Chapter 19
MERRY
It was the cold that woke Merry. She shivered, pulling the duvet over her head and wondering whether she could get away with spending the whole day in bed.
Sadly, the answer was no. She peeked up over her quilts to see that it was a quarter past seven.
Her shift started in less than two hours, and it was always a nightmare getting across town in the morning.
Groaning, and bracing herself for the freezing temperatures of her apartment, she threw back the quilts and dashed for the bathroom.
She leaped into the shower, turning the water as high as it would go and blasting the chill out of her bones.
Gradually, the events of the previous day settled into her waking mind — the flowers, the awful moment in the staff room where she thought she had lost Christian for good, then the rooftop, and the sex, and Mrs Cradley’s awful timing.
She snorted into the water at the memory of Christian running as best he could, given the circumstances going on in his jeans.
Even with the awkwardness of almost being caught, she wouldn’t trade that rooftop moment for anything.
She was going to enjoy whatever time she had with him and not get too attached.
Urgh, who was she kidding?
Merry rinsed her hair then drenched it with conditioner.
She was frightened to turn the water off because it would be so cold in the bathroom, but she didn’t have a choice.
She’d got home last night to another two bills with PAST DUE emblazoned on the envelopes.
If she didn’t do something quickly, then she’d lose her heating altogether — and just in time for Christmas.
A feeling of despair opened up inside her like a big, black hole, and she had to fight from falling into it.
She wasn’t sure how it had got this bad.
She’d been working hard all year, and while the pay at Carroll’s wasn’t amazing, she’d been doing a lot of hours and should have had enough to survive on.
But everything was so expensive in New York, and after her rent and utilities, not to mention the money she sent back to help her folks with her sister’s bills, she was left with practically nothing.
If her dad knew how poor she really was, he would send the money right back to her.
But he struggled to find work these days, especially now that he was older. Merry was the only hope they had.
Besides, she was young. She could handle the cold, and she knew it wouldn’t be for ever.
Well, she hoped it wouldn’t be for ever.
She shut off the water and hopped out, drying herself in record time and bundling herself into her jeans, then two sweaters, and an extra pair of socks.
She fixed her hair the best she could, then slung on Christian’s jacket — with a quick sniff of the collar — and ran for the subway.
The city was busier than ever, despite the weather — freezing cold rain lashing itself against the streets, buildings and anyone brave enough to be outside — and by the time Merry ran through the door, dripping on the carpet, it was already ten past nine.
“I’m late!” she said to Diane, who was on greeter duty. She hurried past, but Diane called her back.
“Did you manage to fix things with that guy?” she said. “The janitor? I can’t believe you said that!”
Merry’s stomach lurched uncomfortably as she recalled the awful moment.
“I think so,” she said, a grin tugging at her lips as she remembered what had happened afterwards.
“I’m pretty sure he’s not angry at me. We made up, you know?
Anyway we’re not really . . . I mean, nothing’s really happening. Gotta run, D.”
She dashed up to the tenth floor, running to the locker room so fast she almost bowled over the figure who was standing in front of the door.
“Oh, sorry!” she shouted, her heart plummeting into her boots as she recognised Mrs Cradley.
“Miss Sinclair!” Mrs Cradley screeched. “I was waiting for you. Do you know what time it is?”
“I know, I’m so sorry,” she said. “It’s the traffic. The city is insanely busy.”
“Then leave earlier,” Dragon Lady said, jabbing a finger at Merry. “This is the third time this week you’ve been late. It is unacceptable. If you are late one more time, then it will be the final time. Am I making myself clear?”
Merry nodded.
“I said, am I making myself clear?” Mrs Cradley said. “If this job is not valuable to you, I will find somebody else who values it.”
“It’s clear,” said Merry. “Crystal clear. Please, I need this job. I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.”
The last few words came out alongside a choked sob, and for a moment Mrs Cradley’s expression softened.
“This store is like a body,” she said. “If one part of it stops working, the entire organism stops working. You are a mere cell in this complicated biology, Miss Sinclair, but you are as important as any other. We are so short-staffed that the organism is in danger of failing. If it wasn’t for the valiant efforts of the cleaning crew then we wouldn’t even have been able to open this morning.
So let me ask you again, do you value your position here?
Will you do everything you can to keep this store alive? ”
“Yes,” said Merry. “Yes I will.”
