Bad Boy Bachelor Claus by Ali Parker EPUB & PDF – eBook Details
- Author: Ali Parker
- Language: English
- Formats: PDF / EPUB
- Status: Available For Free Download
- Series: None
- Price: Free
- File Size: 1 MB
NORTH
Marge Cuthbert, affectionately called Mrs. Claus by everyone who worked
for me, had been a Christmas staple in my life for as long as I could
remember. As she stood under the retirement banner at the office, I felt a
growing sense of unease expand in my gut. She’d worked for my father
before me, was originally hired by my grandfather before him, and rumor had
it, she had a whirlwind affair with my grandfather forty years ago when she
was a doe-eyed twenty-year-old stepping into the corporate world of
Christmas-tree farming.
Yep. Christmas trees. That’s my brand. Well, the Waylon family brand,
anyway.
It wasn’t the most glamorous business. Lots of sap and pine needles and
scratched-up hands. And it could be a pain dealing with demanding
Christmas Karens who were looking for that perfect tree for their glitz and
glamor holiday event. If Walmart is scary during the holidays, try walking a
mile in my shoes when every uptight socialite, politician, celebrity, and
corporate CEO is looking for the perfect tree for their event. You can’t
custom order a live tree. Can’t request bark color, pine needle length, or level
of scent strength—some people have tried.
Marge had always been excellent with dealing with that specific breed of
clientele. Me? Well, I was a bit rough around the edges, according to those
who knew me best. Demanding and bossy didn’t go over well with me.
Without Marge, I worried I’d lose half of my clientele before the new year.
What would my father and grandfather before him say if I torpedoed all the
success they’d built over the last eighty years?
The shame would be unbearable and extremely public.
Cami Rollins appeared at my side and nudged me in the ribs. “Gonna
miss her, huh?”
I nearly jumped out of my skin. “Announce yourself before you sneak up
on people, Rollins.”
Cami, barely five feet herself, craned her head back to peer up at me. I
towered over her, measuring at six foot five. “Did I scare you?”
“You’re the size of a badger. No, you didn’t scare me. Just surprised me,
is all.” I stared down the length of my nose at her as her lips curled in a
devilish little smile. “Go bother someone else.”
The waitress rolled her big brown eyes toward her curly hairline. She had
a wild head of hair that was usually held back in a hairnet when I saw her at
the diner. She didn’t work for me, but she was a regular in Marge’s life and
had been pouring her coffee at the diner for almost five years. On top of that,
Marge’s best friend was Cami’s mother, and they were thick as thieves.
“She’s worried about you, you know,” Cami said.
“Marge worries about everyone.”
“You in particular.”
I swirled my glass of red wine and watched Marge receive hugs and
farewells from people who had to leave the retirement party early. “She has
no reason to worry about me. I’ll be fine. It will be a strange season without
her, but this was inevitable.”
“She thinks you’re going to hole yourself up in your big house and get
lost staring into a snow globe pining after your past.”
I scrutinized the petite young woman. “Don’t you have other people you
can annoy at this party?”
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