Katlyn Duncan - Wrapped Up for Christmas

The woman wrinkled the paper bag of bagels she held close to her chest as if she wasn’t willing to let it go without a fight. ‘Please try again.’

The door opened, letting another gust of cold air into the café, and three more people joined the already growing line.

Vickie shrugged, holding the card between two fingers. ‘I’ve tried it twice, and it’s not going through.’

The woman lowered her voice. ‘Please try it one more time.’

Vickie sighed and tried again.

The same double beep sounded from the machine.

Vickie raised her thick eyebrows at the woman. ‘Do you have cash?’

The woman blew out a breath. ‘I can’t believe this.’

‘Do you have another card?’ Vickie made a point to examine the line behind them. It was almost to the door now.

‘What’s the hold-up?’ someone behind them asked.

Nick glared at the guy.

The woman at the counter looked as if she wanted to crawl into the bag she gripped in her hands.

‘Here,’ Nick said, handing his card to Vickie.

The woman scowled at him. This time her eyes held an edge of skepticism. ‘You don’t have to do that.’

‘It’s fine,’ he said.

Her eyes narrowed as she looked him up and down. ‘No, really.’

‘You need to pay for your stuff,’ Vickie said.

‘Just take the card,’ Nick said, handing it over. ‘It’s no big deal.’

Vickie swiped the card and handed it to him.

‘I’m paying it forward—’ Nick’s words dried on his tongue as the woman was already halfway to the door.

Vicki turned to the next customer as she slid Nick’s bag across the counter. ‘See you tomorrow.’

The woman was already at the door before Nick caught up with her. Couldn’t she even thank him? He misjudged the distance between himself and the door as two teens rushed inside. The door swung so quickly that the collision was inevitable. He braced himself as he gripped his coffee. The door nailed the lid, and the flimsy cup buckled under the weight. The searing hot liquid splashed his shirt, coursing down his chest.

The two teens linked hands and joined the line as if they had no idea what they had done. Apparently, it was a day for rude people.

The woman whipped around, and her jaw dropped at the sight of him. She gave an apologetic smile and wave before taking off across the street. The countdown of the walk signal at the traffic lights wasn’t enough for him to safely catch up to her.

Nick wasn’t about to get into another accident on her account. He curled his lip and sidestepped the door, grabbing several napkins from the nearby dispenser. He could go home and change, but his dad would never forgive his tardiness. There was no separation between family-dad and professional-dad. He was all in, all the time, and held Nick to a higher standard.

It was a good thing Nick liked to be prepared and had backup clothes at the office. All he had to do was make it there without his dad spotting him.

***

Nick trudged through the office, holding his coat against his sopping wet shirt.

‘What happened to you?’ Maya asked, sipping from her snowman-shaped mug.

Nick turned toward the head of Human Resources. Her cubicle was across the hall from his office. He didn’t have a lot of time to delay before the morning meeting with his father. ‘Someone rushed the door as I was leaving the café.’

‘People are insane around the holidays. Do you have an extra shirt?’ she asked.

‘In my office.’ He didn’t want to talk about the mishap anymore – though he had a few words for the woman who left him dripping wet. ‘How are the Christmas hires going?’

Maya smoothed a chunk of black hair from her face. ‘Only a few more spots to fill.’ Maya had come in as an assistant right out of high school and made her way up the ladder quickly.

Nick’s dad, Quinn Bower, popped his head out of his corner office and spotted him.

Nick’s entire body tensed as Quinn’s eyes met his. ‘I should go. Have Carrie send me the numbers at the end of the day.’

‘I know how to handle my assistant, thank you,’ Maya said to his back.

Nick smirked. Maya never let him get away with anything. After David left his position, Nick was there to swoop in. As the son his dad had never intended on working with, Nick’s first year was harder than all the rest. With David as a manager, Nick had passively sat by while his father and brother ran the corporation. Nick had proved himself over the years, but Maya never gave him any slack and kept him grounded when he needed it.

Nick opened the thin closet at the back of his office and changed his shirt. As he walked toward his dad’s office, he plastered on a confident smile while his fingers gathered the top of the paper bag in his hands.

‘Nice of you to join us,’ Quinn said, gesturing at Nick to close the door behind him.

Nick lifted the pastry from the bag in his hands. ‘It’s five of eight, and I picked this up for you.’

Quinn’s eyes sparkled for a moment before darkening again. ‘I need to speak with you about something important.’

‘Okay,’ Nick said, handing over the bag.

Quinn placed it on his desk before shoving his hands into his pockets. ‘You’re coming up in the business, which is great. But I want to discuss a move forward.’

‘What did you have in mind?’

‘You remember Jared Kent.’ Not a question.

‘Sure,’ Nick said, racking his brain to place the name. ‘He was into real estate. You went to business school together.’

Quinn nodded. ‘We’ve stayed connected over the years and are going to dinner this week. We’re discussing a new project, and I would like for you to attend.’

‘Really?’ Other than holidays or business lunches, his dad rarely wanted to share a meal.

‘I’ll have Rachel put the details in your calendar.’ Also, not a question. His dad already knew Nick’s schedule, especially during this time of the year. Maybe the Christmas spirit had affected him as well? Whatever the reason, after the morning Nick had had, his mood improved slightly. The moment with the rude woman faded into the background as he considered what his father had in mind for him.

Angie bolted across the street, holding the paper bag against her chest. She didn’t dare look behind her until she walked through the entrance of the mall. She couldn’t believe she had embarrassed herself like that. The first cute guy in a suit she saw brought her back to the foolish woman she had been with Brett. Then, her card was denied.

The reminder that things like food and clothing cost money reeled in her head. She didn’t think she had spent that much in her move back home, but last-minute plane tickets after Thanksgiving were expensive, along with moving her furniture into storage until she had found a permanent place to live. The severance check should have been enough to cover all her budgeted expenses.

Heat seared her cheeks as she glanced over her shoulder. From the furious expression on that guy’s face, she fully expected him to come after her. Thankfully, he was nowhere in sight. It wasn’t her fault those kids had knocked the door into him. She supposed he was upset she hadn’t thanked him for paying, but she was too embarrassed to stick around. Reese’s voice screamed in the back of her mind to run away. This was her chance to get a break from men like Brett, and she had failed her first test.

While the guy was attractive, their short conversation reminded her so much of Brett – the suit, the slick-backed hair, and throwing money around like it wasn’t a big deal. While it was nice of him, the fact that she had no money to pay for bagels loomed over her like a thick cloud.