Chapter Text

DOWNTOWN LONDON, DECEMBER 16.

MC was never one for Christmas. Her family wasn’t big on celebrating; in fact, some years they would just skip it altogether. She always got presents on Christmas Day, but her parents never played up the Santa Clause facade or bothered with a tree. They would visit family if they insisted on it, but most of the time it was a quiet holiday that they spent at home.

Which is why MC was at work a little over a week before Christmas Day. Most of her coworkers were getting ready to take a few days off next week to be with their families, but MC simply didn’t see the point in making all that fuss. They had saved up vacation days for this. MC had to scoff when she thought about it. Why on earth would you save up all those vacation days just to stay at home with your family? Especially during the coldest time of the year. MC had used her vacation days on holiday to Spain where she lounged by the pool catching up on books and sunshine, and she would happily do it all over again, thank you very much.

She fell into this position at Hammer, Cline & Co thanks to her father (in fact, he was the Cline). He was able to get MC a job out of college, but she climbed the corporate ladder all on her own. Her father couldn’t have been prouder of her if he tried, and she couldn’t blame him, because she worked very hard to get to where she was now. Their company dealt with expansion, public relations, and marketing for corporate conglomerates, or in layman's terms, they made sure corporations were growing and had a good public image.

MC didn’t necessarily love her job; I mean, who did? She truly believed anyone who said they loved their job was a bold-faced liar. As a matter of fact, she believed that if you enjoyed your job, you should probably get a different one because there was no way it paid enough. There was one thing she enjoyed, though, and that was her office. It was a high rise in London, so she could see almost the whole city, though she preferred it in the warm months. Today, in particular, she couldn’t see too much out of her floor to ceiling windows other than light snow falling out of the gray, cloud-ridden sky.

Upon hearing a knock on her office door, she shook herself back to attention. How long had she been staring out of that window? “Yes, come in!” she chirped, straightening up the papers on her desk.

Upon seeing it was only her father, she sighed. “Oh, goodness, you did give me a scare,” MC laughed.

Her father threw her a slight smile, not something she often saw coming from him. “Sorry about that, cupcake. Got a few minutes?”

“Of course,” she said, starting to stand.

“No need, it’ll be pretty quick,” he said, standing in front of her desk. She relaxed back down, crossing one ankle over the other. It was then she noticed the red folder in his hand. “I have an assignment for you from corporate. It’s about the Hiller Grocery account.”

MC straightened at this. Hiller Grocery was a huge multinational retail corporation –– a corporation they had been trying to get their hands on for months. “Something good, I hope?”

“Well, depends on how you look at it. The higher-ups there told Roy and me that they were considering our offer, but they wanted to test us to see if we would be a capable company for them. And this is where you come in.”

MC pulled her pad and paper close to her, jotting down some of the things her father had already told her.

“You see, there’s this untapped market right outside of Glasgow that they can’t seem to get into. A little town called Dasher Falls. The local businesses there will not let go of their stores for the life of them, no matter what offer Hiller makes to them. They need us –– well, you –– to go there and get the numbers out of their books.”

MC put down her pen at this, looking at her father inquisitively. “Why me? Couldn’t anyone there get that information?”

“The way it sounds, the people in this town seem pretty close-minded. They won’t have anything to do with the Hiller people, even the ones who have been there in person to see what they can find out. As soon as they tell the people who they are and where they’re from, they won’t have anything to do with them. They saw this as an opportunity to see what kind of…” Her father got a slight twinkle in his eye. “What kind of Christmas magic we can drum up.”

MC scoffed at this. “So what, am I going there to gain their trust or something? And through the magic of Christmas, they’ll give me all their information?” MC giggled a little as her father allowed himself a bemused grin.

“Sure, something like that. You leave tomorrow.”

MC’s face dropped. “Why so soon?”

Her father rolled his eyes. “They need to get the numbers before the end of the year so they can get the offer in before the new year. They need to meet their max budget so they don't get the stiff next quarter.”

MC nodded in understanding. “Well, alright, I’ll pack up tonight. How long am I to stay?”

“Well, as this is an important mission we’ll allow you to stay as long as you need before the end of the year. It shouldn’t take longer than a week.”

“A week?” MC did the math in her head. “Wait, that’s Christmas Eve. Jakub needs me for the Christmas Eve party at his estate.”

