Читать книгу My Only Christmas Wish - J.M. Jeffries - Страница 12

Chapter 3

Darcy parked in the circular drive that curved around the front of a pleasant two-story house with a veranda that completely surrounded it. Lush gardens flanked the house and spreading oak trees shaded the veranda. At the bottom of the stairs leading up a wide front porch sat a police cruiser. Before she’d even put the Mercedes in park, Eli opened the passenger door and was sprinting up the stairs to the front door.

Darcy turned off the motor and jumped out, racing after him.

He left the front door open and she stepped into a tidy foyer with marble tile on the floor, solid wood paneling on the walls and a round table in the center with a floral arrangement on top. She stopped in the archway leading to the living room and found herself smiling.

A little girl, maybe seven years old, sat on a sofa clutching a pink teddy bear to her chest. Her skin was a beautiful golden brown and her eyes were brown with hazel flecks. Next to her sat the officer. He held a storybook on his lap and was reading, his voice changing as he spoke each character’s dialogue. The little girl giggled when his voice rose up and down and she giggled again when he growled. “You sound just like my daddy when he reads to me.”

“Roo,” Eli said.

Roo looked up. “Daddy!” she cried, and jumped to her feet. She wore dark blue pants and a light blue T-shirt with a bow on the neckline. She ran to Eli and he swept her up into his arms and kissed her.

Darcy watched enchanted, surprised at the tenderness in his eyes and careful way he handled her. The bullheaded businessman had been replaced by a caring father and Darcy was impressed even though she didn’t want to be.

“Sir, I’m Officer Mike,” he said with a grin.

“Thank you, Officer,” Eli said.

“My pleasure, sir.” He picked up his cap, smiled at Darcy and headed out the front door.

“Hello, Roo,” Darcy said.

Her head appeared around her father’s neck. “Only my daddy calls me Roo. My name is Sophia.”

Darcy repressed a laugh. “Of course, Sophia. My apologies. I’m Darcy Bennett.”

Sophia struggled out of her father’s arms, and Eli set her down.

Darcy stooped to kneel on the floor. “Hello, Sophia. Would you like to come with me and your daddy to…m—the store?” She’d almost said “my store,” but managed to stop herself in time. “We have a nice area for playing and even story time. And Santa is arriving at noon.”

“Santa!”

“Yep!”

“My daddy says there’s no such thing as Santa.” Sophia slanted a glance at Eli from beneath her lashes.

Darcy rocked back, surprised. This little girl was too young to have her dreams taken away. She fought the desire to glare at Eli. “If that’s the case then why would he come to Bennett’s?”

“But…”

Darcy leaned forward. “You know, Sophia, sometimes daddies are a little confused.”

Eli glared at Darcy, but she shrugged it off.

“I’ve never gone to work with Daddy before,” Sophia said as she slid her hand into his.

“I used to go to work with my daddy all the time. Why don’t you get what you need and we’ll be on our way.”

Sophia tugged on her dad’s hand. He leaned down and she whispered in his ear. Then she trotted off.

When she was gone Eli turned to Darcy. “Don’t you toy with my daughter’s affections,” he growled.

Darcy pushed herself back up on her feet. “I didn’t know being nice to a seven-year-old was toying with her affections. Your opinion of me is a little skewed. I’ll be waiting in the car.” She turned around and walked out.

* * *

With Sophia safely with the day care staff and playing with another little girl around her age, Darcy took Eli on his first official tour of Bennett’s as the new owner.

Darcy was proud of what her family had done. She took him down to the first floor and started introducing him to the staff who weren’t with customers. Darcy felt a little pang seeing how many people weren’t shopping. Though the doors continued to open and close, only one or two entered instead of the crowds they’d had in the past.

As they made their way through the store, working their way up floor by floor, Darcy explained each department, who headed it and even introduced him to customers. Every few moments he made a note in a small notebook he held in one hand and Darcy wondered what he was writing down. What was he planning on changing in her store? She took a deep breath to control her racing emotions. Darcy promised herself that when her mother and her gigolo got back from their vacation, she wasn’t going to hit them with the heel of her Manolos.

