Change My Mind

by Ali Parker

  “Yes, you have and I’m very proud of you.”

  “What are you doing in here?”

  “Uh, I would like food, if that’s okay.”

  “Stop. You know what I mean. Shouldn’t you be following Harper around somewhere?”

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Relax, I’m teasing.”

  I sat down at her table, my desire to grab something from the kitchen forgotten. “What did you mean?”

  I didn’t want to violate our agreement. I wasn’t going around grabbing her ass, but I did manage to sneak a kiss or two. Did someone catch us? Was I busted? If I was busted, she was going to cut things off.

  “I meant I know you, and I know you want her back. You can deny it all you want, but I see the way you look at her. You are so into her. It’s almost sad.”

  “Why is it sad?”

  “Because you won’t admit it, or you can’t admit it.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say to that. “I can admit it but that doesn’t mean anything.”

  She grinned, pointing her fork at me. “I knew it! Did you use me to get her here?”

  “No.”

  “Liar.”

  “Stop.”

  “It’s okay,” she said. “I mean you never really got over her. She’s always been the one you’ve wanted. It’s nice to see you happy.”

  “What about you?” I asked. “Any more with the Nick situation?”

  “I’m not talking about that with you.”

  “What? Since when?”

  “Since you’re a big fat hypocrite.”

  I leaned back. “What are you talking about?”

  “You’ve got it bad for Harper and used me to get her back in your clutches but you are still trying to deny it.” She’d busted me.

  “It’s complicated.”

  “No, it’s a double standard.”

  “Nick is not Harper,” I pointed out.

  “True.”

  “Harper and I have history.”

  “I know you do but I have history with Nick.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Two weeks doesn’t count as history.”

  “You’re such an asshole.”

  “I try.”

  She took a bite of her toast. “I approve, by the way.”

  “You approve of what?”

  “You and her. Go for her if you want. I won’t stand in your way.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind. I’m going to get something to eat.”

  “Thank you for letting us use your resort and your money to put on this benefit,” she called when I was walking away.

  It was kind of an odd thing to say but Cori could be odd sometimes. I let it go. I grabbed a yogurt and scarfed it down before snatching a banana and leaving the dining room. I was glad I had Cori’s approval. I knew I didn’t need it, but I was glad I had it. I wanted her to be okay with it because I damn well intended on being with Harper.

  Thinking about her made me want to see her. I was always trying to think of one excuse or another to see her. I didn’t have a plan but figured I would wing it. I dropped my snacks in my office and popped into my private bathroom to make sure I didn’t have any crumbs on my face or anything stuck in my teeth. Being around Harper was like being back in high school. I was always worried about my appearance just in case I might run into her.

  I walked into her office, ready to see Harper. I was hoping to wow her with another brilliant idea and get another kiss. I didn’t know what that idea was yet, but I was counting on something to come to me when the moment arrived. I pushed open the door and immediately looked around. I knew she wasn’t there. I could practically sense it.

  “Is Harper around?” I asked Parker.

  She smiled, shaking her head. “Nope. Just me.”

  “Oh,” I said, realizing I sounded disappointed.

  “Sorry to disappoint you.”

  “I’m not disappointed.”

  She giggled. “Yes, you are. You were hoping to see your lovely lady.”

  “She’s not my lovely lady.”

  “Oh, oops, I forgot we aren’t acknowledging you two are hooking up.”

  I almost choked. “Hooking up? What are you talking about? What did she tell you?”

  She burst into laughter. “Relax, your secret is safe with me.”

  “I don’t have a secret.”

  “Oh, come on. We’re all adults here. You’ve been hot for her since we stepped foot on this property. I’m sure the feeling is mutual. You two make the room about twenty degrees hotter when you’re in it. No one is missing those sparks. One of you should carry a fire extinguisher.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” I said, remembering my promise to keep our thing just between us.

  “It’s fine. I get it. You don’t want anyone to know. That’s probably a good thing but know that I know. You can come in here and ask about her and I won’t find it at all strange. It will be our little secret.”

  “I don’t see why you would find it strange. I’m her boss. I will need to talk to her on occasion. That’s what I do.”

  “It’s okay. She’s just as into you.”

  That deserved a little more attention. I cleared my throat, my attention fully grabbed. “What?”

  “I hear her sighs, and when she mentions your name, she gets this little look in her eyes. She laughs more and smiles more when you are around. She is happier.”

  “Really?” I asked, intrigued.

  She smiled, noticing my interest. “Really. She likes you. A lot.”

  I smirked. “Good to know. I’m going to leave her a note.”

  I walked to her desk when I noticed a poster board on the wall. I walked over to check it out, smiling when I saw her handwriting with her many notes. She was artistic but not in the way that she could draw. Hell, I wasn’t sure she could even write, judging by the scribbles I was looking at.

  “Hey, babe, are you ready for the hottest make-out session of your life?” I heard Jake say.

  I poked my head around the corner. Parker’s eyes were bugging out and her hand was clapped over her mouth.

  Jake turned and saw me. “Oh shit,” he muttered. “I didn’t know you were here.”

