“Riding gear?” Holly knew she should leave it alone. But she couldn’t. She wanted to hear that Nick hadn’t run off to amuse himself when there was so much work to be done. “I’d have thought it was too cold up here for horses.”
Jolly laughed. “Nick’s mount of choice is a Harley Davidson. And he rides down below so there’s no worry about the cold.”
Harley Davidson? As in a motorcycle? As they sat down to work, Holly struggled to focus on Jolly’s explanation of how they traced weather patterns so that they could prep Santa’s flight plan. At any other time she would have found the information fascinating but her irritation with Nick continued to mount until it was all she could think about. Unable to focus on the radar screen in front of her, she turned to Jolly. “There’s something I need to know. About Nick.”
The elf slid a stack of files toward her. “You want to know why he isn’t married,” she said matter-of-factly. “Is that it?”
“No, of course not.” Holly bit her lip. “Well, that wasn’t what I was going to ask but since you bring it up,” she ignored Jolly’s amused expression, “why isn’t he married?”
“He can’t find a girl who cares about the holidays enough to devote her life to all this,” Jolly waved her arm around to indicate that she meant the North Pole and everything Christmas. “Poor Saint Nick, he’s got the herculean task of finding a woman who can love Christmas as much as she loves him because he’d never leave the North Pole.”
Ha. It seemed he left every chance he got. But Holly kept this thought to herself. The elves all adored him and Jolly was no exception. “So after his father, umm…passes on, he’ll become Santa?”
Jolly smiled. “Santa won’t need to pass on, as you so delicately put it, before his son takes over. Santa’s not the King of England. He can retire.”
“Really?” Holly sank back in her chair and tapped her pen against her cheek. The thought had never occurred to her, but then before this job she’d always just thought of Santa as a faceless myth.
“Oh, yeah, and I bet you a pair of shiny black boots that Santa will start talking about Hawaii any day now. Every year he starts talking about retirement earlier and earlier.” Jolly began to push buttons and turn dials while she spoke. “He and Mrs. Claus usually head to Maui on the twenty-sixth. Carol and Nick go to. Would it surprise you to know that our Saint Nick is a champion surfer? He can ride a wave like it’s no one’s business.”
Holly turned to the screen in front of her and began pushing the buttons that Jolly told her to. “Doesn’t surprise me at all,” she said. Nicholas Claus, it seemed, was a master at everything he tried. Except work.
“So what was it you wanted to ask me about Nick?” Jolly asked.
Holly hesitated briefly. “Do you think he’ll make a good Santa?”
Jolly’s face split into a wide grin. “He’ll be the best Santa the world has ever seen.”
* * *
Nick watched the last motorcycle pull out of the dusty parking lot before he headed into the dimly lit bar. The event, a send-off of the B.C.E. Riders, had been far more successful than he dared hope. Not only had the group pledged to raise enough money to replace the destroyed toys, they predicted they would double the funds by the time their emergency toy drive was over. Humbled and in awe of their generosity, Nick wished Holly was with him. If she took one look past the chrome bikes and black leather jackets, she’d be able to witness the true spirit of Christmas at work.
He sank down on a bar stool and pulled a small bowl of pretzels in front of him. Holly. She’d been on his mind all afternoon. Without trying to, without wanting to, he could still see the hurt look on her face when he’d departed so quickly without explaining where he was going. He popped a pretzel into his mouth and looked around for the bartender.
“Want a beer?” the bartender asked when he came down to where Nick sat.
“Nope, I’ve got a long trip home. Just make it a soda.”
The bartender put a glass of ice and a cold can in front of Nick. His gaze was curious. “You look familiar. But you’re not a regular.”
Nick shook his head and popped open the can. “Nope, I come in a couple of times a year near the holidays when the B.C.E. Riders have their toy drive, but that’s it. I’m not from around here.”
The man nodded. “It’s hard to believe some sicko torched all those presents. Really makes you wonder.”
