A Heavenly Christmas. Rhonda Merwarth

wasn’t decorated, either.

      Why bother when you were just going to take it down a couple of weeks later? It seemed like a waste of time.

      Eve ended the call, tucked her phone into her pocket, and went to the coffee station, greeting her coworker Carter as he prepared a fresh, steaming cup of java for himself. The thick smell filled her nose, and she could almost taste the concoction.

      “Coming to the party tomorrow?” he asked, pouring a dollop of creamer into his holiday mug.

      She chose a plain one for herself and grabbed the coffee decanter. “What party?”

      He looked over at her in disbelief. “The… office Christmas party.”

      “Oh. Right.” Yet again, she realized how fast December was flying by—and how much work she still had to get done before the end of the year to meet her personal goals. These Christmas events took up important business hours when she could be doing more for the company. Who had time for those kinds of distractions? She poured her coffee mug to almost full.

      “Tell me you’re not working,” he said.

      This was their typical conversation every holiday season—okay, not just Christmas time. The company liked to throw parties for everything, and she never went to any of them. “Well, while you’re drinking eggnog, I’m going to be improving our bottom line,” she tossed over her shoulder as she headed toward her office, clutching her mug.

      “I remember being like you once,” he said lightly.

      “Mm-hmm,” she said with a smile. Carter teased her, but he knew her dedication was to Crestlane Financial, to getting things done and making the company prosper. And she was a success at that.

      The morning passed in a fury of calls. As a financial consultant, Eve excelled at her job. She kept detailed notes of personal information about her existing clients, and potential clients, to make them feel important. Small things like that could make a difference. She kicked up her heels on her desk and rang up a potential client she’d been wooing, chatting with him for a few minutes. She asked about his daughter and her dressage lessons.

      “Yes, of course I remember,” she said, chuckling at his disbelief over her recalling something so minute. Okay, enough chitchat. Time to get down to brass tacks and make this happen. She plopped her feet down on the ground and straightened her spine. “Look, I am just gonna say it and let the chips fall where they may.” A hooky line she’d perfected over the years that worked wonders on clients she was pursuing. “Apex East is a solid firm. But what are they doing for you, three percent?” She paused then dropped her bombshell. “I can double it.”

      There was a moment of silence, then he said in his rumbling voice, “Okay, I’m interested in hearing your spiel. Let’s get together soon.”

      A warmth filled her chest. She had him! “Drinks tonight?” she said with a smile, then her grin got bigger when he agreed. “Yes, of course, très bien! I’ll have my assistant set it up.”

      “Fantastic,” he replied.

      “Okay. Bye!” She couldn’t hold back her giddiness now. This was going to be a good catch for them. Fontaine Fowler was a reputable pharmaceuticals company, and taking them from Apex East would be a solid victory.

      Her assistant, Liz, came through the glass door and paused. “You bought a tree?” she asked in shock, staring with large brown eyes at the scrawny, plastic green tree sitting against Eve’s far wall.

      “A client gift,” Eve corrected.

      “What color is that?” she asked, wrinkling her nose.

      “Celery?” Anyway, enough of that nonsense. Eve couldn’t keep the pride out of her voice as she said, “We need to set up and print a new client signature pack because I’m going to sign Fontaine Fowler.”

      “That’s fantastic!” her assistant declared, beaming. “I thought they were with Apex East?”

      “Yeah, but not for long,” she said in a singsong voice, getting out of her chair.

      Liz clutched a pack of folders to her chest. “That’s why you’re my idol.”

      She knew the woman admired her, but hearing words of affirmation along that vein gave her a flush of pleasure. Eve had fought hard to get where she was, and it made her feel good to have her successes recognized by those around her.

      “I’m going to sign one new client before the new year, and I’m going to beat out Carter for that partnership.” This was finally hers, the goal she’d worked long hours day after day for. Victory was on the horizon, and her dreams were about to come true.

      Not that she would be content to sit back and rest. No, after she became partner, she had big ideas to help the company be even more aggressive in finding new clients and maintaining their existing ones. Eve lived and breathed her job.

      Leaning over to check something on her computer, she instructed her assistant to book a table for the City Club at six and to note that she had a conference call at twelve-thirty with Gibson so she’d get him on the line.

      “Conflict,” the assistant said plainly. “You have lunch with your brother today.”

      Eve closed her eyes and groaned. Crud. “That’s today?” Apparently, the refrain for the day was going to be about how fast time was flying and how she couldn’t squeeze in non-work distractions—not when there was so much to do before the end of the year. Every second counted. The pressure of looming deadlines made her chest tighten.

      Seeming to predict her next thought, Liz added, “And you told me to not let you cancel again since you have three times already.”

      Eve shook her head, scrambling to figure out a plan to squeeze it in and still make her meeting. “You know what? We’ll book the conference room for noon. That way, I can have half an hour and catch up with him.”

      “Okay,” Liz said briskly.

      “Thank you!” she hollered as her assistant left.

      A half hour would suffice. Her brother would understand. This really was a crazy time of year for them. He knew how it went—she’d explained it to him enough, anyway. Eve pushed the thoughts from her mind and focused on the rest of her morning tasks. Emails had to be answered, and they’d wait for no one.

      “Hey!” Eve said cheerily as she walked into the glass-walled conference room. Her brother, Tyler, and his two sons were there waiting on her. “I didn’t know you were bringing the boys!” She waved them toward her and gave them big hugs. “What a great surprise!”

      “We wanted to make sure you’re real,” Caleb, the oldest boy, said.

      Her brother laughed at the flippant comment.

      “Where were you hiding?” Bobby, the younger, asked, peering up at her.

      “Hey,” Tyler said in a sterner tone, clenching the boy’s shoulders. “Manners.”

      All right, the comments from the boys stung her a bit; her smile wavered. She fought off the flare of negative emotion and said lightly, in an effort to change the subject, “Hmm. Okay, so big question. What do you want for Christmas?”

      “You already gave us something,” Bobby said.

      “What?” She frowned. She hadn’t done any holiday shopping yet; she never had the time.

      Not that she did it—Liz helped out with those things. But she liked to give Liz the ideas for gifts, and that had to count for something.

      “A company fruit basket.” Bobby’s voice was flat.

      She winced. Big, big fail. She loved her nephews and couldn’t believe she’d done something so bone-headed. How had that happened? Lines must have gotten crossed somehow. She’d have