Mistletoe Bachelors

by Snow, Jennifer

  He hit the button for the elevator, and Madison slid her hands into her leather gloves. “What’s going on between you and Cole? A little office romance?”

  He’d know about that wouldn’t he? She bit her tongue. “I don’t want to talk about it.” She looked away and watched the numbers light up.

  “Let’s hope he’s not the fool I was.” Kurt opened the door on the Main floor of the office building and ushered her outside.

  Madison remained silent as she slid into the backseat of the black limo.

  Kurt slid in next to her. “The Roosevelt Hotel, please.”

  Madison stared through the tinted windows, watching the bustling New York streets whiz by as they drove the few blocks to the hotel.

  Kurt touched her hand on the seat. “You know, it really is great to see you.”

  The car pulled up in front of the hotel.

  Madison moved her hand and unclasped her seatbelt. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you at the courthouse tomorrow.” Her hand searched for the door. She had to get away from Kurt and his piercing dark eyes. Something about him entrapped her. She didn’t love him, and the truth about who he was made her ill, yet her pulse raced when his hand touched her cheek. She wiggled the handle, desperate to escape the confines of the car. The door was locked.

  Kurt moved closer, resting his arm across her shoulders. He leaned toward her, and his lips brushed against her neck.

  Stop it. She didn’t like the way her body reacted to his touch, his kiss. Her stomach turned and anxiety crept into her chest. She pushed him away and tapped on the glass for the driver. “Can you unlock the door, please?”

  The door clicked open. She opened the door.

  Kurt grabbed her arm. “Why don’t I come upstairs with you?” He stroked her arm. “I’m sure I can give you better material to write about than that photographer.” He smirked.

  The sight of his smug look infuriated her. She tugged her arm free and seconds later her hand made contact with the side of his face. That felt good. She smiled. Assignment complete.

  Chapter Ten

  Madison climbed the icy stairs to Samantha’s front door. She rested the stack of presents against her hip and rang the doorbell. A glance at her watch revealed it was before nine, but she suspected her friend would be up. With three young boys, sleeping in on a Saturday morning was a rarity.

  “Madison? What are you doing here? You weren’t due back until the twenty-second.” Samantha swung the front door open in surprise. She wrapped her robe tighter around her body and squinted as the early morning sun reflected on the snowy front yard.

  “You look like you were sleeping.” Madison gave an apologetic look. “Did I come at a bad time? I thought the boys woke early…”

  “The boys spent the night at their grandparent’s house.” Samantha yawned.

  “Oh, I’m sorry Sam. Go back to sleep. I’ll come back later.” Madison shifted the weight of the presents in her arms.

  Samantha shook her head. “No way, don’t be silly. Come on in. I’m dying to know what happened.” She stood blocking the entrance.

  “Why don’t you let her inside, so she can tell you?” Samantha’s husband, Mike appeared behind her at the door. “Good morning, Madison. I hope one of those are for me.” He gestured to the presents.

  Samantha shot her husband a look. She stepped back and dragged Madison inside. “I’ll start the coffee, and then I want to hear everything that happened.”

  “Coffee would be wonderful.” She’d already consumed a pot that morning, but the caffeine was a necessity. Sleep had eluded her the night before.

  “Okay. Have a seat in the living room. I’ll be right back.” Samantha dashed into the kitchen.

  Madison set the presents under the big Christmas tree in the living room and removed her coat and gloves. She sat in her favorite plush armchair close to the fireplace and curled her legs beneath her.

  Samantha emerged with two steaming mugs of coffee and a plate of toasted bagels.

  Great, carbs. With the way she was eating, she’d be lucky to have anything fit in the New Year. She sighed. The comfort food was too tempting to resist. She grabbed a bagel, as Samantha set the tray on the coffee table.

  “Now tell me everything that happened since we last spoke. I take it the Christmas party didn’t go well.” Samantha helped herself to a cinnamon raisin bagel. She took a big bite and sat in the corner of her sofa, tucking a fleece blanket around her bare legs. She gave her friend her full attention.

