Miracle at Christmas

by Debbie Mason

  She’d been looking forward to seeing the faces of the board members the moment her dad announced her promotion. It was the public vindication she’d been craving this past year. For years, her father had treated Jeremy like the son he’d never had, and she’d started to feel like the daughter he’d never wanted. And as much as she may have understood why he kowtowed to Jeremy and Samantha’s demands and sent her away, standing in front of the board as he rendered his decision in their favor that night had hurt almost more than Jeremy cheating on her.

  “No, that’s not it at all. It’s—” Abbie broke off as the doors to the elevator opened, and she gently nudged Charlotte inside.

  “Don’t keep me hanging. What is it?”

  “Just a minute,” Kate said as she and Abbie stared at the doors. They waited until they closed and Kate had pressed the button to the twenty-fourth floor before turning to face Charlotte, who by then had sagged against the gold-veined glass wall, suddenly more tired and disappointed than the week she’d been banished to Christmas.

  “Maybe you should sit on the floor,” Kate suggested, obviously concerned Charlotte might end up there anyway.

  “The elevator hasn’t been mopped yet. She’ll get her coat dirty,” Abbie said, though she looked like that might not be such a great loss. “Just…lean against the wall, take a couple of deep breaths, and…”

  “Jeremy’s hedge fund bought up shares in Bailey, and he now holds a seat on the board. Between him and Samantha, they control thirty-five percent of the company. Twenty minutes ago, he called for a vote to remove your dad as chairman of the board.” Kate blurted it all out so quickly that she was breathless by the end.

  So was Charlotte. She covered her mouth with her hands to slow her breathing before she hyperventilated and passed out. “Please tell me the board didn’t do that to my father,” she said, her voice muffled by her hands.

  Abbie closed her eyes and nodded.

  “We were trying to come up with a way to stop them. That’s why we didn’t return your calls or pick you up at the airport. We were…There was nothing we could do. I’m so sorry.” Kate rubbed Charlotte’s arm, glancing at Abbie.

  Charlotte lowered her hands from her mouth. “There’s more, isn’t there? What aren’t you telling me?”

  “You know how Samantha’s husband, Harold, died last month?” Kate asked.

  From the look on her best friend’s face, Charlotte had a good idea where the conversation was headed and didn’t know how she felt about it. She didn’t love Jeremy anymore, of course. How could she after what he’d done to her and now to her father? She just wished he’d go away and leave them alone. “He married Samantha, didn’t he?”

  Kate made a pained face and cast a glance at Abbie, who nodded and then added quietly, “They’re having a baby, honey.”

  “Oh.” This time neither a stiff upper lip nor eyes squeezed shut could cover Charlotte’s reaction to the emotional hit. For years she’d tried to convince Jeremy it was time to start a family. He always managed to come up with an excuse that sounded reasonable and shut her down. And now he was going to be a father with someone else. Samantha had gotten everything Charlotte wanted, the baby, her family’s company, and her husband. “Merry Christmas to me,” she murmured.

  Her response made her think of what Nick the cab driver had said to her only moments before. It was almost like the older man was psychic and knew what she was about to walk into. She didn’t believe in miracles, but boy, could she use one now. There had to be some way to stop them. “What about me? I have a voting share. They held the meeting before the posted time. We’ll demand another vote. I’ll talk to the other board members.” The doors slid open, and she took off, running toward the boardroom before Kate and Abbie could stop her. She wouldn’t let Jeremy and Samantha win.

  “No, wait. Don’t go in there, Charlotte! You’re supposed to be in Christmas,” Abbie yelled after her.

  The warning didn’t really register, but it wouldn’t have made a difference if it had. Charlotte had already pushed open the doors and everyone had turned to stare. Including her impeccably groomed ex, who’d claimed her father’s seat at the head of the long boardroom table. The table where he’d first boinked his new wife. Who knew, though? Maybe it hadn’t been their first time. Charlotte stepped further into the boardroom then froze when her gaze moved from Jeremy to his perfectly coifed blond wife, who sported a healthy pregnancy glow.

