagne, hors d’oeuvres, family, and friends. That’s one of the reasons why I’m calling. I’m extending a personal invitation to you. Whatever you got planned, cancel it. We’re going to ring in the new year together.”