by Elle Rush
She was only halfway through her spiel when the leader grabbed her by the elbow and propelled her toward the shop. “We’re desperate. Show us.”
Ivy thought her new arrangements would speak for themselves once people got a look at them. She hadn’t expected them to cause a pile-up in front of her window as people stopped to gawk, causing approaching pedestrians to crash into them.
“This one! I need this one,” the short blonde in the group begged, jabbing at the Yule log behind the glass. “My mother-in-law is an absolute witch. This is so classy she won’t be able to complain about it.”
Ivy held the door for the women as they entered her shop. “I can do that for you.”
They left with more than the Yule log. Ivy received an order for twenty poinsettias to be delivered to their art museum volunteer luncheon at the end of the week in the Villa Montague’s ballroom. The women must have jumped on their cells as soon as they’d gotten into their vehicles, because the store phone rang off the hook with orders and inquiries about their hours and website for the rest of the day.
“Maggie, come here. You have to see this.” An exterminator’s truck had pulled up to the curb. They watched a pair of men with biohazard symbols on their overalls check a map. “I heard them asking for directions to Love in Bloom. That can’t be good.”
“It’s very good. For us. Do you have any idea how much business we’ve done today?” her assistant asked.
“Enough to get us through the month if it keeps up.”
“Better than that. I called Terkelson’s down in Vancouver. Before you say anything—yes, it was necessary. I know you like to run lean, but after today, we will need a restock by midweek. I didn’t go nuts. We might need another one later this week, too,” Maggie said.
“Seriously?” Ivy couldn’t remember the last time they’d needed an emergency resupply order, let alone two.
“Seriously.”
They hustled all morning and through lunch to catch up on the surprising influx of orders, but they managed to stay on top of the wave. The sun was setting, and the cooler was stocked with deliveries for the next day, when the bell over the door sounded again.
“Happy Monday, Hollis,” Ivy called.
“Is it?”
“It most certainly is. I have had the most amazing day.” She was still riding the high of selling two dozen poinsettias in one day. They were a quarter gone now. Ivy was ecstatic.
“Tell me,” he said.
Ivy didn’t hide her glee as she regaled him with the events of the day, down to the hand-flapping by the women who had escaped Love in Bloom’s infestation and the sales that had followed.
He beamed through her entire recitation. “Didn’t I tell you that you had to make people think they were getting a deal? Congratulations.”
“Thanks. The poinsettias are going to Villa Montague at the end of the week.” Ivy told him.
“Wasn’t that—”
“The place that cancelled their massive order at the last minute and went with Love in Bloom instead? Yes. But those were for guests. These gorgeous, healthy, insect-free plants are for art museum volunteers. When you go back to the hotel tonight, if you happen to see a white-haired woman in a suit who looks like she French-kissed a lemon, be sure to wish her a good night from Teague Flowers.”
“I’m sure Ellen will be thrilled,” he said with a short laugh. “I’m sorry I’ll miss it.”
That didn’t make sense. He stayed at the Villa Montague, and he’d specifically told her the manager never failed to find him to ensure the North Pole Unlimited representative was having a good stay. “What do you mean?”
“I’m headed out this afternoon. My work with Love in Bloom is almost over.”
That’s when she noticed he was fully loaded down. A briefcase hung from his shoulder on a thick leather strap, and he’d left a suitcase at the door. “What?”
“I filed my preliminary report last night. I have one final consultation with Annie this afternoon, and my boss wants me home tomorrow. I’m driving back to Vancouver today so I can fly out first thing in the morning.”
“But…” He was supposed to ask her out again. Or, at least, give her a chance to ask him out. She knew they weren’t going to have long together, but they should at least have a chance to say good-bye properly. Not end things like they were vague business acquaintances. Hollis stuffed his gloves in his pocket.
If he offered to shake her hand, she was going to deck him.
“I’m glad I got the chance to know you, Ivy.”
Got to know me?
“I really enjoyed our time together,” Hollis said.
Yes, that afternoon they’d spent playing bridge down at the retirement home would forever be burned into her brain. Time together? What was he talking about? It was like he was trying to pretend they hadn’t dated at all.
“I wish we had longer,” he continued, his voice even and cool.
He cut off suddenly. Ivy stopped staring at him in shock and started actually looking at him. His hands were still jammed in his pockets, and his jaw was clenched tight.
“Hollis?”
He shook his head, then slowly raised it till his hazel eyes met hers. “I’ll never forget Whistler. Or you.” He pressed his lips together again.
“You don’t think you’ll be back again. Won’t you have to follow up with Annie?” she asked. She’d take anything. “You never even made it to the bunny hill.”
“No.” There was nothing left to add. He was trying to make a clean break of it, and Ivy understood why. She just didn’t want to. It would have been smarter to have said good-bye after the biscotti incident, but she couldn’t bring herself to regret their time together.
“Will you send me a text to let me know how your poinsettia sales go?” he asked.
“Sure.” Ivy wanted to say something like, “We’ll always have soup”, or “I’ll never forget our decorating competition”, but Hollis was already at the door. “Have a safe trip. You’re a good man, Hollis.”