“That it does,” Nick agreed. But he didn’t want to talk about the fire. He was heading over to survey the damage and discuss rebuilding right after he finished his drink. “So you ready for Christmas?”
“Oh yeah, my wife’s totally into it,” the bartender laughed. “Christmas is a big deal to her.”
Lucky you, Nick thought. He wished Holly shared the same love for the holidays. Heck, he’d be happy if she just understood the whole concept but it seemed to elude her. Although her reaction to the holograph scene that morning had given him an insight to her pain, it had also proved to him that she could care deeply. Just not about Christmas. Or him.
The bartender snapped his fingers. “Hey, that’s it. I know why you look familiar.”
Nick gave a nonchalant half-smile. He knew what was coming. “Oh yeah?”
Suddenly less sure of himself, the bartender rubbed at a spot on the bar with his cloth. “So call me crazy, but you look like the guy who played Santa when I took my grandkids to the mall last weekend.”
Nick laughed. “I get that a lot, believe it or not. Through the eyes, right?”
“Yeah, that’s it,” the other man agreed. “When you’re my age and need extra cash near the holidays, you can get a mall gig as Santa.”
Nick picked up another pretzel and grinned. “I’ll keep that in mind in case my day job doesn’t work out.”
* * *
After Holly finished helping Jolly compile the weather reports, she handled the sleigh loading operations meeting that Santa requested they attend. Saint Nick, she noted with more than a touch of frustration, was nowhere in sight. Handling the meeting wasn’t a problem. In fact, of all the places that Holly had ever worked, huge operations all, she’d never seen such a well-oiled machine as the North Pole. The atmosphere didn’t feel corporate, it felt more like a big extended and very functional family. Each division operated seamlessly. And none of this efficiency, Holly was sure, could be attributed to Nick.
Right after the meeting she headed for the cafeteria and settled into a chair with a mug of hot cocoa in hand.
“Miss Jamison, there you are. I’ve looked everywhere for you.”
Holly looked up from the report she was reading. She smiled at the cheery elf who greeted her. He looked familiar but she knew they hadn’t yet been introduced. “I was just having a cup of cocoa.” She held out her hand. “I’m Holly Jamison, which of course you already know.”
The elf shook her hand and then motioned to the chair. “May I?” After she nodded he climbed up onto it and sat down, laying a pile of papers on the table in front of him. “I’m Tinsel.”
She smiled. The name suited him. His vest had enough silver trim on it that it was easy to see how he’d come by his moniker.“How can I help you, Tinsel?” She motioned to the waiter elf for a cup of cocoa for Tinsel. “Are those papers for me?”
The elf shrugged. “That’s what I don’t know. I was down below today helping Carol get settled where she is and when I got back I found these on my desk.” He frowned. “None of the expenditures make any sense to me. Jolly mentioned that you were a whiz at numbers and that perhaps you could make sense of it. There has to be a mistake somewhere.”
“I’d be happy to but I’ll warn you that Jolly is exaggerating about my abilities,” Holly said. She needed more paperwork like Chicago needed more snow in January but, truthfully, keeping busy was good. It kept her mind off of Nick.
“Many thanks,” Tinsel said. He took a few sips of cocoa as Holly glanced at the first page of the report.
She briefly scanned the top sheet and
then flipped through a few others. She frowned. Something wasn’t right.
“I know,” Tinsel said. “The numbers don’t add up.”
Holly closed the file and tossed it on the table. “They do add up, but not in a good way. Essentially they add up to a lot of debt.” And debt, she’d already seen, wasn’t something that was encouraged at the North Pole. Black was in and red was out, at least when it came to the bottom line. “Which department head submitted this report?”
In answer, Tinsel squirmed in his seat. He kept his eyes focused on the curled tips of his green felt slippers. His refusal to give her a direct answer was all the confirmation Holly needed. She knew just who had submitted the report. It had to be Nick, patron saint of self-indulgence.
