The Santa Swap by Ruth Pendleton

Author:Ruth Pendleton [Pendleton, Ruth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-07-27T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

Luke couldn’t believe he was standing in front of his entire company holding up a glass ornament that looked like it had been thrown together by a five-year-old. He hadn’t been enthusiastic when Olivia told him he needed to set an example by having an ornament in the first place. Now, looking at his friends to either side of him, he wished he had put in a little more effort.

Predictably, Susan stepped up first. She held out her ornament like it was a valuable piece of art that you could find in a museum. The outside of the ornament was covered with sparkling gems, the ornament clearly as showy as the woman holding it. Susan intimidated a lot of people with her perfectly polished look, but Luke knew there was much more to her beneath the surface.

Remembering the news article that had come out earlier that day, Luke realized this would be a perfect time for a show of affection. He wrapped his arm around Susan’s shoulder, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

“Great job, honey,” he said. He stepped back, telling himself that in large portions of the world, a kiss on the cheek was nothing more than a greeting between friends. For all the time he spent teasing Susan, he knew she was a valuable friend. The fact that she was letting the media splash her name around was proof of that.

Luke snuck a glance at Olivia’s face. She had been watching their interaction, but quickly turned away.

“That is beautiful, Susan,” Olivia said. “Who is next?”

Gary stepped forward. As a strong backbone to the company, he was often overlooked. People thought he was less involved because he was quiet, but Luke had been in plenty of meetings where a word from Gary brought the entire room to a standstill. He had sage advice, and Luke counted himself lucky that they had been friends for so long.

Gary held up an ornament, with golden wings attached to the front. He had drizzled red and gold paint down the inside of the globe, the marbled look making the wings stand out even more. “Christmas is about family. This ornament reminds me of my mom. I lost her six months ago, but I know she is watching over me.”

A few people in the cafeteria began to dab at their eyes, and sniffles punctuated the silence. The embarrassment Luke felt over his half-done ornament was increasing by the minute. He wasn’t sure what he had been thinking, other than the fact that he had been distracted at the time Olivia asked him to make it.

Tara held her ornament out next, and people in the crowd began to cheer. Somehow, she had wrapped a string of yarn around the globe in such a way that it looked like a ball of yarn. There were even two toothpicks stabbed through a small section to resemble knitting needles.

“I was going to add a cat to the back of the ornament, but I figured it wouldn’t look good if the ornament got turned sideways.

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