My Only Christmas Wish. J.M. Jeffries
and she’d never had to fight for something she loved before.
At the end of the tour, Eli sat across from her in her office. The notebook was opened on his knee.
“All right, you’ve been writing in that notebook for hours. Do you care to share some of it?”
He gave a short nod. “A number of things. First, I want to change the housewares department around a little bit.”
Darcy bit her tongue. Please, God, don’t let me have one of those maniacal cartoon-character laughs. She’d been waiting to drop this bomb all morning. “You can’t,” she said as calmly as she could.
His eyebrows rose in surprise. “If I remember correctly, I own this store. My signature is on the dotted line.”
“My stepfather was supposed to pass the information on to your lawyers. I was in negotiations at the time with the producers when you made your bid. And they said I should finish the negotiations and send them the final contract, which I did.”
She saw him frowning and wondered what he was thinking. She had the oddest feeling that her stepfather hadn’t sent the final contract to Eli’s people.
The sound of hyena laughter sounded in her head. “We are contractually obligated to maintain the store’s visual integrity, with the exception of seasonal decor changes, for the next six months.”
“Contractually obligated to whom?” he asked, his voice taking on a dangerous tone.
“WNTV—Women’s Network Television.”
“What does a TV station have to do with Bennett’s?”
“You’ve heard of the Personal Shopper Mystery books, you know, Homicide in Housewares, Larceny in Lingerie. WNTV is filming the TV show at Bennett’s. I signed the contract two weeks ago.”
His frown increased. “Two weeks ago I was trying to find a new nanny for Sophia.”
“I should think you would have had your people to do that.”
“Where Sophia is concerned, I do everything myself.”
She had to give him points for being a hands-on father.
“My stepfather should have informed you we were in negotiations. It’s not my fault.” She blinked her eyelashes at him. “How was I to know he didn’t carry out his responsibilities?” Surprise, surprise, she thought.
He sat back in his chair, his mouth half open. “That information did not make it to me or my lawyers. Tell me more.”
“The author of the mystery books, Amanda Montgomery, was not only a former employee, but my college roommate. I helped her get her career off the ground.”
She slanted a look at him, trying to read him. He had a blank expression on his face.
“And Zora Davis,” she continued, “who is the producer, was also my college roommate. And we just got together, worked out the idea and the Personal Shopper Mysteries were born. This is going to bring in an extra fifty thousand dollars a month and the employees are going to have a chance to make some extra money as bit players. The city of Atlanta is excited about this, too. And if the series takes off, who knows what could happen. Filming starts at the end of January.”
He could only stare at her.
“I apologize for putting a crimp in your redecoration plans.” She was so proud of herself, she almost burst. Darcy realized this was the first day and the first battle, but she believed she carried the win.
“Any more surprises up your sleeve?” he asked caustically.
“If I told you, they wouldn’t be surprises.”
He tapped his pen hard against the top of his spiral notebook. Darcy couldn’t help a thrill of pride. She loved irritating him. She knew she was being mean, but didn’t care. Despite his anger, he was still incredibly handsome and she felt a little tingle against her skin as she sat back, trying not to look too smug.
“You’re a very smart woman, Ms. Bennett.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment.” Even though she thought his tone was condescending. “I love this store. These people are my family, and I will do anything short of committing a major felony to save Bennett’s—unless it’s something glamorous and nonviolent. That’s always been a fantasy of mine. Darcy Bennett, art thief.” She sat back in her chair feeling incredibly pleased with herself.
His lips quirked and she could tell he was trying not to laugh.
“Go ahead and laugh,” she continued. “I won’t tell anybody that you’re not the big, bad ogre trying to steal Bennett’s from my poor, fragile little hands.”
He laughed out loud. “And that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. As I said before, I’m releasing the dogs of war.” He stood up and reached for the doorknob. “You said my office is next door.”
“To the left,” she replied. “It’s a corner office and it even has a window.”
* * *
His office was a couple dozen square feet larger than Darcy’s and she was right about the tiny window overlooking the loading docks. At least he didn’t feel so cramped as he did in her office.
The window was open, making the room icy cold, and when he looked out he couldn’t keep a chuckle from escaping. Darcy Bennett thought of everything. He could hear the sound of trucks pulling into the docks and the shouts of men on the dock guiding the trucks into their berths.
He closed the window and sat at the desk. The chair creaked as he sat before the computer on the desk near a file cabinet. This bare office was not what he was used to. Eli placed his spiral notebook on the desktop and contemplated his next move. He started to turn toward the nearest file cabinet when a knock sounded on the door.
The door opened to reveal one of the women from the day care center. She wore a blue apron over dark blue pants and white T-shirt. The apron was smeared with what looked like finger paint while a smudge of chalk decorated her nose. Her name tag said Ms. Jill.
“Mr. Austin,” Ms. Jill said, “I thought I’d stop by and tell you we’re getting ready to head down to the first floor to watch Santa’s arrival. The children then get the first chance to have their photos taken with Santa. Do you want me to inform you when Sophia is ready for her photo?”
“Ms. Jill—” he sat back to regard her “—how did you come to be the head of the day care center?”
She grinned. “At least one member of my family at one time or another has worked at Bennett’s. I graduated last spring with a degree in early childhood education and Ms. Darcy felt I would be perfect to get the center started, and run it.”
“Do you really like working here?”
Ms. Jill studied him with a tilt of her head. “I love working at Bennett’s. They have a scholarship fund that went partially toward my tuition and the rest I earned working part-time here like a lot of other people.”
“Is it mandatory for all the children to see Santa Claus?”
“No, it’s just that one of the perks is getting to see him first.” She paused. “Do you have a problem with her seeing Santa Claus?”
“She’s at the age where she shouldn’t believe in these kinds of social white lies.”
Ms. Jill looked at him steadily and said, “Mr. Austin, children need to have active imaginations, and believing in Santa Claus is part of that.”
He leaned forward. “I’ve already told her Santa Claus doesn’t exist.”
Her eyebrows rose. “Really, well, she’s been jumping up and down with excitement since she arrived, and I told her she would get to visit with Santa. I don’t think she believes you.”
“My daughter