This Christmas

By Felicity Collins

Theodore Golding is the CEO of The Golding Candy Company. He hates the corporate grind so much that he decides to disappear over the holidays and finds himself working a regular job at Estelle Robinson’s candy shop. Problem is, Theo doesn’t reveal his true identity and Estelle has no idea that the new guy she’s hired is technically her boss.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bryant Street Shorts
• Release date: Nov 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781094455174

Book preview

1

Theodore Golding III tightened his grip on the steering wheel as the Christmas tree came into view. Not that the damn eyesore was unexpected; the Golding Candy Company put the tree up in front of corporate headquarters every year, after all. Sixty feet of sparkling monstrousness that towered over the entrance, and it wasn’t even a natural tree like a fir or a spruce. Nope. This nightmare was one hundred percent artificial. Every fake branch was made up of shiny, metallic plastic painted what else? Gold .

To offset the plastic fakery outside, there was a natural tree inside the building, but that too was decorated in over-the-top gold. Same went for the gold tinsel that made its way into every corner of the company’s New York headquarters. Every Golding Candy company building and store went all out with Christmas decorations. He had never been able to stand it.

Muttering to himself, Theo navigated his car around the block to the parking lot. As he pulled into his executive parking space, it took him a second to realize that he was gripping the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles had turned white. A sign of the usual morning dread that accompanied his drive to work since the holiday season had begun.

Christmas was Golding Candy’s biggest sales period. Some of their franchise stores made a third of their annual profits in December alone. Candy was big business during the holidays and there was enormous pressure to deliver bigger profits every year.

As if on cue, his phone started ringing. Ever since he had taken over as interim CEO several months ago, it felt as if his phone rang non-stop.

His cell was already on the dashboard mount, so he swiped the screen to answer it.

Good morning, sir. Your parents are on line one, his assistant chirped.

Theo tensed immediately. Both of them, Shannon?

Yes, Mr. Golding, she confirmed. They say it’s urgent.

Isn’t it always?

Talking to both of his parents at the same time was going to be an ordeal. The two of them might be divorced but they were still feuding the same way they had during their trainwreck of a marriage.

Patch them through, he instructed, suppressing the urge to groan.

There was a click followed by what sounded like angry snarling. This wasn’t the type of call he wanted to take as he walked into company headquarters so Theo decided to sit tight and get this over with.

What the hell is this seating arrangement? his father barked into the phone.

Not even a goddamn greeting. Typical.

"Theo, can you please tell your father to grow up? He does this every year," his mother snapped in her upper-crust Boston accent.

Theo shut off the car engine and heaved a frustrated breath. What are you talking about?

The annual fundraising dinner for St. Mary’s Hospital, his mother replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. I’ll be seated next to the mayor—

Again, his father interrupted angrily. "We got the seating chart this morning and as usual Myrna will be sitting with the mayor. Meanwhile, I’ll be parked at the end of the table with the dullards."

You’ll be next to a Golding board member, Myrna reminded him sharply. That’s hardly something to complain about, Theodore. For heaven’s sake, we have more important things to discuss. Like my booth at the Christmas bazaar not being approved. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you?

"This is absurd. My name is on the building, Myrna, not yours, the the elder Mr. Golding sputtered. The courts might’ve let you keep your company shares but you didn’t get that in the divorce."

Are you two seriously arguing about seating for a charity event? Theo demanded. I’m not your only child, you know. Can’t Howie or Josephine fix this?

No! both of his parents shouted at the same time.

That was the only thing they could agree on, that he act as referee of their dysfunctional family. Probably a dumb idea to drag his siblings into this anyway; they were just as combative as his parents.

The whole Golding family was a mess. Always had been. Especially around the holidays. All they did was fight. Argue over big things and small things. And his parents had argued on a massive scale. With a billion dollar candy company between them, their epic fights had finally involved lawyers and shareholders. Their marriage had been a constant jockeying for position within the company. Endless backstabbing in the boardroom. Every moment with them had turned Theo’s childhood into a waking nightmare. Adulthood hadn’t been much better so far.