  Jeremy frowned, looking decidedly unhappy to see her. What he didn’t look was ashamed or apologetic. “Well, this is a surprise. What are you doing here, Charlotte? As I understood from your father, your contract at CGH isn’t over until next month. Part of the agreement was that you weren’t to return to New York until your—”

  “Really, after what you’ve just done to my father, what you did to me, you have the nerve to sit there and—”

  From behind her came a groan, and then Kate was there, grabbing her by one arm while Abbie’s fingers wrapped around her other arm. Charlotte’s father leaped from his chair, moving to stand in front of her, blocking her view of Jeremy’s smug face.

  Benjamin Bailey put his hands on her shoulders and whispered frantically, “We changed the term on your contract to protect you. It’s ironclad. He can’t break it without opening the door for you to sue. I told Jane we decided it was best to transition in the new year and gave her the month off with pay.”

  “I have to go back to CGH? What about the job you promised me? I thought—”

  Her father’s hazel eyes reflected the same desperation she’d seen in her own gaze in the months and weeks leading up to the night she caught Jeremy with Samantha. Charlotte blinked, startled by the thought. It didn’t make it less true, though. She just hadn’t been ready to face it until now. Her marriage had begun unraveling long before that infamous night.

  “Please, do this for me. I’m not going to let them push me out, but until I can come up with a plan to fight back, I need to know a member of this family is still part of Bailey Healthcare,” her father pleaded, looking older than his sixty-eight years.

  “Sorry to break up the reunion, but I’m sure, like me, the rest of the board would like to know what Charlotte is doing here. It must be something urgent for her to show up looking like…” He trailed off with a shudder, as if personally affronted by what she chose to wear to the meeting.

  Abbie’s and Kate’s fingers tightened around her arms. “He’s just trying to goad you into giving him an excuse to fire you,” Kate whispered.

  “It’s okay. I won’t let him get to me,” Charlotte promised as she shook off their hands and stepped around her father. “I’m here to present my interim report to the board.”

  “Do you really think an interim report on the revenue of a small-town hospital in the middle of nowhere warranted a trip to New York? You’ve probably expensed the company more than CGH earned in the entire time you were there. Hmm, Danielle,” he lifted his chin at the woman sitting to his right, “make a note that Ms. Bailey’s expense account for the past year is to be verified down to the last cent. Now, if there’s nothing further…”

  Charlotte curled her fingers into fists, fighting the urge to launch herself across the table and wrap her hands around Jeremy’s scrawny neck. There was nothing she wanted more than to wipe the self-satisfied smirk from his cocky face. She wouldn’t let him get to her. She wouldn’t let him win. “No, nothing at all,” she said in a measured tone.

  “Good, then we’ll expect you at your desk at CGH at nine a.m. tomorrow morning.” He shared a self-congratulatory smile with his wife.

  When Charlotte thought about it later, she’d realize that wasn’t the moment that made her head explode and lose control of her temper. It was when her husband’s new wife held Charlotte’s gaze and rubbed her noticeable baby bump with a smile that said, I won.

  Her fingernails digging painfully into her palms, Charlotte managed to force her face into an apologetic expression. “Samantha, how rude of me. I fo
rgot to offer my condolences on the loss of your husband. You have my deepest sympathies, truly. Harold was such a kind and generous man. It must bring you some measure of solace to know that he’ll live on through his child. Did he know you were pregnant before he dropped dead?”

  Several members of the board gasped.

  “What? Did I say something wrong?”

  * * *

  “Hold it! Hold the elevator, please!”

  Now that was a voice Matt Trainer hadn’t expected to hear again—unless he did something stupid like call her. As far as he knew, Dr. Charlotte Bailey, former CEO of Christmas General, had left yesterday morning with no intention of ever coming back. The woman couldn’t wait to shake off the snow of his beloved town, which was how he’d known it would be a complete waste of time to even think about contacting her, no matter how attracted he was. And he was very attracted to Dr. Charlotte Bailey. He had been from her first day at CGH.

