The woman had said throwing herself at him again was intriguing. His mind began to fill with all kinds of possible meanings of that particular word.
“There’s nothing to tell,” he said, digging into his burrito, “unless you count my slight panic attack and her sweet attempts to help me stay calm.”
“Hmm. Yes, you always did have a time with tight spaces.”
Hawk thought about his back surgery a few years ago. He’d had an incredibly difficult time just getting the MRI. Logically, he knew nothing would happen to him while in the machine. But his brain didn’t seem to grasp as much when the walls were too close.
“So who was she?” Faye asked, scooping a forkful of rice into her mouth.
“An employee in my building, that’s all I know,” he said. “Though she mentioned having to work on Christmas.”
“But you’re not open on Christmas,” Faye argued.
“I know. In any case, I’ve invited most of the departments to my annual Christmas Eve ball. Maybe she’ll be there.”
He secretly hoped she would. He took another bite of his burrito. The blend of sausage, egg, and cheese melted across his tongue.
“Most of your departments?” Faye said. “That staff of yours works hard. I keep telling you to include them all.”
Clary had insisted on the same thing, but he’d gone back and forth with her on it dozens of times.
He pitched the same argument to Faye. “Inviting all my staff is a nice gesture, but do you know how many people that is?”
He'd already invited several out-of-town friends to visit and attend the ball. Hawk made a mental note to check with Adrian about that. It'd been a few months since they talked about Adrian and his wife, Gabby, joining in. That was only a few extras, though. Faye was talking more in the hundreds-extra range.
Last year the ball was crowded as it was, and they’d only invited half the departments. He supposed they could change the location to accommodate more people. He pulled out his phone and shot a text to Clary.
“How do you decide, then?” Faye asked. “Do you rotate, to make sure they all feel appreciated?”
Hawk thought it over as he chewed and swallowed another bite. “I suppose it would be a good thing, to invite the entirety of my staff.”
“All departments.” Faye tapped her fork in the air. “Just so you make sure you see this mystery girl of yours again.”
“All departments,” he agreed aloud, texting the same information to Clary.
Make sure they’re all invited, please, and find a larger location. Hawk felt a little guilty for asking this of her so late in the game, but if anyone could handle the change in locale, it was Clary. She could probably organize it right here at Corporate, maybe in the conference rooms below.
You got it, boss, she replied.
“What about you?” Hawk asked. He returned his phone to his jacket pocket. “What can I do to help you?”
Faye’s features narrowed with suspicion. “You know not to go there, Hawkie boy. No offering me money.”
He lifted his hands. “I know. I wasn’t going to. But is there anything else I can do? Offer you a position, maybe? I know you’re retired, but my candy shop in downtown Westville could use a festive holiday greeter.”
She straightened, which for her was saying something. “A greeter, you say?”
“Sure. You’d probably get your fair share of samples as well, by offering them to holiday shoppers.”
“Well now.” Her rosy smile rounded her face that much more. “If you’re sure.”
Hawk sniggered inside. He knew he could convince her with candy. “I’m sure. Won’t be a problem. And it’ll be a part-time position that will end at the end of the holidays. I’ll get in touch with the store’s manager.”
She patted his hand and took a bite of her rice. “That’s mighty sweet of you, Hawkie boy. Mighty sweet.”
“Anything for my Faye girl,” he said, going back to the cutesy names they’d used for each other since he was a boy. Faye had been his mother’s best friend. The two had met during a European choir tour years ago, and his parents had insisted she take the role of his godmother when he was born. Even now, Faye still busied herself with gossip and greeting cards at every family event, from his birthday to holidays to his mother’s monthly book club. It was almost as though he had two mothers, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Hence the reason he’d kept the mention of the theft to himself.
Faye had enough on her mind, with her own financial situation. Now all he needed was for Clary to get back to him regarding the list of invited staff. He had to make sure the mysterious woman from the elevator received an invitation.
CHAPTER FOUR
Ella lined up the pinned fabric with the three-quarter marking on her sewing machine, pushed the pedal with her foot, and fed the material through as the needle began inching up and down, up and down. Beside her, her roommate, Chloe, worked at her own machine. Its whirring thrum added white noise in their momentary silence. Their friend, Brandy, had also come over to help. They still had several pillowcases left to make before Ella’s too-early bedtime.
Ella had founded Stitches for Sierra three years ago when Sierra, a little girl in her apartment complex, was dying of leukemia. Ella rounded up as many women with even the tiniest sewing ability to help assemble a quilt in record time for Sierra before she passed away.
Brandy and Chloe had been the only two to continue the organization with her, eager for new ways to help people in need. Their projects mainly benefitted kids at Harmony Children’s, though occasionally a neighbor or a different need surfaced, and the crew of ladies worked together to create whatever was needed.
Ella’s mom had made all
