The Thanksgiving Scrooge: Good With Numbers, #2

By Rose Bak

There are two things Lana Lewis avoids like the plague: relationships and holidays.

Although she's famous for her epic Halloween parties, family holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas bring back bad memories she would prefer to forget. Unfortunately, the marketing consultant her company just hired, Ian Sherman, is determined to convert the self-proclaimed Thanksgiving Scrooge into a holiday lover - and a relationship person.

Can Ian convince Lana to look past her fears and give holiday love a chance?  Maybe if he keeps talking in that distracting English accent…

"Thanksgiving Scrooge" is book two of the "Good with Numbers" holiday novella series. This steamy standalone features an independent woman in her 40s, an alpha Englishman, matchmaking friends, and a romantic HEA. Grab another slice of pumpkin pie and check out the Good with Numbers friends as they find love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rose Bak
• Release date: Jun 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9798201702113

Rose Bak

Rose Bak has been obsessed with books since she got her first library card at age five. She is a passionate reader with an e-reader bursting with thousands of beloved books.  Rose's contemporary romance books focus on strong female characters over age 35 and the alpha males who love them. Expect a lot of steam, a little bit of snark, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

Book preview

About This Book

There are two things Lana Lewis avoids like the plague: relationships and holidays.

Although she is famous for her epic Halloween parties, family holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas bring back bad memories she would prefer to forget. Unfortunately, the marketing consultant her company just hired, Ian Sherman, is determined to convert the self-proclaimed Thanksgiving Scrooge into a holiday lover - and a relationship person. 

Can Ian convince Lana to look past her fears and give holiday love a chance?

Thanksgiving Scrooge is book two of the Good with Numbers holiday novella series. This steamy standalone short read features an independent woman, an alpha Englishman, matchmaking friends and a romantic HEA. Grab another slice of pumpkin pie and check out the Good with Numbers friends as they find love.

This book includes a special except from Until You Came Along,  book one of the Oliver Boys Band series, available now from all major retailers.

Be sure to join Rose’s mailing list and get a free book.  Click here to be the first to hear about all the latest releases and special sales.

Chapter One

I rushed into our management meeting just as James Fitzgerald, our CEO and my boss, was reviewing the agenda. 

Lana, nice of you to join us for the meeting that started five minutes ago, he said jokingly, with a pointed glance at his bare wrist. 

I tossed him a saucy smile, knowing he was just teasing me.  James was a super laid-back boss most of the time. I was lucky that way.  He was not bad looking either.  I did not find him attractive but many of my coworkers did.

I do like to make an entrance, I joked back. 

I slid into the seat next to Anthony, my counterpart from the forensic division.  Anthony had been my boss for many years before he transferred divisions and I was promoted into his old job. I had been at the company for over ten years and the promotion was the culmination of all my hard work.  It was a demanding job, but I loved it.

He had recently gotten engaged to my employee Maya, who was also one of my best friends. Needless to say, Anthony and I had spent a lot of time together over the last few years. He gave me a nod and a wink as James started discussing our agenda items.

I scribbled nonsense in my notebook so I would look like I was paying attention, but the truth was I could not concentrate on the meeting. I was feeling a bit unmoored and had not been sleeping very well the last couple of weeks. 

Halloween, my all-time favorite holiday, was over.

As we did every year, my two sisters and I had hosted an extravagant Halloween masquerade party, renting out a hotel ballroom.  There were close to 200 guests of guests in attendance this year and it was a huge hit, as usual. 

Anthony and Maya had even gotten engaged at the party, commemorating the way they had first gotten together at the previous year’s Halloween party.

Just like every year, I came down from the party and the Halloween season with a hard crash.  But this year felt worse and the post-party crash had lasted for several weeks.

Somehow, it was already the week before Thanksgiving, and I was dreading the holiday season even more than I usually did.  I could not seem to shake the sense of sadness that had overtaken me.

Maybe I was sadder than usual because my sisters were both going out of town for Thanksgiving. We liked to go on trips to avoid the holidays as much as possible.  We were all alike that way.

Normally I would have joined them like I did every year, but I had decided to stay back this year.  Work was super busy and though I had been promoted just over a year ago now, I still felt like I had a lot to prove in my new job.   I was regretting my decision as I thought about my sisters flying off to the Caribbean this coming weekend.

Quit moping and focus on what you are being paid to do Lana, I chastised myself.  I tuned back into the meeting as James introduced the next agenda item.  He started by sharing that he wanted the company to focus on creating innovative strategies to increase its profile.  Business was good, but it could always be better, he reminded us.

We need to drum up new business and stay competitive with the other accounting firms, he told us.  That’s why I have decided to hire a public relations firm to help us with marketing, social media and advertising, he said proudly.

Advertising? I asked with a teasing smile.  We’re a corporate accounting firm.  What will our ads say?  ‘Hire us, we’re good with numbers’?

The team gave an appreciative chuckle at my joke, then I heard a deep English-accented