In Time For An Amish Christmas
Amish Christmas Books: Book 1
Samantha Price
Copyright © 2017 by Samantha Price
All rights reserved.
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No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Other books by Samantha Price:
About Samantha Price
Chapter 1
Sunday, December 17
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"I don't think it's fair what you’re doing."
Heidi studied Janelle’s stony face as they sat at the bar with their seats half-turned toward one another. Janelle’s pinched lips were proof that encouraging her best friend to work for her might not have been the greatest idea she'd ever had. It was important that Janelle be empathetic to the other realtors in the firm. After all, they were a team. Heidi chose her words carefully. "That's the thing, though, I'm trying to be fair to everyone. They say I'm giving you the best leads."
"That's only because I’m the best closer and can get the job done.” Janelle pouted her glossy red-painted lips and looked away.
Heidi admired red lips on Janelle. She was the only person Heidi knew who looked good in lipstick that color. True-red lipstick wouldn’t suit for herself, anyway, not with all the red tones in her brown hair. Her own Amish upbringing hampered her in regard to wearing too much makeup or picking bright shades. Even though she’d left the Amish years ago, some of the basic principles were still stuck within her heart.
Janelle wasn’t finished with her rant, and with a toss of her head she turned back to face Heidi. “Give them the lower-priced properties and it won't matter if they lose them. When they get better, then that'll be a different story."
Heidi had put a lot of effort into training Janelle and in the past two years her friend's closing rates had been second only to her own. Before she’d come to work for Heidi, Janelle had sold blinds and awnings. When Janelle found out how much money she could make in real estate, Heidi didn’t have to ask her twice to get her realtor’s license and come work for her in her start-up business.
"They know how many deals you close, but they said they weren't being given the same chance...and they’ve got a point." The other realtors in the company weren’t happy with getting leftovers, and Heidi didn't want to lose any of them to her competitors because they were all above average and would become better with more training and experience.
Janelle shook her head slightly and twitched her lips into a quick frown, showing her displeasure in the topic of conversation.
"I’ve come up with an idea. I'm thinking of grading the agents into tiers—different levels. Levels one, two, and three. You’ll obviously be level one based on your results, so you’ll get the higher-priced —"
"No."
Heidi was shocked at her friend being so adamant. She’d grown far more confident since she married Scott six months ago. Right now, Heidi wasn’t sure if that was a good thing. "But wait; you haven’t even heard —"
Janelle leaned closer. "Why can't we leave things as they are? If you start giving them more leads they might lose them. Skye told me Tyrone didn't even show at an appointment yesterday and she had to send Jennique to cover for him.”
Heidi put her head in her hands. It was hard to keep twelve agents, four assistants and two receptionists happy. If one person was happy, it was a certainty that others weren't. Until the place was ticking along nicely, she could kiss the idea of opening more offices goodbye. She took a sip of her gin and tonic. She didn’t normally drink, another outcome of being raised by non-drinking Amish parents, but she told herself her staff were driving her to it.
"Anyway," Janelle said, "let's talk about the Christmas party. Are we still having it on the twenty second?”
“Let’s finish talking about this first. We’ve got a problem here and we need to find a way to fix it.”
“I don’t have the problem, you do.”
Heidi was a little shocked. “Yes, and right now you’re at the heart of the problem.”
Janelle giggled. “All right, tell me what you’re thinking.”
Heidi sighed, and then gave her friend a wry smile. “I’ve got a few ideas. I’ll solidify them, put them on paper and then we’ll talk again. How's that?”
“Sounds like a plan. Now, what is your answer about the Christmas party?”
"It’s all arranged and we’re having it on the twenty-second, and it's at the office, same as always."
Janelle took off talking about the Christmas party with a whole different attitude. It seemed everyone was excited about Christmas. Everyone except for Heidi. Heidi stared into her drink and stirred the ice with the thin black straw. She’d loved Christmas when she was a child, but having no one to share it with, it had lost its meaning. Christmas Day had been such fun back then. Her childhood home would be full of people, gifts, and delicious foods her mother had prepared. The walls and windows were decorated with paper lanterns and candles sat on the windowsills. She and her mother always began preparing for Christmas weeks before. Often at night, while gentle snow fell, she and her parents would huddle by the fire talking and laughing about their day.
"Are we using the same caterer as last year?" Janelle asked.
"Yes, I've already booked them. It’s all under control." Everyone who worked for her had a significant other except for Tyrone, who had a different girl every week. Heidi hated always going to functions alone, especially the Christmas ones.
"Are you going back home for Christmas again this year?"
