by Krista Lakes
However, if his parents intended to leave the company soon, Nicholas would find himself needing to run the store. His parents didn't want to sell it, but they wouldn't want to see it closed down either.
He would be expected to keep it running. To keep it in the family.
He cringed at the thought.
He vaguely remembered his parents speaking of some trusted employee. A man? A woman? Someone they referred to as Head Elf. Someone with the job title Head Elf couldn't be trusted to manage a store profitably.
His parents’ retirement would call for his own involvement at Christmas Wishes.
And the mere thought of having to manage a Christmas-themed store sent forceful chills down Nicholas’ spine.
Nicholas realized with a start that he wouldn’t be getting any rest tonight. He moved away from the package and headed for his trusty espresso machine. He had work to do.
There had to be a way to make sure that he would never have to deal with Christmas, ever again.
Chapter 3
Molly
Molly was making her last rounds through Christmas Wishes, wanting the store to be perfect for the day's opening. She'd finally gotten the trees the way she wanted and they'd sold twice as fast. The Kerstmans had been gone for a few days, and to Mrs. Kerstman’s surprise, the place hadn’t burned down without her there. In fact, Christmas Wishes was flowing better than ever with Molly’s expert guidance keeping the shop up and running. With a free reign, Molly was selling more trees and ornaments than ever.
“Christmas ornaments unboxed?” Liam asked.
Making rounds beside her was seven year old Liam Miller, Christmas Wishes' Head Elf in Training. Liam was one of Molly’s second grade students. She watched him over the holiday season as a favor to his parents, but secretly she loved having him there to help her with the store.
“Check,” she replied, fixing a loose ornament on the shelf.
Liam marked the list on his clipboard and grinned up at her
“Rudolph and the reindeer?”
“Check.”
“Snowflakes?”
“Check.”
“Cookies and milk?”
“Chec—” Molly cut off her own sentence as she stared down at an empty cookie platter. “Wait. No check.” Molly held the empty platter out towards Liam. “Liam, did you eat all of these cookies?”
“No way. I’d get so sick.” Liam imitated a queasy expression before pushing the platter back towards Molly. “Maybe Hannah didn’t make any this year?”
Molly frowned as she thought about her best friend forgetting to bring the shop’s signature cookie platter. She'd never forgotten before. Hannah Johnson was the town’s resident baker and owned her own shop just a few doors down.
“Hannah wouldn’t forget. She might be a little late, but she’d never—”
“I’m so sorry! I almost forgot!” a voice said from outside. Hannah burst through the doors of Christmas Wishes as she raced to lay down her boxes of fresh baked, chocolate chip cookies on the counter. “There was such a rush at Sweetness & Light. I got sidetracked crafting a gingerbread house for Ms. Vincent’s church recital and—”
“Don't worry about it,” Molly assured her. “I'm just glad you're here.”
Hannah smiled and let out a sigh of relief before opening one of the boxes. “I got these done just in time. Careful! They’re still super hot.” Hannah directed her words towards Liam, whose hand was already dipping into the box.
“Thank you so much, Hannah,” Molly said, moving to give her friend a hug. “I know how busy you get this time of year.”
“Anything for Molly Carmichael,” Hannah replied with a grin. “My favorite elf in the whole wide world.”
“Hey!” Liam interjected, even though his words came out mumbled through his cookie bites.
“Oh, that’s right. Sorry, Molly. Liam is my favorite elf in the whole wide world.” Hannah bent to give Liam a napkin from her jacket pocket. “But you’re definitely a close second.”
“I’ll take it. He's a cuter elf than I am, anyway,” said Molly. She chuckled as she also took a cookie into her hands. “Speaking of you baking cookies, how’d that competition thing go? The one where they made you send in that submission tape?”
“Oh, gosh. I’ve been so busy I totally forgot to tell you all about it,” Hannah replied with wide eyes. She grinned at her friend. “I won first place. You’re looking at BakeTown’s Baker of The Year.”
