Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
The quick walk to the town hall was the longest of my life.
Horrible, embarrassing images of the confrontation flooded my mind.
Everyone saw. Everyone heard. Now Isabella was filling Carol in on all the dirty details of our previous interactions.
And the simple comment about the mural’s vandalism was bothering me more than it should.
I couldn’t believe my new future was crashing down on me already.
Sure, this place was quirky and cheesy, but I was happy here.
I liked the people. I liked my job. I could picture myself staying here for a long time, maybe even forever if I settled down with the right person. There was so much to look forward to.
And it might be all over.
Stopping before the front door, I turned and took one last look at Main Street.
People strolled along the bustling sidewalks, going in and out of stores.
I inhaled deeply, imagining the smells of the various restaurants meeting in the cool, crisp air.
With a resigned sigh, I pulled open the front door to meet my fate.
The door to Carol’s office was closed, and muffled voices rose from within.
Shoulders hunched, I trudged to my own office and dropped into a chair.
I should have picked up my work from where I left off before the Santa visit slash apocalypse.
But my brain was completely uncooperative.
Plus, I didn’t even know if Carol would want me to work.
She may have already changed the passwords.
I heard the telltale sound of Carol’s office door opening, and then a moment later the front door slamming. Well, Isabella was gone. Sweat pooled in my armpits while I awaited my fate.
Several long moments later, Carol poked her head in. “My office, Kelsey.”
I swallowed the golf ball that had lodged itself in my throat and followed.
The chair felt uncomfortable beneath me, and I adjusted myself. But there was no escaping Carol’s glare.
She clasped her hands on her desk. “Before I make any sort of statement, I’d like to give you the opportunity to tell your side of the story.”
“Sure,” I squeaked. I had no idea what Isabella had or had not told her. But at this point, the best I could do was the truth.
I gripped the arms of the chair tightly. “At my last job, we’d contracted with Isabella for a few clients.”
“I know that,” Carol said. “That’s how I found her, from your agency’s website.”
She needed me to get to the meat of the story. I took a deep breath. “Isabella uploaded a bunch of photos to a client folder and a few of them were … inappropriate photos of her and … my boyfriend.”
Her expression unchanged, Carol asked, “And what happened then?”
“My relationship ended. I quit my job. And Isabella lost her contract with the agency.”
Carol leaned back in her chair, considering me. “Isabella said you walked out of your job.”
“Well, I did quit without notice. But I met with my manager first and she understood my reasons.”
She considered me for a moment. “Did the boyfriend work there too?”
“Yes,” I said.
She nodded slowly, taking it all in. “That kind of outburst that happened today can never happen again. We are a family-friendly town. You need to be a professional at all times.”
“I promise you. Nothing like that will ever happen again. I apologize sincerely.”
Carol tapped her manicured fingernails on the desk. “I’ve been extremely impressed with your work. Until today’s scene at the inn. But, in your defense, that influencer is a nasty piece of work. Just horrid.”
I risked a question. “Did Isabella go home?”
“Of course not,” Carol snapped. “She will finish out the contract that I paid for.”
I tried to hide my considerable shock. Isabella had clearly shown that she was a liability to the Christmasville brand. But arguing with my boss over this point wasn’t the best way to keep my job, now that it was on the precipice.
“I told her to take the rest of the day to cool down,” Carol explained.
“She had extra photos she could use to fill her socials for today. But I want her back on the job tomorrow. Obviously, you two are never to be in the same room again. Act like you have restraining orders on each other. Though you will both be at the tree-lighting ceremony, but the crowd will be big enough to buffer the both of you. Steer clear, and she’ll be gone before you know it. ”
“I-I can keep my job?” I said, my voice faltering.
“Yes. Just no more drama.”
“I promise,” I said, shooting up from my chair. “You won’t regret this.”
“I’d better not,” Carol grumbled at my back as I left.