Mrs Cradley nodded, then turned sharply and walked off down the corridor.
Smile, Merry! she ordered herself. And remember, you are an important cell in the organism that is Carroll’s Department Store!
At least the day can’t get any worse , she thought as she marched into the locker room — and came face to face with Christian.
“Hey!” he said. He was standing there with his trolley and mop, and he looked exhausted. In fact, she couldn’t remember a time in her life when she’d seen anyone look so tired. Still, when he smiled it seemed to light up the whole room. “How are you?”
“Oh, I’m fine,” she said, smiling back. However awkwardly the night had ended yesterday, she was always pleased to see him. She could still feel his strong arms around her, could still taste his lips on hers, and the thought of it made her blush. “I’m fine,” she said again. “Are you?”
“Yeah,” he said, stifling a yawn. He really did look tired, and his clothes were wrinkled and stained. What had Mrs Cradley said about the cleaning crew’s valiant effort?
“Are you sure?” she asked. “You look like you worked all night, then slept on the floor of the grotto.”
Christian laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Just had trouble sleeping.”
“Too frustrated?” she asked, a rush of a giggle bursting in her chest. “We can blame Mrs Cradley for that. Who knows what might have happened if she hadn’t turned up?”
“Oh, I do.”
Merry hid her face in the damp collar of her jacket as her cheeks burned.
Christian put a hand on her sleeve and stepped a bit closer. “This coat is never going to smell the same ever again,” he said. “Not that I’m complaining.”
“Mm, you definitely weren’t complaining last night.” She tilted her head up. “Until we got interrupted.”
He gripped her chin between his thumb and fingers and dipped in for a kiss. “Don’t worry. We can finish what we started another time.”
“Promises, promises,” she said, into his mouth. “Your turn next time.” She stepped back and gave him a cheeky wink.
Christian’s eyes darkened. “I’m holding you to that.” He cleared his throat and huffed out a breath just as the locker room door opened and a gaggle of canteen staff came bustling in.
“I’ll see you around then,” Merry called, busying herself with the day’s rota tacked to the noticeboard.
She was on Jewellery again, which meant another day of irritated customers telling her how useless she was — not to mention the chance of the unhappy couple appearing again to torment her.
“And swing by with your mop if you see anyone who needs reminding that we’re only human. ”
Christian barked out a laugh and started pushing his trolley out the door. He faltered, looking back over his shoulder. “Merry,” he called. “Would you like to go to the Christmas Carroll Ball with me?”
She froze, her heart doing an actual somersault in her chest. The ball was tomorrow night.
She’d heard Diane and the others talking about it non-stop since she started working there — floor-length gowns, champagne towers, fairy lights strung across the chandeliers.
It was the kind of thing she’d always dreamed of but never actually believed she’d attend.
Especially not on the arm of someone like Christian.
Her first instinct was to say yes. She wanted to go so badly it hurt.
But then reality came crashing in — her bank balance was non-existent, the overdraft already groaning, and her single black dress with the broken zip was balled up somewhere at the back of the wardrobe.
Even if she somehow scraped together enough for a ticket, what would she wear?
Her smile faltered.
“I—” she started, then stopped. “That’s really sweet of you, but I don’t know if I can.”
Christian frowned, halfway through the door. “Why not?”
She shrugged, trying to keep it breezy. “I’m working a lot of shifts, and it’s formal, right? Gowns and tuxedos and whatever? I’m not sure I have anything that fits the brief.”
“We don’t have to make a big deal of it,” he said gently. “I just want to go with you, that’s all.”
She smiled again, softer this time. “Can I think about it?”
He nodded once, the corner of his mouth quirking. “Of course. But for the record, you’d be the best-dressed person there, even if you came in jeans and your Christmas jumper. And if you do, then I promise to come in my overalls to make you feel less conspicuous.”
“I literally don’t know what I’ve done to deserve someone like you in my corner,” she said, and it was true. “Thank you. Look, I’d better get changed. I’ve already been told off once today, and you never know where Mrs Cradley is going to appear next.”
“Don’t we know it?” said Christian in a hushed voice. “She’s like a ninja.”
“A dragon ninja,” said Merry, watching the door close behind Christian with a smile, wondering if his sprinkling of Christmas magic might just be rubbing off on her.