Holiday Escort Read online

  "It's no big deal," I said. "I thought you would like how the house smelled, that's all." She looked away and I thought maybe she was upset with me. "I should have asked. You may not have wanted me to spend the money on groceries. I can stop."

  "Madeline, it's a very sweet gesture. I hope you won't stop." She paused. "My grandmother used to make something. Have you heard of krumkake?"

  "I'd have to buy an iron for it," I told her, smiling.

  The next night she came home to fresh-baked krumkake. I didn't let her see the failures. She walked in at seven fifteen looking exhausted, then she saw the tray of krumkake sitting on the center island in the kitchen. Her eyes lit up and she looked at me in amazement.

  Krumkake are a Scandinavian cookie. They are made on an iron similar to a waffle iron, although very thin. While still hot, you can wrap them around a wooden cone. They cool in that shape. I had dusted these with powdered sugar. I had to play with the recipe. I didn't like the recipe that came with the krumkake iron I had purchased. I thought the results were a little thick and doughy. I was pretty pleased with my later batches. I'd made enough for her to bring some to the office, but they wouldn't last long.

  Karen looked between me and the waiting krumkake. "May I have one?"

  "One," I said. "Don't ruin your appetite." I paused. "They probably aren't quite like your grandmother's."

  She took one and bit into it, closing her eyes. She finished the cooking, leaning forward to avoid spilling powdered sugar down her front, her eyes closed the entire time. When she opened them and looked at me, her eyes were glistening. "They're exactly like Grandma's," she said. "Thank you."

  She took two steps up to me and pulled me into her arms and kissed me.

  The kiss didn't last long before she jerked away.

  "Oh my god. I'm so sorry." Her face had a look of horror.

  "It was a nice kiss, Karen." I stepped forward and hugged her. "I'm glad you liked the krumkake."

  She still looked embarrassed. "Do I have time to change before dinner?"

  "Please be quick."

  * * *

  I got all her cards out. I made her sit down with me and write the ones she really needed to do herself. There weren't that many. She thanked me afterwards. "I would have put it off if you hadn't insisted."

  * * *

  She was hosting four events during December: a holiday party for her employees, a dinner party for her friends, Christmas Eve for her family, and New Year's Eve for a lengthy list of people. The first was the holiday party.

  I actually didn't have that much to do for it. She gave me a list of names and asked me to buy little presents for everyone. "In the past, I've given gift cards," she said. "That would be fine this year. If you can buy them and have them ready, I'd appreciate it."

  "These are for your employees?"

  "Actually, they're for the spouses."

  "Are you set on the gift cards?" She wasn't. So instead I bought little baskets and assembled pampering kits for everyone. I bought bubble baths, fancy soap, hot chocolate, sweets, candles, and whatever else I could think of then assembled baskets for everyone.

  Other than that, I simply had to coordinate with the caterer. Before hiring me, Karen had already handled invitations, arranged the caterer, and bought a mixed case of wine, so my job was a snap. The caterer would provide all the food and two people to serve it and help clean up afterwards.

  The party was set for the Friday after the event at Ryan and Corrine's. I baked like a banshee for the two days previously and was obsessive making sure everything was perfect.

  The caterers arrived at four. I was already primped and dressed. I managed the caterers but let them do all the setup. Everything was ready to go by four thirty.

  Our first guest arrived at five fifteen. Karen wasn't home yet. I met Erik and Mary. They were barely inside the door when Mary turned to Erik and hit him on the arm.

  "I told you that your boss wouldn't be here yet."

  I laughed. "Which is perfect. Erik, you can tell me all about Karen before she gets here."

  Mary laughed with me and said, "You, I like. Where's the wine?" She looked at her husband. "You're the designated driver tonight." I took care of their coats and showed them where the wine was. Erik poured glasses for both of them while Mary talked to me.

  "This isn't at all what I expected." She looked around. "It doesn't seem like Karen's style at all." She looked critically at me. "You did all this?"