Molly almost dropped her cookie on the ground, but Liam was quick to catch it.
“Hannah! That’s amazing.” Molly couldn’t stop herself from letting out a loud squeal of delight as she jumped up and down in place. “You’re going to be on the front of a magazine! Sweetness & Light is going to be on TV!”
“It’s amazing, alright. Amazingly stressful,” Hannah said with a groan. “I think I bit off more than I can chew, Molly. What if I’m not ready for all of this?”
“Hannah Johnson, if there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that you can literally do anything. I’m pretty sure you could actually fly if you wanted to,” Molly told her. She gave her friend a warm, genuine smile. “And if you ever need a helping hand in the kitchen, I’ll be right there.”
“You? Molly Carmichael? A helping hand in the kitchen?” Hannah's eyebrow raised skeptically.
“Hey! I could’ve been BakeTown’s second pick, you never know.”
“BakeTown’s second pick? Okay, first of all, you didn’t enter the competition.” Hannah said, ticking off one finger and then another.“And second of all, the last time you tried to help me bake, you lit the cake on fire. You you ended up burning off half your hair. You had to wear a hat for weeks.”
“It was not that bad,” Molly insisted. “And besides, that was back in middle school! I’ve gotten a lot better since then.”
“Right.” Hannah rolled her eyes but smiled at her friend. “But, thank you for the offer. And don’t be surprised if I do actually take you up on it. If I keep getting orders like this, I’m going to need as many hands as I can possibly get.”
“I can help, too, Hannah! My mom lets me watch the oven sometimes,” Liam offered. He reached for another cookie.
“Thank you, Liam. That’s very sweet of you,” Hannah said with a smile before she gasped and headed straight for the door. “The oven! Oh my gosh! The oven! I’ll be back later, Molly! I need to check on a few caramel cakes!”
Molly and Liam both waved their goodbyes to Hannah while they both finished off their respective cookies.
“You want to do one last check before we open for the day?” Molly asked Liam, glancing around the shop. “Just to make sure we didn’t miss anything.”
“Yeah, one last check,” Liam said with a nod, moving towards the back of the store. “I’ll go check on the tinsel again!”
“You got it, buddy.” Molly clicked her tongue as she headed for the various light displays in the store’s windows. Her phone rang from her skirt pocket.
She glanced down at her caller ID, and then smiled to herself when Mr. Kerstman’s name came across the screen. “Hey, Santa Claus! How’s Florida? How’s the sand?”
“Beautiful and even more beautiful,” Mr. Kerstman replied. “And how’s the shop? How’s the snow?”
“We got another inch yesterday and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,” Molly replied cheerfully. She narrowed her eyes at the phone. “But you didn't call me to ask about the snow. Did Mrs. Claus put you up to calling me? Do you have me on speaker?”
“Yes, darling, you’re on speaker. But he called you all on his own!” Mrs. Kerstman yelled across the phone. “I promise!”
Molly shook her head and tried not to laugh. They'd barely managed to get off the plane before calling two days ago. Since then, they'd called at least twice a day just to check in. Today was the earliest they'd called yet.
“I just wanted to give you a heads up about our son, Nicholas,” Mr. Kerstman said, clearing his throat. “He mig
ht be coming into town soon. Maybe not. He was just asking so many questions about the store. I suspect he’s interested in visiting.”
“Ooh, the mysterious Nicholas Kerstman finally comes to town,” Molly said. “It’s no problem at all, Mr. Kerstman. I’ll make sure your son enjoys his stay. Did you want me to fix up your house for him?”
“The house is already fixed. I always fix the house before leaving. It’s simply correct etiquette,” Mrs. Kerstman’s told her.
“I doubt he’ll be staying at our little house, anyway. Too much Christmas for him there, but I did want to, well, warn you.” Mr. Kerstman’s voice now took on an ominous air. “You’re so sweet, Molly. And our Nicholas, well, he’s a bit of a hmm...How would you describe our Nicholas, Suzanne?”
