Page 17 of The Christmas Trap

Keith is as practical as me. It’s one of the reasons we are so well suited.

Only, I didn’t realize that Idohave a romantic streak in me. It would have been nice to have a ring. And have the reception at a more memorable venue. But hey, I'm getting married. I'm not going to end up an ambitious spinster who has her career and nothing else, as my mother often warned me. Everyone is happy, right?

I’d be happier if Keith were more present and involved in the details of the wedding planning.

I shove aside my misgivings and answer the call. It’s to confirm the details of the menu for the lunch. They ask me to confirm the number of guests. So, I check the RSVPs of the friends I invited to the wedding.

It’s my closest girlfriends, and my family.

Keith said he’d invite his family and friends. But he hasn’t confirmed numbers to me. I call him, get his voice mail—big surprise—and leave him a message.

The next morning, I bounce out of bed at dawn. I’ve put the call with my mother, and the stress related to the wedding organizing, out of my mind.

It’s my first day of work at my dream job. And it’s another day closer to Ch-r-iiii-stmas. That’s enough reason to be happy, right?

I dress carefully and make it to the tube station an hour early, but the tube trains are running late. Then the train gets stuck in a tunnel. And a pregnant woman faints. I jump in to help her, because there’s no way I can sit by and not. When she insists that I stay with her until the paramedics arrive, of course, I do. I don’t have the heart to leave until they check her out and confirm that she’s fine.

I’m hyperventilating at the thought of not being, at least, an hour early for my first day on the job. But her effusive thanks once themedics check her out and confirm she’s fine, makes me feel guilty at being so selfish.

By the time I make it to the office and knock on his door, I’m exactly on time. I gulp a few breaths and tell myself it’s going to be okay.

When my boss growls, "Come in," he doesn’t sound okay. In fact, he sounds even grumpier than yesterday.Ugh.

I steel myself and enter his den—I mean, domain—and am instantly struck by the clouds of anger which seem to emanate from him.

He’s seated behind his big desk, and he seems pissed off.

The perfectionist in me hates that I am not early on the job on my first day. But no way I could have left that pregnant woman upset and alone.

Only, I’m facing the consequences of my actions.

My boss’s thunderous expression confirms that I have not made a good impression on my first day at all.

I take a step forward, pasting a smile on my face.

A nerve pops at his temple. The very air between us thrums with the force of his disapproval. It presses down on my chest, making it difficult to breathe.

"I’m sorry, the tube was delayed and then I helped this pregnant woman who was not feeling well, that’s why I wasn’t early.” The words come out in a rush.

The grooves in his forehead deepen. He seems to forget whatever he was about to say. “You stopped to help a stranger on the train, that’s why you’re”—he glances at his watch—“on time?”

I nod. “I was hoping to get in an hour earlier, to be honest. It’s my first day, after all. I wanted to get in and orient myself, to get in the zone, you know? But I couldn’t leave when she, clearly, needed help.”

A strange expression crosses his face. Then he squares his shoulders. "Get me the revised financials for this quarter in the next fifteen minutes. Cancel my morning schedule. Reschedule every meeting for tomorrow.”

6

Brody

She flinches, and her smile drops.

I pretend not to notice it. Nor the flicker of hurt on her face. The way she folds into herself for half a second before straightening her spine.

I know I’ve gone too far. Her first fifteen minutes in the office, and I’ve unleashed my temper on her.

When really, I’m upset at myself.

I expected her to walk in half an hour, even an hour, before her official reporting time. She impressed me as someone who wanted this job enough to go that extra mile.