The people in town would be able to spot that sort of fakery from a mile away, sensing the obvious corporate shenanigans with each changing holiday season.
“No offense, Luke, but you’ll have to tell them that a name change is off the table.” Nicholas decided to go with the green tie. It seemed more festive.
“Sorry, sir, they’ve made the name change contingent as part of their interest in the store,” Luke informed him.
Nicholas scowled at the mirror as he adjusted his tie knot.
“So if we don’t agree to a name change, then the deal is off the table?” Nicholas asked. “And what about any other interested parties?”
“Still sending out our packages, sir. No other bites yet.”
Nicholas groaned and walked away from the mirror. He paced the room for a moment.
“Fine,” he decided. “Tell them we’ll consider a name change if everything else looks right. I think once we meet in person, I’ll be able to talk them out of it, anyway.”
“You always were a maestro with words, sir,” Luke replied.
Nicholas laughed, still pacing the floor. “Flattery gets you everywhere, doesn’t it, Luke?”
“It’s the oldest trick in the book, sir,” Luke replied with an audible grin. “I’ll see you tomorrow, sir.”
“See you tomorrow, Luke.”
Just as Nicholas hung up the phone there was a rapid knocking at the front door of his cabin.
He approached the door with tentative footsteps, unsure of any reason he’d have visitors from town. There wasn't anyone here who should want to visit him and the last thing he wanted to do was deal with carolers. Molly might enjoy them, but he certainly did not.
He peeked through the peephole and grinned when he saw Molly’s grin angled up towards him.
“Hi,” Molly said, pushing on Nicholas’ door until she was standing inside his cabin. “Sorry to intrude.”
“Yeah, you don’t seem all that sorry,” Nicholas told her with a grin, closing the door behind them. “And how did you get the address to this cabin? You’ve never asked me where I’ve been staying before.”
“New guy comes to town, word spreads pretty fast about where he’s staying. Perks of a small town,” Molly explained. She looked him over and he thought he saw a smile. “You look really fancy.”
“And you look really comfortable.” Nicholas looked Molly’s outfit up and down, taking note of her oversized Christmas sweater under her winter coat and dark jeans. “Do I need to change?”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Please don't. You look really handsome like this.”
Her cheeks went scarlet and she quickly turned away from him. He grinned at the compliment.
“So, what are you doing here?” he asked, trying to deflect from her embarrassment. “Is dinner starting early?”
“I wanted to show you something,” Molly replied, turning back around. She was still bright red, but now she grinned broadly. “It's something special that I think you'll enjoy. It's only kind of Christmas related, so you won't totally hate it.”
“Is it a gaudy, golden Christmas tree?” he asked.
“No.” She shook her head and grinned.
“Is it a group of much-too-cheerful carolers?” he asked again.
“Nope.”
“Is it another candy cane tree?”
“No. Stop guessing!” Molly said, pushing him on the shoulder. She reached for for his wool overcoat and handed it to him. “Come on. I don’t know how long it’ll last.”
“How long it will last?” Nicholas asked, putting on his coat and following behind Molly into the darkness. “Ms. Molly, just where are you taking me tonight?”