“He’s not a complete Scrooge, but he’s pretty close,” Mrs. Kerstman said. “He hates Christmas.”
“Your son hates Christmas?” Molly couldn’t hide her confusion. The Kerstmans were the most Christmas-loving people she knew. “How is that even possible?”
“Oh, he doesn’t hate-hate Christmas. Nicholas just isn’t the kind of person who appreciates the sentimental bits of the holiday season. He’s always been more of a facts and figures type.” Mr. Kerstman paused before he blew out a heavy breath. “Always sticks to his books and business, that one. Never has any time for wasting time.”
“He’s just like you, Howard, when you were younger. I always said he gets it from you.”
“Don't worry about it. I think I’ll be able to handle him.” Molly looked over at the lights in the display window, seeing customers start to gather outside. “Besides, he can’t be as difficult as a class full of sulking second graders on a test day.”
“You’re right. Nicholas can’t be as difficult. Because he’s much worse.” Mr. Kerstman snorted with a laugh after his own joke. “But if anyone can put the Christmas spirit into that boy, it’s you, Molly. I swear, if you can’t do it, no one can.”
“If you can’t do it, I give up,” Mrs. Kerstman agreed.
Molly smiled at the compliment. Christmas was definitely her thing.
“Alright, Mr. and Mrs. Kerstman. I have to go. It's time to open up shop,” Molly said. “Tell my parents I said hi! I’ll be sure to let you know if I see your son. Or if I don’t see your son. Whichever. Whatever.”
“We’ll talk to you later, Molly!”
Molly hung up the phone and stuffed it back into her skirt pocket. While she continued making her way through her opening checklist, she found herself thinking about the mysterious Nicholas Kerstman.
She’d always known that Mr. and Mrs. Kerstman had an older son, but she’d never seen him in town.
Not even once.
She’d heard his voice on the phone when Mrs. Kerstman took personal calls in the break room, so she was fairly sure the man did actually exist. From what Molly could gather, Mrs. Kerstman was always ecstatic to hear from her son, as if she didn’t get a chance to talk with him so often.
That made Molly think that Nicholas must be a very, very busy man.
Which meant that even if he did make it out to visit Christmas Wishes, he wouldn’t stay for long, and for the most part, he’d stay out of Molly’s hair.
Good, Molly thought. I certainly don't need a Christmas hater around.
Molly couldn’t imagine herself having the time for Nicholas Kerstman. Between managing Christmas Wishes, running the children’s choir, and helping Hannah with anything she might need for her shop, Molly’s holiday calendar was filled to its maximum capacity.
And so, Molly decided, right then and there, that she wouldn’t have any time for Nicholas Kerstman.
No time at all.
Chapter 4
Nicholas
“Empires crumble. Mergers fall through. Businesses plans fail.” Nicholas was on the phone in his office, finishing up the days' calls as he twirled every now and then in his leather chair. “But not if we can prevent it. Insight and foresight, that’s all that matters. We are here to set your business up for success. We're here to make sure your business stays around. That’s what makes the Kerstman difference.”
Nicholas bit into his green apple as he nodded along with the response on the other end of the line. He didn’t need to listen too closely because the response was always the same. They always signed up with him.
His clients were local businesses, started by hardworking people who’d at long last gotten the break they’d always deserved. With more opportunity came more risk and more things to worry about. Now that they were beginning to ramp up business, they were terrified of the future, terrified of losing everything they'd worked so hard for.
And it was Nicholas’ job to make sure that would never happen. He helped businesses take the next step in their growth, and he was very good at it.
“Of course, I’d be happy to work with you at my friends and family rate. After all, you were referred to me by Garry’s Mix-Ins, right? I love Garry’s. Used to go there all the time back in college.” Nicholas smiled and spun in his chair. “I can’t wait to get started on your company’s numbers. I know Christmas is coming, but I'll be working. Get me your numbers and I'll have options for you by New Years.”