Their recent divorce hadn’t changed the dynamic because they each still owned a part of the company. Which was the reason Theo had been shoved into the CEO role. He was the only one who seemed to be able to get through to his parents.

You could always call the mayor and explain your predicament. Not like he has anything important to do, Theo finally said through gritted teeth.

Don’t be absurd. His mother had missed the sarcasm.You’re the one in charge, Theo, so it’s on you to sort this.

Theo released an exasperated sigh. He was quickly approaching the end of his rope. None of this is in my job description.

Tell your mother to stop meddling with the seating arrangements, Theodore said, ignoring his son’s protestations. I know this is her doing.

Theo opened his mouth to remind them of the spirit of the holidays, but who the hell was he kidding? Theo hated Christmas. A massive problem for the CEO of a giant candy company, and he’d barely been able to hide his disdain for the false cheer, the performative niceness. That was the Golding family tradition: pretending to be a happy family to sell candy to the gullible masses.

Of course, his parents’ nasty split had almost tanked the brand’s wholesome family-friendly image, but that was now his problem to solve. To get things back on track, Theo had stepped in as CEO to play referee to his feuding parents and salvage the company’s reputation. So far, he had done enough to avert another round of bad press, but his parents were right to some degree: an early morning squabble was something that he should be able to smooth over. Any bad PR that threatened the Golding family brand was his responsibility to manage, no matter how petty.

We need to compromise, Theo said. Maybe that suggestion would knock some sense into them.

I’m done compromising with him, Myrna said viciously. That was the point of the divorce. No more compromising just to soothe his fragile ego.

"More like the freedom to not have to take orders from you anymore, Myrna," his father spat.

Theo’s temple was beginning to throb. Which meant there was a headache on the horizon. Thankfully, his phone indicated that there was another call coming in. Relieved, he said, Got another phone call. Give me a second. Without waiting for a response, Theo swiped at the screen again.

Sir, I’ve got William Mason on the other line, Shannon informed him. It sounds like an emergency.

At this rate he’d prefer an emergency call from the director of the Golding Foundation over his parents arguing. I’ll take his call.

Theo raised a hand to start rubbing his temples. What is it, William?

Your parents… they’re both threatening to withhold this year’s donation to St. Mary’s hospital—

What the hell? Why would they do that? Theo demanded.

Well, they’re angry about the seating arrangement for this year’s fundraising dinner. Plus they’re holding back the funds to make the other look bad. Something to do with an overseas deal so they’re trying to throw each other under the bus.

Theo cursed loudly. Business at the highest level was a ruthless game, but his parents had gone too far this time. Way too far. They were using the Golding Charitable Foundation to try and force the resolution they wanted. Playing with people’s health and lives without a care in the world. Anger surged through him, followed by a hollow disappointment. Theo was under no illusions about his parents; they were imperfect. But he couldn’t stomach this.

Release the funds, he ordered, fighting to keep the outrage from his tone. The hospital is counting on the donation.

Of course, sir, but that’s not the main problem. Word’s getting out and I don’t know how to handle this, Mason said, sounding panicked. The foundation board wants you to come up with some good spin.

Spin of this magnitude would take days at least, pushing serious work to the back burner. He would have to devote all of his time to putting out this fire because there was no playbook for how to defend his parents’ decision to withhold charitable donations during the holidays, two freaking weeks before Christmas.

Theo’s stomach twisted. The thought of defending this was unbearable. His parents had managed to shield themselves from their terrible choices for years. Now, he was the one protecting them. If he kept on doing it, they would just continue down this road until they destroyed the Golding family legacy beyond repair. They would take the company down with them.

Give me time, William. I’ll call you back. Theo hung up abruptly and switched back to his parents. Mom, Dad… something’s come up.

Can’t it wait? his mother asked.

No. His guts churned. He wasn’t preparing to end this call because he wanted to clean up their mess. What Theo actually wanted was to finish the conversation so that he could get a moment to regroup. A chance to think clearly without someone breathing down his neck.