  Madison gave a wry smile. “Not at all.” She bit into her bagel. She recounted the events of the night before. By the time she revealed, she’d ended the night by assaulting one of New York’s top lawyers, she held the full attention of her best friend.

  “Oh my God, I can’t believe you did that. I mean, it was totally overdue, but I never thought…” Samantha shook her head in disbelief. She stared at her friend with newfound appreciation.

  “I know.” A grin spread across Madison’s face. “It certainly felt good.”

  “What are you planning to do about the assignment?” Samantha asked.

  “I haven’t decided yet.” Madison drained the contents of her coffee cup. She’d finished writing about bachelor number four that morning, but had no idea how to write about number five. She couldn’t leave the article with four because the cover had already gone to the press announcing the article with a five bachelors theme. Not to mention, Damien expected a finished article. If she didn’t deliver the story he was expecting, she doubted he would give her another writing assignment.

  “If you need any help, I’m here.” Samantha patted her hand.

  A commotion outside the front door caught their attention.

  “The kids must be back. Mike’s mom and dad are going to Hawaii for Christmas and wanted to do Christmas morning with the boys this weekend.” Samantha explained as they all entered the house.

  “Aunt Madison!” The boys exclaimed seeing their favorite aunt.

  “Did you bring presents?” The youngest boy, David, tugged at the edge of her sweater.

  “Yes, she did.” Mike joined them. He raised his eyebrows and clapped his hands.

  Samantha rolled her eyes. “I don’t know who’s worse. The boys or Mike. Last week I caught him snooping for gifts in our closet. He had Jacob, our six year old as a lookout.” She shook her head and looked at her husband. The love she felt for him clear in her eyes.

  Madison felt a tug at her heart. She wondered if she’d ever find the kind of relationship her friends shared. She cleared her throat. “Okay, let’s open some presents.”

  They all settled in around the Christmas tree, drinking eggnog and exchanging presents.

  Samantha collected the discarded wrapping and bows. “By the way, Madison, why are we doing this now? Aren’t you coming to Christmas day dinner?” She had the last two holidays, and it had become a tradition.

  “Actually, I’ve accepted my parent’s invitation to go see them in California after all. I think the sun would do me good.” Madison helped David open his remote control car. She’d been contemplating her options all morning and visiting her parents was the most logical one. It was the only way she had any hope of forgetting about Cole. Well, maybe not forgetting about him, but at least being far enough away from him she wouldn’t run into him during the holidays.

  “When do you leave?”

  “Tomorrow afternoon. If I can finish this article, I’ll be going in to the office tomorrow morning, and then my flight leaves at two o’clock.” Madison stood and stretched. She helped Samantha clean up the wrapping paper. “I guess I should go.” She yawned and glanced at her watch. It was almost lunchtime. If she had any hope of finishing the article, she’d better get to work.

  Arriving back at her apartment, the silence was louder than usual. Compared to Samantha’s home filled with noise and laughter, a husband and children, Madison’s world was empty. She gazed out her front window at the decorated trees in the yard. She should
have at least gotten a Christmas tree. Okay, no more procrastinating. She forced herself to sit at her computer desk. She opened a new file and reread what she’d written of her article. Not bad. She sat back in her chair and chewed the end of her pen. How was she supposed to finish it? She couldn’t write about her experience with Kurt. It lacked the feel good theme she was aiming for. Hmm… Damien had said if she could find a replacement bachelor for Kurt, he would still consider the article. Who could she write about? She closed her eyes and rested her head against the chair. An image of Cole’s sexy smile and gentle laugh appeared behind her closed lids. A smile spread across Madison’s face, and she opened her eyes. Cole. Of course. He was the perfect bachelor, and she knew him better than any of the others. He was a man so kind and caring any woman could fall in love with him. She had, after all. She sat forward in her chair, and her fingers flew across the keyboard. Bachelor number five—Cole Harris.