“I’ll take it from here, Tinsel. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.”
“You don’t mind?” Tinsel asked.
Holly nodded. “Don’t give it another thought, Tinsel.” She stood and gathered the files, keeping Nick’s report at the top of the stack. “In fact, I’ll handle it right now.”
* * *
Holly was relieved that Santa was in his office and he could see her. She thanked Madge, an elf who sported a retro beehive hairstyle and wore a beaded cardigan, for ushering Holly into his inner office.
Santa looked up as they entered. He had a ruler in hand and appeared to be measuring piles of folders. His smile was wide, warm and welcoming. “Ah, Holly my dear, how nice to see you. Come in, come in.”
“Am I interrupting you, Santa?”
He sighed deeply. “I’m measuring my stack of naughty and nice reports but my mind keeps drifting off to Hawaii.” He laid the ruler on his desk and motioned for her to have a seat in one of the two chairs opposite his desk. After she sat, he settled into his chair. “Each year I am more and more grateful that I have such a wonderful son I can turn Christmas over to when it’s time. He’s going to make a brilliant Santa.”
Not quite sure what to say about that, Holly pointed to the stack of naughty reports. “How are things looking this year?” she asked.
Santa shook his head. “The nice still beats the naughty but I’d like to see those naughty numbers come down. Anyway, tell me how you’re getting on.”
Holly smiled. “Truthfully, Santa, I’m in awe of your operation. I know you’ve been doing this for some years now but everything is far more streamlined than I’d expected. I doubt you really even need me here.”
Santa laughed. “That’s not what my son says. He believes you’re…what were his exact words? Oh, yes, indispensable, he said.”
Really? Far be it from her to call Santa a liar but she doubted Nick thought of her as anything other than annoying.
“And when I walked in on you both this morning I saw that you appear to return the feeling,” Santa said, his voice filled with amusement.
Holly felt her cheeks grow warm. “About that, Sir, I would like to explain-”
“Oh, I understand perfectly well my dear Miss Jamison.” Santa’s grin was wide. “After all, many years ago Mrs. Claus and I met and fell in love working here too.”
“It’s not like that, Santa,” Holly protested. “Nick and I are…we’re just…it was all about the report,” she managed to finally stammer. Thank goodness that Nick wasn’t here to witness this. Holly had no doubt he’d enjoy watching her stutter and stammer in protest. She needed to redirect Santa’s attention back to business. “Santa, I did find one program that I think should be eliminated. It appears to be cost heavy and it doesn’t provide any benefit that I am aware of. It really stands out as a drag on an otherwise healthy budget. I can prepare a brief report on it for your consideration.”
Santa shook his head. “No time, my dear. If you think it best we eliminate it, just issue the order.”
“Would it change your mind if you knew that-” but Santa cut her off before she could inform him that it was his son’s pet project she was about to axe.
“No, no details needed. We don’t have time.” He stood and picked up his ruler again. “I didn’t hire someone as talented as yourself so that I could micromanage your decisions.” His smile radiated confidence in her. “Go ahead and eliminate whatever program you’re talking about.”
Holly hesitated, suddenly overcome with doubt. Not about the validity of Nick’s program, but at the thought of letting Santa down after the faith he had shown in her since her arrival.
Santa turned his attention back to the naughty stack. “It’s quite alright, my dear. If you think the program needs to be canned, cancel it and move on. This late in the season, chances are that no one will even notice.”
One person would definitely notice, Holly thought as she let herself into Nick’s empty office a few moments later. And he wasn’t going to be very happy about it.
Chapter Eleven
Nick slipped off his leather jacket and tossed it onto the seat of his Harley. He ran his hands through his hair and then stretched his arms overhead before twisting right to left. He knew he could shake off the physical exhaustion that was starting to creep in, but he was less sure about his ability to banish the niggling worry that something was very wrong.
