SNOWFIRES (23 page)

“
No need for a tree if you won’t be
there.” Sara smiled at her. “I can hardly wait to go see my folks
in Waco. What’s Mr. Macleod doing for Christmas?”

“
I—I don’t know.” His recent behavior
let her know he wasn’t spending it with her. That was for
certain.

He hadn’t called and hadn’t spoken except to
ask a question in meetings. In fact, he’d gone out of town for days
and hadn’t even told her where. Instead, he seemed always in a
hurry. She wondered if he’d met someone else and this was his way
of letting her down easy.

“
I’m sorry, I thought you and he—oh,
um, never mind.” Sara blushed and looked around as if searching for
a change of topic. She gestured to the office decorations. “I’ll
put all these away tomorrow after the Christmas luncheon before I
leave.”

“
I’ll help. It won’t take long.” Holly
escaped into her office and sat down.

So, apparently people thought she and Trent
were still an item. Maybe the talk would all die down over the
plant’s holiday shut down and people would forget. But not her. She
couldn’t forget for more than a few moments at a time.

The health package was sealed and employees
would receive their new cards the first week of January. She’d set
to work updating the training manual, hoping there would be new
hires after the holidays who needed training. If the plan Grandpa
had told her about came through, they’d need about fifty new
employees. Without it, they’d face layoffs.

Trent hadn’t called her or stopped to talk
since the Amberfield people walked out. When he saw her, he was
polite, even cordial, but with a professional distance. Each time
they met he treated her as if they were colleagues, nothing more.
It hurt. Surely she could get through this infatuation she had for
him and get on with her life.

Infatuation? Why kid herself? She loved
him.
The gambler
. Darn it,
she loved a gambler who played for high stakes. The highest,
everything
.

That he obviously didn’t return her feeling
hadn’t lessened the intensity of her caring. But she’d survived
disappointment before, and she’d get through this. What choice did
she have?

None, so buck up, Holly.

Even if he changed his mind, what was the
point? She couldn’t live through another twenty-nine years of life
on the edge as she had with her father’s gambling. Never sure when
the axe might fall—just certain that it would one day cut through
her security.

She pressed a hand to her chest and closed
her eyes. No, her heart wasn’t really broken; it only seemed that
way.

Her private line rang. It was Trent and he
sounded jubilant. “Holly, I think we’ve done it. We’re meeting
tomorrow with the contracts people from Veritex Communications. Ten
o’clock. One way or another, it’ll be over in time for the
luncheon.”

He hung up without asking how she’d been or
anything conversational. Nothing personal. Did that mean everything
would be all right for Marvel? But what about between him and her?
No, she’d have to learn not to care. Trent Macleod was still a
gambler who risked it all.

***

Trent was on an adrenaline high. Damned if
things weren’t going to work out. He’d been wrong not to benefit
from teamwork on the Amberfield deal. Now, working with others,
pooling ideas and resources, it looked as if they’d averted a
shipwreck.

He parked his jalopy in his assigned space
and whistled under his breath as he strode into the plant. Danged
if he didn’t feel like dancing. For almost two weeks he’d worked
eighteen-hour days coming up with the plans and resources to pull
this off. He thought of the paper in his briefcase. Looked to him
like this deal was in the bag.

Then he could call Holly. Not as a failure,
but as the victor bringing home the bounty.

Play it cool, Macleod, he told himself. You
aren’t docked in port yet.

“
Good morning, Mr. Macleod.” The
receptionist smiled.

“
Morning, Violet.” Hey, he remembered
her name.

“
Good morning, Mr. Macleod.” Two people
called as he walked toward the elevator.

He nodded and smiled. He couldn’t think of
their names, but he’d learn them. Damned if he wouldn’t. He’d made
it his plan to learn the name of each employee. Like Holly had.

Ah, Holly, soon he could tell her his plans.
He’d promised himself that if he couldn’t work this out, he’d
disappear from her life. She deserved a winner, not a loser.

But he couldn’t imagine life without her. Now
that he had seen the other side of life, returning to his isolation
appeared too bleak to bear. Each step toward his office and the
upcoming meeting increased his pulse. Damn, he’d be lucky if he
survived the day.