  * * * * Madison stared through the dirty taxi window as she rehearsed what she planned to say to Damien. Her email to him the night before had stated she was back early and needed to meet with him first thing in the morning. She hoped her article would impress him, and he would realize he’d been wrong not to have considered of her first to write it. Choose your battles. Her mother’s favorite saying echoed in her mind. For the sake of her future with the magazine, she decided to let the issue slide.

  She took a deep breath as she stepped off of the elevator on the fourteenth floor a half hour later.

  “Come in Madison. How was the trip?” Damien didn’t look up as she knocked on his open office door and entered the room. His desk was covered in pages of print requiring final proofing. Her absence from the office these past few weeks put them behind on the editing. She usually put in hours of overtime during deadline week.

  “It was…” She searched for the right word. Eye opening, wonderful, disastrous? “Fine. I met some wonderful people.”

  Damien didn’t respond. His red pen scribbled across a cosmetic ad in front of him.

  “I have the article.” Madison opened her briefcase. “It’s not the way we discussed, but I think my replacement bachelor is better than the original.” By a long shot. The two men couldn’t be compared. Madison held the article out.

  Damien looked at her and leaned forward. He took the article and laid it on a pile of clutter in his inbox. “Madison, I sent a backup story to the press an hour ago. I’m sorry but when I received your email last night that you were back early, I assumed you hadn’t finished the interview with Kurt, so I sent Meghan’s story to the press instead.” He glanced back down at the stack of papers on his desk.

  Madison’s mouth fell open. She didn’t know how to respond. Her knees felt unsteady, and her hands shook. She couldn’t believe this. He had expected her to fail. All this time working for the magazine, putting in hours and hours of overtime, helping to come up with story ideas, which were always assigned to someone else, and accepting the worse writing assignment ever hadn’t mattered at all to her boss.

  When she didn’t respond, he glanced at her. “Madison, you are a wonderful editor, but editors don’t always make for good writers. Stick with what you know you are good at. That is the key to success.” He smiled and returned his attention to the ad. “Now, if you wouldn’t mind grabbing a stack of articles that still need…”

  “Damien, I quit.” Madison swallowed the lump in her throat. She refused to work for a man who didn’t believe in her. She’d accepted the job as an editor for the opportunity to break into print herself, and she realized that wouldn’t be a possibility at Women’s World Quarterly magazine. This assignment had done nothing to further her career the way she’d hoped it would.

  “Madison, be sensible. You don’t want to quit.” He picked up a stack of articles and held them out to her.

  She ignored them. “The fitness season is coming up Damien, better start looking for a new editor.” Madison turned and left his office.

  The moment the elevator doors closed behind her, she sunk back against the wall. Never in her life had she made a hasty decision without thinking it through. But what was there to consider? She couldn’t continue to work in a position that didn’t offer her the opportunities she deserved.

  She grabbed empty copy paper boxes from the storage room and packed her personal belongings. Having made the decision to quit, she wanted to leave the office as soon as possible. She cleared her bookshelf, packing away her collection of books on writing and editing. Over the years she’d gathered quite the collection of reference materials. She prided herself on the fact she’d read each and every one, soaking up new bits of information and helpful knowledge from each. She left her quarterly magazine issues where they sat on the otherwise empty shelves.

  She stood on her office chair and removed her diplomas from the wall. She placed them in the bottom of a new box. She cleared the miscellaneous items from her desk, leaving just her silver nameplate. By the end of the week a different name would replace hers. Her mail still sat unopened on her desk, and a thin manila envelope toward the bottom of the pile caught her attention. The familiar logo on the corner of the envelope made Madison’s heart thump louder than anything else she’d experienced that week. A letter from the publishing company where she’d submitted her manuscript months before.

  Damien’s comment echoed in her mind. Editors didn’t make good writers. Could he be right? Madison hesitated. Did she really need more bad news this week?

