Chapter 2
The last thing Nick wanted was to agree with Cora but … damn it all. Christmas was for the children. The fact she understood that was a bit harder to grasp.
She must be desperate to come to him. He didn’t like her, but he had to admire her courage. It’d taken some solid chestnuts to come here and ask him for help.
“My entire ethos revolves around creating exactly that kind of experience for families and children. I’m surprised to hear you say it’s also yours.”
“That’s just mean,” she said, closing in on him with a clack-clack of her heels on the hardwood floor. “I love Christmas.”
Her festive plaid game was on point. The red, green, and gold tartan weave was cut to fit her like a glove, showing off her curves but in a tasteful way. She carried a handbag of crushed red velvet with a black leather handle and a large white pompom dangling from the side.
He adjusted some toys on a shelf to give himself time to think.
She certainly looked like Christmas. That was a point in her favor.
She’d echoed his own sentiments on the importance of the holiday.
Another point. She’d even said please. But was it all for show?
Was it just so she could get her own way?
She was on the Naughty List not because she fired him, although that didn’t exactly help her cause.
Reports from elves around the world revealed her commercialized version of Christmas inspired unhealthy competition between families and children to have the most sought-after items. She didn’t spread joy, she spread anxiety.
“Let’s say I’m wrong. Why is creating that experience important to you?”
She shifted her posture, putting one hand on her hip. Her legs looked longer when she stood like that, her waist tinier. She had nice legs, he noticed. Really nice legs. But he intended to ignore that irritating observation.
“I want Winter Wonderland to be a success. Happy families are what makes that happen.” She raised both eyebrows at him as though the answer were obvious.
So annoying.
“How’d that work out with the doll you touted as the toy of the year last Christmas?”
“She broke records. Are you sure you’re not just jealous?”
“Of a doll whose robotic arm fell off when kids played with it?”
“There were some manufacturing issues. Still, kids love Holly. You’re nitpicking. What’s your real issue?”
Having your name on the Naughty List meant something in your thread had drifted out of alignment, not that you were irredeemable.
She made a show of loving Christmas, but the Yearweave was never wrong.
It sensed what even she might not: ambition had begun to eclipse wonder.
If there was a way to get her to change, to really change, then Christmas would be saved, happiness would reign, and the Magic Coffers could be refilled.
He’d also have the chance to meet women outside of the True North dating app, which would increase his chances of finding a Mrs. Claus and save the world from Krampus and his heavy gray despair.
Saying yes to Cora Quill would make everything fall into place, but he believed that about as much as he wanted to choke down one more marshmallow-flavored drink.
“I’m not convinced you can deliver what you say,” Nick admitted.
“Fine, you want to see how I operate. We really didn’t get to know each other before you left the Winter Wonderland.”
“Before you fired me,” he muttered.
“But that’s all in the past. What’s your most popular toy?” she asked.
“The dollhouse.”
“Is there some way you could jazz it up? Make it seem exciting and new?”
“If I agreed to help you, there’d be some stipulations that would have to be met.”
She didn’t smile with her face, but her entire body seemed to glow as she realized she was getting what she wanted. That glow lit her up from the inside. For a moment he saw something that made it hard for him to turn away from her.
“Name it. ‘Nick Bari Toys’ as a named sponsor of Winter Wonderland? Maybe ‘quality merchandise’ with your company logo under it? I’ll get our marketing department involved as we’d need to get some banners reprinted.
We only have a few days before December first, so we’ll have to work quickly but I’ll set a meeting up for you right now.
” She took her phone from her bag and tapped her fingernails against the screen.
This was exactly why she was on the Naughty List. To her, Christmas was an exercise in brand strategy and her every instinct was to monetize it. He began to doubt she’d even want to change.
“No, Cora. That’s not what I want.”
“What then?”
“Come back tomorrow. We can discuss conditions then,” he said.
“I don’t have time. Are you going to do this or not? I need an answer today.”
“If you can’t wait, then it’s a no,” he said.
“How about I take you to dinner tonight? Bring your best ideas. I’ll bring mine. Let’s make this work. For the kids.”
She was persistent. “I can meet you for a drink at Frosty Jack’s at eight.”
“Fine,” she agreed.
