The Christmas Party
Nervous excitement coursed through me
as I left my hotel room, checking my hair and makeup for the
umpteenth time in the hallway's large mirror while waiting for the
elevator. Last year, I'd been a mere team member. This year I was
returning as the first-ever woman to successfully manage the launch
of a new product line. I couldn't wait to politely rub the good ol'
boys noses in my success.
I'd fled to the Mid-West after I
graduated college, never realizing how culturally “backward” it
was from my West Coast upbringing. Once there, it didn't really
matter. I was far away from the one person I hoped to never lay eyes
on again, and if fighting the good ol' boy network was the price, I
was willing to pay it.
The product launch and marketing
campaign had been a huge success. I had vindicated my bosses decision
to promote me to the spot, and even one of the Senior VP's had
congratulated me for a job well done. With a final pat of my
perfectly coiffed hair, I turned at the sound of the slow elevator's
ding.
The doors opened, and my heart fell to
my stomach, the self-satisfied smirk left my face as my jaw dropped.
I quickly composed myself, hoping he hadn't looked up in time to
catch my expression. Damn it! It was my own fault. I shouldn't have
been thinking so highly of myself. I had jinxed my night.
I politely nodded as I entered the
elevator, pressing the button for the floor where the party was
already in full swing. Turning to face the doors, I acted as if I
didn't remember him. Perhaps he wouldn't recognize me. After all,
it'd been almost a decade since we'd last seen each other, and my
style had changed dramatically. Gone were my usual ripped jeans and
bare feet. Tonight I was wearing an elegant ballgown, with gorgeous
strappy sandals, and I had gotten a fresh mani-pedi just a few hours
earlier.
He cleared his throat. Out of the
corner of my eye I caught a quick movement of his hand, as if he'd
reached out to touch my shoulder but changed his mind. The elevator
made another stop to pick up an adorable elderly couple, one with a
walker. I stepped back to give them more room which put me shoulder
to shoulder with the person I most loathed on the planet.
Oh, my lord, he smells just like he did
in college. Not fair! My knees always grew weak at the smell of
Stetson. And it didn't help any that he was even more gorgeous than
he had been in college. I mentally slapped myself, fighting to focus
on the evening ahead of me. After all, I had a speech to give. One
I'd been rehearsing for days, and at the moment I couldn't remember a
word of it.
The elderly couple exited the elevator
a few floors above my destination. I took the opportunity to step
forward. It was just us on the elevator again. I closed my eyes and
started to run through my speech.
I heard him clear his throat. “Um,
Darcy? Darcy Hollis? Is that you?” His voice was soft, that low
timber made my resolve melt a bit.
I dropped me head a bit, took a deep
breath, slapped on my best customer meeting face, and turned to face
him. “Yes, that's me. I'm sorry, are you a client of Clovis
Industries?”
“Um, no. Actually, I'm the new West
Coast regional sales manager, not a customer. Darcy, it's me, Pete.
Pete Dawson? We went to college together.”
I stifled a smirk. He sounded so
wounded. I couldn't resist playing with his head a bit more, but the
elevator doors opened, and my boss was on the other side, drink in
hand, his pink cheeks proving this one wasn't his first, or fifth for
that matter. Steeling myself for the inevitable grab, I exited the
elevator trying to avoid his grasp. Bob was a bit of a letch when he
had a few drinks in him.
“Darcy! We were wondering where you
were! Hey, Petey boy, have you met Darcy? She's our newest rock star.
She's the one who handled our latest product launch.” Bob slapped
Pete's shoulder with his empty hand, before wrapping it around my
waist and pulling me along.
Ugh! Just what I wanted for Christmas.
A drunk, married boss trying to cop a feel. I fought the urge to look
at Pete and mouth the words “help me” as I would have done during
college. He'd bailed me out of several unwelcome clinches at drunken
frat parties, I'd be damned if I'd be the damsel-in-distress at this
one.
