Mix-Up under the Mistletoe (Glenbriar #11)

Chapter Three

Rafe

Friday, December 20 th

Morning

‘ S orry to do this on the last day before the Christmas break,’ Rafe said to the staff as they sat around the conference table. ‘But after we had the 1-Quick spies in yesterday, I just want to check in and make sure everyone is happy with the script and familiar with what to do if they call again before January the twenty-third. Katrina did an amazing job of keeping them out yesterday.’

‘I can’t believe the nerve of them.’ Marnie shook her head, dislodging her star deely-boppers.

‘Thing is, if we were the first company they’d approached, we wouldn’t have known any better. I’m not against working with other companies, but I don’t appreciate their methods. They’re very aggressive. We all need to be very careful with any information we give out to anyone from outside the company. This time, they straight up asked to see me, but I understand in Manchester, it was an informal chat with staff that led to the data breach, so let’s all be careful with what we talk about.’

‘Are we talking about customer details being stolen?’ Jonah, one of the project managers, asked.

‘Not in this instance. It was market research the company had carried out and showed various trends and pockets of growth in the area. 1-Quick took it all and targeted the customers with better deals.’

Jonah let out a low whistle. ‘Sneaky.’

‘Very.’ Rafe opened a screen on his laptop and connected it to the smartboard. ‘Let’s go through this and get it out of the way.’ He checked his watch. He was leaving early to drive to his parents’ house in Glenbriar, in Highland Perthshire. The weather for that area was looking decidedly ropey, and he wanted to give himself plenty of time. Snow was forecast for the afternoon and while road closures were unusual, they weren’t unheard of, especially given the location of the house. He may make it to the town but the house was some miles out and the long sloping driveway was a nightmare to negotiate in bad weather, even for the Raptor.

Everyone looked like they were desperate to get away and start their holiday and he didn’t want to be the Scrooge prolonging their working day any longer than necessary. He went over the protocols as quickly as he could, praying everyone was taking them in.

‘Right, everyone, that’s all. If you can clear your emails and get pretty much up to date, then don’t hang about later. I’m off early, and I don’t expect anyone to be here late. Get home and enjoy some time with your folks.’

Everyone wished him a merry Christmas as they left the room until only he and Marnie were left.

‘I’ll still check emails while we’re off,’ he said. ‘And if you need to check in, that’s fine.’

She smiled. ‘You need to switch off and relax. For someone who runs a travel company, you’re pretty crap at taking holidays yourself.’

‘Yeah. I know.’ He’d barely had more than a couple of days off all year. Occasionally, he took Friday afternoons so he could drive somewhere for the weekend, but even when he was away, he checked emails and kept up to date. Switching off just wasn’t in his nature.

His phone lit up just as he was shutting down the smartboard and he spied the top of a message from his sister. Opening it, he noticed she’d posted it on the family group chat.

GENEVIEVE: Look forward to seeing everyone today. Especially hoping to meet the wonderful Tilly (@Rafe). Hope she’s made it up from London to spend some time with us.

He rolled his eyes and shook his head, though he couldn’t help a little smile. He’d brought this on himself, after all.

RAFE: Unlikely. The staff at 1-Quick Getaways are exceptionally busy right now.

‘Spying on me,’ he muttered to himself. He now had a potential meeting with a Mitchell Hayward in January. Plenty of time to prepare for whatever they planned to throw at him.

Another message pinged in.

MUM: Oh, that’s a shame. I’d really love to meet her. I hear she has a beautiful smile. Let’s hope she gets the time off.

He shook his head and chuckled. Seriously? Genevieve had properly fallen for his story. But this couldn’t go on all week. Still, if it stopped his mum trying to set him up with her friend’s children over the festive period, he might eke it out a little longer. Then he and Tilly could ‘split up’ after Christmas. Definitely not before. He didn’t want to have to act heartbroken. He’d just have to play it down and say they were still in early days. The distance was proving awkward, and he was too emotional to talk about it. At least that would give him plenty of excuses to hide in his room when he was pretending to call her.