We’re in your father’s office, his mother informed him. This will only take a moment. Where are you? On your way upstairs? Just get up here so we can set your dad straight before he pops a blood vessel. After that we need to talk to you about this overseas expansion—

On my way. He hung up, cutting her off. Tension mounted in his shoulders.

The strain of trying to keep the peace between his parents was finally getting to him. All this stress over a job he’d never even wanted in the first place.

Theo had been content to keep his head down and work as just another anonymous company executive. As the founder’s grandson, he’d tried to blend in as much as possible. That plan had been thwarted when his parents’ divorce had been finalized.

Now, thanks to the company board, he was in charge of the whole empire, not just a division. And that empire’s image was in serious jeopardy despite his efforts to rebuild it post-divorce. His parents’ latest feud threatened to destroy everything he had worked for these past several months.

Theo sighed. He couldn’t go on like this. The burden of responsibility was grinding him down. Protecting Golding Candy from his parents was a full-time job.

Pain pressed against the back of his eyes. This was the third work-induced headache this week. Crushing expectations to deliver this holiday season was putting so much pressure on him that all he wanted to do was get the hell out of here.

That was the answer. He would escape this. No more fixing whatever his parents broke. No more selling images of joyful Christmases. Not for the rest of the morning anyway. Theo could delay the thankless work for the next couple of hours. Slip away to get his bearings.

Except, he didn’t have anywhere to go. There were some restaurants he could duck into, but those upscale outlets would be filled with the corporate types he was trying to avoid. Nothing worse than bumping into corporate blowhards first thing in the morning.

Then there was always going back home to his luxury apartment. Theo shook that thought away as quickly as it came. His apartment was just an extension of the office. At the rate he was going, home was simply a workspace with a bed.

Sighing, he started the engine and pulled back out of his parking space; he could always choose to drive aimlessly. But as he drove away from the parking lot, that didn’t seem particularly appealing. His mind wandered, and then, an idea occurred to him.

There was somewhere he could go. The one place in the whole city that didn’t feel like a pressure cooker. A candy store thirty minutes away. One of thousands of Golding Candy Company franchise stores worldwide. And yet, in spite of the required uniformity, this store was different from all the others.

Thinking of it made his heart beat just a little faster. Strange for a heart to race over a candy store, but it was the owner that had captured his interest, because Estelle Robinson was everything that he was not: cheerful, energetic, full of life. A veritable ray of sunshine. Traits that should have irritated the hell out of him, but she was so effortlessly charming that he had been drawn to her.

It didn’t hurt that Estelle had no idea that he was the company’s CEO. As far as she knew, he was just a regular customer who had started coming into her store about eighteen months ago. In truth, Theo had dropped in one morning on a fact-finding mission: He’d wanted to see why that particular franchise store had managed to sell so many marshmallows.

It should have been a quick expedition, but the owner had been so delightful that he had stuck around and bought some candy. Then he’d started coming in every so often to buy candy as an excuse to see her. The friendship had developed from there. Because she was in the dark about his real identity, Estelle treated him like he was an ordinary person, instead of the heir to a billion-dollar fortune.

Her warmth had put him at ease. It also didn’t hurt that she was so lovely. Theo shoved the thought aside. Estelle was his secret crush for a reason. While he could spend time with her and let his guard down in the store, outside in the real world, their paths must never be allowed to cross. Anything beyond friendship was completely out of the question. Which was why Theo decided that he’d stay for an hour at most. Just a quick detour to see Estelle. Get his mind off his troubles for a little while. He definitely wouldn’t stay long enough for his feelings to get in the way.

2

Estelle Robinson held the phone to her ear with one hand as she weighed the bag of candy with the other. The shop was in chaos, a long line of customers waiting impatiently for her to ring them up. Christmas

Reviews for This Christmas

[jenny · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It’s hard for me to enjoy season books but this was Such a cute and light Holiday read!