It was Christmas Eve, and I was trying my best to be jolly – not for my own sake, but for Lexie's. It had been nearly a week since I'd last seen Bryce, and I was feeling the loss of him more than I wanted to admit.
Was he feeling the loss ofme?
Doubtful.
After all, it's not like he had ever called me back.
Now, all I wanted to do was crawl under the covers and sulk until the holidays ended. But I couldn't.
My sister needed me.So instead of sulking, I poured all of my energy into comforting Lexie, who was taking Cole's betrayal even harder than I'd feared.
This was part of the reason I'd insisted on picking her up tonight from the candy store where she worked. I'd arrived just a few minutes ago to find the store mostly empty – no surprise there, considering that it was nearly closing time on Christmas Eve.
Behind the front counter, Lexie looked even more depressed thanIfelt. And considering that I'd been spending most of my nights crying into my pillow, this was truly saying something.
Now I was counting down the minutes until I could whisk Lexie away to my parents' place for some much-needed holiday cheer.
Turns out, I wasn't the only one counting because just then, Lexie's male coworker called out from the back room, "Three minutes 'til closing."
The words had barely faded when the door jingled to announce a new customer. I whirled to look and spotted Mitchell of all people coming into the store.
He wore black slacks, a long wool overcoat, and a look so glum, I felt my own mood sink just a little lower.
When Lexie and I called out greetings, all we received in return was a sullen look as Mitchell stalked up to the counter and tossed a wrinkled sheet of paper onto the smooth glass surface.
Lexie glanced at the paper. "What's that?"
"A job application," Mitchell said. "You wanna take a look?"
With obvious confusion, Lexie picked it up and scanned the single sheet. "So…you want to work here?"
"Not really," Mitchell said. "But Grampkin promised you'd hire me."
I smiled at the name. Lloyd Grampkin was Lexie's old boss. She'd been his assistant until Cole Henster had purchased the company and sent a whole bunch of people packing, including Mister Grampkin.
I had never met the guy, but Lexie had totally loved him – and not in the romantic sense. Unlike Cole Henster, Mister Grampkin had been soft and jolly with a true love of Christmas – or at least that's the way Lexie had always described him.
As I watched, Lexie gave Mitchell an apologetic look. "I would, honest, but I'm just a regular employee. The manager does the hiring, not me."
"It figures," Mitchell grumbled.
Lexie's shoulders slumped, but then she offered up a tentative smile. "But I could put in a good word for you. Still, I've got to be honest. With the holidays winding down, they probably won't be doing much hiring. In fact, I've already been told that I'll be getting fewer hours after the new year, so…" She winced. "I wouldn't get your hopes up."
Mitchell grimaced. "Not much danger of that."
As he stood there looking despondent, I felt like crying at the injustice. Mitchell was a really nice guy, and Cole Henster had totally screwed him over.
Andhe'd screwed my sister – literally.
"And besides," Lexie was saying, "you could do better than this. You're way overqualified."
Mitchell turned to me with an accusing look. "Didn't you tell her?"
I stiffened.What? Like I wouldn't?"Of course I told her. I promised you I would."
Lexie spoke up. "Yeah, she told me everything. I know what Cole Henster did. But I'm just saying, with your sales experience, something is bound to turn up."
Mitchell turned to Lexie with a frown. "Henster? What doeshehave to do with it?"
