Miracle on 34th Floor

by Sophia Summers

  “She’s not my mom. That’s my aunt.”

  “Could I have her number?”

  “Hey, Judy!” Her aunt came forward. “You all finished, pumpkin?”

  “He says he wants your number.”

  She immediately scowled. “Did he? That’s silly.” She shook her head at him and reached for her niece’s hand.

  He waved his hands in the air. “No, no, we’re doing a thing.” He looked over his shoulder, but Joylin hadn’t come back out yet. “My elf helper and I are doing something together. I’d like to help, if I can. I didn’t get many details just now, but it sounds like there might be a way to do something for her dad.” He held out a card. “If you want to talk some more about it, just leave your number or email right there.”

  She took the card, eyeing him with distrust, but left her email with him. Then she took Judy’s hand, and they left almost as quickly as they’d come in.

  “Wow, what did you do to her?” Joylin stood beside him in a gloriously snug sweater and tight-fitting black pants.

  “I offered to help her dad. I guess he’s coming home from the hospital early ’cause they ran out of money.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad. It’s so hard what people have to deal with.”

  “I know.” He stood. “But we got some cards filled out today, didn’t we?”

  “Yeah, we did.” She smiled and tugged his hand. “You ready to go relax?”

  “So ready. My place?”

  She hesitated, and then the smile he loved came out full force. “Okay.”

  He took off his Santa outfit, amazed that something so random had brought him and Joylin together.

  His phone dinged as he was exiting the storage room. He groaned. Victoria. He tugged Joylin closer. “Hey, do you mind making a quick stop somewhere first?”

  “Not at all! I’m game for anything.”

  He squeezed her hand. “Another thing I enjoy about you.” They made their way out of the store, and he was happier than he’d been in a long time.

  They slid into his car, and she snuggled up against him. “You know, life just keeps getting better.”

  “That’s how I feel too.” She laced her fingers with his.

  They would go talk to some potential clients with Victoria, entertain them a little bit, and then head off for a quiet night in his apartment. Soft music, a movie, light dinner. “Mmm.”

  “What are you humming about?”

  “Just looking forward to you and me, my oversized couch, a fire, and a movie.”

  “Mmm.”

  “See? It’s hum-worthy.”

  “It’s awesome. Where are we going first?”

  “I have to meet up with some clients for drinks. In. Out. Done. I’m sorry about this, but my boss promised it would only take a minute.”

  “I don’t mind if it takes an hour. I’ll help. We’ll seal the deal.”

  “Oh man, you just solidified yourself as the most awesome girlfriend I’ve ever had.”

  His hand stilled. She turned to him. “You’re calling me your girlfriend?”

  He reached a hand up to her face. “I’d like to.” He watched her, wondering if he was moving too fast. But all he saw in her expression was pleased surprise.

  “Okay. Let’s do it.” She leaned back against him but then sat up again, turning to him. “So, Decker Kringle is my boyfriend?”

  “Sounds like it.”

  “I like that.”

  “You do?”

  “Yes. Most definitely.” She turned to him, her eyes warm and happy. He cupped her chin and then pressed his mouth to hers, slowly, intently.

  “I’m falling hard and fast, Joylin. I hope I don’t scare you away.”

  She mumbled against his lips, “No chance.”

  They pulled up in front of the bar, and he wrapped an arm across her shoulders as they made their way through the entrance. “They should be right…” Victoria waved him over. “There.”

  He picked up the pace. “I think this will be a piece of cake. So you see that man…”

  Joylin gasped beside him and froze in place.

  “What?”

  Her face drained of color.

  “What is it?”

  “Um, Decker.”

  Victoria came forward. “Decker, Joylin, I’m glad to see you two together.”

  Decker turned to her, not quite sure what to think. “You know Victoria?”

  “I love it when office romances sneak up on me like this.” Something about her expression told him she didn’t love anything about this.

  “Office romances?” He laughed and turned to Joylin, looking to share a laugh over the misunderstanding. But she just looked more and more ill. “Joylin?”

  She shook her head and stepped out from under his arm.

  Victoria nodded. “I’m glad you’re here, actually. Now you can start to see how we do things after hours.”

  Decker was even more confused, but he was starting to realize that there was quite a bit he didn’t know about Joylin—principally how she was on a first-name basis with his CEO. But he rolled with it. Joylin was so visibly upset, he could tell this was one of those situations where you work first and ask questions later. But his picture-perfect new relationship with an amazing woman was starting to unravel before it even began.

  He had to hand it to her; Joylin was amazing at sealing the deal. She charmed them, worked them, laughed at all the right times, and talked them up like they were something special. By the end, the client was eating out of her hands, had her number, and was planning drinks for another night.

  He wasn’t sure what he thought about that or any of it.

  When the clients left and Victoria had given Joylin all sorts of assignments, he and Joylin walked back out the door to get in his car. “I don’t know what to think.”

  She sighed. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Well, I hope you say something.”

  “I will.” Her soft eyes met his, and he almost softened a little, wanting to trust her.

  Once the car doors were shut and the air warmed them, he turned to her, waiting.

