“Don’t do it,” Keri warned.
“Pivot. Pivot. PIVOT!” Mackenzie got louder and pronounced the two syllables more harshly with each repetition.
Keri groaned while Jeremy barely contained his laughter. Ross’s iconic moving-of-the-sofa scene fromFriends. Who would’ve known Mackenzie hid such a sense of humor behind her quiet demeanor? Why didn’t she let more people see that side of her? What other delightful gems did she conceal behind her shyness?
“Shut up. Shut up. SHUT UP!” Keri answered in a horrible Chandler Bing impersonation. “There. Is it out of your system now?”
“Not quite.” Mackenzie sounded cheeky. “There are two more turns until we get to our floor.”
Keri groaned again, but this time Jeremy couldn’t hold back all of his laughter. A tiny chuckle escaped. He pressed himself under the stairs leading to the second floor in case either Keri or Mackenzie had heard him and looked over the railing to investigate. But the ladies must not have heard anything over the noise they made lugging up the tree.
Exiting the stairwell, he took the elevator up to the ninth floor. As soon as he stepped into the office, he noticed the treestand over by the large window letting in the morning sun. There seemed to be a buzz of excitement humming on every particle of air. He made his way over to Lincoln, who leaned a hip against the counter of the kitchenette/break area, coffee mug in hand.
“Looks like you’re about to be showed up, my friend.” Lincoln grinned over the rim of his cup.
Jeremy selected a dark roast k-cup and popped it into the Keurig. He wasn’t worried over a cut fir. He had an entire calendar of holiday delights to help secure his position. “Those pomander balls took hours to create. Mackenzie just bought a tree from a stand. It’s not like she went out into the woods and chopped it down herself.”
“Yeah, but have you noticed Sofiya?” Lincoln pointed toward the door leading to the stairwell.
Their boss stood in knee-high leather boots, bouncing on the balls of her feet so that her heels clicked on the wood floor every time she lowered onto them. Her hands were clasped together under her chin, a childlike expression of expectation and exuberance on her face. She was the embodiment of a kid at Christmas.
Annabelle entered their circle, followed by Derek, her ever-present shadow. “I can’t believe Sofiya has never had a real Christmas tree before. My parents always took us to the tree farm when we were kids and let us pick out our tree. What about you guys?”
“I was a Boy Scout,” Derek said. “Our troop sold trees every year.”
“Never had a tree, huh?” Lincoln looked at Jeremy, then swung his gaze to Sofiya. “What do you guys think? If Jeremy and Mackenzie were keeping score, who’d be up in points now? Jeremy with his oranges or Mackenzie and the live tree?”
“They’re pomander balls,” Jeremy retorted weakly.
Annabelle’s eyes filled with commiseration. “Sorry, Jeremy, but look at Sofiya. Obviously, she’s always wanted a live tree,and now Mackenzie is giving her one. She’s literally fulfilling a Christmas wish. How can you beat that?”
“Make it snow?” Derek suggested.
They all turned to stare at him.
“What? Everybody wants a white Christmas. People even write songs about it.”
The door to the stairwell opened, and Sofiya squealed and clapped her hands. Actually squealed. In delight.
Fraser firs trumped citrus fruit.
“So all I have to do is figure out a way to control the weather,” Jeremy deadpanned. “Thanks for the suggestion.”
Both Mackenzie and Keri’s cheeks were pink, lines of exertion running along their foreheads. Guilt pricked at Jeremy’s conscience. He should have done the gentlemanly thing and offered to help carry the tree up the stairs.
He stepped forward and grabbed the trunk from Mackenzie. “Here. Let me help.”
She looked at him with her too-large eyes. Something he couldn’t unravel wound through her amber irises before retreating. He waited for her gaze to skitter away like it always did. For her to tuck her chin or turn her head, but she didn’t. She held his gaze.
Two beats. Three.
A tug of the tree in his hands broke the invisible connection. He turned to find Lincoln on the other end. Keri wiped her hands on a Wet Wipe Rosa had given her from her purse.
Jeremy and Lincoln finished carrying the conifer across the office and secured it in the stand. Jeremy pushed himself off his knees and stood. Sofiya crowded Mackenzie, gushing her joy about the tree. Mackenzie’s smile seemed wider than normal. More confident.
Jeremy couldn’t help but be happy for her, even if it meant his name lay at the bottom of the imaginary leaderboard of theircompetition. Warmth spread across his chest, a feeling of almost pleasure at the slight changes he noticed in Mackenzie.
Don’t get invested, he warned himself. After all, her lack of self-assuredness and poise gave him the edge over her. And he needed the promotion to accomplish his career goals as well as to provide for the twins’ future.
