“Oh, fiddlesticks.” Merryweather frowned. This was going to take some fixing.
She picked up the phone.
“Fauna? I need a favor,” she said.
Her sister sighed. “You always need favors.”
“Yes, but this one is worth it,” Merryweather promised.
Fauna sighed, but at least she agreed to listen.
Chapter 40
Nathan
“Mr. Reed?” a soft feminine voice asked at Nathan’s office door. “I have some files for you. May I come in?”
“Sure,” Nathan said, motioning forward. He was glad for the distraction. No matter what he did, he couldn’t seem to be able to focus on work. His heart just wasn’t in it.
The woman came in with a stack of files in her petite hands. She wore a black pant suit with a soft, pale green undershirt that brought out the light green color of her eyes. He wasn’t sure what her age was. Her hair was so blonde it appeared to be almost silver against the black of her jacket.
“Why are you delivering files?” he asked as she set down the folder on his desk. “The mail-room usually handles that.”
“I’m an intern,” she explained. “And since it’s Christmas Eve, there just isn’t a lot to do right now. My boss said to find something to do.”
“What’s your name?” he asked her. Now that she was here, he found he liked having some company and didn’t want her to leave just yet. The office was too quiet today.
“Fauna,” she replied. He thought he kept his face still, but she still chuckled at his expression. “I know it’s kind of a unique name.”
Now that he was looking at her, she looked vaguely familiar. There was something about her eyes, or maybe the color of her hair... “Have we met before?” he asked. “You look really familiar.”
She shook her head. “Nope. But maybe you’ve run across my sisters.”
“Maybe,” he agreed. Long shadows filled the room as the daylight faded. “Why don’t you head home? You can tell your boss I said you can go. It is Christmas Eve after all.”
“Thanks, but it’s okay. My flight home is late enough that I’m practically riding Santa’s sleigh tonight. I might as well be here,” Fauna said with a laugh. “Otherwise I’d just be at home watching old Christmas movies and eating popcorn. I don’t need the calories.”
“Thank you for the files,” he said.
“No problem,” Fauna replied. “Can I get you some coffee or anything? I can get hot or iced. I’m better at hot, though.”
“No, thank you.” Hot coffee made him think of colder climates. He thought of the coffee shop in the bookstore and wondered if Holly was there now.
She’d be getting things ready for the party. She’d been so excited about it. He hoped she was doing okay.
“Why the long face?” Fauna asked him.
He looked up in surprise. “What do you mean?”
She shrugged. “You just look sad. Maybe I can help.” She pulled up one of his guest chairs and sat down. “I’m a really good problem solver. It’s why I was hired.”
“Thanks, but I think it’s above your pay grade,” he told her.
“Is it about Elements Computer Technologies?” she asked.
“What makes you say that?” he asked, her narrowing his eyes.
“The higher-ups were talking about it in the hall. They didn’t know I was there,” she explained.