Miracle on 34th Floor Page 8

  Victoria shook her head. “No, in that instance, she was acting in the capacity of my assistant, and so the percentage would go to me.” She turned to Joylin, a large, insincere smile on her lips. “I will of course give you a bonus for your work on my behalf.”

  “That’s actually not true.” Decker’s face twitched, and Joylin wondered if he’d lose his poker face. “She was there as a favor to me and therefore acting under the direction of our marketing team. I choose to recognize her contribution as the major deal sealer that night. You and I might have helped, but she was the real talent that evening.”

  Everyone in the room looked from Decker to Victoria and occasionally checked out Joylin.

  “She’s a natural, and I’d love to have her on my team.”

  “She’s my assistant.”

  “I see that, but I feel like her talents would be better utilized in a marketing capacity. It is my belief that we could send Joylin in to finish the job.”

  “I thought that’s why we have you.”

  “We would be a good team.”

  Joylin sucked in her breath. What was he doing?

  “I’m not ready to give her up just yet. She has a lot to learn as my assistant, and she’d much rather train to be a CEO than a VP over marketing.”

  They both turned to look at her.

  “I’m just taking the notes.”

  The marketing team laughed, and it lightened the mood.

  They spent the next fifteen minutes talking about who would be the lead on the new accounts, and then Victoria closed the meeting.

  Joylin didn’t know what to do with herself. She wanted to sneak out of Decker’s office as fast as she could and hide.

  But Victoria stood. “Joylin, come with me. We have to get these minutes typed up and send out the assignments.”

  Joylin left with Victoria, Decker’s gaze following them the whole way.

  As soon as they were clear of the office, Victoria fumed. “Can you believe him! He has no sense of authority, no understanding of who the CEO is here. He thinks you would rather learn to be a VP instead of a CEO. He just doesn’t understand how it is to be a woman in this type of position. Don’t worry, I’ll tuck you under my wing so far, he won’t be able to snatch you.”

  Joylin didn’t say anything as she followed her into her office.

  “Now, let’s get those notes ready.”

  “I’ve completed them. I’ll send what I have right now.” She clicked send. “You can send me any corrections or additions. Then I’ll tidy up the changes and have them out as soon as you would like.”

  “Excellent. See, you are so much more suited to work with me.” She waved her out. “Let’s talk more about it tomorrow.”

  Joylin left. She was floored. She had a client percentage? She wanted to go kiss Decker for even thinking of it. And what had happened in there—how dare Victoria try to stake a claim on her percentage and pretend like she knew what Joylin wanted? She couldn’t wait to get to Gimbels and be able to discuss everything with Decker. Maybe she could sneak back into his office.

  Nope, people were in there, talking to him. She’d have to wait.

  10

  Gimbels would have to wait. His office was crowded with people, and he still had phone calls to make. So he called Mary, the manager. She was harried and stressed as usual, but there was nothing he could do about his last-minute workload. Then he whipped out a text to Joylin, but she never responded.

  When at last he had a minute to breathe, it was after nine. He felt bad about the line of families that he knew must have been at Gimbels. He checked his phone again, wondering why Joylin hadn’t called or texted with an update. “Oh no.” His text to her had never sent. He put the phone to his ear and called.

  “Ho, ho, ho.” Her voice made him smile.

  “I have this text written to you sitting on my phone unsent…”

  “Does it say something like ‘I can’t get out, cover for me?’”

  “More like ‘sorry, I won’t be there on time.’ Did you cover for me?”

  “I certainly did.”

  “Wait, seriously?”

  “Sure. Mrs. Claus came to Gimbels, and she was a huge hit. There’s only one problem.”

  “What’s that?”

  “She didn’t have any elves.”

  “We can fix that next time.”

  She snorted. “You gonna wear the tights?”

  He laughed and ignored her question. “Where are you?”

  “I’m still here, just walking out.”

  “Don’t go anywhere.”

  “We’ve got some things to talk about.”

  “Yes, we do.” He shook his head. Boy, did they ever. Had he really offered her a position on his team? And a finder’s fee? Hadn’t he just decided to take things slower with her?

  As he headed out the door, he smiled at Joylin talking to one of the homeless men who hung out in front of the store. She really was something.

  When he got close enough to hear, he realized she was handing out cash. It probably wasn’t the wisest move, but he couldn’t blame her at all.

  She turned to him. “Hey, Decker. This is Hillman. He’s from Arkansas.”

  “Nice to meet you, sir.”

  “You too. Thank you. Just keeping your friend company for you while she waits.”

  “And thank you for that.” Decker reached for Joylin’s hand. “Want to go for a walk?”

  “Sure, yeah.”

  He headed uptown. Maybe they could stop by Rockefeller Center after all.

  “I got some new cards today.”

  “You did that too?”

  “Well, yeah. It was a little tricky to do by myself, so I got Mary involved.”

  “No way.”

  “Truly. She was all about helping.”

  “I shouldn’t even be surprised. You have a way with people. We can’t say no to you.”

