Even after Jake had left, Holly had trouble falling asleep. Her mind whirled as she relived scenes and moments of what had been one of the most memorable evenings of her life. When the alarm woke her early Thursday morning, she couldn’t get up and just dozed off again. She finally roused herself, horrified to discover that she was almost half an hour behind schedule.
She managed to drag herself out of bed, gulp down a cup of coffee and get Gabe up and dressed and over to the Krantzes’.
Filled with dread, Holly rushed to work. As she yanked off her coat, she heard her name being called. Breathless, she flew into Lindy Lee’s office; as usual, Lindy looked pointedly at her watch.
Holly tried to apologize. “I’m sorry I’m late. I’ll make up the twenty-five minutes, I promise.”
Lindy Lee raised one eyebrow. “Make sure you do.”
Holly stood waiting for the lecture that inevitably followed. To her astonishment, this time it didn’t. “Thank you for understanding.”
“See to it that this doesn’t happen again,” her employer said, dismissing Holly with a wave of her hand.
“It won’t…I just couldn’t seem to get moving this morning.” Thinking she’d probably said too much already, she started to leave, then remembered her resolve to discuss a Christmas party with Lindy Lee.
Aware that Holly was lingering, Lindy Lee raised her head and frowned. “Was there something else?”
“Well, yes. Do you mind if I speak freely?”
“That depends on what you have to say.” Lindy Lee held her pen poised over a sheet of paper.
“I was at the employees’ party for Finley’s Department Store last evening,” she said, choosing her words carefully. “It was a wonderful event. The employees work together as a team and…and they feel such loyalty to the company. You could just tell. They feel valued, and I doubt there’s anything they wouldn’t do to help the company succeed.”
“And your point is?” Lindy Lee said impatiently.
“My point is we all need to work as a team here, too, and it seemed to me that maybe we should have a Christmas party.”
Lindy Lee leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. “In a faltering economy, with flat sales and an uncertain future, you want me to throw a Christmas party?”
“It’s…it’s just an idea for next year,” Holly said, and regretted making the suggestion. Still, she couldn’t seem to stop. “The future is always uncertain, isn’t it? And there’ll always be ups and downs in the economy. But the one constant is the fact that as long as you’re in business you’ll have a staff, right? And you need them to be committed and-”
“I get it,” Lindy Lee said dryly.
Holly waited.
And waited.
“Let me think about it,” Lindy Lee finally mumbled.
She’d actually agreed to think about it. Now, this was progress-more progress than Holly had dared to expect.
Fifteen
The best vitamin for a Christian is B1.
– Mrs. Miracle
Jake Finley was in love. Logically, he knew, it was too soon to be so sure of his feelings, and yet he couldn’t deny his heart. Love wasn’t about logic. He’d been attracted to Holly from the moment he met her, but this was more than attraction. He felt…connected to Holly, absorbed in her. He thought about her constantly. Over the years he’d been in other relationships, but no woman had made him feel the way Holly did.
When he arrived at work Thursday morning, he went directly to his father’s office. Dora Coffey seemed surprised to see him.
“Is my father in yet?” Jake asked her.
“Yes, he’s been here for a couple of hours. You know your father-this store is his life.”
“Does he have time to see me?” Jake asked next. “No meetings or conference calls?”
“He’s free for a few minutes.” She left her desk and announced Jake, who trailed behind her.
When Jake entered the office, his father stood. “Good morning, son. What can I do for you?” He gestured for Jake to take a seat, which he did, and settled back in his own chair.
Jake leaned forward, unsure where to start. He should’ve worked out what he was going to say before coming up here.
“I suppose you want to gloat.” J.R. chuckled. “You were right about that robot. Hardly anyone else forecast this trend. I turned on the TV this morning and there was a story on Telly the SuperRobot. Hottest toy of the season, they said. Who would’ve guessed it? Not me, that’s for sure.”
“Not Mike Scott, either,” Jake added, although he didn’t fault the buyer.
“True enough. And yet Mike was the first to admit he didn’t see this coming.”
So Scott had mentioned it to J.R. but not to him. Still, it must’ve taken real humility to acknowledge that he’d been wrong.
“I’m proud of you, son,” J.R. continued. “You went with your gut and you were right to do it.”
Jake wondered what would’ve happened if Finley’s had been stuck with four hundred leftover robots. Fortunately, however, he wouldn’t have to find out.
“I checked inventory this morning, and we have less than twenty of the robots in stock.”
Jake didn’t need to point out the benefits of being the only store in the tristate area with any robots in stock. Having a supply-even a rapidly dwindling supply-of the season’s most popular toy brought more shoppers into the store and created customer loyalty.
“They’re selling fast. The entire quantity will be gone before Christmas.”
“Good. Good,” his father said. He grinned as he tilted back in his high leather chair. “Oh, I enjoyed meeting your lady friend last night.”
“Holly enjoyed meeting you.”
“She’s special, isn’t she?”
Jake was astonished that his father had immediately discerned his feelings for Holly. “Yes, but… What makes you say that?” He had to ask why it had been so obvious to his father.
J.R. didn’t respond for a moment. Finally he said, “I recognized it from the way you looked at her. The way you looked at each other.”
Jake nodded but didn’t speak.
“I remember when I met your mother.” There was a faraway expression in his eyes. “I think I fell in love with Helene as soon as I saw her. She was the daughter of one of my competitors and so beautiful I had trouble getting out a complete sentence. It’s a wonder she ever agreed to that first date.” He smiled at the memory.
So rarely did his father discuss his mother and sister that Jake kept quiet, afraid that any questions would distract J.R. He craved details, but knew he had to be cautious.