As soon as I was gone, I realized I hadn’t told her about the online commenter asking about their so-called artwork. But Carol wanted no more drama today. And she hadn’t been too concerned about the vandalism anyway. So I deleted the comment, blocked the user, and moved on.
On my way home after work, I stopped by the pizza place in town.
But instead of getting a slice, I bought an entire pie.
It was a bury-your-face-in-an-entire-pizza kind of night.
As I carried the to-go box into the lobby of the inn, I realized that while Carol may have forgiven, the people hadn’t forgotten.
Guests stopped entire conversations to point at me and whisper.
I nearly burst into tears.
“It’ll be okay,” Grace said, appearing at my side in a Grinch sweatshirt. “Give them a day, something new will happen, and they’ll move on.”
A completely reasonable theory, but it didn’t make me feel better.
“Thanks, Grace,” I said anyway.
I had almost made it to the staircase when I was blocked by an amazingly scented man in a suit. My eyes lifted to his face. “Hi, Aaron.”
“You don’t sound happy to see me,” he noted.
“Please take no offense. I’m not happy to see anyone after what happened here today. I just want to bury my face in this pizza and die. Or sleep. Either one.”
The corner of his mouth turned up. “Hopefully sleep.”
I cast a rueful look at him. “Now that everyone in town knows my business, you know why I’m not ready to get into a relationship.”
His eyebrows rose. “It was just a dinner invitation, Kelsey.”
I rolled my entire head. “I know, but my brain jumps ahead. And the point stands.”
Aaron turned serious, his mouth hardening into a straight line. “I’m sorry your boyfriend cheated on you. Especially with that screeching nightmare of a person.”
“Thanks,” I said sincerely. “And thank you for calling her a screeching nightmare.”
“That pizza smells amazing, so I’m going to let you go bury your face in it.” He reached out and brushed his hand against mine. “But can I ask one question first?”
“Sure,” I said, straightening.
His eyes looked into mine earnestly. “When you rejected my dinner invitation, was it because of the cheater or because of a certain bookstore owner in town?”
Oh, so he heard all of what Isabella had said.
“The cheater,” I blurted quickly. “As you’ll notice, I’m not having dinner with any bookstore owners tonight either.”
I held the pizza box up high as evidence. Then I started up the stairs before he could see the uncertainty on my face.
As it turned out, eating an entire pizza didn’t make me feel as good as I’d hoped. It, frankly, only made me thirsty and bloated. But now it was Friday morning. A new day. I was still employed. Those were all good things.
Tonight, we had the tree-lighting ceremony. I would make sure our socials presented Christmasville as the family-friendly destination of the season. I would earn this second chance I’d been given.
But as I walked through the front door of the town hall with an optimistic smile, I was greeted by an angry Carol marching out of her office in a pristine white pantsuit.
“Have you heard from the influencer?” she barked.
Was this some sort of test? I shook my head feverishly. “Definitely not. Dual restraining orders. I’m not going anywhere near Isabella.”
She spun her hand in the air. “I appreciate the enthusiasm, Kelsey, but I’m being serious. Did you see her at the inn? From afar? At breakfast? Anything?”
“No,” I said, curious now. “I haven’t seen her since … the incident.”
“Well, she hasn’t checked in with me, and she hasn’t posted anything since yesterday afternoon.”
I quickly slid out my phone and went to her Instagram feed. The last photo was a scenic one of the creek path, posted before Santa’s dramatic visit. Her stories had all expired.
Carol began pacing. “If that entitled, whiny brat thinks she can just skip town on the most important day of her contract, she has another thing coming.”
“Maybe her alarm didn’t go off,” I suggested. Isabella had done much worse, so why not a more common transgression.
“But she also said she’d be posting more photos at night, and she never did.” Carol grunted. “She’d better be at the ceremony tonight. She’s supposed to live stream.”
“I’ll be doing a live as well,” I reminded her. “It’s going to be great. Christmasville’s fans will wish they were here!”