  “I hope that’s true.” She cast a worried gaze in his direction. Then she pulled out her cards. “I was thinking maybe we should start on some of this tonight. We’re not gonna have a lot of time on Christmas Eve.”

  “No, we’re not, and tomorrow is the office party.”

  “Are we still going to that? Together?”

  “I can’t let Lionel think he has a chance.”

  She snorted. “Or the guys on payroll?”

  “Do they always sit around playing football in there?”

  “Pretty much. But they get their work done.” She bumped his shoulder. “But let’s talk about the meeting. What―was―that?”

  “Which part?”

  “The part where you offered me a percentage, and then she tried to take it, and then you wanted me on your marketing team?”

  “And she refused to let you go.”

  “Right.”

  “You have a say here, you know.”

  “I don’t think I do.”

  “Of course, you do. If offered two jobs, you can choose which one to take.”

  “You sure you want to offer me a job? Or was that just to take back control over your own committee?”

  “I did, didn’t I?”

  “But we’d be working together. What if we—”

  “What if I stop wanting to spend every waking minute with you? Not possible.”

  “You’re crazy, but I’m half tempted to accept your offer.”

  “You should accept it. Working for Victoria is gonna be a nightmare, and she’s just gonna claim everything you do as her own. What you saw today will happen over and over and over.”

  “Well, what if I just ride it out for a bit, let her get her fill of training a new girl, and then switch?”

  “You want me to just hold a spot open on the marketing team until you’re good and ready?” His irritation grew. If she didn’t know what was good for her, he couldn’t do much more for her.

  “Well, no, I don’t expect you to do that.”

  “Then tell her where to go and come work with me. I tell you, you’re a nat
ural.”

  “Can you just give me some time so I don’t make an enemy of our CEO?”

  He looked away. “No, I can’t. But either way, it would be good to get out from under her thumb. If you need time, take it, but our spot will be filled.”

  “I’m trying to tell myself that’s fair, even though it seems like I’m in a really tough position here.”

  “It’s perfectly fair. I have people lined up for this job.”

  She looked away. “Understood.” She took a deep breath. “Okay. Do you want to go deliver some gifts or not?”

  “Let’s do it.” He draped an arm across her shoulders. “Come on. Everything’s gonna work out even if you don’t work for the best marketing team in New York.”

  They bought a new doll, a Matchbox car, and a sewing kit. Then they went to three of their addresses. Decker had a blast giving the gifts to the parents, telling them to wrap and deliver on Christmas morning. But soon the night grew late, and he drove Joylin home.

  They hadn’t kissed in a few days. She hadn’t been open with him. And he wanted to take things slow, much slower than they had, to give him time to get to know her. Her refusal to back away from Victoria concerned him. He understood how it might be difficult to make the CEO angry, how she might be worried about her job security. If she’d just trust him, he could help her stand up to Victoria. But he couldn’t force her.

  They pulled up in front of her house. “Hey, thanks for filling in tonight.”

  She smiled. “My pleasure. We’re not up again until the weekend.”

  “I’ll make it work, and I’ll meet you at the office party tomorrow night.”

  “Oh, right. Okay.”

  “We still going together?”

  “I hoped so, but you said, ‘meet me there…’”

  “Yeah, sorry. I have meetings up until it starts.” He lifted her hand. “But if you want to stick around, see what it’s like to shadow a real master, we can go together straight from work.” He pressed his lips to her hand. That was a mistake because he immediately wanted more of her.

  “Okay. I’ll change at the office.” She lifted the door handle. “See you tomorrow?”

  He nodded. “But not in the break room. I think I’ll leave that crowd to itself.”

  “Fair enough.” She hopped out, and he watched until she was inside.

  His phone dinged.

  Thank you for offering to help. We would love any assistance we can get. I apologize for being so suspicious.

  An email from Judy’s aunt. The little girl who had asked for help for her dad. He wrote back: What kind of help is most required?

  No matter how he worked things out with Joylin, there were definitely people in the world with tougher problems than they had. His head was swimming with thoughts of the families they had visited, so many in need. He wished there were fewer problems in the world.

  11

  Joylin knew she was a mess. Work was a mess. Everything in her life that had been going so well just a week ago was now in shambles. Decker said he was still in, but she’d lost his trust, and their relationship had slowed way down. Victoria had her trapped as an assistant, and Decker was losing patience with her for not standing up for what she wanted.

  But what did she want? What if Decker broke up with her? Would she want to still work on his marketing team? Would he still want her to work there?

  She walked into work, a bundle of nerves. Already she had two texts waiting on her phone. Victoria wanted her coffee and an early planning meeting for the day. And Decker wanted her to join him for the initial discussions about the four new clients she’d helped bring in. The meetings were almost at the same time.

  So far, she was living by seconds on her calendar. She texted Victoria, asking to meet earlier, and Decker, asking to meet later.

  Then she sighed as she made her way past the security desk to the elevator.

  “No more visits to the thirteenth floor, I take it?” The security guard startled her enough she almost sloshed the coffee.

  “Uh, no sir.”