Jakub was her boyfriend who she met when she came to work here. He was a young upstart in the PR department of one of the companies they represented, and after taking her on a few dates, she figured it made sense for them to start going steady. It had been about six months now and things were going pretty smoothly. They looked good together, and everyone at their respective offices saw them both going far in their careers.

Jakub was throwing a Christmas Eve bash at his estate, where he had invited many higher-ups from all the companies Hammer, Cline & Co represented. He impressed upon her multiple times the importance of her being there.

“I want them to think I’m likable,” he had said, “and having a pretty little thing like you on my arm wouldn’t hurt.” He winked at her and planted a kiss on her cheek. “There could be lots of money to be made here. I really need you to be there, babe.”

“So, this is a brownnosing opportunity?” Jakub nodded his head yes with a cheeky smile. “Okay. I’m in.”

Her father nodded, arms crossed. “I see no reason why you couldn’t be back for it. You’ll just have to work extra hard to get them to like you up there.” He shifted his weight to one side, looking at her mischievously. “So, bigshot, are you up for it?”

MC stood, straightening her back with determination. “You can count on me.”

He handed her the red folder in his hand. “There’s your travel information and other stuff you might need to know about the town. Your flight leaves tomorrow morning, so take the rest of the day to get ready.”

“Yes, sir,” MC said, taking the folder and smiling at her father as he left the room. She couldn’t believe an opportunity like this had fallen into her lap. This would definitely be one of the most important moves in her career, and she just couldn’t help but jump up and down in her office with glee. She quickly stuffed the folder in her bag and made her way home to start packing up.

❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎

Jakub was taking MC to the airport after she ran home and packed her suitcase. She was catching the next flight to Glasgow and would be renting a car at the airport to drive the distance to Dasher Falls (apparently Uber wasn’t capable of taking her that far out). She recounted her story to him, and after reassuring him for the hundredth time that she would be there for the Christmas Eve party, he said: “So exactly how are you going to do this?”

MC deflated on these words. She hadn’t considered that. Was she in way too over her head? She had accepted this assignment so quickly and was so eager to prove herself, but she hadn’t thought about if she could do it or not. Could she convince an entire town that she was trustworthy within a week? “I don’t know. I was just kind of planning on feeling it out when I got there,” she admitted.

She could have heard Jakub roll his eyes if she didn’t see it with her own eyes. “Come on, Mia. People would kill for an opportunity like this. Sure, these people are most definitely simple-minded, but you still have to be smart about it. Promise me you’ll come up with something on the plane?”

She crossed her arms. “Only if you stop calling me Mia.”

Jakub put his muscular hand on her thigh. “Sorry, babe, I forgot. Just, come up with something, okay?”

MC nodded, staring out the window and soaking in as much of London as she could before leaving it for a week.

❄︎ ❄︎ ❄︎

DASHER FALLS, DECEMBER 17.

She did think about it on the plane, and in the car ride on the way to the Literal Middle of Nowhere, but she was coming up short. She had no idea how she was going to do this but decided the best strategy was to take it one step at a time. Step one: find a place to stay.

MC unlocked her phone to call her father, wondering if he had set her up with a hotel room and forgot to mention it to her, but immediately upon entering the town, she knew this wouldn’t be the case.

The sun was beginning to set over the picturesque scene. A light layer of snow was forming on the ground, and Christmas lights were just beginning to turn on around the town. The snow-capped buildings were disjointed and various heights, the signs hand-painted and the streets bustling with activity. For a small town, MC was surprised at the number of people. It was no London, but it seemed like downtown Dasher Falls was the place to be at this moment.

MC drove a little way down the road to find a house with a sign in the front yard. She didn’t get a good look at the sign, but she did see the word ‘Inn,’ so she pulled into the driveway. She took at the inn: a white house with a wraparound porch, that looked like it couldn’t fit more than maybe ten people, and that was with two people in each bedroom. She recognized the faint activity at the front door but paid it no mind as she got out of the driver's seat and opened her trunk to get her suitcase.

And it was with a heave to pull the bag out that she managed to slip on some ice and land flat on her back with a thud .

“ Ah ,” she choked out, all air leaving her lungs. She laid there for a moment, trying to catch her breath when she heard the sound of boots rushing over to her.

“Wotcher, lass! Ye alright?”

MC’s squinted eyes looked up at the face and outstretched hand before her. Through the dazzling twinkling lights and the snow falling, she couldn’t be sure, but for a moment she could have sworn the figure was an angel.