Bob hung on to me as he wove us
drunkenly thru the crowd, introducing me and Pete to a variety of
people, many of whom already knew me. A few of the women who knew
about my history with Pete delicately raised a questioning eyebrow at
me, signaling me to come back and chat as soon as I was free.
A microphone boomed at the front of the
room, saving me from further embarrassment courtesy of Bob. The
chairman of the board quickly called us to dinner, and in no time I
was up front for my speech. Luckily my amazingly great assistant Lucy
had placed a copy of my speech up at the podium for me. I managed to
sail through my speech, thanking my entire team, while apparently
flawlessly covering up any nervousness or overlooked pieces of my
speech.
I sat at a table full of my product
team members. I had insisted on being placed with my team, an
unconventional choice for this particular company. The launch would
not have gone as well without my team and I wanted to show my thanks.
“A toast. To my wonderful, amazing,
hard-working, product launch team. Thank you all! Without you all
this would never have gotten off of the ground. Cheers!” Glasses
clinked, as congratulations went around the table. I smiled at my
crew. I'd handpicked my team, taking many other manager's “rejects”
that I could see had talent and drive. We'd really shown the old boys
a thing or two and I was proud of all of us.
I clinked my glass with my knife and
stood. “Due to the huge success of the product launch, I am pleased
to announce that we are being kept together as the lead team for
improvements to the line we just launched as well as any future
products our brains may dream up.” The table cheered and high-fived
each other. “Wait, there's more! I badgered management into giving
the entire team a 5% raise, and, everyone gets from Christmas Eve Day
through the day after New Year's off. Now, let's all go dance!”
As I watched my team celebrate, I knew
that giving up my own raise to give them that extra time off was well
worth it. They had definitely earned it, and the board seemed to
respect my decision to give credit where it was due. I just hoped it
wasn't a career killer.
The board's chairman, John Thomas,
approached me. He was in his late 80's, but didn't appear it. Still
at the top of his game mentally, he walked tall and briskly, smiling
greetings at the few willing to approach him. I had learned quickly
that his gruff exterior was all show for business, in life he had a
kind and generous heart.
“Darcy my dear, I've been looking for
you. I've been meaning to introduce to one of our new sales managers.
He'll be taking on your product line and I need you to get him up to
speed on the marketing campaign.” He waved at someone over the back
of my head as I inwardly groaned. Sales managers were typically male,
egotistical, and chauvinistic pigs.
“Mr. Thomas, so nice to see you.”
My stomach lurched, it was that voice, of course it would have
to be that voice, and that man. Pete came from behind me to
greet John, and I swore I felt his hand brush my waist.
“Pete, I'd like to introduce you to
Darcy Hollis, the newly promoted Director for our product line,
Darcy, this is Pete Dawson, the new sales manager I was telling your
about.” My eyes grew big as I doubted my hearing. My confused
expression made John laugh. “You heard right Darcy, I just
finalized the paperwork. I didn't think Jim or Bob would do the job
as well you, and I'd like to suggest Beth as your replacement. I
think it's high time we move more women up.”
Stunned, I could only stand there
trying to absorb it all. I had given up that promotion to get my team
their time off. Both Bob and Jim, one of John's grandsons had jumped
at the chance. I heard that low rumbling voice start up again.
“Congratulations Darcy. It sounds
like John chose the perfect director. I can't wait to start working
with you on the marketing campaign. I'm sure I will learn a lot.”
Pete smiled down at me, his hand resting lightly on my back “How
about a turn on the dance floor to celebrate?”
John congratulated me again, assuring
me I'd earned the promotion, as he waved us off to the dance floor.
The next thing I knew I was back in those familiar arms, spinning
slowly around the room. How the hell had I gotten here? It took me a
moment to realize that Pete had asked me a question.
“What? I'm sorry, I wasn't paying
attention. It's been a crazy night.” I looked up at the familiar
green eyes. My traitorous skin was singing at his familiar touch. Old
crushes apparently never die.
“I was just wondering if you
remembered the last time we danced like this. Please don't tell me
you don't remember me, you never were all that great at lying – at
least not to me.” His voice was teasing me.