Not that he wanted to avoid his family. He didn’t mind the banter, but sometimes it got too much. His mum was well-meaning, but she didn’t seem to accept that people didn’t have to be married or in a relationship to be happy. And then there was his dad, who was desperate for Rafe to take on his business. While they got on well for the most part, there was a lingering sense of disquiet between the two of them. Dad was closing in on retirement and he was desperate to pass his company onto one of his children. Rafe was the obvious choice. He had the right business background, but the fact he’d started his own business and not wanted to work with his father had always been a niggling source of irritation between them. Even if Dad didn’t often say so out loud, it was always there, like somehow he’d stepped off the expected path and was causing grief just by doing his own thing. Guilt nibbled at his insides when he thought of his dad having to sell the company he’d built from scratch when he retired, but it didn’t change the fact that Rafe had his own business. Why couldn’t that be equally as important?

Before he left the office, he toyed with the idea of emailing the CEO of 1-Quick Getaways, saying he didn’t appreciate their methods, but he left it. What was the point? It was Christmas, after all. He packed away his laptop and collected his coat.

The Christmas tree in the main office twinkled, and Marnie was humming ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ as he went over to say goodbye. ‘Hope you have a good Christmas,’ he said. ‘And that your wee one is suitably spoiled.’

Marnie beamed. ‘Oh, he will be. Don’t worry. Santa will have to visit a chiropractor after lugging his sack down our chimney.’

Rafe chuckled. ‘Gotta love it for the kids, eh?’

‘Sure do. I hope you have a good time too.’

‘Well, you know how much I love Christmas.’

‘Don’t we all? As soon as you’re out of here, we’re putting on the Crimbo Mega-mix and getting out the crackers and party hats.’

‘I might have known.’

‘Seriously, have a proper break,’ Marnie said. ‘Take some me-time and do something for yourself.’

‘I honestly have no idea what that would be.’

‘Ask Santa to bring you something nice… You never know what you might get.’

‘I’ll try that.’ He waved goodbye to everyone and left, fully expecting to hear Slade at full volume before he got to the bottom of the stairs. He said goodbye to Katrina and made his way into the cold. Snow was rare in the city but that still, almost too silent feeling had settled over the busy streets. He’d always thought it silly when people said they knew snow was coming because they could feel it, but now he understood.

His phone buzzed, and he checked it again. The family group chat had more new messages, including one from his almost-eighty-year-old grandma – who had a love of social media and texting.

GRANDMA: Ooh, I’m intrigued. I was going to stay at home this weekend and come over on Christmas Eve, but if there’s a chance of meeting your girlfriend, I’m on my way over. Can you give me a lift, Genevieve?

GENEVIEVE: Sure thing. Be over soon x

Rafe groaned, passing festive displays in shop windows and catching snippets of Christmas music from inside. This was getting worse. Too late to head granny off at the pass if she was already on her way to the house.

He made his way to the subway, affectionately known in Glasgow as the clockwork orange – due to its colour more than its schedule. Though, to be fair, delays were unusual. Marnie’s words fluttered back. What would he ask Santa for if he could have anything in the world? His dad would ask for him to takeover the business. His mum would ask for him to find the perfect partner. Maybe deep down he shared her wish, though he didn’t think he’d leave it up to a man in a red suit to decide on his life partner. The sensible thing would be to start up his dating apps again. Maybe that could be his new year resolution – after he’d split with Tilly Thorpe.

It would be a lot simpler if she would just come to life and save him from having to make up yet more stories. Ha, what would Genevieve make of that? Did she really believe all this? Or was she now winding him up in return? That seemed more likely. Ah, well, he could always suck it up with the mince pies and mulled wine and confess. They could all have a good laugh at him. Grandma would tell him off for dragging her away from her cosy house on a wild goose chase, but at least they’d all be together.

As he entered Buchanan Street, the huge Christmas lights above were dazzling. The faint sound of the brass band trumpeting ‘Once in Royal David’s City’ was almost lost in the low buzz of traffic and chatter. Why couldn’t he fall in love with Christmas? He wanted to look around and see magic, but all he saw was glitter and consumerism. Sure, it was great for business – people loved a festive break – but that was about the most joyful thing he saw in it. As soon as it was all over, business would do another boom with people looking to escape the January blues by booking holidays. That was what he was looking forward to, but it seemed kind of mercenary. Maybe his Christmas wish should be to find the magic in Christmas again. It hadn’t always felt as flat as this.

He dropped a twenty-pound note into a homeless guy’s cup before dashing down the stairs to the subway, not waiting for a reaction. He didn’t need thanks or praise, but maybe it would buy him some credits with the universe and help make one of his Christmas wishes come true.