“
Good morning, Trent,” Lila greeted him
as he entered his office. “It’s the big day.”

“
Yes, it is. And not a minute too
soon.” He hung his overcoat on the rack and tossed his newspaper on
the desk.

Lila brought him coffee and a donut. When
he’d first arrived, he’d told her she didn’t have to do that for
him. He could get his own coffee. She informed him that she’d been
a secretary a long time, and considered mothering him a part of her
duties, thank you very much.

“
Thanks.” He pointed to the paper. “No
bad news today.”

She smiled. “I checked, too. Sometimes,
no news really
is
good
news.”

“
You can say that again.” He sat down
and gave his attention to breakfast. “We have more of
these?”

Lila nodded. “I always have those Bavarians
when Joe Bob is due. He loves them and Ila Mae won’t let him have
them.”

Trent laughed at the picture of regal Ila Mae
Grayson reading the riot act to big old Joe Bob.

Lila joined in. “I know he shouldn’t have
them but he’d be hurt if they weren’t available. I figure a couple
every few months can’t do too much damage.”

She went back to her own desk and returned
with a presentation folder. “I’ve placed one of these in the
conference room for each person due to attend. Here’s an extra for
you.”

Trent gathered his notes and studied the
presentation, but he consulted his watch a dozen times before it
was time for the meeting. Finally, it was 9:45, and he went to meet
Gordon and Vernon. Lila, Joe Bob, and Carl were already there and
Gordon and Vernon showed up only seconds later.

Joe Bob clapped him on the shoulder. “Looks
like you’re gonna pull this one off.”

“
Thanks to your help.” He looked at the
others in the room. “Thanks to all of you for your
help.”

“
Teamwork, that’s what it takes. But
it’s been you who sold the deal so far and it’s up to you to wrap
it up today.” Joe Bob grabbed a second roll. Or maybe it was his
third.

Holly appeared just as Carl rapped on the
table for attention. “I have an announcement before the others
arrive.”

He looked at Holly and then Trent. “I’d like
to announce my engagement to Geneva Tucker.”

Joe Bob stopped with his roll midway to his
mouth. “You crazy, Carl? There’s no fool like an old fool. Hope
it’s worth it to have that woman’s mouth on your”—he looked at
Holly and coughed, then looked back at Carl—“You have any idea what
you’re getting into?”

Carl waved a hand as if dismissing any
remarks. “I know, I know. She’s a devil woman and a gold digger,
but she’s scared of being alone and on her own. I’m lonely, too.
Besides, I get a kick out of being around her and taking her
places. We’ve reached an understanding.”

Trent thought ‘devil woman’ was a good name
for Geneva. He speculated that her interpretation of the situation
would differ greatly from Carl’s. “She know about the family
trust?”

Carl laughed. “No, that’s part of the
understanding. You see, she tells me what she thinks I want to
hear, and I do the same for her.”

He chuckled again. “But we’ll do fine. I’ve
saved back enough to keep her in baubles and take care of those two
girls as well. Matter of fact, we’re going skiing tomorrow. Be gone
a week.”

Carl laughed until he had to sit down, take
out his handkerchief, and wipe his eyes. “Spending a week at
Purgatory, Colorado. Get it—devil woman, Purgatory?”

Joe Bob shook his head. “I’ll think about you
freezing your tail off while Ila Mae and I are enjoying the sunny
beach on Maui.”

Holly kissed Carl’s cheek. “Congratulations.
I hope you’ll be happy.”

“
Thanks, Holly. I know it’ll be a
relief to you to be sure your sisters are taken care of. Give you
my promise I’ll do right by them. That ought to ease things a bit
for you. Geneva and I will be fine, too.”

Holly hugged him. “I hope so, Carl. You mean
a lot to our family. I want the best for you.”

Before anyone else could offer
congratulations, Bruce Jacobs and his contracts people arrived and
the meeting got underway.

The business people picked at wording. At one
point, the lawyer for Veritex shook his head. “This gives all the
advantage to Marvel. We pay for the new equipment, we buy the
product. Why not manufacture it ourselves?”