I'd really wanted to play with his ego
a bit, but the night was already too confusing. Fine, I'd cave, but
only a little. “All right. Yes. I do remember you. How could I not?
You broke my heart when you broke up with me right before graduation.
I almost didn't attend my own graduation because of you. I'd hoped to
never see you again, and now here I am stuck dancing with you on what
should be one of the greatest nights of my life. I just broke the
glass ceiling at a century-old, male dominated company and my team
has the most successful product launch in the company's history. And
I'm stuck celebrating that news with you.”
He looked down at me, frowning a bit.
“I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to ruin your night. I was just
hoping...I dunno what I was hoping for. Look, I'm sorry for being a
stupid kid. I hope it won't get in the way of our working together.”
Angry now, I broke away from him.
“What? Do you think I am so unprofessional that I would let
something so trivial as schoolgirl crush get in the way of my career?
Tell you what, here's my card, call me or email me with your
schedule. I'd like to get started on the marketing campaign for the
West Coast as quickly as possible.” I spun on my heel and headed
for the elevator.
Lucy stepped in beside me. “Darcy,
are you okay? I didn't realize that was 'the' Pete. Is there anything
I can do?” She stopped me, grabbing my shoulders to make me look
at her.
I gave her a hug. “No, I'll be
alright. I'm a big girl. Besides, do Product Directors cry at
parties?” I laughed at her surprised look.
“They promoted you? Even though you
gave it up for us?” Lucy had been in on the discussions regarding
the bonuses and time off for my team. She'd known I'd given up the
promotion to get my team their well deserved perks and she'd kept the
secret safe.
“Yes, John just told me. I will be
asking for you to be promoted as well, with a big raise. We've got a
ton of work ahead of us and I can't do it without you.” Lucy jumped
with delight, giving me a big hug. “Go on, go grab your boyfriend
and enjoy yourselves.” I shooed her off and continued on my way.
My night was looking up a bit. If I
could just avoid Pete for the rest of the night. I delayed my march
to the elevator to chat with friends and teammates, accepting
congratulations as word spread of my promotion. I managed to corner
Beth and ask her if she'd consider being my replacement. She
accepted, but only after asking if I was sure the board would
approve. Like me, she was keenly aware of the ol' boys culture in our
company.
“Sooooo, you're our new Product
Director.” The slurred words were followed by a bourbon-laced belch
aimed at my face. Bob was back and drunker than ever. Then it dawned
on me, Bob would now be my equal. It must have stung his ego a bit.
“Hi Bob. Yes, John just told me about
the promotion.” My mind whirled trying to find the right words to
cool Bob off and not wound his ego at the same time. “You know, I
wouldn't have been able to do it without your guidance. I learned a
lot from you. Thank you.” I tried to sidle away, but he wasn't
assuaged just yet.
“You got that rriigghht littllle
la-la-lady.” Another belch. “You o-owe meee. How's 'bout showin a
little thanks with a kiss?” He leaned forward drunkenly, and I
jumped backwards into a firm, yet familiar body. A big hand appeared
in front of me, catching Bob's face before reeling him backwards.
That low voice rumbled over my head.
“You okay Bob? Looks like you lost your balance a bit.” Bob had
lucked out and been caught by a few of the larger men on my team.
“Guys, would you be so kind as to help Bob to table and get him
some coffee?”
I mouthed the word "thanks" to my guys.
It was nice to know that my team always had my back. They nodded as
they landed several heavy slaps on Bob's back and steered him towards
the coffee pots. I didn't thank Pete before I headed back towards the elevator.
The door was already open so I stepped
on quickly, only to be joined by Pete. I glared up at him. I didn't need
saving, I could have handled it myself. I'm sure I could have gotten
out of it gracefully, somehow. I fumed a bit, which only made him
laugh.
“Still stubborn to a fault, eh
Darcy?” At my glare he held his hands up. “Sorry, I know you
could have handled it just fine on your own. I just thought I'd lend
a hand before your enforcers got into trouble. What is it about you
and drunken men anyway? I'd of thought you'd had your fill of that at
our frat parties.” His smile was warm and a bit contagious.
