She got me there. It obviously could have. “Again… I’m really sorry about earlier. I had no idea you lived here. It won’t happen again.” Yeah, my assistant and I were definitely going to be having a talk about that mishap. Me walking in unannounced to an employee’s apartment—even if it was a store we owned—was grounds for a lawsuit. One we’d probably lose.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that. Kringle, too. Don’t let those bright eyes fool you… he loves his beauty sleep.”
I glanced down at the dog who was trotting around my feet, eager for any attention I was willing to give him. He was adorable with big chocolate brown eyes and golden, soft fur. I missed having a dog. We’d had a family dog growing up, but my apartment in Boston didn’t allow pets—and then Helena was allergic. Or so she claimed. And after we broke up, I had gotten a taste of independence, and I guess I’d figured that adopting a dog would force me to change my lifestyle too much.
Maybe it was time to change that.
“You know… there is an uncanny resemblance when you wear that sweater. If you open your mouth, I half expect you to speak in rhymes.”
I snapped my gaze to the mirror where I caught Avery’s reflection laughing at me. “Comparing me to the Grinch? I don’t exactly think that’s a compliment.”
“Who said I was trying to compliment you?”
My smile curved. I liked any girl who could give me a run for my money. But the truth was… I hated Christmas. Which was blasphemy in the Pohle family. I’d been trying for years to convince my family to open up other holiday-themed stores. How cool would it be to have a year-round Halloween shop? We could open a location in Salem, Massachusetts. But nope, not in our “brand,” my dad claimed.
But what about my brand?
Growing up a Pohle meant that our house was brightly decorated every year as soon as Thanksgiving wrapped up. People would drive by, just for a glimpse at each year’s decorations. I guess it didn’t used to bother me. I just never loved Christmas the same way everyone else in my family did—and growing up with it being so intense eventually made me resent it a little. But the final nail in the coffin was discovering Helena fucking my cousin with the pants of his Santa suit around his ankles.
I cleared my throat and gave Kringle a final, quick pat on his head. “Do you mind if I wander around the store a bit? I need to find an office area for myself.”
The playful smile and tilt to her head immediately vanished. “Excuse me?”
“Did you really not hear me? Or did you simply not like what you heard?”
“There’s only one office in the back. And it’s mine.”
“Mind if I look around?” I didn’t wait for her to lead the way. The building wasn’t all that large and there were only two rooms in the back that weren’t changing rooms. I opened a door on the right that said Employees Only and crossed the threshold into a beautifully decorated white office. A mechanical train set ran along the edge of the crown moldings. Victorian Christmas décor adorned the walls and door and the edge of a sleek, white desk.
“This is… this is beautiful,” I said. “Did you decorate this?”
She sighed from somewhere behind me. “Yes. You know the store’s budget… we don’t have interior designers or window decorators at this store. It’s all me.”
I blinked a few times, taking it all in. I wasn’t a Christmas person… but this almost had me getting in the spirit. “How come you don’t decorate the store like this?”
She snorted. “I tried one year… sales and foot traffic dropped way too low for my liking. Maple Grove has a ton of families… kids… they want Santa and Rudolph and Frosty. Not garland, and the Nutcracker, and Victorian teddy bears.”
“But it’s so elegant.” It could be a whole new way of selling Christmas. A high-end store, not just for kids. My mind was spinning with ideas.
“So, there you go. You’ve seen my office. Now, please—”
“Looks big enough to share to me.” I really wasn’t trying to be difficult. At least not entirely. I did need an office here in the shop. I crossed over to the opposite wall where there was a pile of toys and a stack of wrapped gifts. “If we move these out of the way, I could even fit another desk right here.”
“Don’t touch those,” she snapped. Huffing a sigh, she dropped her hands to her hips, the bells on her sweater jingling with the movement.
“Is it inventory? I can help you get them priced and on the floor.” I lifted one of the toys, still in its box, and titled my head. We don’t carry this doll.
Avery snatched the doll from my hands. “It’s not inventory,” she said. “They’re donations. I collect them every year for children in group homes who aren’t so fortunate.”
My heart softened. “That’s what that tree is out front? It has items that kids are asking for?”
She nodded, clutching the doll to her chest before gingerly setting it back on top of the pile and securing a tag taped to the front with a little girl’s name scribbled in crayon. “That’s right. This program means a lot to me.”
I could see that. After a moment of silence, I added, “We should offer customers a discount if they donate a toy… twenty percent off. Maybe twenty-five if they buy the toy here at the store—”
“This isn’t a marketing ploy.” Her eyes were fiery blue and her jaw clenched so hard, I could see the muscles working in tight pulses.
“I didn’t say it was. But if people get a discount, they might be even more willing to help.”
She sneered and made a little scoffing snort. “Here in Maple Grove? People don’t need a reason to help. They help because it’s the right thing to do.”
“What’s the population of this town?”
She gulped and stood in front of the pile, almost guarding it from me. “Roughly 5,000.”
I nodded. “Well, I don’t see 5,000 gifts on that pile. I was throwing out an idea to help grow the donations by even more.” On the side of the pile, a miniature racecar track caught my eye. It was exactly the sort of toy I would have asked Santa for as a kid… and I definitely would have gotten it on Christmas morning. We never went without in the Pohle family. “Just because I don’t love this holiday doesn’t mean I’m made of stone.”
She stood a little taller, but if I wasn’t mistaken, she seemed to relax a bit. “Fine. But there’s still not enough room in here for both of us.”
“Then I can help you wrap the rest of these and deliver them where they need to go. I bet there’s room in storage for them near the loading dock. Unless you’d prefer old Chris ‘Grinch’ Pohle to set up a temporary office out there in front of customers?” I held out my hands. “It’s your choice.”
She rolled her eyes. “Fine. You can work in here with me. I think my old office chair is still in storage if you want to get it.”
I smiled. Grinch: 1. Cindy Lou Who: 0.
Chapter 3
Avery
Making Chris put on the green fringed Grinch sweater was maybe a little mean. Then again, he did sort of deserve it. Even if I had zero intention of actually introducing him to the mayor who was judging the contest today. And I definitely did not want him coming to Nick’s pizzeria tonight for the ugly sweater contest results.