Page 58 of The Christmas Accomplice

“All right, without any more fanfare…” Edward opened a drawer of his desk and pulled out two binders. One was green, the other blue, and the green one appeared to have more pages inside it. A lot more. “Here you are. Don’t read them in front of me. Save cursing me out until tomorrow.”

Reece’s stomach didn’t just tighten this time, it practically shriveled as Edward slid the thicker green binder toward him. He could guess what activity of his Edward had chosen for Graham: The Christmas Obstacle Course. It had been complicated as he’d written it all out, planning to have guests work in pairs and complete tasks such as shooting soft snowballs made from cotton batting to each other with slingshots, building a snowman out of cut out paper parts, and writing down the words to a Christmas song chosen at random. He’d made very detailed notes because he’d been expecting to run it himself. In his opinion, that had been the most complicated activity he’d submitted, but based on the thickness of the binder Edward had given to him, the obstacle course was going to be a walk in the park.

For a moment, Reece remained seated, hands clutching either side of the binder. It felt heavy, and he left damp hand prints on the green vinyl cover. He nodded once to Edward, then felt stupid for it.

A single nod? Think you’re Clint Eastwood or something?

—Welton, Welton, Welton—

Get back to the desk. See what it is.

Reece avoided looking at Graham as he left the office. He didn’t check over his shoulder to see if Graham might be following him. His mind seemed capable of only two trains of thought: read the binder and Welton hurt me. Thankfully, there were no guests at the desk. Nick looked surprised to see him speedwalking toward her, then she started calling out questions across the lobby.

“What happened? Why are you walking so fast? Did you rob Edward? Is he having you rob the resort? Is that the final activity? You have to rob this place?”

“Oh my God, you have to stop asking questions. I’m not even behind the desk.”

Before Reece could swipe his badge to unlock the door, Nick had yanked it open.

“Are you robbing me? Is there a gun in that binder?”

“Why are you obsessed with being robbed? And, no, I don’t have a gun. What the hell happened to you while I was gone?”

“Nothing. I was watching a heist movie last night and was just thinking about it before you rushed me.”

“I didn’t rush... Never mind.” Reece set the binder down with a quiet thump. Nick stood beside him, her arm pressed against his, both of them staring down at it.

“That’s it?” Nick asked. “That’s the final activity you have to coordinate to have your promotion decided?”

“That’s it.”

“It’s big.”

“That it is.”

“Are you scared?”

Reece frowned at her. “What? No.” He looked back at the binder. “A little.”

“Want me to read it and tell you what it says?”

“No. I need to do this.” Reece reached for the binder, but Nick grabbed his arm, startling him. “Holy crap, you scared me. What is it?”

“Welton.”

Reece followed Nick’s line of sight and saw Welton standing across the lobby. His face was pale, and he clutched his knit hat in both hands as he stared back at Reece. A rush of emotions roared through Reece: anger, hurt, and sadness top of the heap. But the foundation under all of them was a cold and aching loneliness.

He hardened his gaze and shook his head slightly. There was no way he was ready to talk to Welton, not in that moment. And it might not happen at all by the time Welton left for home.

“He looks devastated,” Nick said as Welton hurried to the revolving door—the spot Reece had first spoken to him—and pushed through it. “What happened between you two?”

“Let’s just say it’s not going to work out and leave it at that, okay?”

Nick rubbed his arm and gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry. Let me know if you want to talk about it.”

“Not right now. At this moment, I want to see what this activity is all about.” Nick slowly opened the binder and read the first page. His stomach tightened and a shiver worked through him. “Oh my God. I’m completely fucked.”

Nick still held on to his arm as she read the title of the activity. “The Battle for Castle Claus: A North Pole Fantasy Role Playing Game for All Ages.” She looked up at him, her brow furrowed. “What the hell does that mean?”