The phone conversation ended and Nicholas was hurrying out of his office. He had another meeting across town with an ever-growing party store, a place that’d become trendy in the past year and was inundated with curious tourists. He'd been helping them grow their business for months and was surprised they'd called him when things were going so smoothly.
As he stepped into the store, he was given an oversized pair of sunglasses and two neon bright bracelets were slipped onto his wrists for him. Happy, bouncy music played loudly over the speakers. There were more balloons than usual around the store.
“What is this for?” Nicholas asked, looking with polite distaste at his new accessories.
“We're having a party!” Beth, the store's co-owner informed him, offering him an oversized brightly colored hat. Nicholas declined.
“A party?” Nicholas looked around at the balloons. They of course were red and green.
“Nicholas Kerstman, have you ever been to a party in your life?” Beth joked as she finished adjusting the bracelet on his wrist. “My husband says ‘no’, but I bet in some past life, you were the life of the party, weren’t you?”
“Parties aren’t a very effective use of one’s time,” Nicholas informed her.
“And there’s that Kerstman charm,” Beth said, shaking her head. “Paul’s in the back. I think he’d prefer it if he was the one to tell you the good news.”
“Good news?” Nicholas leaned against the register, watching Beth arrange silly string containers on the counter. “You’re having a blockbuster fiscal year, I hope.”
The sound of a heavy box being placed on the counter made him turn.
“Yes! All thanks to you!” Paul grinned. He pushed the heavy-looking brown box more to the center of the counter. “We got the call from Party Supplies, Inc, just last night. That's why we're celebrating.”
“The call? Celebrating what?” Nicholas asked. He took his sunglasses off.
“Party Supplies, Inc. offered us a deal! They bought us out! We’re officially part of the Party Supplies, Inc. family!” Beth announced, unable to contain her excitement for even a moment longer.
“You two sold the store?” Nicholas couldn't remember them saying anything about selling. They loved their store. They'd even turned down several lucrative offers because they loved running a party business.
“Yes and no. We sold the rights to the store, but we’re still the owners and operators. We’ll be keeping the name of the store and everything. We'll be able to start our family since we'll be spending less time on the back-end of the business,” Paul explained. “If we wanted to retire tomorrow, we could and we'd still get to keep our business going.”
“Not that we're even thinking of retirement,” Beth said quickly. “But it is nice to know we can start spen
ding a little less time worrying about the store all the time.”
“Huh...” Nicholas’ reply came out thoughtful as he tapped his fingers along the counter. “So, you two get to keep the store. And even if you left, the store would continue to function, because you’ve been bought out by corporate giants. How interesting...”
“I'm glad you think so,” Beth said as she began to open the box on the counter. “Tt’s going to be so worth it. And it’ll be nice to have someone else to handle accounting and managing suppliers. My eyes were this close to being permanently crossed if I had to go over our spreadsheets for the millionth time.”
“I told her to buy a new lamp, but she never listens...” Paul mumbled under his breath. “And now it’s time to get our store stocked up with Party Supplies, Inc. stuff. Can you believe it? They sent this box overnight, just as soon as we said yes. We just have to hang a few new signs in our windows. Maybe change some of our displays.”
Nicholas now saw the Party Supplies, Inc. logo emblazoned on the side of the box.
“Let me help you,” Nicholas suggested, holding his hands out towards the box. “And I’ve got a few more questions about your deal. Was there any mention of a lease in your contract?”
“If you’re going to talk shop at least put your sunglasses back on,” Beth said. “At least pretend like you know how to have a good time. We're supposed to be celebrating.”
“No problem, Beth.” Nicholas put his shades back on before offering Paul a serious nod. “Alright. Let’s talk about the sale.”
Beth rolled her eyes as she stepped away from the conversation, moving towards the front door to greet an incoming customer.
* * *