  “That Decker, he’s a good man. You’re not the only one to help those guys who sit out front.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. He takes good care of them when it’s super cold. Takes them out to dinner and makes sure they’re on their way to the shelter.”

  Her heart warmed toward him. What kind of man acted the way he did, with no thought of recognition or reward? He had even agreed to fill in for Santa on a whim.

  “You’re a good match.”

  She turned in surprise. “You playing matchmaker?”

  “Nope. Just calling it like I see it.”

  As she entered the elevator, she thought about what he said. They were a good match. He was awesome, but she was too.

  Both Decker and Victoria sent messages to her phone at the same time, telling her they couldn’t change meeting times.

  She leaned against the back of the elevator and groaned. Then she lifted the phone to her ear.

  Decker answered. “You ready?”

  “Victoria wants me at the same time.”

  “Let me guess. You have her coffee in hand.”

  “Yeah. And we’re talking about…stuff.”

  His silence spoke to her.

  “What do you want me to do, tell her no?”

  “Uh, yeah. I need you in here learning how to be point for a client. You’re not ready yet, but these are your people. They know you. They came on because of you. This is an amazing chance to step into marketing. Didn’t you say this is where you want to end up?”

  Everything he said was true. “Okay. I’ll stop by, give her the coffee, and tell her.”

  “Good. Then get in here so we can start planning.”

  “Mm. I like the sound of that.”

  “There’s no humming in a sexy, low voice at work.”

  “Fine. All business.”

  “Well, not all business.”

  “Okay…”

  “We’ll figure it out. Get in here. Don’t let dragon lady tell you any different.”

  They hung up as the doors opened. Dragon lady stood right in front of her. “Victoria, good morning.”

  “Good morning. Come with me. We’re swamped today. I’m gonna need one hundred percent from you from the get-go.”

  Joylin followed her brisk steps back to her office. Decker stepped outside of his with arms crossed over his chest.

  “Oh boy.”

  Victoria turned and then looked down the hall. “What?”

  “I’m needed in marketing for an hour. Then I’m all yours.”

  She could almost see the steam coming out of Victoria’s nose. Her eyes flashed, and Joylin knew immediately she would be made to suffer for this breach in loyalty. Then she chickened out. “Unless you need me here more?”

  The victory in Victoria’s face was an ugly, selfish glint, and Joylin immediately regretted her decision. She followed her into the office and put her coffee on the desk. But as Victoria started listing her tasks, each one sounded so much more like a secretary’s job than anything exciting she might be doing in marketing.

  She held up a hand. “I’m sorry, but they’re needing me down the hall. I gotta do some client-building tasks before I can get to all of these jobs. I’ll check back in when I’m done.”

  Victoria’s mouth dropped open, and her eyes narrowed. She said nothing as Joylin walked out of her office.

  She hurried down the hall just as people were arriving. Decker’s eyes beamed with happiness. “You made it.”

  “I made it.” She exhaled some of her tension, but she knew things were not gonna be pretty later on.

  “It’s gonna be worth it. I promise.”

  She hoped he was right.

  The meetings with Decker were exhilarating. They were full of ideas and brainstorming and a beautiful synergy that worked so well with her personality. He had been right. She was a great fit for their team. They were positive and supportive, and they got thing
s done. Her people all the way.

  Most of all, she felt needed and important. They had asked her and one other woman to play point on the client. She knew she was just supposed to learn the ropes, but she also knew the client already had a level of trust with her, so she was thrilled.

  When the meeting ended, she rushed back down the hall with only a backward wave to Decker. Victoria was on her phone, and Gemma sat across from her desk. She was writing furiously as Joylin stepped into the doorway.

  When Victoria noticed her, she shook her head and waved her away.

  Gemma looked apologetic, but Joylin waved away her concern.

  As she left, all sorts of warnings flashed in her mind. But she was where she wanted to be in the company with promise to rise much better and faster and learn more things in marketing.

  She headed back into Decker’s office. “Well, Victoria’s kicked me out,” she announced while walking into the room. Decker was on the phone, so she backed up, feeling silly. But he waved her in.

  She moved to the unseen part of the room, and he winked.

  As soon as he finished his call, he walked over to where she sat on a couch against the wall on the opposite side of his large table.

  “What happened?”

  “She’s brought in Gemma.”

  “Gemma?”

  “My friend. She asked her to be her new assistant; at least, that’s what it looks like.”

  “Are you okay with that?”

  “Sure, except I’m afraid she’s gonna fire me.”

  “Why would she do that?”

  “Because I walked out of a meeting with her. I turned my nose up at an opportunity to shadow the CEO. That is pretty arrogant.”

  “Not in my book. She had you locked in a career trap.”

  “She doesn’t view it that way.” Joylin’s stomach clenched, and she started to feel ill.

  “Hey, don’t worry. I’ll take care of this. I’m not gonna let her fire you.”

  She hoped he had as much control as he claimed. Because she really didn’t want to lose her job.

  He sat back, and she snuggled into the crook of his arm. “How did you like the marketing meeting?”