Mistletoe in the Snow (New Hope Sweet Christmas Romance 1)

He sighed and patted Frankie on the arm. “We’ve been friends for over a decade, Frankie. I know you didn’t mean to get me in trouble. It’s my fault, too. I should’ve come clean to him before the party.”

Frankie opened his eyes and then wiped his shiny forehead with his hat before pulling it back on. He grinned and held out a Styrofoam container. “Fried rice? I find greasy food always makes me feel better.”

Lance waved it away, not particularly in the mood to get salmonella from a room temperature leftover that had been sitting on that desk for probably the past twenty hours. “No, thanks.”

“Look, dude.” Frankie set down the Chinese food on his keyboard. “I thought what you did was really awesome.”

Lance grimaced and dropped his suitcase. It felt like it weighed five hundred pounds. "And what is that? Destroyed a town and broke a woman’s heart?”

“No, dude. You found a cause you believed in. You stood up for that town and their foundation. Gemma’s crazy not to think you fought for her.”

He swallowed hard. It hurt to hear her name. “Yeah, but I lied and hid the reason we were there. They never saw it coming.”

Frankie plopped into his chair and grabbed a forkful of the fried rice. “You were doing what your uncle told you to

do. It wasn’t personal. But man, you really changed in those two weeks. I’ve never seen you so passionate about work. Usually, you kind of phone it in.”

He raised his eyebrows at his sloppy assistant with rice stuck to his shirt.

“Well, duh, man. I phone it in everyday, but that’s my M.O. You’re the next boss in line. You don’t have that luxury. But in New Hope, you were different.”

Leaning his back against his office door, Lance stared at his assistant, trying to understand what he was telling him. “Yeah, well the work I was doing actually mattered.”

“It matters here, too.” Frankie chewed with his mouth open, masticating the egg and rice between his teeth. “Not everyone’s got a nice big trust fund to fall back on. Our jobs matter to us. This company matters. Did you know, Mandy in copying is adopting a baby girl from Africa? Or that Edgar in ad sales has twins headed to Stanford next year? I heard that the security guard is saving up to retire in Nova Scotia, or something crazy like that. I mean, who wants to retire to someplace cold? Insanity, if you ask me.”

Understanding finally hit Lance’s brain, pulling him out of the cloud of confusion. “I know, this place matters, too.” He looked up from his hands. “All this time, I’ve looked at life as just one big booze and skeezy party. I’ve been acting like a total jerk, haven’t I?”

Frankie grinned. “Well, I wasn’t going to put it that way…but yeah.”

“Dad loved this company,” he continued. “Just as much as he loved the people who worked for him. I’ve been so stupid.”

“Hey, now,” Frankie flicked his fork and a pea went flying. “Don’t talk about my boss that way.”

Lance grinned. He tightened his tie around his neck and jogged toward the hallway. “I’ve got something I need to handle, but you know what, Frankie? You deserve a raise.”

Frankie leaned over his desk and shouted, “I’m holding you to that.”

He smiled and waved over his shoulder. The office was quiet on this Christmas Eve morning. Most of the employees had taken off for an early holiday break. But Lance knew one office that would be hard at work. He pushed the door open, stepping into Uncle Matthias’ stuffy and hot office where the man himself sat behind a desk piled high with files.

Uncle Matthias looked up at him, one bushy gray eyebrow raising. “You’re back. I didn’t expect you until after the holidays.”

“Not me,” Lance replied. He could barely stand still. “Not when there’s work to do. I need to talk to you about something, Uncle Matthias. Something important.”

His uncle frowned, unimpressed. “Yes?”

Dropping his rear into a leather chair, Lance chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment. “Look, I know I’ve been a real disappointment to you. I’ve failed to take this job seriously. I thought I was doing everything right; going to college, getting my masters, interning. But I was skimming along, doing the minimum effort. I see that now.”

Matthias nodded his head and pursed his thin lips. “That’s a relief.”

“And you have every right to kick me to the curb,” he sped along, hoping to get it out before his uncle could interrupt. “I deserve it. But you can’t close down the New Hope Foundation. I won’t let you.”

Matthias sat back in his chair, a thunderous frown rolling over his face. “What’s done is done. And thanks to Frankie, I know all about your little girlfriend. You know as well as I do that making business decisions because of personal reasons almost always backfires.”

“Yes, I was dating the foundation’s director.” He splayed his hands out in front of him. “But, that’s not the only reason you can’t close the foundation. The community depends on that support. Did you know, Ricardo’s Dog Shelter is the only no-kill shelter in the tri-county area? He’s rescued over five hundred dogs and found them new homes in the past three years.”

Uncle Matthias folded his arms, less than enthused.

“And did you know, the New Hope Foundation funds children’s after-school activities in the area and that they have proven to keep kids from getting into trouble during those crucial few hours before their parents get home?”