He made his way along the interior passage that led to the secret door to his office, careful to tread lightly lest someone hear his boot steps. Not that he expected to find anyone in his office but something wasn’t right. Maybe he was wrong, maybe it was just the long and stressful afternoon he’d spent below touring the burned out factory that had him on edge. Or maybe it was the guilt that had plagued him ever since he’d abruptly left Holly when she’d been so upset.
He’d been so wrong to leave her the way he did. He shook his head at his own stupidity. It wasn’t as if the toy warehouse had been engulfed in flames that he could magically put out by appearing down below. The damage had been done long before he arrived. He should have stayed with Holly and made sure she was okay before he left her.
Could he do anything right when it came to Holly Jamison? It had been one misstep after another since they’d met and he knew he was responsible for much of it. He couldn’t blame her for the way she looked at him, as if he personally would be the undoing of Christmas future. Still, it stung.
But he could make it right. Tonight. There was no reason to wait. He would just clean up and then find Holly. The thought of seeing her made him smile for the first time that day.
Although it was dark in the tunnel he reached for and found the pocket door without difficulty. He slid it open and pushed the lever that made his portrait slide to the side. But when he stepped into his office he was surprised to see it was dimly lit by the glow from his desktop monitor. Had he forgotten to turn it off? Before he could remember, a shriek filled the room. He clutched at the door frame to keep from falling flat on his butt.
Once he’d steadied himself he needed a moment for his eyes to adjust to the semi-darkness. “Rapz? Jolly? Is that you?” But whoever it was wasn’t short enough to be an elf. “Holly?”
“Oh, for the love of Christmas, Nick,” Holly put a hand on her chest and took a deep, steadying breath. “What are you doing sneaking around?”
“What did you just say?”
She looked taken aback. “I asked you what you were doing sneaking around.”
“No, before that.” He grinned. “Right before that.”
“I don’t know.”
He took a step closer to her. “You said, ‘for the love of Christmas’. I heard you.”
“So?”
Nick laughed. “Don’t you see it?” Moving too quickly for her to protest, he caught her in his arms and hugged her tightly for a quick second before letting go. “You’ve officially got the Christmas spirit. I love it.”
Holly stared at him with a puzzled expression on her face that Nick found quite adorable.
“Have you lost your mind?” She looked past him, first at the portrait and then at the hidden doorway he’d just come through. “What is this?” She stepped past him, peering into the darkened
corridor before she turned back to stare incredulously at him. “You have a secret passage way?”
Nick slid the door closed and hit the lever so his portrait would slide back into place. “Of course not, you’re imagining things.”
“Oh, no, Nicholas Claus, don’t you dare even try to fool me again.” Holly’s hands were on her hips, and if he could see her any better in the dim light, Nick had no doubt her eyes would be flashing with frustration.
“Fool you?” He couldn’t help it. He knew she was referring to this morning but he liked seeing her riled up. With a sudden revelation that made his heart race, he realized that he liked seeing Holly any way she was. Whether it was having her cuddled up in his arms like she’d been that morning, or standing before him indignantly questioning him as she was now, he liked everything about her. Loved everything about her.
His shock at the revelation of his feelings must have shown on his face because Holly’s expression suddenly was one of concern. She placed a hand on his arm. “Are you okay?”
He nodded but in truth he was at a complete and utter loss for words. He, Nicholas Kristopher Claus, had just made the insanely stupid mistake of losing his heart to someone who didn’t even like him. “I’m fine,” he lied. “It’s just been a long day.”
Holly tucked a hand under his elbow and led him to his chair. “Sit here and let me get you something to drink.”
He did as she bid, and when she asked what he wanted to drink he pointed her in the direction of his best scotch. He watched while she poured some of the amber liquid into a glass and brought it over to him. Her movements were graceful and her look of concern was so genuine that he could almost, almost, imagine that she cared about him too. He smiled his thanks and sipped from the glass she’d pressed into his hands.
Holly settled into the chair across from his desk, her gaze intent upon him. “Tell me about your day, Nick.”
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