“Yeah, like it's my fault men get
drunk and hit on me. Why were you following me anyway?” I glared up
at him. I hate the fact that he's nearly a foot taller than me and
was thankful I was wearing tall heels.
“I just wanted to make sure you got
back to your room safe and sound.”
“I don't need an escort.” I crossed
my arms and fumed some more. Pete remained quiet.
The doors opened at my floor and I
exited, expecting Pete to stay behind. No such luck. He stayed by my
side, quiet all the way to my door.
I looked up at him. “I'm not inviting
you in. You can go now.” I made a shooing motion with my room card.
Instead of leaving, Pete moved in
closer, wrapping his arms around my waist and drawing me tightly in. Damn
that Stetson cologne! He smelled so good, I started to melt a bit in
his arms, though I refused to look at his face.
“Look, Darcy. I'm sorry. Back in
college, you were going on and on about graduation and the job offers
you were getting, and it was driving me crazy.” At the start of my
protest he put his finger on my lips and shushed me. I hate being
shushed.
“Let me finish, please. What you
didn't know was that I learned late into the semester that my final
project wouldn’t be accepted. I was being allowed to walk at the
same time as you, but I wouldn't be graduated until after I
resubmitted my senior project during summer semester. I wasn't
getting any job offers and I was mad. At myself, the world, and you.
You were just so on point with everything. You had your life all
figured out and I couldn't even tell you I wasn't graduating.”
Pete's head hung with shame.
“So, you broke up with me because you
were going to graduate a semester later? Did you really think that
would've mattered to me? Even after I told you I loved you?” It
still hurt, even all these years later, that memory of his rejection
when I declared my long-standing love for him would be with me
forever.
Pete reached in his pocket, pulling out
a small, wrapped box. “Here, I was going to give this to you at
graduation. I've kept it all these years in hopes I'd see you again
and be able to give it to you. What better time than Christmas,
right? Christmas is a time for miracles and forgiveness isn't it?”
I took the box, unsure of what to do or
say. All I could croak out was a pathetic “ummm?”.
Pete lightly kissed me on my forehead and turned to
leave. “I just wanted you to know that I still love you.”
I stood in shocked silence for a
moment, and then unwrapped the box. Inside was a small diamond ring
with a white card that simply asked, “Will you marry me?”
Son-of-a-bitch! Had to wait nearly a decade to grow a pair and he
still didn't ask me himself? Pissed off and ridiculously happy I
couldn't decide what to do. Finally I kicked off my heels and began
running, with the box firmly in my hand.
“Pete! Pete! Wait up, you lousy
coward! Come back here and act like a man for once in your life.” I
raced around the corner to the elevator and slammed right into a firm
chest with enough force to land us both on the floor. God I really
hope it was Pete I knocked down and not some poor innocent man.
I both felt and heard the low rumbling
laugh. Brushing my hair out of my face I could finally see that, in
fact, I had knocked Pete off his feet. Score one for the short girl!
Sitting up a bit, I began my rant. “How
dare you hand me something like this!” I shook the box in his face.
“And not have the balls to ask me in person? You don't ask a woman
to marry you with a note written years ago! First you ask for
forgiveness and then you ask her to marry you. You dolt! What? Did you think I would've have said no back then? I'd been in love with you for
years you moron. How could you not know that when everyone else did?”
Pete laughed, then roughly pulled me to
him for a long kiss. I melted. All the years of anger washed away as
the realization that the person I loved the most, and hated the most,
had never really wanted me out of his life.
We broke for air and sat up a bit. Pete
took my hand and looked into my eyes. “So, will your forgive me?
And then will you marry me?” I laughed, and punched him on the arm.
“Well, it is Christmas, I guess I can
throw you a bone. Sure, I guess I'll marry you.” I laughed as Pete
pulled me onto his lap for a soft kiss.
Christmas is a time for miracles and
forgiveness after all, and this one was turning out to a doozy!