  But while Charlotte had practically been salivating at the idea of returning home, Matt would never leave the small mountain town. The citizens of Christmas had welcomed him with open arms when he’d most needed it. No one here knew his story or why he’d turned down a lucrative position in California after his last tour of duty.

  “Stop! Stop the elevator!”

  Charlotte. Right. Matt stuck his arm between the doors and pushed back the left one to see the woman he’d hugged goodbye less than twenty-four hours before staggering toward the elevator with a large red purse hooked around her neck—swinging from side to side—while she attempted to drag three suitcases behind her. Continuing to hold the door open with his shoulder, he lifted his booted foot and hit the Stop button on the panel while stuffing the elaborately foil-wrapped box of chocolates from the local candy store, Sugar and Spice, inside his leather jacket to free up his hands. Dr. Paul McBride, the chief of staff, was away and had asked Matt to deliver the chocolates to Charlotte’s replacement

  “What happened? Did they end up canceling your flight on account of the snow?”

  “If only,” she muttered and gave the handles of her bags a hard tug when their wheels apparently stuck to something on the floor. Which caused the third and smaller suitcase to wing across the white tiles and bounce off the suitcase in her right hand, throwing her off balance. She tilted to her right and then overcorrected and lurched forward. His hands now free of the chocolates, Matt grabbed her before she took a header into the elevator. The purse swung around and whacked him hard.

  “What have you got in that thing? Bricks?” he asked, unable to let her go to rub his shoulder.

  Charlotte looked up at him, her eyes bloodshot and glassy. She was one of the most self-possessed and unflappable women he knew, but if he hadn’t already guessed that she was about to cry, the quiver in her bottom lip would’ve given her away.

  “Hey, I was just teasing. It didn’t hurt that bad. Honest.” He smiled. But instead of reassuring her, she hiccupped a sob and did a face-plant into his chest.

  Chapter Three

  Matt held Charlotte as close as her purse allowed. He liked the feel of her slender body in his arms, her spicy floral scent. Her perfume smelled like lemons and lilies. It smelled like her—elegant and seductive.

  Her hair got caught on the stubble on his chin, and he lifted his hand to remove the silky strands. Instead he found himself stroking her tousled mane. She usually wore it sleek and straight. The casual look suited her better—at least he thought so.

  She turned her face as though to get more comfortable on his chest, and he noted the pallor of her typically glowing skin. The light dusting of cinnamon-colored sprinkles on her high cheekbones and across the bridge of her narrow, upturned nose that were barely visible most days, today stood out in sharp relief. Exhausted or not, there was something about the woman that appealed to him.

  And it wasn’t just her fresh-faced looks, willowy frame, or seductive scent he was attracted to. He admired her. She was bright, ambitious, and committed to ensuring the patients at CGH received the best of care. As much as she demanded of the staff, she demanded more of herself. In the year she’d been here, she’d rarely left her office on the eighth floor. Which hadn’t exactly endeared her to the rest of the staff or the citizens of Christmas.

  She hadn’t gotten involved in the community or made friends. As far as he knew, he was the only one she spent time with. And the only time they spent together had been here. It was an odd sort of friendship they had, he and Dr. Charlotte Bailey.

  “Ow,” she cried as she’d tried to snuggle closer. She let go of the handles of her suitcases and lifted her head to touch her mouth. “What have you got inside your jacket?” she grumbled at the same time her luggage crashed to the floor. She let go of the other handle and that suitcase fell, too.

  “Chocolates for your replacement,” he said as he lifted the straps of her purse over her head, inadvertently pulling her hair as he did so.

  She moved her hand from her mouth to her head. “That hurt.”

  “Sorry for trying to save you from strangling yourself.” He shook his head, exasperated, wondering what was up with her. This wasn’t the woman he knew and cared for.

  He handed her the purse and then picked up her suitcases. Once he’d placed them in the corner of the elevator, he took her gently by the shoulders, turning to position her back against the wall. She obviously needed something to lean on. “Your office?”

  She nodded, sniffed, and then blinked. “Oh gosh. The time. What time is it?” She unzipped her purse and began digging inside. Her head jerked up. “Matt, the time?”