Then he was gone.
Chapter Twelve
Hollis
He was in no mood to be kept waiting, not after his horrible good-bye with Ivy. Annie may have been the reason he’d met Ivy, but she was also he had to leave her. It did not put him in a friendly frame of mind. “Great,” Hollis said. “You’re finished. We can wrap up the audit now.” Then he could get out of Whistler and away from Ivy before he did something crazy, like put in for an unannounced vacation so he could learn how to ski. That would only make it harder to leave later.
“This isn’t a good time, Hollis. I’m having a bad day.” Annie’s outfit, which had been pristine earlier first thing that morning, was rumpled and smeared with dirt.
“I can see that.” He swatted at a ladybug that buzzed round his head. It was the only one he saw; Annie must have been successful in her eradication attempt. “I’m about to make it worse.” Hollis set the fax receipt square in the middle of her desk. “Forging letterhead and signatures is fraud.” He didn’t know what the criminal penalty would be, but he was certain Ivy could hire lawyers who would.
Annie’s red cheeks paled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t fax Imprint Glassworks.”
“Stop, Annie. The good folks at the Whistler Business Center gave me access to their machine. You were the only person who has sent a fax in over a month. And you just confirmed it was you. I showed you a phone number. If you didn’t fax them, how did you know was Imprint Glassworks?”
She snapped her mouth shut. He waited a minute for her to come up with an excuse. “I’m allowed to use a new distributor. I’m a florist.”
Hollis nodded. “You are. I wonder, though… If I asked, would they tell me your order matched the one Ivy cancelled, down to the very last vase? Would the requests be identical, Annie?”
She didn’t respond.
“I think you somehow got a copy of Ivy’s order. I think you forged the letter and got Ivy’s Christmas vase sh
ipment cancelled before buying it yourself. I know for a fact you had Justin drop a box under Teague Flowers’ ventilation duct.” He held up a hand to ward off her interruption. “I was there. He didn’t screw up, by the way. I saw him deliver it. You had no reason to deliver anything to Ivy after hours, so I returned it here. Not to mention, I heard him tell you he did it before he quit this morning.” A bug landed on his nose, and Hollis went cross-eyed looking at it. “Obviously, if it had been something innocent, you wouldn’t be dealing with a ladybug infestation at the moment. You planned a malicious attack on your competition, and it backfired. Now you have to deal with the consequences.”
“What are you going to do? Technically, I didn’t do anything to her. Teague Flowers is fine.”
She was right, but the intent was enough. He had no proof she was behind the graffiti and vandalism, but with her history, he wouldn’t doubt it. He didn’t need to know about that; he already had enough to take action. Hollis was completely confident Adelaide Klassen and the rest of the company would back his next move, so he continued. “You purchased this store from Mr. Iverson a year ago, correct?” He already knew he had his facts right.
“Yes.”
“Part of the purchase arrangement was taking on his existing contracts.”
“Yes.”
“Including the affiliation with North Pole Unlimited.”
“Of course.”
“Did you read the contract?” Hollis knew the answer to that question, too. Annie hadn’t. If she had, she would have realized there was an entire section on corporate ethics and what affiliates could and could not do when it came to business practices. He didn’t even feel bad. Before John had gotten sick, he’d called to ask if Love in Bloom needed help and had referenced the contract. Yes, North Pole Unlimited took a hard line, but they also agreed to provide support under the same section to keep things fair. Annie had blown two chances.
“No.”
“You should have. You can consider this audit complete. Our head office will notify you of the results.” He could have started proceedings immediately himself, but he didn’t want the headache. Hollis just wanted the job done.
“But I’m making you money!”
“Money isn’t everything.” That was the company policy, but Hollis hadn’t realized how true it was until he’d met Ivy. He tried to be grateful for their few days together, but he was greedy. Like Annie, he wanted more.
He had to leave town before he did something drastic.
Chapter Thirteen
Hollis
December 14th
North Pole Unlimited Headquarters
December, Manitoba
The poinsettia was a stupid idea. Its white petals reminded Hollis of the snow in Whistler, not like the stuff in Manitoba looked any different. And the red foil around the pot was exactly the same shade as Ivy’s coat. The plant itself wasn’t as nice as the ones at Teague Flowers, either; there was something about Ivy’s poinsettias that made them feel more like Christmas.
He was an idiot. Hollis knew this. His plant was perfectly fine and probably a better quality than ninety percent of them out there, being as he’d purchased it from NPU’s local supplier. But it wasn’t one of Ivy’s.
He could get rid of it, but then he wouldn’t have any reminders of Ivy at all, and that was unacceptable.
Hollis had been home for over a week, and he missed his BC florist like crazy. But there was nothing he could do about it. The paperwork to sever NPU’s contract with Love in Bloom had only filled his first two days home. Annie had protested; he knew she would. But the bad review and complaint filed by Villa Montague was the final nail in her contract coffin. Miss Franks had complained of the poor quality of her poinsettias, most of which had died in the first week of December.
Not that he cared that the hotel manager was upset; she’d caused Ivy a lot of grief.