  Unable to resist, she tore open the envelope. Dear Ms. Grey, we are pleased to inform you your manuscript has been chosen for publication. The rest of the words swam on the page as Madison read on to find out they were willing to provide her with an advance during the editing process, and they were confident her book would sell. A senior editor had been assigned to the manuscript, and her contact information was listed toward the bottom of the page. No doubt the publishing house would be closed for the holidays, but she would contact her first thing in the New Year.

  Madison took a few deep breaths to compose herself and folded the thick paper. The timing of the letter couldn’t be better. Moments before, she’d quit her job with no plans of what to do next, and now her dream of becoming a published writer was coming true. Excitement bubbled inside.

  She picked up her box of items and hit the light with her elbow as she exited out into the hallway. They were empty and quiet as she made her way to Samantha’s office. The marketing and accounting staff had already left for the holidays, and Madison was glad to make a quiet, undramatic exit.

  Samantha’s desk was pile high with work, and her phone was cradled against her shoulder. Glancing up, she waved Madison inside. “Mike, you have to cut it out of his hair.” She rolled her eyes. “If you wait until I get home, the gum may get tangled, and we are having their photos taken with the Santa Claus at the mall tonight.” Her gaze settled on the box Madison held, and she frowned. “Mike, I’m sorry honey, but I have to go. I’ll call you back.” She replaced the receiver and stood. “What do you think you’re doing?” she hissed as she closed her office door.

  Her assistant, Sophie peered over her cubical wall, intrigued.

  Samantha waved her back to work.

  “Quitting.” Madison set the heavy boxes on Samantha’s desk. She was dying to tell Samantha about her manuscript acceptance letter, but she needed to deal with this part first.

  “But Madison, you love your job. What happened in your meeting with Damien?” Samantha sat on the corner of her desk and studied her.

  “He told me he didn’t have confidence in my ability as a writer. He sent a backup article to the press this morning.” Madison smiled.

  “And you’re not upset?” Samantha gave her a puzzled look.

  “No.” Madison shook her head. She would miss working with Samantha every day, but at least her new writing schedule would give them time to have lunch. Something they’d always been too busy for in the past.

  “Why not? I’d be angry as hell.” Samant
ha wore a look of disbelief.

  “I was at first.” Madison nodded. “But after reading this letter from Malcolm and McMullan’s Publishing House, I feel much better.” Madison took the letter out of the envelope. “Damien’s entitled to his opinion of my writing capabilities, I’m just glad M and M publishing thinks differently.” Madison handed the letter to Samantha, no longer able to contain the excitement she felt.

  Samantha read the first line of the letter. Her eyes widened, and a smile spread across her face. She finished reading and handed the letter back to Madison. “That’s wonderful. I’m proud of you.” She hugged her. “We have to celebrate when you get back. When is that, by the way?”

  “You know, I’m not sure. I was planning to come home after the New Year, but now I may stay in California a little longer. I can work on the book there as easily as I can at home, without distraction.” As usual she had no reason to be at home. She pushed the sad thought away. Today was a good day. Focus on the good.

  “Don’t stay away too long. I still need my yoga partner.” Samantha hugged her and congratulated her once more.

  Madison wrote her parents’ home number on a post it note and handed it to Samantha. “Just in case.”

  Samantha’s assistant knocked on the door and opened it. She popped her head inside. “Ms. Grey, I have mail here for you,” Sophie said.

  “Please have it sent to Kim in Human Resources. She can give it to my replacement.” Madison said to Sophie. She suspected Sophie had witnessed the scene in Samantha’s office.

  A look of curiosity appeared in the young girl’s eyes. “But this one is addressed to you personally.” Sophie handed Madison a large, thick, white envelope. It had been addressed to her, care of Women’s World Quarterly. “A separate identical envelope arrived for the magazine as well.”

  “Thank you.” Madison opened the envelope and pulled out its contents.

  Samantha and Sophie watched.

  Inside was an envelope of photographs. There was no letter attached, just a sticky note stuck to the top of the pile. Merry Christmas, little lady. I thought you might like to have these. Cole.