“And hopefully they’ll call to make reservations,” Carol added. But then her face darkened. “I already paid Isabella’s contract in full. I hope I didn’t waste the town’s money. Our marketing budget is tight.”
“You could leave her a voicemail threatening legal action,” I suggested.
Carol pointed at my face. “Good idea, as always, Kelsey. I’m going to do that right now.”
I blew out a relieved breath as she stormed back into her office.
This was my fault, after all. If we hadn’t had that public argument, Isabella would certainly be doing her job right now.
But she probably left early to punish me, figuring Carol wouldn’t go through the legal trouble of fighting her for breach of contract.
She didn’t know Carol very well.
But still. Guilt ate at me as I sat at my desk. If I hadn’t taken the bait. If I hadn’t bruised her fragile ego.
Stop, I said. This wasn’t my fault. Yes, I shouldn’t have had a public argument. But, not to sound like a toddler, she started it. And I tried to stop it, but she was like a runaway train on steroids and Botox.
Plus, I could get the job done without her. In fact, I’d get started right now. I stretched my hands and cracked my knuckles. Time to get people excited for tonight.
And I had to admit, the fact that Isabella was gone a day early was like a Christmas gift for me wrapped in a pretty bow.
That low level of anxiety I’d felt all week with her around was gone now.
Lifted, like magic. Ding-dong, the witch was gone.
Skipped town. And I’d never have to see or deal with her again.
After a solid hour’s worth of work, Carol dipped into my office. “I need you to do something for me.”
“Sure, what’s up?”
“Will you stop by the park and make sure the tree is fully decorated and ready for tonight?”
I nodded. “I’ll get right on it.”
I bundled up with my coat and gloves and started the trek down Main Street toward the park.
The sun was a bit stronger today. Icicles dripped rhythmically from awnings, their melt catching the sunlight in tiny bursts of silver.
I tucked my hands in my pockets and tilted my face toward the sky for a moment.
When I refocused, I saw a familiar face headed toward me.
Holly strode purposefully in a red wool coat, her dark hair spilling out from under a knit hat.
“Hey,” I said, reaching out to grab her arm as she almost passed by me.
She startled, stopped, and pulled out an earbud. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”
“Where are you headed?” I asked.
“Back to the bakery. It’s the slow time between the breakfast and lunch rushes, so I like to take a quick mental health walk.”
I pointed at her earbuds. “What are you listening to?”
“Death in Derry, that new crime podcast. Have you heard it?”
I chuckled. Of course, Holly would be listening to true crime on her daily mental health walk. “No, I don’t really listen to a lot of podcasts.”
She looked at me like I’d said I don’t breathe air. “Oh, you’ve got to try it. Especially this one. A string of murders in a small town. It’s fascinating.”
Speaking of murders and small towns. Nothing really came out of Mary’s death or Mr. Sudbeck at the inn. Holly had seemed convinced at first that it was no accident. “Do you still think we have a murderer here?”
Holly’s eyes narrowed. “One hundred percent.”
“Does Nick agree?” If the police thought we had a killer in town and they were covering it up, that was completely unethical.
But Holly rolled her eyes. “He thinks I’m paranoid because I watch too many murder shows and listen to too many crime podcasts. But I think that just makes me informed on the topic.” She leaned closer to me. “You’re the one who found both bodies. What do you think?”
“I honestly don’t know. But I’m sure the police are doing their job.”
She let out a harumph. “So, you’re Team Nick, I see how it is.”
“I’m not team anyone,” I said, laughing. “I’m team I need more evidence.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she said with a smile. “I’ve got to get back to work. See you later, Kels.”
She slipped her earbud back in and walked off, but I was stuck on the fact that I had a nickname. I wasn’t New Girl anymore. I was Kels. Did that mean we were officially friends? I was excited because Holly was so effortlessly funny and cool. And this meant I was starting to put down roots here.
I let that warm feeling fill me. And cover the more chilling one. The worry in the back of my head that Holly was right. Because if we did have a killer in town, they might not be done.