“
You’re not set up for it.” Vernon,
also a lawyer as well as comptroller, glared. “That’s Marvel’s
business.”

The Veritex attorney shrugged. “Could be
Veritex’s for about the same cost.”

Trent shook his head. “No it couldn’t. Not
without Marvel’s permission.”

Everyone in the room turned his attention to
Trent. He held up the prize document he’d snared. “Fitzroy’s
patent. Manufacturing fiberoptic cable as small and precise as
Veritex needs requires a special tool to draw the silicon strand
out thin enough. Marvel now has exclusive rights to the patent on
that tool.”

He faced the Veritex group and smiled.
“Unless you plan to reinvent the wheel, gentlemen, you’d better go
with Marvel Wire and Cable.”

“
Well, I’ll be damned.” Joe Bob slapped
the table and laughed. “You fox, Trent. How’d you manage
that?”

“
Went to Boston and paid a call on
Fitzroy last week. Presented our plan and agreed to his terms.” He
met Bruce’s gaze and smiled. “I think Marvel’s won this
round.”

The attention of each person in the room
focused on Trent. In their gazes he saw not only the friendship
they’d already offered, but newfound respect and admiration for his
business savvy. No longer would he be the seaman turned landlubber.
He’d won; he’d proven himself as a CEO. If only he hadn’t lost
Holly in the process.

Bruce looked at his company’s attorney.
“Macleod’s right, he has us. Let Marvel manufacture our cable,
we’ll take care of the rest of the business.”

Over the balance of the morning they hammered
out a joint venture in which Marvel Wire and Cable and Veritex
Communications Corporation would partner for a ten-year period.
Negotiations lasted until a quarter of twelve.

As soon as the Veritex team hurried off to
their own holiday office celebrations or their homes, Trent excused
himself.

“
Gordon, I have to leave. Please make
the announcement about Veritex at the luncheon. We’ll issue a
formal press release after the holidays.”

***

Holly was dumbfounded. Why had Trent all but
ignored her at the meeting then rushed away without so much as a
word to her? Everyone around her was laughing and excited, but she
couldn’t join in. She pasted on a weak grin and wondered if she
could skip the luncheon.

Grandpa hugged her shoulders. “Come on,
little Holly, let’s get to the party. We’ve sure enough got
something to celebrate today.”

The annual Christmas buffet was a
long-standing tradition. Tons of barbecue, potato salad, beans, and
trimmings were catered into the plant. Cafeteria tables were set up
in the open area for a buffet. Bonus checks were passed out, and
Grandpa always made a little speech.

This year, he cut it short so Gordon could
announce the new agreement with Veritex. All over the room, people
cheered. Their jobs were safe; they’d all go home relieved and
ready to enjoy the holidays with their families.

Holly hurried back to her office and packed
away the decorations while Sara was still at the party. Before
anyone cornered her, Holly escaped.

Back at home, Grandpa watched her and
frowned. “What’s wrong? You took off like a shot while things were
in full swing. Now you look like it’s a funeral instead of
Christmas.”

She forced a smile. “Sorry. I’ll try to do
better.”

He put his arm around her. “No, honey. You
didn’t answer your old Grandpa. Something’s upset you. What’s
wrong?”

“
I—I thought, well, Trent just rushed
out without a word. I don’t even know where he’ll be for
Christmas.” She felt a fool for caring so much, for letting it
affect her.

“
Look here, Holly. That boy is crazy
for you.” He squeezed her shoulders.

She shrugged. “Funny way to show it. He
hasn’t called, hardly spoken to me since the day that newspaper
article came out.”

“
Now you know he’s had a lot on his
mind lately. And he sure did a fine job. Set up the merger, snared
that patent, and convinced those stiff-necked Veritex people to
follow along with his ideas. I believe that fellow could sell coal
to the devil.”

He turned her to face him. “If you want
Trent, don’t sit and wait for him to come around. Go after
him.”

She shook her head. “Grandpa, he’s a gambler.
Like Dad.” She sat down and folded her hands on her lap. “Oh, he
doesn’t bet on the horses or hang out in Vegas, not that kind of
gambling. But he gambled everything on Marvel.”