She knew things weren’t great at the store, but they were holding on. Darcy was hurt that her mother let her stepfather do this to Darcy. She had wanted to be a fine artist but her passion was greater than her talent. Coming back to run Bennett’s had been the smartest choice she’d ever made and she’d discovered she was terrific at it. She should have known; she’d always loved it here. Every employee was a member of her family.

And here was Eli planning to change things, to take away the magic. She was going to have to fight and she’d never had to fight for something she loved before.

At the end of the tour, Eli sat across from her in her office. The notebook was opened on his knee.

“All right, you’ve been writing in that notebook for hours. Do you care to share some of it?”

He gave a short nod. “A number of things. First, I want to change the housewares department around a little bit.”

Darcy bit her tongue. Please, God, don’t let me have one of those maniacal cartoon-character laughs. She’d been waiting to drop this bomb all morning. “You can’t,” she said as calmly as she could.

His eyebrows rose in surprise. “If I remember correctly, I own this store. My signature is on the dotted line.”

“My stepfather was supposed to pass the information on to your lawyers. I was in negotiations at the time with the producers when you made your bid. And they said I should finish the negotiations and send them the final contract, which I did.”

She saw him frowning and wondered what he was thinking. She had the oddest feeling that her stepfather hadn’t sent the final contract to Eli’s people.

The sound of hyena laughter sounded in her head. “We are contractually obligated to maintain the store’s visual integrity, with the exception of seasonal decor changes, for the next six months.”

“Contractually obligated to whom?” he asked, his voice taking on a dangerous tone.

“WNTV—Women’s Network Television.”

“What does a TV station have to do with Bennett’s?”

“You’ve heard of the Personal Shopper Mystery books, you know, Homicide in Housewares, Larceny in Lingerie. WNTV is filming the TV show at Bennett’s. I signed the contract two weeks ago.”

His frown increased. “Two weeks ago I was trying to find a new nanny for Sophia.”

“I should think you would have had your people to do that.”

“Where Sophia is concerned, I do everything myself.”

She had to give him points for being a hands-on father.

“My stepfather should have informed you we were in negotiations. It’s not my fault.” She blinked her eyelashes at him. “How was I to know he didn’t carry out his responsibilities?” Surprise, surprise, she thought.

He sat back in his chair, his mouth half open. “That information did not make it to me or my lawyers. Tell me more.”

“The author of the mystery books, Amanda Montgomery, was not only a former employee, but my college roommate. I helped her get her career off the ground.”

She slanted a look at him, trying to read him. He had a blank expression on his face.

“And Zora Davis,” she continued, “who is the producer, was also my college roommate. And we just got together, worked out the idea and the Personal Shopper Mysteries were born. This is going to bring in an extra fifty thousand dollars a month and the employees are going to have a chance to make some extra money as bit players. The city of Atlanta is excited about this, too. And if the series takes off, who knows what could happen. Filming starts at the end of January.”

He could only stare at her.

“I apologize for putting a crimp in your redecoration plans.” She was so proud of herself, she almost burst. Darcy realized this was the first day and the first battle, but she believed she carried the win.

“Any more surprises up your sleeve?” he asked caustically.

“If I told you, they wouldn’t be surprises.”

He tapped his pen hard against the top of his spiral notebook. Darcy couldn’t help a thrill of pride. She loved irritating him. She knew she was being mean, but didn’t care. Despite his anger, he was still incredibly handsome and she felt a little tingle against her skin as she sat back, trying not to look too smug.

“You’re a very smart woman, Ms. Bennett.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment.” Even though she thought his tone was condescending. “I love this store. These people are my family, and I will do anything short of committing a major felony to save Bennett’s—unless it’s something glamorous and nonviolent. That’s always been a fantasy of mine. Darcy Bennett, art thief.” She sat back in her chair feeling incredibly pleased with herself.

His lips quirked and she could tell he was trying not to laugh.

“Go ahead and laugh,” she continued. “I won’t tell anybody that you’re not the big, bad ogre trying to steal Bennett’s from my poor, fragile little hands.”

He laughed out loud. “And that’s exactly what I’m trying to do. As I said before, I’m releasing the dogs of war.” He stood up and reached for the doorknob. “You said my office is next door.”