After blinking through her confusion and shaking her head clear, she heaved herself up, refusing the help of the stranger. “I’m fine, thanks.”

She brushed the snow off the back of her jeans and smoothed her hair down, looking at the person standing in front of her. His skin was the color of caramel and his eyes were the color of honey. MC thought for a moment that he must be delicious, but shook her head once again. She must have hit her head harder than she thought.

“Let’s get ye inside. Looks like ye need a lie-down.”

He reached for her suitcase, but she lunged forward. He looked at her in disbelief, but MC’s head felt clear now. “I’m fine, thanks,” she said once again.

The man lifted an eyebrow at her, then a bemused smile broke across his face. “Jus’ got into down, did ye?” MC just stared at him. “Name’s Bobby.” He stuck his hand out, but MC stood still, wanting to get out of this interaction as soon as possible. After a few moments, he dropped his hand, sticking it into his pocket as he assessed her. “Ye had a right fall there, lass, I’m not keen to jus’ leave ye here.” MC, making sure her feet were firmly planted on the ground, pulled her suitcase out of the trunk. He saw her eyeing her suitcase with a worried look. “Wait, are ye––?”

MC huffed, holding a hand out to stop him. “I’ve said I’m fine , thank you. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” He looked as though he was going to say something again, but she brushed past him, rolling her eyes in a way that would make Jakub proud. God, this town was already irritating the hell out of her. She dragged her suitcase up the few stairs before the front door and opened it with her free hand.

She rolled up to the empty front desk and waited for a moment, then dinged the service bell. After a few seconds, a girl with curly hair and chubby cheeks appeared, smiling warmly at her. “Hi there, can I help you with something?”

MC was already pulling her credit card out of her wallet. “Yes, I’m just looking to get a room…” MC looked at the attendant's name tag. “Shannon, is it?”

She frowned at MC slightly. “It is, but I’m sorry, we’re all booked up until Christmas Day.”

MC looked at her in disbelief. “You’re kidding.”

Shannon shook her head sadly. “Afraid so. People come from all around the country to participate in the Christmas Bake-Off that’s held right here in Dasher Falls, so we’re full to the brim.” Shannon leaned a little closer to her, resting an elbow on the counter. “Though, the owner of the bakery in town sometimes rents out his extra room. That will be on Main Street, you probably passed it before you came here. It’s called Comet Cakes. If you tell him Shannon sent you, he’ll probably cut you a deal.”

MC took out her phone to write down the name of the place. “Comet Cakes. Got it. What’s the owner’s name?”

“Bobby.”

MC froze, slowly looking up at her. “Was that the bloke who just left?”

“Did Bobby just drop by? I didn’t even hear him come in. He drops off gingerbread cookies for us sometimes around the holidays. But yes, I’m sure it was him now that I think about it, it’s a Tuesday after all.”

Bugger , MC thought. She offered a terse smile. “Alright, well, thank you for your help, Shannon. I’ll be sure to tell Bobby you said hi.”

“Please do!” she said with a smile. “Oh, and take a cookie on your way out. We never have any leftover so you’ll want to snag one before they’re all gone.”

She gestured to the table by the door and MC cast a glance in that direction. If she hadn’t been so hungry or just gotten off a long flight, she might have refused, but she was famished and they looked delicious. She grabbed one on her way to the door, waving at Shannon as she left.

She started down the sidewalk, dragging her suitcase behind her when she saw Bobby was leaned against her car. He held his hands out, brandishing a cheeky smile. “I tried to tell ye. ‘There was no room for her at the inn,’” he recited with a giggle.

MC’s shoulders slumped. “Shannon told me you have to let me stay.”

Bobby barked a laugh. “I doubt she said that, but since ye had such a nasty fall and I’m a tenderhearted bloke who doesn’t want to be responsible for you freezing to death, I’ll let ye stay.”

MC sighed with relief and hauled her suitcase back toward her car. “Thanks.” She put her suitcase back in the trunk and took a bite of the gingerbread cookie. Her eyes widened in spite of herself as she chewed. It was scrumptious.

“There’s more where that came from,” said Bobby, throwing a wink her way before walking to his truck. “I’ll get yer room ready for ye!” he hollered.

MC slumped against her car as she walked him drive away. Maybe this was going to be harder than she thought.