Holiday Promise (Hollyberry Harbor #2)

Chapter 2

TWO

The mail in Blake’s hands was forgotten as he met his nanny’s gaze. He’d never seen her agitated like this before in the nearly full year she’d worked for him. Her green eyes flickered with a fire he couldn’t place.

“I’m sorry, Melody. Is there a problem?”

“Yes, there’s a problem.” She moistened her lips and glanced to Thomas briefly before returning her fiery gaze to him. “You can’t.”

“I… can’t.” He mulled the words over. “What exactly is it I can’t do?”

“You promised,” she stammered, her face flushing. “You promised you’d spend more time with Max this month.”

Blake leaned back in his seat, finally understanding what she was referring to. “Unfortunately, plans change. Max will understand?—”

“No, he won’t.” She moved farther into the room. “He won’t because all he can think about his… his mother.”

Blake’s jaw tightened. It had been a year. The boy was doing fine as far as he could tell. And Blake didn’t appreciate her attempts to make him feel guilty over his need to run his company. He frowned at the woman who had practically been part of Max’s family for nearly a year. “I have clients and deadlines. I can’t control those issues and most of them need to be resolved before the holidays.” He steepled his fingers at his lips. “I shouldn’t have to remind you that my work is rather important.”

“And I shouldn’t have to remind you that your son is more important. Every year he’s growing. He’s learning and… watching you . This is his first Christmas without his mother. A child shouldn’t have to wonder if his father is prioritizing his work over his family.”

Blake huffed. “He wouldn’t understand that concept?—”

She placed both hands on the desk and leaned over it. “I assure you, he will.” Melody hesitated, her gaze darting again to his assistant as if Thomas knew something about what she wanted to say—or perhaps they’d formed a sort of relationship. She sighed, drawing Blake’s attention to her once more. “He’s worried, Blake. Max is worried that he’s going to forget his mother.”

Stiffening, Blake let her words wash over him. This was the first time Melody had come to him to discuss her concerns for Max’s well-being. For the most part, she had cared for his son without incident. If she was worried about this, then it was likely a bigger issue than he wanted to believe.

He sat up a little straighter in his chair, his gaze challenging her to say something more. Blake was still the boss. He was still the person responsible for her paychecks. “I appreciate your concern, Melody, but I would like to remind you that Max is a child. He’s resilient. There is no time like the present to learn that this world will continue to disappoint him at every turn. Life isn’t fair and obligations are more important?—”

“More important? Is that what you’re going to tell him? Because I certainly won’t. You lost your wife, but Max? Max lost his mother . And he lost her at Christmas—a time that’s supposed to be filled with magic and wonder. If you think for even a moment that it doesn’t matter what you do or how much time you spend with him, you’re a fool.”

Thomas sucked in sharply at Blake’s side.

Melody’s eyes widened and the coloring in her face grew even deeper. She blinked, then spun around and rushed from the room.

Blake didn’t move from his seat. He was stuck between wondering if he should go after her, fire her, or just remain where he was. Thomas probably had his own opinions on the matter, but he was too smart to voice them. That was one of the reasons that Blake had hired the guy. He was good at staying quiet when the time called for it and even better at voicing his thoughts when it was needed.

A lump formed in Blake’s throat. Was Melody right? Max had been doing fine from what Blake could tell. He wasn’t a troublemaker. He didn’t lash out. He had all the manners a child of his age was expected to have. For all intents and purposes, the kid was perfect.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t hurting.

Blake rubbed his jaw, his focus shifting to the pile of mail on his desk. He’d intended on leaving bright and early tomorrow morning with plans to stay in the city for three consecutive nights. It wasn’t unheard of. He’d done it before, several times and Max hadn’t seemed worse off for it.

Yet, the more he thought about it, the more he couldn’t get over one thing. Melody had mentioned the anniversary of Alison’s passing and it was like she’d torn open an old wound. Alison had loved Christmas more than any other holiday. She’d insisted on Blake taking most of the month off year after year so they could spend time as a family.

Guilt ate at him as he realized that he’d been dreading this exact moment. Once the holidays had passed and Alison had been buried, he’d managed to get into a good rhythm with work. But now that the holidays were once again approaching, he found the last place he wanted to be was in this house—with the memories of her.

Raking a hand through his hair, he sighed. The room was unusually quiet, though he was acutely aware of Thomas’s presence. Blake had been put in his place by none-other than the nanny. He might have expected the lecture to come from his housekeeper, but thankfully, Ms. Anthony hadn’t heard of his plans yet.

“Sir?”

Blake grunted, picking up an envelope with veiled interest. “What is it?”

“If I might offer my opinion.”

A groan slipped from Blake’s lips, but he didn’t stop Thomas from speaking.

“When I was younger, I would’ve given anything for my dad to spend the holidays with us. Like you, he worked hard. But we didn’t have the luxury of him taking off work. He was a store manager and the holiday season was one of the busiest times of year. If you can manage to shift anything around, I’d say that would be better.”

“Oh? And why is that? Because my son wants to spend time with me? You know as well as anyone that life doesn’t work that way. You can’t just expect people to drop everything because you miss your mother.” He turned to glance in Thomas’s direction and was surprised to see judgement clearly written on the young man’s face.

“No, it’s not just because he wants to spend time with you.” Thomas shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “It’s because you only get eighteen Christmases with him. Only half of those will he still believe in the magic of the season. The other half, he will want to spend less and less time with you as he develops other interests. Right now is the time that is most important. He’s watching you—learning what is supposed to be important in his life.”

Blake frowned. Everything his assistant was saying couldn’t be denied, and part of him hated it. He couldn’t make excuses for himself when it came to this particular issue.

Dragging a hand down his face, Blake sighed again. “And what would you suggest? I have meetings?—”

“I can set up video calls.”

His eyes darted to Thomas. “And what about all the deadlines?”

“This office is just as nice as the one back in Portland. I can oversee anything you need in the city. Spend some time with Max. Show him that he’s more important. You won’t regret it.”

Blake stood. “I suppose you make a good argument. That would mean you ought to take the helicopter back to the city tonight, so you’re there bright and early tomorrow. I’ll need an email sent out to the different departments notifying them of the change. And you’ll need to reach out to those on my schedule personally to let them know how the meetings will progress. I’m not sure all of them will be thrilled about my not being there.”

Thomas scribbled furiously on a pad of paper he held in his hand. “I can give them the option to meet virtually or in person at the main office, while you can attend from your office here. That way, if they don’t want to worry about having technical difficulties, then they have another option available to them.”

Blake nodded. “That should be fine. But I want to make it clear that if there is an emergency, then I’m available. No exceptions. I don’t want anyone thinking that I don’t value their business.”

“Of course, sir. Anything else?”

Blake pressed his lips together firmly. While he didn’t like this feeling—that he’d been strong-armed into doing something he wasn’t comfortable with, something told him It was the right course to take. He shook his head. “I’ll call up the pilot and let him know you’ll be leaving tonight. With any luck he hasn’t left yet.” He pulled out his phone and dialed the number. In a matter of minutes, everything had been squared away.

And he was going to be stuck in Hollyberry Harbor for the next couple of weeks.