Love for the Holidays Box Set

And Good Will To All-2

I stood behind the wrap-around reception desk across from the front door of the office at five minutes to three. Admittedly, I was nervous at seeing the man after all this time. Jenna Rizzo, my assistant, worked half days during the week so she could pick up her foster kids from school in the afternoons. But, since it was Saturday, I was on my own. The hours were nine until one o’clock in the afternoon on weekends.

I glanced up from the papers I was reviewing when the bell tinkled over the door as it opened. It was after hours, but I’d left it unlocked. A man with grizzled brown hair and a beard, about my height, wearing a long-sleeved Henley underneath an old winter jacket and faded black slacks, entered the office, bringing the cold air with him.

Mack was a sight for sore eyes, but he looked tired, with an air of fragility about him that surprised me. Something bad had happened to him, beaten him down.

He walked up to me. “Hi. I’m here for an interview with the manager.”

His eyes were the same clear blue I remembered from our youth. They seemed older, somehow, as if they’d witnessed terrible things. The wrinkles at the corners cut deep. There was no recognition of me at all in their depths. I guess it had been too many years. Or I had mattered less to him than I’d thought. A blow to the ego that I tried not to take personally.

I bit the bullet. “You don’t remember me, do you, Mack?”

At the mention of his nickname, the one that only I had used when it was just the two of us hidden away somewhere, he narrowed his eyes and studied me closely. I tried not to fidget under the scrutiny, but it was a near thing. I saw the moment he realized who I was. His eyes widened, and he reached out to grip the edge of the curved desktop that separated us.

“Jesus, Charlie. You’re still living in this godforsaken town?” And there it was. The reason he’d split for greener pastures when he’d turned eighteen. I had to admit, his words stung.

“That’s all you have to say to me? After all this time?”

He winced. “It’s just…the years I’ve spent trying…and to end up back here, then see you…it’s hard to…” At the sight of his discomposure, I felt a twinge.

I needed to set old feelings aside. They were definitely bygones, and I really needed a manager. “You know what? Forget it. It’s your life, your business. What matters is right now. Let’s move on, shall we? Follow me.”

I grabbed the folder I’d made ready for our meeting and walked around the desk toward the smaller one at the other end of the office. I heard the sound of footsteps as he walked behind me.

“Charlie, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend. You sounded so different on the phone, and—”

I waved his apology aside. “Don’t worry about it. Sit down, all right?” I placed the folder on my desk and sat as he did the same. I placed my elbows on the edge and began. “We have an almost full facility, since mine is the only storage place for twenty miles. I need a seasonal manager for the night shift. I usually check credentials and call for references, but right now, I’m desperate. I need someone to help with security, watch the cameras, do a few walk-arounds. I like to give our customers an extra sense of protection at this time of year.

“We’re close to the highway, and sometimes things get a little crazy between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, even with all the cameras and the high fence that surrounds the units. I’m getting too little sleep, and I need backup.”

I named a wage and the hours required. “I fired the previous manager two weeks ago for negligence. I caught him sleeping on shift too many times for my piece of mind. If you take this job, you’ll have access to everything here, so it requires a massive amount of trust on my part, in you. It lasts until the new year, and then we’ll re-evaluate everything. Are you interested?”

Mack’s answer was immediate. “Definitely.” He smiled tentatively, his face registering something like relief. I didn’t have time to think about why that was at the moment.

I leaned back and stared at him. “I’m going to rely on what I used to know of you, Lonnie”—I felt it would be safer for my psyche if I stayed away from nicknames—”our past relationship notwithstanding. I hope I won’t be proved wrong.”

He sat up straight. “You won’t regret this, Charlie. I promise.”

I’d wait and see on that one. I also needed to remember to keep him at arm’s length. I couldn’t let my heart start beating for things that weren’t remotely possible in this lifetime. Our relationship would be all business, nothing else.

“Charles will do. No one calls me Charlie anymore.”

He nodded and looked away, taking the hint. He’d been the only one who’d ever used that moniker. Those days were over.