  "Some days I think the only reason Karen wanted me was for my decorating skills." Mary laughed, eyeing me up and down. "Somehow I think it's more than that."

  I blushed.

  "Is it true the house has a ballroom? I've never been here."

  "It's true," I said. "Would you like to see it?"

  "Absolutely!"

  So I took them downstairs. I had a playlist running for music, and the place was lit only with the Christmas lights I'd put up. Mary's eyes grew wide when she saw it. "This is amazing!" She listened to the music for a moment. "That's not Christmas music. I suppose that wouldn't be politically correct these days anyway."

  "It's tango," I said. "The dance of choice in this house."

  Mary looked at me critically. "A dancer's body."

  "Former dancer, anyway," I said. I showed her the computer that controlled the music. "Feel free to put something else on, if you want, but there's no Christmas music. It's all dance music. I should go back upstairs, but make yourselves at home."

  Another couple and a solo woman arrived ahead of Karen. I managed to avoid giving her a dirty look when she came up behind me and apologized in my ear.

  I turned around, melted into her arms, and pulled her lips into a kiss. She wrapped her arms around me automatically, but I could tell she was surprised. She broke the kiss, but I held her tightly so she wouldn't back away and ruin it all. "It's all right, honey. I'm glad you're home."

  It was after eight before I pulled Karen downstairs, making a big deal about it. Several couples followed us. The music had stopped, so I put on some tango and changed my shoes then stepped into Karen's arms.

  No one else tangoed, but we had several people watching us. When we were done, we got applause. Karen looked embarrassed about it, but sometime later, Charlie and Sue, two of Karen's employees, cornered me. Charlie said, "We've never seen this side of Karen. But now we know where all the treats are coming from."

  I laughed. "I think she's just keeping me for the holidays," I said. "But we're having a nice time together while it lasts."

  "Don't be crazy," Sue said. "She's madly in love with you." Then Karen wandered close and Charlie changed the subject. I didn't have a chance to tell Sue she was mistaken.

  I flirted lightly with Karen throughout the evening, and we stood with our arms around each other while saying goodbye to the guests. As soon as the door was closed, I pulled away from her and checked on how the caterers were doing cleaning up. They were efficient, and the place didn't look too bad when they left.

  Karen stood around watching, getting in my way a few times and looking out of place in her own home. Finally I told her, "I have it covered, Karen. You've had a long day. You can relax. I'm almost done."

  "Are you angry at me? I'm sorry I was late."

  "No big deal," I said. "I had it handled. I didn't come across as pissy, did I? I thought everyone found me charming."

  "You were perfect," she said. "But you seem mad."

  I turned to look at her. I didn't know what she wanted from me. She'd asked for a warm, inviting home. I thought I'd been providing that. She asked for a fake girlfriend in front of other people. I thought I'd done that, too, as weird as it was. I'd done her Christmas cards and handled her party. Finally I told her, "You're confusing me, boss." I stressed the last word.

  She looked into my eyes.

  "You were brilliant tonight," she said. "And the party was a great success. Thank you."

  "You're welcome."

  I turned around and finished cleaning up
.

  * * *

  Later in bed, I thought about the kiss I'd given her. I'd been disappointed when it ended.

  She was definitely confusing me.

  * * *

  The next morning, I was relaxing downstairs when Karen came down. "Madeline," she said.

  "Good morning."

  "I was wondering. Would you cook for the dinner party next Saturday?"

  "I thought you were catering all the events."

  "This is six close friends," she said. "I can pay you extra."

  "It's not the money, Karen," I told her. "It's my personal abilities. I'm not up to anything much fancier than what I've been making for you. I could try, but it wouldn't turn out very good. If you're trying to impress anyone, it would be a failure."

  "What could you do, if you were going to cook?"

  I thought about it. "Let's use an example. Let's say I did a turkey dinner. Thanksgiving was just a few weeks ago; people may not want turkey again. But let's say I did it anyway. I'd make boxed stuffing instead of real stuffing, and canned cranberries from the store instead of canning my own."

  "That sounds lovely," Karen told me.

