Romancing Rudolph - Chapter 8

(If you’re just joining us, the story began on December 15th–click here to start at the beginning.)

Chapter 8

Mandy crumpled the paper and hurled it across the room. It tumbled against the closet mirror, then rolled under the dresser where it bumped into one of the myriad of empty coffee cups that littered her room.

No matter how many times she ran the numbers, the answer came up only one way–the Team needed another member. With even one more reindeer, they could easily lift the sleigh. In future years, they’d have to add another, and then another, to keep up with the population. But for now, one would do.

She knew the Team wouldn’t be pleased.

Rudolph wouldn’t be pleased.

What had he said on that first day? You can’t mess with perfection.

Mandy rubbed her face, then studied the numbers once more. Her eyes blurred, and she groaned. Who was she kidding? She’d been at this for twenty straight hours. The numbers were exactly what they had been the first time she looked at them.

Her appointment with Santa was in three hours, and she didn’t have any semblance of a report drafted. She was out of time. She was going to have to settle on a recommendation and started working on the report, or she’d be standing in front of Santa looking like the worst sort of idiot.

It was time to start acting like a seasoned professional and not a love-sick cow.

Rudolph wouldn’t like it, and he’d probably end up hating her guts. But with her recommendation, the sleigh would lift on Christmas Eve, and Santa would be happy. Not to mention those millions and millions of children.

Mandy dragged her laptop across the bed and began typing.

Maybe it was time, too, to find a new career. One that didn’t involve making decisions that hurt reindeer she cared about.

***
Rudolph stared at the sparkle-dusted red letter without seeing the words, his heart in his hooves.

Strangely, he didn’t feel angry at all, just a little sick. Mandy had betrayed him. He thought she had understood how important it was to keep the dynamics of the Team unchanged. He thought she had understood him, and his commitment to Christmas.

But clearly, she hadn’t understood. Or she hadn’t really cared.

He lifted his gaze with a great deal of effort and pasted on a smile. “Ok, Leif. Welcome aboard.”

It was difficult to introduce Leif to the rest of the Team, nearly impossible to endure the sympathetic looks he got from the others. There were ten reindeer on the Team now, which meant Rudolph no longer had point. He had a partner, just like everyone else.

Not that Leif wasn’t a perfectly nice guy. He was. Good-humored, strong, eager. That just seemed to make it all the harder to take. Leif was so bloody happy to be on the Team, that no one had the heart to tell him they didn’t really want him.

Of course, Rudolph didn’t have a heart anymore anyway.

Mandy had ripped it out and taken it with her when she left.

***
“Hey.”

Mandy glanced up as Tess tugged a stool across the wooden floor and joined her at the bar. “Hey, yourself.”

“Jeez, can you look any more glum? I though the Finns were happy with their new migratory path.” Tess glanced in Mandy’s cup. “What’re you drinking?”

“Dasani.”

Tess nodded then waved the bartender over. “I’ll have what she’s having, but make mine a double. And lime, not lemon.” Turning back to Mandy, she said, “Really, you look terrible.”

“Thanks.”

“Two great jobs in a row and you’ve got the ‘I’m on the Naughty List’ face. What’s with that?” Tess thanked the bartender with a dazzling smile. The poor sap didn’t realize that smiles were the only tips she paid.

"Yeah, well..." Stomach-wrenching guilt mixed with a serious case of pining pretty much guaranteed ‘miserable’. No surprise that it showed on her face. “I can’t help thinking I screwed up with the Flying Team.”

Tess shook her head. “I’m pretty sure you didn’t. I heard they lifted the test sleigh yesterday with zero problems.”

Mandy smiled. “I heard that, too.”

Tess sucked on her straw, then pitched Mandy a sly look. “Of course, I also heard that their landings are completely off. This morning they slid right off the edge of the Holiday Inn.”

Mandy closed her eyes. Not an image she wanted to treasure. She had trouble comparing that vision with the light, crisp landings she’d seen the Team perform again and again ... before Leif was added. “It’s always hard incorporating a new member into a team. It’ll take some adjustment. They still have over three weeks before the big night. They’ll be fine.”

Tess snorted. “That’s if Rudolph doesn’t get his sorry butt fired before then. Apparently, he’s become the reindeer from hell in the last week. When he’s not barking at one of the Team
members, he’s parked on a stool at the Watering Hole. No one’s talking to him.”

“Santa won’t fire Rudolph,” Mandy said, a little hesitant. She turned to look at Tess. “At least, not before Christmas.”

“That’s not the rumor I heard.”

Rudolph fired? Because of her? God, she’d never forgive herself. A gal doesn’t let the man she loves take a fall like that.

How could she let this happen? Especially now. She’d done a lot of thinking over the last week, with the benefit of several decent nights of sleep, and there were a couple of other possibilities to explore.

If she could summon the courage to do what was right.

Mandy jumped off her stool and grabbed Tess’s arm. “You know how to get a message into Christmas Village, don’t you?”

“What? Do I look like some kinda criminal?” Tess winced as Mandy pinched her. “Ok, yeah. I do.”

“Then I have a job for you. Come on.”

(To go to Chapter 9, click here)