“What am I doing?” he asked the empty room. “She's an employee. I shouldn't even be thinking about her.”
He needed outside advice. He needed a friend, but the only person he could think of was Luke. In an attempt to prevent himself from spiraling any further, Nicholas picked up his phone and dialed his trusty assistant.
“Mr. Kerstman? Sir? Is something wrong?” Luke answered on the first ring, as he so often managed to do. “Is it something about Christmas Wishes?”
“In a way,” Nicholas said slowly. He nearly hung up the phone. “Luke, I need to know our company's bylaws.”
“I can pull those up, sir. What do you need to know?” Luke asked.
Nicholas cleared his throat. “What is the policy on dating employees?”
Luke was quie
t for a moment. “Sir, I am very sorry, but I'm not interested in men. I prefer women.”
“Oh, Luke. That's not what I meant...” Nicholas stammered.
“Not that I'm not flattered,” Luke said quickly. “But I feel it's best to keep a professional relationship. I hope you understand.”
Nicholas sighed and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. “I wasn't talking about you, Luke. I was talking about a female employee.”
“Oh.” Luke paused. “Did we hire someone?”
“At Christmas Wishes.” Nicholas would have strangled the man if he wasn't in another state. “A female employee at Christmas Wishes. Can I date her?”
“Oh, of course you can date her,” Luke told him. “The bylaws only apply to employees of Kerstman Enterprises. Christmas Wishes has no such bylaws. There isn't anything preventing you from dating someone at that store.”
Nicholas let out a slow sigh of relief.
“So what do I do next?” Nicholas asked.
“I'm not sure I'm the best person to help you, sir,” Luke replied slowly. “I'm much better at business than I am at dating.”
“But you go on dates, right?” Nicholas pressed.
“Well, yes. But, it's all on an app, sir,” Luke admitted.
“Luke, I'm going crazy out here. I don't know what's coming over me,” Nicholas told him.
Luke was quiet for a moment on the other end of the line. “Have you asked her out, sir?”
“I tried, but I don't think she took me seriously,” Nicholas admitted.
“I think it’d be best to try again and make sure she understands you intentions,” Luke replied. “It's what you'd do in a standard negotiation. Make the terms clear.”
“But, Luke...” Nicholas sighed.
“Of course, she could always say no, but if the business deal for Christmas Wishes works out, sir, you won’t have to worry about showing your face around there anyway.” Luke’s smile was present through his tone. “But, she could say yes. This seems like a win-win opportunity to me, sir.”
“Hmm. A win-win,” Nicholas repeated, feeling some of his courage starting to come back.
“Does that help, sir?” Luke asked.
“It does.” Nicholas was certain now that hiring Luke was one of the best things he'd ever done. The man was an absolute treasure.
“Then I'll get back to prepping the sale,” Luke told him. “Talk to you later, sir.”
“Thank you, Luke.” Nicholas was off the couch and putting on his suit jacket. He grabbed his wool overcoat and gloves.