  I cocked my head. "What are you trying to do?"

  "They are friends. They would appreciate a home cooked meal. They know I'm not Suzie Homemaker."

  "So I am?"

  She smiled.

  I sighed. "You're the boss, Karen." That seemed to pain her. "I'd be happy to do a turkey dinner for you and your friends."

  "Thank you, Madeline," she said. She reached out and squeezed my shoulder. "I appreciate it."

  The brief contact felt nice.

  I waited a couple of hours and called Mom. I relayed the conversation. She helped me work out a menu that would stretch me slightly, but not too badly. By the time we were off the phone, I had a complete schedule for what had to happen when. I felt pretty good about it.

  Then something occurred to me. I found Karen. She was in her office. "Are you going to do this to me for Christmas Eve, too?"

  She looked up at me and smiled. "It sure would be nice if you could."

  "You must really like turkey," I told her.

  I called Mom back. "Are there any people in common between the two events?" Mom asked.

  "Just Karen and me," I told her.

  "Then use the same menu," she said. "And your silly boss will just have to deal with it. Do you need help?"

  "No, but I might call you while I'm cooking."

  She laughed. "I'll keep my cell phone handy."

  "Thanks, Mom." I paused. "This is a very strange job. I feel like she's trying to turn me into June Cleaver, and that is so not me."

  "You have always been able to do anything you set your mind to. This is no different than all the strange things you did for Marsha."

  * * *

  I spent the early part of the week finishing Karen's Christmas shopping, buying the last few presents I needed at the same time. I practiced making breads the rest of the week. By Friday I was pretty pleased with the results. I baked more krumkake and took care of last minute planning for the dinner party.

  I didn't sleep very well Friday night. I had never cooked for a dinner party before, and for some reason, I wanted Karen to be proud of me. I did the last minute grocery shopping in the morning. The bird was in the oven at two. Throughout the afternoon I took care of the other needs.

  I had a window of time at four thirty to get ready. I took my time to look nice, then went downstairs and put on an apron over the dress.

  Karen was still upstairs getting ready when her first guest arrived. I opened the door to be met by Sally and Loraine. We shared introductions and I immediately drafted them to man the door and take drink orders. I headed back to the kitchen and ignored the bustle after that.

  The other two couples arrived before Karen appeared. Loraine brought both of them to the kitchen to meet me. First were Steven and Sue. After that were Ursula and Irina, who spoke with Russian accents. I received hugs from everyone and compliments on the house, how wonderful everything smelled, and they'd already been diving into the cookies and krumkake I had set up around the house.

  Karen appeared and apologized. She looked stunning. I looked harried, I was sure. I asked her to bring me a glass of wine, and when she did, offered her a cheek to kiss.

  The meal was timed for six thirty. I drafted help for the last several minutes. Sue carved the bird. Ursula and Irina moved things into serving bowls and brought them to the table. I made the gravy and watched Ursula whisk it out to the dining room. Then I checked my list and looked throughout the kitchen to make sure I hadn't left something left hiding somewhere. I took my list to the dining room and scanned the contents of the table.

  Everything was there and looked good.

  I took off the apron, fluffed at my hair for a moment, then took my place at the dining room table. I was on the end closest to the kitchen.

  Everyone passed the food around. I received compliments, which were nice to hear.

  "I was expecting delivered pizza," Sue said a minute or two into the meal. "Madeline, this is fabulous."

  Karen mouthed from the other end of the table, "thank you." I nodded to her.

  The meal went well. I largely kept my thoughts to myself. Karen tried twice to draw me into the conversation, but I was emotionally exhausted and managed to extricate myself from her attempts after a moment or two.

  I cleaned up while everyone else was enjoying after dinner drinks. Karen came into the kitchen, took one look at me, and asked me quietly, "Are you all right."

  I turned to her and wrapped myself in her arms, laying my head on her shoulder. She held me.

  "Was it okay?" I asked her. "It wasn't fancy."

  "Oh honey," she said. "It was all perfect. What is wrong?"

