Love Under the Mistletoe: A Small Town Christmas Love Story

“I'm sorry, boss,” Lucy said gently. “I know how much this meant to you. I know you put your reputation on the line for this.”

Nathan closed his eyes and counted to five. “Well. It's done then. Time to w

ork on something else.”

“Enjoy your weekend,” Lucy said. “I have things ready for the next company we've purchased. It's Elements Computer Technologies. I already did the legwork while you focused on RentTech. This next one will be a success. Promise.”

Nathan nodded. He owed Lucy big for this. He'd focused all his energies on trying to salvage RentTech even when the board said to drop it. Lucy had managed his other responsibilities for him in the mean time. Things like preparing for another company to join Paradigm's umbrella.

“Thanks, Lucy.” Nathan sighed.

“Just give me a good bonus later,” she told him. “Have fun at your party tomorrow.”

She clicked the line off and Nathan stood staring at his phone.

He'd failed. He should have felt devastated. Crushed.

And he did, but there was also a relief. No more stupid inane meetings. No more frantic emails that everyone else seemed to ignore. Sometimes he wished he didn't have this job. But then that would mean the money would stop. He couldn't let that happen. Money was everything.

He used to create technology. That was how he'd gotten into the tech world. Why Paradigm had hired him all those years ago. He'd risen to the top of the company, but he didn't create or innovate technology anymore. Now, he just managed it. It was starting to drain on him.

“You okay?” Gregory asked. Nathan had forgotten the man was still there.

“Fine.”

Gregory grunted.

“What?” Nathan asked as the doors opened. Grunts were an entire language for Gregory.

“You're not fine,” Gregory said. “You look like you need a drink.”

“RentTech. It's gone.” That's all Nathan needed to say.

Gregory grunted again.

Nathan looked over at him. “What? Tell me.”

“You really want my opinion?” Gregory asked him. He checked the hallway before letting Nathan off the elevator. The suite door was open with Hal standing in front of it. That meant Hal had checked it and it was safe.

“I do,” Nathan told him as they both entered the suite. Hal stayed outside by the door.

“The RentTech mess was awful,” Gregory said simply. “The sale to Paradigm was always about the money, not the company. It was a bad match. It wasn't for you. You did everything you could. The board gave you a shitty job.”

That was basically the opinion Nathan had come to himself about the rocky results of the company purchase. It was good to hear someone else say it. “Why do you say that?”

“The past month has been hellish working for you. It's made you short-tempered. You're unhappy. You're exhausted.” Gregory shrugged. “These aren't good things for you.”

“Yeah, but RentTech was supposed to make me a lot of money,” Nathan countered. “It would have been worth it.”

“Says you,” Gregory replied. “It didn't look worth it from where I'm standing.”

Nathan sighed. Money was always worth it. Money was everything.

“My advice to you is to take this weekend. No work. Don't talk about it, don't think about it,” Gregory said. “Give yourself a break.”

“That's kind of the plan,” Nathan replied.

“You say that, but then you work.” Gregory crossed his arms and looked at Nathan. “You always work and it makes you miserable.”