"Someone's got to stay and work.” When Heidi saw her friend opening her mouth about to protest, she quickly added, “Yes. I’m going back briefly. Don’t worry." At eighteen, Heidi had chosen to go on rumspringa, chasing her dream of going to New York to become a model. She’d had a desperate need to wear makeup and fancy clothes. Sadly, things didn’t go according to plan and she was rejected by every modelling agency because she was too short. As a matter of survival, she got a job as an assistant for a realtor. After she saw how much money the realtors made, she convinced her boss to take her on as an associate and got herself licensed. After a couple of years in sales, she recognized an opportunity in the leasing market and opened her own agency specializing in rentals only.
"You really shouldn't work so hard."
"I have to." Heidi had been determined to get to the top and have her photo on the cover of Forbes magazine. Maybe even become one of the wealthiest realtors in the world. Her plan was to expand, to open more offices. But first she had to get her agency working like a well-oiled machine, and with all the squabbles and infighting, it was anything but. She needed a way to foster an atmosphere of healthy competition amongst he
r staff.
"You should stop and smell the roses, like I do."
"I do that, too."
"No, you don't!”
“I have slowed down since I don’t do the appointments anymore.” Apart from training staff, she sought out new opportunities and new directions for the business to take. Most of her days were long, which left little time for a social life and that was just as well because she had no one with whom to socialize. Her ‘friends’ were business acquaintances.
"Scott said he's got a friend who'd suit you. He’s a retired baseball player."
"No thanks." Heidi rolled her eyes and fiddled with her new short spiky hair. She knew his type—the retired athlete. Besides that, everyone Janelle and her boyfriend, well, her husband now, had suggested in the past had been totally unsuitable.
"Don't be like that. He's different from the others."
"I’ve given up on dating. Although, having said that, if I meet a wonderful man I won't send him away.”
“Glad to hear it.” Janelle’s eyes twinkled with a hint of mischief.
That told Heidi Janelle might be up to something such as causing her to ‘accidentally’ bump into someone. She had to get that idea out of her friend’s head. “I want to be in a relationship with someone special, but I don't like the type of man I’ve been meeting lately. Their egos are way too big. Anyway, don't worry about me. I'm fine." She sucked in a last swallow of her gin and tonic through the straw.
"You’re not fine if you’re going to spend another Christmas by yourself."
"I won't be by myself. I just said—"
“And who are you going to be with?"
"I said I’m going home, same as I go home every year."
"What, for a day?" Janelle asked.
“That’ll be enough, believe me. I don’t belong there anymore, so a day and a night is more than enough.”
“I don’t know what ever happened between you and your family. All I know is that you’re an only child and I’m guessing your family weren’t well-to-do because you arrived here with nothing.” Janelle’s blue eyes opened wide. “Or, are they wealthy and they cut you off without a cent? What did you do?”
Heidi blew out a deep breath. “You’ve got such an imagination.”
“I have to use my imagination because you never tell me anything.”
Heidi jiggled her straw amongst the ice causing it to make a tinkling sound against the glass. “There’s not much to tell. Anyway, I'm thinking of getting a cat."
"Then you’ll become a mad cat lady.”
“Mad?” Heidi rolled her eyes. “Thanks.”
“Well, not mad, but you know what I mean. Do you really want to become a cliché?"
"There's nothing wrong with cats. I can't get a dog because I’ve got no time to walk it. Dogs need too much attention."
"And you don't have any time to properly look after a cat. Why don’t you get a goldfish if you want a pet?"
"No way! I’d have to clean out the tank, yuck, and where would I find the time to do that?"
Janelle laughed. “You can always pay someone to walk the dog, and to clean the fish tank, or bowl, or whatever fish are kept in.”
“That’s true. I could.”
Janelle looked at her watch. "Are we nearly finished? I promised to meet Scott to do some Christmas shopping."
"We haven't finished what we’ve come here to talk about, but we've made a start. I guess you can go."
Janelle got off her stool, took hold of her black Chanel purse, and said, "You can't give those losers any good leads. They won't close them, and we’ll both end up losing money. It’ll affect your money too.”
“They don’t close as many as you, but they’re quite good. They aren’t losers. You know I don't take in losers."
The staff were on commission-based wages and that created Heidi's problem; if she didn't start giving them good leads, they’d leave. The worst thing for a business was a continual turnover of staff. "I’ve been thinking of a few options to keep everyone happy. One of the things I've been chewing over is easing you into more of a training role. You’ll spend part of your time training and you'll get a cut of what they make. I’ll take it out of the company’s cut so no one loses out. How does that sound?"
Janelle sat back down. "Now you're talking my language."
"I'll come up with a few scenarios and a payment scale and then we'll talk again. You go off and keep Scott happy. I don’t want to stand in the way of love." Heidi giggled.
Janelle smiled, leaned over and kissed Heidi on her cheek. "Thanks, you're the best."