  Joylin took a deep breath. “I work for Victoria.”

  “I noticed. But how is that possible? Is this a new thing?”

  “Sort of. The thing with Victoria is new, but I’ve been working at the company for a while.”

  “You have?” He couldn’t understand. “How long?”

  “About three years.”

  He didn’t know what to say.

  “I’ve been in HR, but just this week, Victoria pulled me into her office and asked if I wanted to be her personal assistant.”

  “You said yes?” He was so astounded that Victoria would have the nerve to want someone like Joylin follow her around as her personal gofer.

  “Well, what else could I say?”

  “How about ‘no, I won’t be your slave.’”

  She shook her head. “You can say stuff like that to her, but I…” She looked away. “Look, I did this for you.”

  He shook his head, more flabbergasted than ever.

  “I work in the cubicles. That center place in your office where you never go. You never even look in our direction.”

  And then things began to click. “You never did tell me where you work. Why didn’t you tell me we work in the same office?” He couldn’t make sense of her. And he couldn’t help but feel betrayed. “We could have snuck up on the roof during lunch. Unless you aren’t really who you say. Unless you’ve been working with Victoria the whole time.” His heart clenched a little at that thought. But he realized all the more clearly how little he knew about Joylin. He didn’t know anything about her job, obviously. He didn’t know how close she was to Victoria. He didn’t even know about her family, except that they were originally from New York.

  Instead of driving to his place, he texted the driver to go to hers. When they pulled up in front of her door, her eyes filled with tears.

  He tried to reassure her. “Hey, no, don�
�t get out. I just want to talk some more about this.”

  “Okay. What do you want to know?”

  “Everything.”

  “Like I told you, I work at Synergy. But I’m just a nobody there. You were so impressed with me, with my potential, and I didn’t want to let you down. To disappoint you. I want nothing to do with Victoria. She is forcing me to work for her. I wanted to ask you for some advice, but I didn’t know how to bring it up. I was embarrassed. ’Cause every day, I’m scared you’re gonna look at me and see me for who I really am and decide to move on.”

  She was being sincere. She was hurt and unhappy. And he felt for her. But she was right; in a way, he did see her a bit differently. Instead of this awesome find at Gimbels, she was a bit of a schemer who was looking for a way to rise in the company. Which might be fine. He could respect that, maybe. At least she hadn’t faked her kisses or her reaction to him.

  “I would never have thought less of you if you’d just told me right away.”

  “I see that now, sort of. But can you blame me? When you literally salivate over someone for a whole year, and they finally notice you…” She turned away. “Oh boy,” she whispered.

  “Wait, what is this ‘whole year’ business?”

  “Yeah. That sounded pathetic. I just meant that I noticed you. Before we met.”

  “And was our meeting at Gimbels as much of a fated coincidence as I think it was?”

  “Yes. No? Sort of. I saw a picture of Santa in the paper, and the eyes just looked so much like you. I thought I was going crazy, seeing you even in the face of Santa Claus, so I had to go see for myself. Then I saw that woman quit right in front of me, and I started thinking about all the things I could do to help. I jumped in not for you. But just because they needed somebody. That’s the truth.”

  He nodded. “I gotta admit it takes some of the fun out of it. But I’m cool. I still want to see where this goes.”

  She breathed out in relief. But she could tell things were different. He didn’t move closer or try to ignite any of their heated kisses.

  “You still want to come to the Christmas party with me?” he asked.

  “Of course. My plans haven’t changed.”

  “Well, I might change some of them. It depends if they’re smaller gatherings with Victoria. I don’t want to share my date with our CEO, if you know what I mean.”

  “Oh, yeah, sure.” She frowned.

  “I’m sorry this is awkward. Look, I’m game to keep trying.”

  She nodded. “Can I ask your advice?”

  “Shoot.”

  “So, I’m guessing you think working as Victoria’s assistant is a bad idea.”

  “Probably one of the worst I’ve ever heard.”

  “But how do I get out of it? If you were me, would you want to be on her bad side?”

  “I guess you have to decide how much your happiness is worth to you.”

  “Or my job. What if I could rise in the company? Get on a committee. Wouldn’t that make it worth it?”

  “Maybe.” Her comments were solidifying his suspicion that she would do whatever she needed to increase her business success. He just hoped her interest in him was sincere.

  She nodded. “Well, I guess I should go inside.”

  “Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow. At work.” He smirked. “Where do you even sit?”

  “I’ll wave.”

  “How will you know when I come in?”

  She raised her eyebrow. “I’ll know.”

  “Okay.” He wasn’t sure what to make of her, but he couldn’t deny the attraction that still pounded through him. That was one important reason why he’d dropped her off at her house. He needed to think through things with a clear head.

  When she got out of the car, he waited to see her go inside. Everything that was magical just a few hours before now just seemed ordinary. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that.

  9

  Awkward. Work had become one big, awkward mess. When she wasn’t trying to make sure she waved at Decker when he walked in or handling Victoria’s every whim, she was fielding questions from the other cubicles about why she was suddenly on corner-office radar. Questions she didn’t know how to answer.

