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“That won’t be necessary. I’ll warm up soon enough.” He hoped. He’d been chilled to the bone for days. At home, he’d cranked both his gas fireplace and the thermostat, and slept with an extra comforter. It was going to be a long winter, at this rate.
Maybe if he found someone to warm him up? He dismissed the idea as quickly as it appeared. Female company didn’t appeal to him right now.
Meanwhile, for some reason, his father refused to let the subject drop. After the waiter took their orders, he laid his napkin on his lap and leaned forward. “Are you sure it’s temperature related and not something to do with the ‘issue’ you had in Fryberg?”
“I’m sure.” Other than a minor case of temporary insanity, his “issue” had been side-effect-free. “A cup of hot coffee and I’ll be fine.”
Jackson stared at him for a beat or two. “If you say so,” he said finally, before reaching for his water glass. “I saw the article in the Business Journal today about the window displays. I have to say I didn’t think you would ever agree to eliminate them.”
“What can I say? Even I couldn’t ignore the numbers.”
“I’m glad you finally came around. Although it would have been nice if you’d alerted me to your decision. I realize you handle these kinds of day-to-day operations, but...”
“You were in Copenhagen,” James interrupted. “And I wanted to make the announcement early enough to take advantage of the entire Christmas season. I didn’t mean to blindside you.”
“Surprise is a better word.”
James returned his father’s flat smile and sipped his coffee. “Marketing tells me we’re getting quite a bit of local press attention from the announcement. This could turn into a public relations bonus for us.”
“That reminds me,” Jackson said, “you need to talk to whoever wrote the press release. They should have drafted a less caustic quote.”
James had written the quote himself. Molly, their communications assistant, had clearly wanted something else, but she hadn’t argued.
Noelle would have. He suppressed a shiver. “Actually, I thought the quote went straight to the point.”
“‘We can’t bring the past back, no matter how badly we may want to’?” Jackson quoted. “I would have preferred something a little less cynical.”
“Why? It’s true, isn’t it?”
“Yes, but we’re not in the business of selling truth, James—we sell toys.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve no intention of letting sales slide.” Amazing how unaffected he was about the whole thing. Not too long ago, he would have argued the window displays brought in customers. But when he’d visited the store on Sunday afternoon and saw this year’s intricate displays, he’d suddenly thought, Why bother? All that money spent and what did it matter?
“The rest of the chain does quite well without window displays,” James said, reaching for his coffee again. “Boston will too. A month from now, people won’t remember what the display looked like.”
“I could have told you that,” Jackson replied.
The waiter arrived with their food. While he waited for the man to serve his soup, James let his eyes travel back to the crowd across the street. The preschoolers had been joined by several mothers with strollers. For a moment, he thought he saw a red-and-white knit hat mixed in the crowd and his pulse stuttered. His eyes were playing tricks on him. He hadn’t thought about Noelle since he left New York—prolonged thought anyway—and he wasn’t about to start.
Although yesterday’s phone call nearly killed him. When the receptionist said her name, a tearing sensation had gripped his chest. The first intense feeling he’d had in days, it nearly knocked him to his knees. Then there was the way she’d lowered her voice to apologize. It took all his reserves, but thankfully he kept himself from breaking and asking why she left. No need to hear her excuse. He already knew.
The sound of his father clearing his throat drew back his attention.
“Are you certain you feel all right?” Jackson asked. “Perhaps you should see a specialist.”
“I’m fine,” he insisted.
“You say you’re all right, but you’re clearly not acting like yourself. You’re difficult to reach. You’re making sudden changes in company policy.”
James let out a long sigh. “So this is about my not discussing the announcement with you beforehand.” He knew this sudden interest in his health had to mean something.
“This has nothing to do with the announcement,” Jackson said, killing that theory immediately. “I’m simply concerned about you.”
