The Christmas Crush

Chapter 30

CHAPTER THIRTY

Elena thought of Lawrence first thing in the morning. To be fair, Lawrence made regular appearances in her mind all day, every day. Getting her daily caffeine fix recalled the morning he first made her coffee. Watching TV reminded her of the night they saw multiple holiday movies, his arm around her the whole time.

At her desk Monday afternoon, a fresh reason to reflect on him appeared, unexpected and thus more enchanting. She discovered his handwritten recipe for the gingerbread latte cookies in the notebook she’d brought from home to the office. Funny how seeing a simple thing like his handwriting could conjure him completely, make her feel he was beside her. She ran her finger over the blocky letters, the closest she’d get to him today. Both had packed schedules and wouldn’t be able to make the drive for a visit.

A few weeks ago, she would’ve thought nothing of waiting twenty-four hours to see someone. What’s more, she would’ve found it improbable she’d fall into addiction to any human being so readily. Sure, she’d had infatuations over the years, relationships she hoped would turn serious, but nothing compared.

One tablespoon of cinnamon.

Combine dry ingredients

Bake at 350 degrees.

Poetry.

“Elena, are you nuts? The meeting is about to start,” Priya hissed over the cubicle wall.

Elena bolted toward the conference room, arriving a millisecond before Derick. Sarah skittered after him, carrying printouts, lips set in a grim line.

“No one who’s been paying attention to the daily reports will be surprised, but there will not be any holiday party this year. The numbers don’t justify a celebration. Elena, you’re close, but Priya, you haven’t been able to turn Alan’s B region around yet.” He pointed accusingly at Priya.

Priya didn’t flinch; she glowered. “You just assigned it to me.”

Derick balked, hands falling to his sides. Priya never talked back in meetings—no one did. When Elena confronted him over his text about her night in New Hope, she’d done it behind closed doors, too chicken to put him on the spot publicly. Elena suspected Priya’s upcoming interview at a different company had emboldened her. A hint of a smile quivered on Sarah’s lips. Had Priya chipped a faint crack in Derick’s mighty facade? Elena longed to high-five her.

“Immaterial,” Derick spluttered. “We needed to do better as a team. This comes from upstairs, not from me.”

For the first time, it occurred to Elena that Derick’s aggressive style trickled down from a higher source. Derick panicking about bad numbers because he didn’t want to get chewed out by anyone in the C-suites gave her a cheap thrill. Maybe underneath it all, Derick wasn’t very good at his job. Maybe he didn’t have any more job security than the rest of them.

Rather than making her sympathetic, this prospect made her resent him more, because he didn’t use his relative power to try to improve anything. Treating his team with respect would make them want to do a good job to protect him. If they worked harder to help him succeed, he wouldn’t be in trouble with upstairs. Instead, he relied on fear and shame to cover for his own ineptitude.

“What is your justification for the numbers, Patel?”

“I already told you,” Priya’s voice wavered, but her posture remained upright and she didn’t look down. Even Elena’s dad would have been amazed by Priya’s bravery. “The region you assigned me in the beginning of the year is on target. I can’t be responsible for numbers I had no control over until recently.”

“Regardless—”

“Also, I don’t celebrate Christmas. Your holiday party didn’t serve as much of an incentive. You missed Diwali this year by two months.”

Elena almost sprang from her chair to hug Priya. “That’s a great point,” Elena said, trying to be bold to support her friend. “Incentives should be based on something the entire team can enjoy. Thank you for sharing, Priya.”

She saw Priya fold her shaking hands in her lap. Elena put a hand on her shoulder to steady her, astounded by Priya’s heroism. Derick screwed his face into a disgruntled frown, but even he knew better than to reprimand Priya for her valid point. Too bad. Elena would’ve loved for him to make a mistake that left him vulnerable to a lawsuit or termination.

“Moving on,” he said. “Sarah, give me good news from the test kitchen. They need to give us a special, exclusive flavor for the New Hope grand opening.”

Sarah jumped at the sound of her name, shuffled through her papers. “They plan on pistachio white chocolate.”

“Disgusting. I hate pistachios. The clock is ticking. Get down there and talk some sense into them.”

Sarah rolled her eyes, right to his face. What was happening? Were the tides turning? Had Priya’s protest shown Derick to be an ineffectual straw man? “I can convey your request, if you wish, although this doesn’t give them much time to pivot.”

“Never mind,” Derick roared. “I’ll handle it. Dismissed.”

Bubbles of excitement rose in Elena. Her limbs felt light.

“Not you, Voss.” Derick held up a hand to stop her. This time his anger didn’t make her heart sink and she didn’t have to try as hard to access her dad’s training.

“Yes?”

He waited until the other team members left the room. “Sarah is going to spend her life as an assistant. I don’t know what Patel is thinking. But you and I, we’re different. We have what it takes to be successful. I know we had our disagreements about New Hope, but you’ve done well there. You’re on track to hit the bonus. Sparkle will dominate that place.”

Her stomach turned, a bitter aftertaste from her morning coffee on her tongue. She would’ve preferred him sticking to his bullying persona. It was sickening to hear him think she would use his same unethical methods. “You and I aren’t alike, Derick. I’m not so thirsty for success that I’ll destroy everyone in my path. I’ll do my job in New Hope, but I’m not trying to leave behind scorched earth. There are valuable established businesses there I have no interest in running out of town. You’re not afraid of a little competition, are you?”

Derick scowled, and she half expected lasers to shoot from his eyes. She looked to the door, mentally planning her retreat, but forced herself to stand her ground. Rooting her feet to the floor, she made her body remain still. “Do not disappoint me,” he said, then marched away.

Elena collapsed against the wall, sucked in a wobbly breath. She’d poked the bear, first when she’d told him not to intrude on her personal life and just now when she’d joined in the growing insurrection. If she was wrong about his tenuous position here, he could destroy her reputation with Sparkle top brass, even make it hard for her to get another job by making sure no one at Sparkle would give her a reference.

Yet she couldn’t regret standing up to him. For herself, for her coworkers, and most of all, for Lawrence. Nothing I do in defense of Lawrence can be wrong.

She smoothed her skirt, arranged her hair, then used a tissue to dry her sweaty palms. Hovering by the door to collect herself, she closed her eyes. She pictured Lawrence with her, imagined him breathing and that she could feel the steady rhythm. The way he breathed when she lay in his arms as they fell asleep. Her frantic thoughts grew slower. With a final deep inhalation, she left the conference room, head held high.

Why was Derick loitering by her cubicle? He caught sight of her, a slow smile spread on his face. He looked at his phone screen, looked up to smile at her again. Was he planning to complain about her to upper management? Queasy, she took a step in his direction, refusing to let him see her unease. He nodded, then turned his back to her and returned to his corner office. He slammed the door, the angry thud reverberating through the quiet.