“Then why are you micromanaging?”
“I…” Sheila looked confused. “Oh my gosh. I am. Aren’t I? I suppose I have nothing better to do.”
“You have lots of better things to do. Haven’t you figured that out?” Natalie looked like she couldn’t believe Sheila hadn’t seen it before now.
“You’re right. I’m the most awful boss in the world. I do have time to do things. I just need to trust them to do what they’re being paid to do.”
“And when it’s not perfectly the way you’d do it, it’s a training opportunity. That’s all. It’s how the best leaders operate.”
“Thank you, Natalie. I know better. I guess knowing and doing don’t always correlate.”
“Well, I want you to enjoy your time here, and the rest of your life. Expanding was a smart thing, now put it on autopilot like that Tesla.”
“Point taken.”
“Enough stalling. Spill everything about Tucker,” Natalie said. “Now.”
Sheila felt ridiculous for feeling this way. It really was just hot chocolate. “It must be the sugar.”
Natalie slid her hand to her hip. “Hello? It’s me you’re talking to.”
Amanda shook her head. “Who could blame you? Own it, girl. Tucker is the most sought-after bachelor around. He’s successful, sexy, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say anything bad about him. Not even ex-girlfriends.”
Sheila didn’t mind hearing that. “Okay, fine. It was nice. We walked through the stadium. It’s really fun with all the holiday-themed street names, and the hot chocolate is no joke. They have a bunch of different flavors.”
Amanda clapped her hands. “Please tell me you got the pumpkin white chocolate. I always get it with the splash of Kahlua in it. It’s so good.”
“You too? That’s what Tucker had. It sounded horrible to me.”
Natalie’s nose wrinkled. “Chocolate and pumpkin?”
Sheila pulled her hands to her hips. “I know. I thought the same thing, but Tucker coerced me into trying it, and I can promise you it’s the best hot chocolate around.”
“Well, we have to give him points for having good taste,” Amanda said.
“Because of his hot chocolate choice?” Natalie asked.
“No, because he’s apparently taken a liking to your best friend here.” Amanda laughed, nudging Natalie at the same time.
“Y’all stop. What? Did we go back in time to seventh grade while I was away?”
“If we were still in seventh grade, we’d be fighting over him,” Amanda said.
“Truly,” Natalie said. “Enjoy it. No one is asking you to get all serious or married or anything. Just have an awesome holiday while you’re here in Chestnut Ridge.”
Amanda added, “Maybe he’ll kiss you under the bleachers next time.”
Maybe he’ll kiss me under the mistletoe.But there was no way she was saying that out loud. They’d never let her live that down.
“Let’s talk about something that matters. This tree and winning this Christmas Stroll,” Sheila insisted. “I honestly don’t know how this could be any prettier. You even hung my little birdhouses while I was gone. They look pretty.”
“You were gone a long time,” Natalie said.
“Randy and Eli came back, helped, and took off again,” Amanda said. “They are back at my house shooting pool.”
“They did not.” Sheila wasn’t buying it for a second.
“Did. Look, they left snacks for us,” Amanda said.