“I’ll bring the details of what I’d require from you.” She’d have to agree to his terms.
“Sure. Bring some ideas for how to update the dollhouse, or an entirely new toy to feature. I believe you have a best-selling toy idea in you. I’m looking forward to working together.”
She winked at him as she strode out, plaid skirt swishing around those beautiful, long legs.
Back in his North Pole office, Nick stood staring gloomily out of his window.
The hockey game had long since finished and twilight had bled into the full dark of night.
The Gold Lumen had many benefits, one of which was enveloping Hearthvale in an ethereal dome of veiled light that mimicked average northern hemisphere rhythms of day and night.
The sky wasn’t completely black, as his old friends the stars kept him company.
He watched the aurora borealis dance and streak across the sky. Normally the view calmed him.
He had a plate of Martha’s freshly baked gingerbread and a mug of hot cocoa steaming on his desk.
Their rich scents teased his senses but he continued to watch the lights dance and the snow fall.
This morning he’d written her name on the Naughty List, and now?
He hesitated, instead shoving his hands through his thick hair several times.
Stress eating was not going to solve his problems.
He wasn’t about to be the Bari that ruined Christmas and damned humanity to the joyless Krampus, but his options were limited to Cora Quill and …
and what? Her version of Christmas was the opposite of everything he believed in: there were no pairs of innocent eyes ablaze with wonder, no sloppily frosted sugar cookies decorated by small hands, no voices both young and old joined in laughter and song…
He’d reassured the Legendaries he had everything under control.
He’d seen their relief when he mentioned the drink dates he’d lined up.
He’d told them he was working on some promising new ideas for topping up the Magic Coffers but the grumbling when he’d refused to give any details reflected their lack of confidence in his ability to deliver.
He couldn’t blame them, because he didn’t have any details—or ideas—to offer.
Raven, the Queen of Halloween, had offered to contribute a fright element to Christmas but luckily Nick wasn’t the only one who’d nixed that idea.
His best bet was from Cora, but he wasn’t going to roll over and accept whatever crumbs she threw at him. She’d said please—she must be desperate, so he had some bargaining power. If he could get her to mend her ways, they could both win.
He needed to spend some time at his workbench with his team of hardworking designers.
Gemma, the head of the tech department, had designed a gizmo that was still in the prototype stages but was meant to breathe new life into some of his older toys using connectivity.
And Buddy knew the wooden toy houses as well as Nick did; they were classics.
He’d even done a few distinctive homes over the years for special kids.
There could be something in that as an idea for the star toy of the season? Home was the best feeling in the world.
The world’s magic was thinning, Black Lumen edging out his own and casting everything in a colder light. Joy was giving way to obligation; creativity dimming to a stubborn, struggling ember. He needed a Hearth Anchor, but finding a wife in December was going to be tough.
Nick’s reverie was broken by the sound of someone arriving through the portal. He glanced over his shoulder to see Jack leaning casually against the gateway.
“Heard you’re bringing a date to my bar tonight. Guess the new pics on your profile worked?” Jack said as he plopped down in the large leather armchair that faced the fireplace.
Nick took a seat in the other chair. He waved his hand and a table with two mugs of hot chocolate and some buttery sugar cookies appeared. Looked like he’d be eating his feelings after all.
“Yes and no. I’m meeting a couple of women for drinks, but also someone who is definitely not a date.”
“Who?” Jack was suddenly interested.
“That woman who fired me a few years ago.”
“Why are you going out with her?” Jack frowned as he cupped his frosty hands around the steaming mug until ice shards appeared and then he took a sip.
“She’s invited me back to Winter Wonderland.” Nick related the details of her offer to Jack. “I’d be a fool to turn down this chance to be on the front lines.”
“Sounds like a good idea to me. It will give you a chance to meet new people—and by new people I mean women.” He cocked a cheeky eyebrow at Nick.
How was he supposed to find a life partner in less than thirty days? He did work well under pressure but even he wasn’t convinced he could pull this off.
“I put her on the Naughty List, for goodness’ sake! She irks me. Okay, sure, she wants kids to be happy and she wears the heck out of a Christmasy outfit, but she’s not really living it?” Nick ignored Jack’s skeptical eyebrow which remained stubbornly raised.