Page 60 of A Date with Santa

The meal was delicious. The discussion around the table lively. Saffron answered a slew of questions. Her deployment to Florida was over and she was relieved of duty until she was needed again. It wouldn’t be long before they would be able to fly to Chicago. Saffron held everyone’s attention as she explained the devastation from the hurricane that had arrived late in the typical season. It had proved to be a Category 5 and had wiped out entire communities.

After the meal, the children raced to play with their new toys while the adults lingered at the table. Sage and Saffron listened as Ethan’s siblings exchanged memories and teased one another. Sage found herself laughing out loud more than once. Several times she shared a smile with her sister as they recalled episodes from their own childhood.

It was well after dark before Ethan’s siblings packed up to leave. Rafaelle insisted on sending leftovers home with each of her children and included Sage and Ricky. Saffron was dead on her feet. Her sister needed a long, hot shower and sleep.

Ethan walked Sage and Ricky out to the car and helped get Ricky settled in the backseat.

“Thank you for a wonderful day,” she said, and kissed him lightly on the lips.

“See,” Ricky called out to his mother. “They’re kissing again.”

“And not bothering to hide it,” Saffron added. She climbed into the front passenger seat. Sage was convinced her sister would fall asleep on the drive home.

“I’ll call you in the morning,” Ethan said as he held on to the driver’s-side door as Sage climbed in.

Sage would look forward to that.

—

Saffron booked the flight to Chicago for the twenty-seventh so the two sisters would have more time together. Sage understood both her sister and Ricky were eager to get back home.

Sage drove them to the airport and waited until they headed into the TSA line before she left. Watching Ricky leave was hard. Twice he turned around to wave to her. Sage waved back with tears blurring her vision. She was going to miss him something dreadful. That little boy had worked his way into her life and into her heart. The condo would feel empty without him.

Sage promised she would visit that summer, and then doubted she’d be able to wait that long. His birthday was in June, so with her sister’s help she planned to surprise him when he turned six.

On Sage’s first day back to the office after the first of the year, Stanley Mowrey called both Sage and Troy into his office. This was it. The moment she’d been waiting for.

Troy walked into the room with the confidence of one who already knew the outcome of the decision. Mowrey gestured for them both to take a seat. “I heard from the Hudson Group earlier this morning.”

“And what was their decision?” Troy prompted, sitting closer to the edge of his seat. “He seemed impressed with my presentation. It was unfortunate Sage wasn’t as prepared as she should have been.”

Biting her tongue, Sage tightened her fingers around the arms of the chair. Troy knew what he’d done, and if Mowrey hadn’t figured it out, then he wasn’t the leader she knew him to be.

“About that,” Mowrey said, glaring at Troy. “I believe I know why you changed the presentation date to before Christmas instead of after, as was originally planned.”

“My team and I were ready,” Troy said, defending his decision. “I couldn’t see any reason to delay it until after the holidays. I cleared the date and presentation time with you.”

“Sage,” Mowrey said, turning his attention to her. “Were you made aware of the date change?”