  "I'll be okay in a minute," I replied. "Please just hold me."

  I drew energy from her then pulled away. "I'm okay," I told her. "Just being a silly girl." I turned back to the counter, wrapping up more of the leftovers. Karen stepped closer to me and wrapped her arms around me. I leaned back, resting my head against her shoulder.

  Sue and Loraine wandered into the kitchen and saw Karen and I standing there. They walked up on either side of us. I saw Loraine look around the kitchen, then look at me.

  "You two," she said. "Go collapse on the sofa. We'll put everything away."

  "No, no," I said. "I'm okay."

  "Honey," Sue said, looking into my eyes. "I get the same way at the end of dinner parties. All that preparation and emotional energy." She glared at Karen for a moment. "I make Steve handle everything the moment the food is on the table. Loraine and I will take care of this. You have earned the right to relax for the rest of the night."

  I rotated in Karen's arms and put my arms around her neck. "Who else tangos?"

  "Wait!" said Loraine. "You've got Karen dancing again?"

  I looked over at her and nodded.

  "You two go sit. We'll clean up. Then we'll all go downstairs," Sue ordered.

  "You heard them, Madeline," Karen said, smiling at me. "Come on." She took my hand and pulled me to the sofa in the living room. She sat down at the end and I curled up into her. We had a moment alone. Karen kissed the top of my head. "Are you just being in character?" she asked quietly.

  I looked up at her. "No. I'm sorry." I started to move away but she grabbed me and asked me to stay right where I was. I looked down but snuggled in a little further. "You feel nice, Karen."

  She did. I didn't understand my feelings. She was a pain in the ass, but pleasing her made me feel so good. Being held by her felt so good, too. I didn't realize I had such a need to be appreciated. I thought back to my time with Marsha and realized I had thrived under her for the same reasons. She'd been exceedingly demanding and equally effusive with her praise when I had pleased her.

  "Karen," I said. "I think I'm a junkie."

  "What?" She looked at me. "You're on drugs?"

  I smiled. "A praise junkie.
"

  She laughed. "There's nothing wrong with that."

  The rest of the dinner party wandered into the room and took seats. Ursula and Irina were each carrying extra wine glasses: mine and Karen's. They handed us our glasses and took seats. Sue and Loraine finished cleaning up, which I greatly appreciated, then joined us.

  "All right," Sue said. "What's the story with you two?"

  "Nothing special," I replied. "She refused to hire me as her personal assistant, then invited me to lunch."

  "She was just so damned hot," Karen said. "I took one look at her and knew I wanted her."

  "I thought she was stunning," I said.

  "You did?" Karen asked.

  "Don't be coy." I smiled at her. "But, well. I didn't think she was my type. She invited me for an expensive lunch and I thought maybe she would have contacts for me. So reluctantly I said 'yes'. I only flirt with her so she'll help me find a job."

  "And because I dance with you," she said, squeezing me a little as she said it.

  "And because you're a good kisser," I said, looking up at her.

  The banter flowed around the room for several minutes before Loraine said, "So, about that dancing?"

  I didn't need to be asked twice. Everyone filed downstairs. "Everyone tangos?"

  "Um," said Sue.

  "Jessica gave them lessons," Karen said. "Can you lead, Madeline?"

  Karen put some music on. Steve took his wife, Sue, into his arms. Karen asked Sally. Ursula led for Irina, and I invited Loraine to dance. I led.

  Everyone was basically a beginner, but that was okay. Loraine had a proper stance, and she followed when I weight shifted. She was okay with walks, but I lost her when I introduced some musicality, varying the tempo of the steps based on what the music was done.

  "I'm sorry," she said.

  "It's okay," I told her. "You feel nice to hold."

  I kept things simple. She could back ocho but didn't recognize any other moves I offered. So I kept it simple and focused on being the best lead I could. By the end of the song she settled in and felt comfortable. We danced two songs, then I switched partners with Karen.

  I danced twice with Sally. She was stiffer than Loraine had been. "What is the real story with you and Karen?" she asked me halfway through the dance.