Page 15 of The Christmas Accomplice

Chapter 4

Reece was still smiling as he lugged the plastic bin full of props into the storage room next to Edward’s office. He shoved it against the wall and took a moment to stretch his back, thinking about Welton and how much fun they’d had building a snowman. Well, Reece had been having fun, though it did appear as if Welton had enjoyed himself as well. Hadn’t he? He had to have had at least a little fun from the reactions Reece had seen.

You just met the guy. And he lives practically on the other side of the country. What are you thinking?

He sighed as he held a deeper stretch, arms overhead, eyes closed.

“Have you found your inner eye yet?”

Nick startled him out of his thoughts and whatever relaxation he might have managed.

“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Reece said.

“Dude, those cheese sticks will do it for you before I ever can.”

Reece sneered at Nick’s self-satisfied smirk. “Very funny. And you like the cheese sticks here, too. Don’t get all high and mighty about my high cholesterol treat.”

“Is it really a treat if you have them with every meal?”

“It’s not every meal,” Reece said. “I don’t have them for breakfast.”

“And your arteries breathe a collective sigh of relief.”

“Is there something you needed from in here?”

Nick shook her head and sat on a storage bin filled with Valentine’s Day decorations. “Nope. Just wondering how your first activity challenge went.”

“It went well.”

“Well as in you may get promoted?”

“Well as in nobody was injured, and everyone seemed to have a good time,” Reece said. “Edward is having us each assist with the first two activities, so we don’t need to take a leadership role.”

“You sure about that?” Nick swung her feet, bumping them against the side of the bin.

Reece scowled. “What do you know?”

“I know Edward left your activity and went right into another one in the Alpine ballroom. This time though, he was working with Graham. And from what I could tell, Edward was the acting Vanna, not Graham.”

“Acting Vanna?”

“You know, Vanna White. The letter turner on Wheel of Fortune?”

“Yeah, I know who Vanna White is, but why would he…” Reece trailed off and stared at Nick who raised her eyebrows back at him.

“Why would he ask you both to merely assist him with activities when he wants to rate you on how you handle leading an activity?” She put a finger to her bottom lip and looked up at the ceiling a moment. “Oh, maybe to see if you’re a go-getter who’s going to jump at the chance to take on some responsibility.”

“He’s testing us.”

“He’s testing you. And Graham may have just taken the lead in your race to Assistant Activities Director.”

“Shit.”

She hopped off the bin and squeezed his arm. “Don’t worry, you’ll show that spray-tanned weasel in the next activity.” She took a step closer, crossing her arms and lowering her voice. “Did I see a hot nerdy guy come in after your activity, clutching a coupon for a free appetizer in his cold and eager little paw?”

“Do you do any work at the front desk?”

“Is he the same hot nerdy guy you broke protocol for earlier and drove to his cabin?”