After Janelle left, Heidi sat there at the bar alone and, totally out of character, ordered another drink.
As it often did, her mind wandered to the man she had left behind when she'd left her Amish community—Derek Miller. They’d been dating for six months and she was sure he'd follow when she left. He’d talked about going on rumspringa, too, and then decided against it. He was upset she wanted to be a model; she was certain that made him change his mind about her. She tried to convince him it wasn't what he thought. She wasn’t going to be a Playboy centerfold, or show off too much skin. All she wanted was to walk the catwalk and feel like a real woman, to get to dress up in nice clothes and makeup.
She sipped her drink and once again wondered what would’ve happened between her and Derek if she’d stayed. It wasn’t until some years later and dozens of bad first dates that she appreciated the rare love they had shared. It was hard to find a good and caring man who was also faithful and loving. The men she’d dated in the past few years only cared about themselves. Derek had always put her first. She sighed. There was no use thinking about him now. The time for them had passed. He was probably married by now, to a devoted wife and with a herd of children, and that was why she tried to avoid thoughts of him and what might have been.
"Can I buy you a drink?"
Heidi was jolted out of thinking about Derek. She looked over at the man who’d just sat next to her. Going by his slurred speech and his rumpled blue suit, she made a good guess that he’d been drinking all day. "No, thank you. I was just going."
"Stay a while. Have another drink.” He stared at her. “You’ve got the most glorious blue eyes and they go so well with your red hair. Is it natural?”
“My eyes?”
He chuckled. “Your hair.” She frowned at his attempt at flirtation, and when she didn’t answer, he picked up her glass and looked at it. “What are you drinking?”
“Nothing.” She wasn’t going to sit there and drink alongside him, especially not after having had two drinks already, something she almost never did. She stood up, grabbed her purse and pulled her coat off the back of the chair and went to walk away.
“Wait.” He reached for her arm and she moved it away just in time. “You’re beautiful. Are you a model?”
“No. I’m too short.” She turned and walked out of the bar ignoring the man’s protests. She knew she wasn’t as attractive as she once was. The man probably didn’t think she was as beautiful as he’d said, and he was obviously too drunk to see properly.
The biting cold wind assaulted Heidi’s cheeks as soon as she stepped into the night air, thankful her home was only a few blocks away. She pulled on her coat as she walked and once she had it on she pulled out a beanie and rammed it down over her head to cover her ears, regretting the newly cut hair that left them exposed to the biting cold. Even after so many years away from the community, having her hair cut this short had made her feel a small amount of guilt. After all, a woman’s hair was her crowning glory according to the bible. Amish women were never supposed to cut their hair.
Heidi put her head down and walked faster, all the while thinking about her old boyfriend, Derek Miller. Every time she was lonely or sad, her mind drifted to him. It was unfair that to choose him she would’ve also had to stay in the community closeted from the outside world. She couldn't fathom living without the movies she watched late at night to wind down, or the fast f
ood she lived on, or the Internet. There was more to life than making babies, cooking, washing, sewing, and attending church social gatherings. Besides, Derek had allowed her to walk right out of his life. If he’d really loved her, he would've found her and begged her to return.
A sudden gust of wind splattered large droplets of icy rain against her face. She looked up at the sky to a blinding flash of lightning. She jumped as its large clap of answering thunder sounded, rumbling across the darkness. Then the rain started pelting down on the road alongside her. Hurrying to get to the warm haven of her apartment, she stepped onto the road and heard screeching brakes. She jumped out of the way just in time. The car blasted its horn and drove off fast as Heidi pressed her hand to her thundering heart. She could’ve died right there in the street.
* * *
When her apartment building came into view, she saw Dennis, the temporary doorman. That meant Stuart was sick again. She’d been caught up talking to Dennis twice and both times she couldn’t get away for close to half an hour. To avoid him talking to her again, she pulled out her phone and pretended someone was on the other end of the line. Hopefully, that would deter Dennis from launching into a long and tedious conversation about his damp basement that his landlord refused to fix.
As she approached the building with her phone to her ear, Dennis didn’t look happy, but he pulled the door open for her and stepped aside. She gave him a little nod, thanked him and kept walking. Then she continued swiftly into the elevator. Behind the safety of the closed doors, she put her phone away.
In minutes, she was on the second floor and in her apartment. Her home was her sanctuary and a direct reflection of her success. Since she’d bought it a year ago, she had redesigned the kitchen and the two bathrooms. The bathrooms were all white Carrara marble with black fittings and tapware. The kitchen carried on the same black and white theme, with a touch of steel. There was nothing out of place and nothing that didn’t need to be there. It was as far away as she could get from an Amish home and that’s exactly how she’d wanted it.
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