The Christmas Catch

minute, needing to ensure everything was in place.
    John twisted Christine’s red Christmas scarf in his hands, wishing with all his might that she’d be glad to see him. Both Ellen and Carlos had assured him she would. Then again, those two were turning out to be incurable romantics. He’d been pleasantly surprised by Carlos’s sudden attachment to vivacious Ellen. He’d never seen the old boy fall quite so fast, or so hard. Of course, she seemed fairly well smitten with Carlos too. What serendipity that Ellen had joined Christine in Vermont at the last minute. Sometimes the fates really knew what they were doing.
    John felt a rash of heat at his neck, realizing that this was the big time. He was more nervous now than when he’d defended his dissertation. He hoped he could turn that fear into a focused delivery. Yeah, he’d been a total jerk, and he knew it. He was fully prepared to apologize for it. Hell, even grovel. If that’s what it took for Christine to give him half a chance.

    Christine dropped Tyler at preschool and headed for the office. It was a little unusual for Ellen to call a personal meeting at nine o’clock. Generally her friend reserved individual conferences for after lunch. Mornings were good for settling in, answering phone calls and e-mails, and meeting with the general staff. Ellen also liked to give her people a few extra hours to polish any mock-ups they were working on before discussing them one-on-one. The funny thing was, as far as she knew, Christine didn’t have anything specific to talk to Ellen about. Her projects were humming along fine and she’d kept her personal ambitions separate. Ellen didn’t know she was planning to go out on her own, and keeping things to herself seemed the best policy right now. Given that Christine wouldn’t be leaving the company tomorrow, there was no point in upsetting any applecarts with distant future plans.
    Christine breezed into the lobby of her skyscraper building, her coat collar turned up against the cold. For the life of her, she wished she could recall where she’d left her favorite scarf, but she’d given up looking, thinking she must have forgotten it on the plane. She pressed the elevator button with a gloved hand, mentally going through a checklist of all she had to do today. The schedule was so tight, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to make time for lunch. It was a good thing she and Tyler had shared a healthy breakfast. It had been great sitting in the kitchen with her little man and making cordial early morning conversation. Christine didn’t know where that grumpy other person she’d been had gone, but she didn’t want her returning any time soon.
    When Christine reached the tenth floor, she was surprised to see Ellen standing outside her office door chatting with the secretary. Normally Ellen was nose-to-the-grindstone hard at work by eight o’clock and didn’t take a breather until noon.
    “Hi, Ellen. Good morning, Sarah,” Christine said to the secretary, who gave her a dopey smile. Though she was acting a bit loopy, Christine cut her slack. She was only nineteen and had probably picked up a new boyfriend. This girl traded boyfriends like some people exchanged hasty purchases. Christine used to find it fitting that Sarah was Ellen’s secretary, given Ellen’s similar penchant for variety. Now, however, it appeared Ellen’s shopping days were done.
    “Let me just drop my things in my office and I’ll be right there,” Christine told Ellen as she passed her by.
    “Take your time,” Ellen said, shooting Sarah a sly smile. “Just don’t take too long.”
    Christine wrinkled her nose, thinking Ellen was acting strange. Did she smell something going on, or was she just imagining it? She dumped her purse, coat, and gloves on the loveseat in her office, and headed back the other way. Sometimes you just didn’t know with Ellen. She could be the most wonderful person in the world. But she had a sneaky side, too. Like when she’d broadsided Christine with that vacation in Vermont.
    She approached Ellen’s office, then suddenly stopped. Both Ellen and Sarah studied her weirdly. Christine turned a suspicious eye on Ellen, and then on Sarah.
    “Is something going on?”
    “No,” Ellen said, a bit too emphatically.
    “Not at all!” Sarah chimed in, focusing on her computer.
    Just then Christine heard a strange yelp. For the life of her, it sounded like a barking dog. She stared at Ellen, but Ellen just