THREE: Taryn

THREE

TARYN

As much as it pains me to admit it, James is an amazing CEO.

Under his leadership, Magnolia Marketing has ascended from the fifth-best ad company in the country to number one. I'm being paid triple what I made before, and even though he insists that I join him for tension-filled coffee and lunch meetings every week, he’s a far better boss than Mr. Adeleman ever was.

Setting a milk latte on his desk, I spot his assistant unbuttoning her blouse to reveal a sparkling red Santa bra.

“You do know that Mr. Calloway hates the holidays, right?” I ask her.

“I know that he hates you .” She scoffs. “Stay out of our business.”

“Right…” I shake my head. “Can you tell him that the Fresca Team changed their meeting request to Christmas Eve, so he’ll have a bit more time to work on it?”

“You’ll have to relay that to someone else,” she says. “Mr. Calloway is taking his first holiday vacation this year, so that’s something you and the other executives will have to figure out amongst yourselves while he’s enjoying a well-earned Christmas.”

“Is he going somewhere like Los Angeles or Hawaii?”

“He probably wouldn’t have told me to pack his ski kit if that were the case.” She points to a suitcase and a stack of perfectly wrapped emerald boxes.

Confused, I walk over to them and feel a sudden ache in my chest.

Has he been dating someone this year? How did I miss that?

“It’s a long-distance relationship.” Daphne reads my mind. “There’s still hope for me, though. I’m holding out for a holiday miracle.”

“A holiday miracle for what, Daphne?” James steps into the room.

“Nothing!” She blushes and rushes to his bookshelf.

Clearing my throat, I hand him a file.

“Here’s everything you need for the Raymond campaign.” I refuse to make eye contact with him. “If the team gets confused about any of my notes, they can call me.”

“Call you?”

“Yes,” I say. “They have my phone number, but Colorado is an hour ahead of Seattle, so tell them to keep that in mind.”

He crosses his arms and stares at me, pinning me to the spot with his heated gaze.

“Miss Stone, do you recall when we spoke this time last year and I told you that you would be required to work Christmas this year?”

“Honestly, no. I don’t remember that at all.”

“Well, I told you that, and I’ve sent several emails to every executive about this for months,” he says. “We can’t afford to not have all hands on deck this year.”

“Then why are you leaving?”

“Because I’m the boss.” He narrows his eyes. “There’s some special preemptive business I’ll be tending to.”

“Screwing your secret girlfriend can wait a few days.” I shrug. “I’ll be available via phone. Period.”

“I’m not asking you about this, Miss Stone.”

“Then it sounds like we’re on the same page for a change.”

Silence.

As if Daphne can feel the shift in the room, she rushes past us and leaves.

“Miss Stone, if you don’t stay and work with your team, I won’t be able to promote you to the job you deserve.”

“You already have the job I deserve.” I fire back. “I haven’t missed the holidays since I started working here, and I don’t plan to start now. Even Mr. Adeleman was lenient when it came to family, something you don’t seem to understand.”

“There’s no need to get personal.”

“Why are you suddenly going on a holiday vacation?”

“That's none of your business,” he says. “Rest assured, it’s not someplace to fulfill a silly marriage contract with someone who barely calls me.”

“So much for not getting personal…”

“The only thing of your concern is that if you’re not here to handle things for me while I’m away, then we’re going to have a problem.”

“One more won’t hurt.”

“Try me, Taryn. Don’t show up to work this weekend and see.”

The look in his eyes tells me I should reconsider things, but my family comes first, and he’ll have to deal with that.

“It’s not my fault you hate your family,” I say. “And the only reason you hate the holidays so much is because everyone being in happy relationships is a cruel reminder of what you’re incapable of having for yourself.”

“Get the fuck out of my office.”

“Gladly.”