  “Aww, you weren’t talking to me just now?” I asked, grinning.

  He looked down and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I’m sorry.”

  I held up my hands. “I didn’t hear anything,” I told him. “I’ll find Harper later.”

  I slapped a hand on Jake’s shoulder and left the office. I wasn’t sure where the make-out session was happening, but I hoped they kept the door closed. I suspected there was something going on between them. Now I knew. I was happy for Jake. They were a good couple. Parker was pretty and funny, and Jake was a caring guy. He would take care of her.

  Jake and Parker were not the only couple heating things up. I wanted to move to the next level with Harper. I was running out of time. The fair was tomorrow. Two days later, it would be Christmas and then a week after that, her contract was officially up. I needed to get things moving before I lost my chance.

  I walked into my office and sat down. I opened my email and found one from Harper.

  “Hey, wanted to keep you in the loop. These are the plans for the booths inside and the food vendors that will be setting up inside and out. The tents are going up and we ordered a couple more patio heaters. Everything looks to be moving along very well. The elf training was great. Thank you so much for letting us do this. You’re a very generous man, Chase Adams.”

  I was smiling as I read her note. I clicked on the attachments and looked over what she put together. I read the list of food vendors and the offerings they were going to have at the fair. It was basically any kids’ dream list of food. Corn dogs, chicken strips, French fries, and even rolled ice cream. I imagined a lot of stomach aches.

  The list of foods stirred up old memories. There was a yearly fair at the school on Halloween. It didn’t matter if it was a weekday or the weekend. Every Ha
lloween, it became our thing. The last time we went together, it was the last year of high school. We were new in our relationship. We were inseparable. I held her hand, keeping her close to me all night.

  We shared a basket of fries and then some ice cream. The games were where I really got to show off. I remembered her squeal of delight when I hit the bell on the feat of strength tower. She’d acted just like she had when I proposed that great idea. She kissed me and held me close. She looked at me like I was the king of her world. It was the best feeling. I wanted it again. I wanted her to look at me like that again.

  That gave me an idea. A very good idea. The fair was set up. Harper didn’t necessarily need to be on duty at the fair. She put it together and the people she put in position to pull it off would do just fine without her. That meant I could claim her. It was going to be my chance to make it happen again. I was going to get her to look at me like that again.

  Too bad there wasn’t a Ferris Wheel. I smiled at the memory. I slipped the guy at the bottom running the ride a ten. I wanted the ride to get stuck with us at the top for at least five minutes or for however long ten bucks bought a guy. We kissed up there high above the rest of the fair. The wind was chilly, and she was shivering, but I wanted to believe it was my kiss that made her shudder, not the cold.

  There wasn’t going to be any rides for me to get stuck on with her, but I was sure I could come up with a way to steal her away and sneak another kiss. I was going to have to be extra charming. I was going to have to be smooth and sneak in those quiet little moments when she didn’t realize what I was doing. If she suspected I was out to seduce her, I would never get anywhere. I needed to be calculating and cool. I wanted to show her how good I was for her. I wanted her to see I could make her happy.

  I knew she was the right girl for me. I knew it and now I needed her to know it. I didn’t want her to leave after the new year. I not only wanted her to stay with me, but I wanted her to stay on as my marketing manager. She was really good at her job and I didn’t want her to leave.

  I knew Parker was good with it. I was sure Cori would be okay with it. Jake was definitely okay with it. We were good together, really good. Harper was the only woman I could see a future with. She was the only woman I could see myself married to and having a family with. She was the woman that would have my babies one day. If she rejected me, I wasn’t sure I would ever recover.

  There would never be another woman like her in my life.

  Chapter 44

  Harper

  It was early, earlier than normal humans rose from bed. I wasn’t normal today. It was the day of the fair.

  We had all worked until late the night before and were all up early the morning of. We didn’t have time to waste. I walked into the ballroom carrying my cup of coffee and checking out everything with fresh eyes. Fresh, bleary eyes.

  I spotted Cori, and as expected, Nick was right behind her. “Hey, guys,” I greeted.

  “Hey!” Cori exclaimed. “Have you seen this?”

  I looked around, nodding. “I’m looking at it.”

  “It’s so awesome!”

  Nick was smiling as well. “It really is nice. Thank you for doing all this.”

  “You’re welcome. It was intimidating, but now that we are standing here, it wasn’t so bad.”

  “Have you seen any elves?” Cori asked. “I haven’t. Do you think they’ll show up?”

  “They’ll show up. They aren’t scheduled to be here for another hour. It’s still dark outside.”

  “Oh, yeah, true,” she replied.

  “The guy I’m hoping to impress is bringing his kids,” Nick chimed in. “I think he is going to be very impressed.”

  I didn’t let on that I knew anything about his situation. I wasn’t sure I was supposed to know, and I didn’t want to embarrass him. “I hope all the kids are impressed.”

  “I hear there might be a few more kids than we initially thought,” Cori said. “I know we are prepared for extra, but I hope we don’t get overwhelmed with a rush of them. I don’t think it will be nearly as fun for any of them.”