“To the left,” she replied. “It’s a corner office and it even has a window.”

* * *

His office was a couple dozen square feet larger than Darcy’s and she was right about the tiny window overlooking the loading docks. At least he didn’t feel so cramped as he did in her office.

The window was open, making the room icy cold, and when he looked out he couldn’t keep a chuckle from escaping. Darcy Bennett thought of everything. He could hear the sound of trucks pulling into the docks and the shouts of men on the dock guiding the trucks into their berths.

He closed the window and sat at the desk. The chair creaked as he sat before the computer on the desk near a file cabinet. This bare office was not what he was used to. Eli placed his spiral notebook on the desktop and contemplated his next move. He started to turn toward the nearest file cabinet when a knock sounded on the door.

The door opened to reveal one of the women from the day care center. She wore a blue apron over dark blue pants and white T-shirt. The apron was smeared with what looked like finger paint while a smudge of chalk decorated her nose. Her name tag said Ms. Jill.

“Mr. Austin,” Ms. Jill said, “I thought I’d stop by and tell you we’re getting ready to head down to the first floor to watch Santa’s arrival. The children then get the first chance to have their photos taken with Santa. Do you want me to inform you when Sophia is ready for her photo?”

“Ms. Jill—” he sat back to regard her “—how did you come to be the head of the day care center?”

She grinned. “At least one member of my family at one time or another has worked at Bennett’s. I graduated last spring with a degree in early childhood education and Ms. Darcy felt I would be perfect to get the center started, and run it.”

“Do you really like working here?”

Ms. Jill studied him with a tilt of her head. “I love working at Bennett’s. They have a scholarship fund that went partially toward my tuition and the rest I earned working part-time here like a lot of other people.”

“Is it mandatory for all the children to see Santa Claus?”

“No, it’s just that one of the perks is getting to see him first.” She paused. “Do you have a problem with her seeing Santa Claus?”

“She’s at the age where she shouldn’t believe in these kinds of social white lies.”

Ms. Jill looked at him steadily and said, “Mr. Austin, children need to have active imaginations, and believing in Santa Claus is part of that.”

He leaned forward. “I’ve already told her Santa Claus doesn’t exist.”

Her eyebrows rose. “Really, well, she’s been jumping up and down with excitement since she arrived, and I told her she would get to visit with Santa. I don’t think she believes you.”

“My daughter is a very practical child.”

“No, she’s a child.”

He gave a sigh and wondered if this was worth the argument. “If she wants to visit Santa, let her.”

Ms. Jill looked impatient. “And do you want to be in the photo? It would mean a lot to Sophia.”

“You’ve only been with Sophia for an hour, how do you already know all this about her?”

“Partly because of my fancy education, and as you will find out eventually, Bennett’s is magical.” And with that she turned and left.

Eli knew his mouth was hanging open at her reply. Nobody had ever spoken to him that way before. He jumped to his feet and stalked after her, throwing open the door to Darcy’s office and entering.

She was speaking on the phone, but at the frown on his face, she told the caller she would call back, said goodbye and hung up.

“Do people not understand that I am the ‘Boss’ with a capital B? And that entitles me to a modicum of respect.”

Darcy stood, quietly facing him, her shoulders squared. “You don’t want respect. You want them to fear you. They treat me with respect.” She paused and covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, must be because I earned it.” She took a deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest. “There isn’t one person here who doesn’t know how much I love getting into the trenches. They don’t know that about you.”

“I will do what it takes to make this store succeed.”

“Respect is one thing, but if you want these people to work for you, to give blood, then you make them love you they way they love me and I love them. If you can’t do that, then pack up your seven-thousand-dollar briefcase and leave now. That’s how Bennett’s works.”

He thought a moment about what she’d said. Making people love him was not on his agenda. He was the boss. “As I said, I will do what it takes to succeed.”

“Sure you will, Mr. Austin. Have a nice day. Why don’t you start by making your daughter happy and have your picture taken with her and Santa?”

Eli stalked out. He’d give her this battle. But the war was far from over and Eli Austin never lost.