  His hand automatically lifted in a what-the-hell gesture, but her head was now half-buried in her purse, so it wasn’t like she noticed. Reaching into the pocket of his jacket, he withdrew his smartphone and checked the screen. “Six fifty-five. Now are you going to tell me what’s going on? Because something is clearly going on with you, Charlotte.”

  “I will. I’ll tell you as soon as I get to my office. Can’t this thing go any faster?” She moved past him and repeatedly stabbed the button for the eighth floor. “You know what, never mind.” The elevator shuddered to a stop on the second floor, and she wedged herself through the barely open doors.

  He stuck his head out of the elevator to call her back but she’d already disappeared around the corner. She’d figure it out soon enough. The run might do her good. She’d burn off some of her anger and frustration, because the woman was clearly experiencing both.

  He leaned in to press the Stop button. Seconds later, he heard her frustrated cry from down the hall followed by the sound of her snow boots slapping against the tiles. “Stop! Don’t leave!”

  Holding the elevator doors open with his shoulder, he cocked his head as she pushed past him. “You’re welcome.”

  “You could’ve told me they’d blocked off the stairs for repairs.”

  “I would have if you’d given me half a chance. But I thought you’d figure it out since I only ever take the stairs. Plus you’re the one who ordered the repairs.”

  “The job was supposed to be completed by now.”

  “No, it was supposed to be completed by nine this morning. It’s only six fifty-eight. Now, are you going to—”

  She cut him off with a panicked yelp. “Hurry. Call me. Call my office,” she ordered, her voice muffled. Her head was stuck in her purse again. She pulled it out, staring at him through a curtain of honey-brown hair. “Matt!”

  “If you don’t tell me what’s going on, I’m stopping the elevator.”

  “No! I’ll lose my job if I’m not sitting at my desk in two minutes.” She looked at her phone and half-sobbed. “In one minute and twenty-six seconds. Please, I’m begging you. There’s two lines. If we both keep calling them and leaving messages, they’ll get a busy signal and think I’m there.”

  “You’ve lost me. When you left yesterday, you were headed home to accept a promotion, and now you’re telling me they’re going to fire you if you’re not at your desk by
seven in the morning?”

  “Nine in the morning their time, I think. I should’ve asked if it was nine a.m. Eastern or Mountain, but at that moment I was thinking of ways to murder my ex-husband without getting caught.”

  “What does Jeremy have to do with this?” Matt knew all about Charlotte’s ex. She’d opened up about her failed marriage at Thanksgiving. After she refused the McBrides’ invitation to join them for dinner on account of work, Matt had brought it to her. They’d eaten in her office and talked the night away. It’d been one of the best dates he’d been on in a long time.

  “He has everything to do with it.” She brought her phone to her ear and gestured for him to do the same. While they alternated between leaving messages on her office voice mail and tying up the phone lines, she filled him in on what happened in New York.

  As the elevator shuddered to a stop on the eighth floor, Matt tucked his phone between his shoulder and ear and handed her the smaller suitcase. He grabbed the other two. “Look, I know it’s not easy for you to leave this for your dad to handle, but if he says he’ll take care of it, I’m sure he will. You’ll eventually get the promotion he promised you. And hey, you’ve gotta admit, being stuck in Christmas over the holidays isn’t so bad.”

  She shot him a Grinchy look as she strode from the elevator. “You can’t be serious. Christmas in New York is magical, Matt.”

  “Compared to here? No way. This town looks like it belongs on a Christmas card or in a snow globe. It’s so Christmassy, even Santa set up a second workshop here.”

  His remark earned him an eye roll.

  “Right, as if that can compete with skating in Central Park, the tree in Rockefeller Center, the Rockettes, and tea at the Russian Tea Room.”

  “The only reason you say that is because you haven’t given this town a chance. Wanna bet I can change your mind?” Underneath the teasing challenge in his voice, he was serious. He wanted to show her what she was missing. Maybe it was just wishful thinking on his part, but he didn’t think she’d be so anxious to leave if she gave the town half a chance. Then again, maybe he just wanted her to give him one.