  “Our elves and volunteers are ready for anything, I hope. Good job getting the extra volunteers.”

  She winked. “It’s Christmas and everyone wants to feel better about themselves, which means they want to do something to give back. I have no shame taking full advantage of their guilt.”

  I laughed, agreeing with her. “Me too. Now, I need to get everyone together and give them the pep talk.”

  “You should have brought her along,” Cori said.

  “Who’s her?” Nick asked with confusion.

  “Mrs. Claus.”

  Nick smirked. “Do you know her personally?”

  “Actually, I do.”

  I walked away, heading to one of the tents outside where the staff were supposed to meet me. I needed to give them the pep talk. I wanted to make sure they all understood the expectations. I was not going to have a round two of the Santa Debacle. No way, no how. This was going to be perfect. This was one last hurrah.

  I did a quick check to make sure there was plenty of room. We also had muffins, juice, and coffee ready for the staff. After making sure everything was ready to go, I made my way through the rest of the rooms to make sure everything was perfect. It seemed to be all in order. I was ready. The team was ready. It was all ready.

  I made my way back to the tent that was packed with the elves and volunteers. I didn’t love public speaking, but this felt different. This was me gearing up for the last big game of the season. This was the finals for me. Everything depended on this going off without a hitch. I knew the likes of Tawny, Oliver, and some of the other bigwigs I’d met would be stopping by to see what we put together. This was my resume.

  “Thank you everyone for being here early. Today is going to be a blast. When things get hectic, which they will, remember why we are here. We are here to have fun. We’re here to make sure the kids have fun. We want them going home at the end of the day exhausted and excited at the same time. We want them to go to sleep dreaming about the fun they had here today. We want the parents to thank us for wearing out their kids. This is all about fun. Thank you all again and let’s do this!”

  There was a round of applause before everyone drifted out of their tents and headed for their stations. I took a moment to catch my breath. The moment I opened the gates that led into the outdoor winter-wonderland area, things were going to be crazy. I knew I was going to be on my feet for the next six hours. I was going to be pulled in every direction and beg for mercy. I was ready.

  “Wait,” I heard Chase say.

  I turned to see him coming in from the back of the tent. He pulled me into his arms and gave me a warm hug. “Thank you for working your ass off and making this amazing. You did fantastic.”

  I wanted to melt into his arms. I wanted to stay right where I was for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, I had an entire town waiting for me to open the gates. “I should get those gates open,” I whispered.

  “I suppose you should.”

  I walked away with butterflies in my stomach. I put on a big smile and opened the gates. There was a flood of people. I stood out of the way, praying it went well. I was worried about the snowballs. I was worried about the sledding. I was worried about everything.

  I realized my worries were for nothing. I listened to the squeals of excitement and the laughter from the kids. They were having a great time. Parents were standing back, hugging hot coffee and watching their children play in the snow. It was a beautiful scene. I was ready to go inside and check on the rest of the activities when I saw Cori approaching.

  “Can you believe this crowd?” Cori came to stand next to me.

  “We knew it was going to be big.”

  “We were just inside the ballroom. It’s all going smoothly.”

  “Good. I need cameras so I can keep an eye on everything.”

  “You know what? We’ve got this.”

  I looked at her
. “What?”

  “Me and Nick have the ground operations covered. Why don’t you take a minute and breathe?”

  “You want me to take a back seat?”

  “No, I want you to enjoy your hard work. You have busted your ass and you should get to enjoy the fruits of your labor.”

  I was skeptical of her sudden goodwill. “What’s going on?”

  Chase happened to walk up just then. Cori smiled at him and then me. “You guys go. Enjoy yourselves. Me and Nick have this in hand.”

  I got the feeling I was being set up. “I think I should probably stay available.”

  “Nope, got it. Chase, she is all yours.”

  He put an arm around my waist and gently led me away. “She wants to do this,” he said.

  “But I feel like I should be paying attention in case there’s anything that comes up.”

  “You are getting the best view possible by mingling with the crowd. We can eavesdrop.”

  I frowned at him. “I have a feeling you two are up to something.”

  “Not at all. You’ve been working hard. All work and no play makes Harper a dull girl.”

  “Ha. Ha. All right, can we get some hot chocolate?”

  “Absolutely. And some of those donut holes.”

  “There’s a line,” I murmured. “Look, a line. Oh no.”

  “Relax, there are a lot of people here and the lines are moving fast. People are used to waiting a little while. It’s worth the wait.”

  He was right. The line to get cocoa was fast. We took our hot cocoa and moved to the snowman arena. There were kids everywhere. They were rolling snowballs and decorating snowmen. It was fun to watch them. The volunteers were doing exactly what they were supposed to. Some were helping roll snowballs while others gave the kids plenty of room to do it on their own if they chose.

  “This was a really good idea,” I told him.

  “I was just thinking about the things I did when I was a kid. We loved being outside. Even though we always had snow, there was something exciting about those snow days. I see this as one exciting snow day.”

  “The kids are really having fun and I think there are going to be some very appreciative parents. It’s a win-win for everyone.”