  A few hours in, Joylin walked into the break room looking for hot chocolate. It was so nice to not have to worry if Decker saw her. She’d grinned at him earlier when she noticed he was looking.

  Lionel and Trent were in the break room, having some kind of paper football challenge with a bunch of people from payroll. She stuck a hot chocolate pod in the Keurig.

  Lionel moved to stand beside her. “These work best if you make two of the smallest pods in a medium-sized mug.”

  “Ah, figured it out, have you?”

  “Yeah. They’re watered down. I think they’re cutting back on powder, thinking we’re all adding cream or whatever, but if you’re a purist like me, then two pods is the way to go.”

  “Thanks for the tip.” She took the mug he offered.

  The chatter from the payroll group suddenly stopped. She turned around and saw Decker walk the rest of the way into the room. “Hello, everyone.”

  A couple guys raised their hands. Lionel moved out of the way, and Decker came to stand beside her, leaning back against the counter so she faced him and the Keurig. “Hey.”

  “Wow, hey.” She smiled, and he winked at her then glanced over her head at all the silent people in the room with them.

  “So, how’s your day?” His grin would have melted her down to her toes if they hadn’t had an audience.

  “I’m kind of looking forward to this evening.”

  He nodded. “I bet.” Then he laughed. “Me too, to be honest.”

  “Are you?”

  “Yeah. I’ve thought about things. I’m feeling good—”

  The guys cheered really loud. Apparently, they’d started up their football challenge again.

  “Is it always like this?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve been avoiding this side of the floor.”

  He snorted. “That’s crazy.”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “Joylin?” And there it was, the voice she was coming to dread.

  “Good, Decker, you’re in here too. I’ve called a marketing meeting in your office.”

  He bristled. She could almost feel her own hairs stand on end. “Oh boy,” she muttered.

  But his face was professional. “I’ll be right there.”

  “You too, Joylin. You’ll need to take careful notes and follow up.”

  Decker and Joylin left together.

  “Can I borrow a notepad?” she asked.

  “I don’t have notepads.”

  “Oh, okay.”

  “Use your tablet. It’s easier to type, and you can transfer them wherever you need them.”

  “Oh, thanks!”

  “’Cause she’s gonna want them transcribed ASAP.”

  “Who does that?”

  “Her.”

  Joylin took off running for her desk, snagged her tablet, and came running back before most of the people had arrived.

  Decker patted a chair next to him at his long conference table.

  “Wow, your office is huge. I didn’t know this whole other side was in here.”

  He leaned closer so no one else could hear. “It’s invisible from the rest of the office.”

  She blushed to her neckline.

  He laughed. “Oh, you’re too fun. But you gotta learn to get your poker face on.”

  “I don’t have one. It’s all right here.” She waved a hand over her face.

  As soon as everyone was seated, Decker opened his mouth to speak, but Victoria jumped in. “Thank you for coming. I know it’s a last-minute meeting, but we’ve had some new developments I wanted to share with the group.”

  Joylin saw Decker’s beauty of a poker face. It was unreadable, professional, kind, and easygoing. All that from one expression. But his neck pulsed in such a rapid-fire way, she knew he was not liki
ng anything about this meeting.

  Victoria ran the show, and Joylin saw no purpose at all to their being there. Apparently, every question she asked had been addressed in the normal marketing meeting that Decker had held yesterday.

  “So I’m thinking that I should be invited to your marketing meetings, Decker, so we don’t have this repeat of material.”

  “The minutes are sent to you directly. I’m sure you have your own meetings and committees to run. If you skim through the minutes, you’ll get the gist of everything we just addressed again here with you as well as anything else you wanted to know. I am happy to follow up with any questions you might have, naturally.”

  Joylin was impressed. He was an expert. He seemed completely comfortable saying a challenging thing with a professional voice.

  But Victoria was not pleased. “Joylin!” she snapped. “Run and get me a coffee.”

  “Pardon me?” Joylin stopped typing her notes.

  “A coooffeeee.”

  “Yes, I heard you. I’m just not—”

  “Joylin. I need you to go and get me a coffee.”

  Decker held his hand at her side, telling her to wait. Then he pushed a button on his phone intercom.

  “Yes, Mr. Kringle?”

  “Hello, Joyce. Would you do us a favor?”

  “Sure thing.”

  “Victoria is asking for a coffee. Do you know how she takes it?”

  “Yes, sir. Pedro’s, extra cream, no sugar.”

  “Thank you.” He hung up and then stood. “Actually, I’m pleased to have you all back in the room, and it’s provident that Victoria has joined us because I do have some news.” He moved to his board and slid it to the side. “These people you see here have just signed contracts and are now new clients.”

  The members of his committee clapped. And he bowed. “Thank you. It’s thanks to this team right here that I can guarantee such an amazing service to any client. I challenge any company anywhere to find such an accomplished team.”

  “That’s fabulous.”

  Joylin noticed the two men she’d met at the bar.

  “And I’d like to point out that Joylin gets a percentage for being the originator of these two here, and an extra percentage as the deal sealer for these two here.” He pointed to the two she’d worked with the night Victoria had spilled her secret to Decker.