Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
“ H ello,” Fisher said into the phone at his ear. He couldn’t believe that Tris was working the counter and looked so…grown-up.
He tried to push that thought out of his head as he concentrated on his phone call. It was from his boss, Roman, and Fisher tried not to be annoyed. He never took time off. Ever, and the one time that he did take three days off to be with his sister and attend her wedding, he couldn’t even get out of the office for a morning before someone called him.
“Hunter Peters quit, and you’re in,” his boss said, his usual brief self.
“What?” Fisher said, standing in front of the door with his ridiculous candy cane key, staring at the door but not seeing it at all.
“I said, Hunter Peters quit. You’re in.”
“Me?” he said, knowing that he sounded ridiculous and trying to get his scattered wits about him. His mind was not on his job at all. Although, he worked hard and had expected to get a promotion, but not one this big. Hunter Peters was the head of the sales and marketing department and worked on equal footing with Roman.
He would be equal with his current boss.
“Yes, that’s why I’m calling you. You got the job. All you have to do is tell Cunningham you want it. If you would have checked your emails this morning, you’d have seen it. I just wanted to make sure you responded to it. I know you’re on vacation, but this is big.”
Of course it was big. His salary would be almost doubled. That was huge. And he wasn’t making peanuts now. Of course, his workload would increase and the stress levels would be even greater than what he was already dealing with, but the money was going to be more than worth it.
“Thanks for the heads-up. I appreciate it, man.”
“Glad to see it go to a good guy. I’m looking forward to working with you.” That’s all he said before he hung up.
Fisher slowly lowered his phone and took a minute to collect himself before he used his candy cane key to unlock the door.
The room was small and neat, artfully decorated, he supposed, and with a few little items here and there to remind a person it was Christmas.
Although since it was Mistletoe Meadows, the Christmas items might be up all year. He wasn’t sure if they did things the way they used to or not. Tourists would come year-round for the Christmas experience, and the people in Mistletoe Meadows enjoyed delivering.
He set his bag down on the floor and hung his garment bag over the chair. He could get it out in a moment, but he needed to process.
Before he could think further, his phone rang again, and he answered it immediately, thinking that it might be Cunningham himself giving him the job.
“Hello? ”
“Fisher, did you make it in okay?” It was his sister, Margo.
He tried not to let his disappointment show in his voice. “I did. Plane landed just fine, like every other plane did this morning, and I just got in my room.”
“I hope it’s nice.”
“Nice enough. I can’t complain.” Everything was neat, and it was clean. He’d been in rooms that weren’t, and his standards weren’t overly high.
“All right. I just wanted to remind you about dinner tonight. Seven o’clock, bring your date.”
“My date?” That was the first he heard anything about a date.
“Yeah. You want to sit at the table by yourself?” She laughed.
“I don’t have a date,” he said as Tris appeared in the door of his room which he had forgotten to close and knocked softly, carrying the towels.
He jerked his head, and she walked to a closed door which he assumed led to the bathroom. She opened it and stepped in as his sister said, “You need to get one. You don’t want to come by yourself.”
“This is a small wedding. You didn’t say anything about bringing a date.”
“I’m sorry. I guess there’s just been a lot going on. And you’re right. It’s a small wedding. If you want to come by yourself, of course you can, but if you have a date, bring her.”
“All right.”
“I’ll see you tonight. Looking forward to it, Fisher!”
She hung up.
He let his hand drop and tried to figure out what he was going to do about this new problem. The idea of getting a date in the next five hours was pretty much impossible. Unless he ran into this someone he had known from high school?—
Tris came out of the bathroom, smiling when she saw that he was off the phone. “I set your towels in there. They’re still warm. I love them that way.”
“Yeah, that’s nice,” he said automatically. And then he realized that high school was a long time ago, and his parents were not exactly going to tell him that he couldn’t talk to Tris anymore. And her parents probably weren’t going to give a flip either.
It was worth a shot.
Plus, her smile looked cheerful. He had missed the down-home, helpful, and kind attitudes of the people that he had grown up with. City folk were different.
“So, are you still unattached?” he asked, not wanting to accidentally ask out a married woman.
“Yeah, much to my mother’s dismay.” She laughed a little. “In high school, she was so concerned that you and I were going to… I’m not sure, but now she would marry me off to the nearest fire hydrant if she could.”
He laughed, remembering that Tris had always had a sense of humor. “Well, I happen to be unattached as well, and Margo just informed me that I was supposed to have a date for tonight, which I didn’t know about and don’t have. Would you be interested?”
She smiled, but he could tell from her expression that she was going to turn him down. “I’d love to, but I’m already going.” She waved a hand to head him off. “Not as someone’s date. I’m providing the music with two of my friends.”
“Oh.” He’d forgotten she’d been in the orchestra or something outside of school. She played some kind of stringed instrument. Maybe the cello. “There are so many things I’ve forgotten. That you play the cello is one of those things.”
“Yep. I still play. I get hired sometimes, and I get to do it for money, but otherwise I do it for fun. Sometimes I sit in the corner and do it at the bed-and-breakfast for people coming in or just while they’re eating. Simply because I enjoy it.”
She seemed to realize she was chattering and shook her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to talk your ear off. Your towels are in the bathroom, and please let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help make your stay a five-star experience.” That sounded like a canned line, but she waved a little jauntily and walked out.
She was the same, only different. A little bit more mature. Sweeter somehow. Happy. That was a nice change from most of the people that he spent his days with.