His thoughts of Ivy were interrupted by a knock on the door. “What?” Even if he hadn’t been working, he didn’t want to be disturbed. He had enough on his plate to keep him occupied if he wanted to be. He was neck-deep in property acquisition requests from across the country. NPU’s sports equipment manufacturing plant in Hamilton wanted to expand in the new year, and every building they suggested required a serious overhaul. Weren’t there any factories in southern Ontario that didn’t need new roofs?
The dark-haired kid in the corridor grabbed a tube from his mail cart and threw it at Hollis without stepping foot through the door, then took off.
He checked his email again. After Hollis submitted his report on Love in Bloom, he made a recommendation regarding Teague Flowers. It would take time to work its way through the system and security checks, but it was possible he could be in a position to offer Ivy something in May. Ivy could hold on that long. He’d asked Joel to keep him updated on Ivy and her store, and the matchmaker was happy to text him every morning when she picked up her coffee. Joel’s prediction—her new arrangements were taking the Whistler area by storm, and they were only going to get more popular as the season progressed. Hollis was happy for her. She deserved the success, and even if a contract was the only contact he had with her going forward, he was going to do it for her.
He shouldn’t care so much. Ivy was there; he was here. She had been a lovely distraction for a week while he’d been stuck in the mountains on a terrible assignment, but they had nothing in common. She was a small business owner; he acquired small businesses for breakfast. She had a pirate bird; he’d recently adopted a sleepy, black kitten named Midnight from the new veterinary assistant in Animal Care. They’d would never work, and a long-distance relationship wouldn’t be enough for him.
There was another knock on the door. This time, his glare didn’t send the person running. “You’re scaring the interns. It’s hard enough getting them to spend a year in small-town Manitoba without subjecting them to the wrath of the Dash,” Nick Klassen said. He ignored Hollis’s glare and made himself at home in the chair opposite Hollis’s desk.
“Sometimes this job sucks. They should get used to it,” Hollis replied. “What do you want?”
“Courtesy call. My grandmother is not pleased with your report.”
“What was wrong with it?” He’d done exactly what he was supposed to: investigated a company and ended the association because they were negatively impacting North Pole Unlimited’s brand. He’d assumed he was fine, because the day after he’d filed it, Nick told him he was a shoe-in for senior manager now that John Tinder was officially on leave. Hollis should be happy. He’d been working toward the promotion for months.
“The report itself was fine. But now we’ve got a region with no representation in mid-December. So, guess who gets to go out to British Columbia and get a new contract signed before Christmas to make sure we aren’t left with a lapse of service?”
“You’re kidding me!” He hesitated, looking for an excuse. “I just got home. And the holidays are next week. Surely, we have somebody on retainer. Can’t we courier it to our west coast lawyers and have them do it? What’s with the personal touch?”
“The company president insists that it be you. And what she wants, she gets.”
“But—”
“Sorry, buddy. It’s part of the job as Senior Mergers and Acquisitions account manager for the west coast.”
“What?”
“Oh, did I forget to mention? You got the promotion. If John is able to come back to work, he asked to be moved to a lateral position so he won’t have to travel. Jenny has more seniority than you, and she wants to move back to southern Ontario to be closer to her family. Which leaves you, sir, as the nominee for the British Columbia senior manager position. Congrats. You’re going to need ski lessons.”
He’d need more than that. He had to find a house in Squamish—conveniently located halfway between Vancouver for work and Whistler for Ivy—and buy motion-sickness medication for driving along all the mountain roads for his commute. The steep, twisty mountain roads. His stomach
flipped at the thought. Rather than be upset, he decided it might be smarter to buy stock in the drug company.
But first, he had to tell Ivy. He’d left like he had because he’d known he couldn’t ask her to come with him. He’d applied for his now-new position knowing a move was part of the package, but he’d expected Ontario. Ending up near her was a best-case scenario he hadn’t dared dream. “I can’t deliver a new contract now. I have stuff to do. Organize movers, pack. Plus, it’s the holidays. I’m in charge of the cranberry sauce this year at the company potluck.”
“I’m not the one you have to argue with. That would be the big boss. You know where to find her if you’re brave enough.” Nick stood. “I’ve got to go. I’ve been ordered to the Animal Care wing.”
“Ordered? I thought Dr. Farnsworth reports to you. Aren’t you her supervisor?”
“Not according to Joy.”
Hollis grabbed his phone to call up his favorite list app and started to plan a cross-country relocation. He’d only added five items to it when he was interrupted again.
“Okay, Grumpy, let’s go.” Jilly Lewis tilted two suitcases to standing positions. They sat squarely in the middle of his doorway, blocking any attempt at escape. “This is the last airport shuttle into the city this week. Dan and I can’t wait to get out of here, even if it is only for a four-day weekend,” she said.
“Am I going somewhere?”
Her smile faltered. “Nick didn’t tell you? You’re headed back to the west coast to get some contracts signed. The legal team in Winnipeg is going to meet us at the airport with the paperwork since this was such a rush job.”
“I’m leaving now? Nick literally left my office five minutes ago. He didn’t say anything about going today. I thought the contract just had to be signed before Christmas.”
