Just Home for the Holidays - Deborah Cooke Page 0,4

to the club. “We have an agenda and we’ll complete it on time.”

Chloe had worked with Theo and Kyle the most since they ran the west coast club, but had almost daily conference calls—and steady barrage of emails—from Tyler. Of the five partners, she knew Cassie and Damon the least well. Kyle was a force of nature, but Theo had a sense of humor that most people overlooked. She liked that, as well as his ability to solve problems. His British accent was as easy on the ears as he was on the eyes.

“Do you want to run the meeting?” Chloe asked him, thinking she should defer to him as partner.

“No way.” Theo held up his hands. “I’m not messing with Tyler McKay’s big plan.” He smiled when Chloe laughed. “Go for it. Show them how it’s done.” The phone in the conference room rang and Theo put Ty on speaker-phone.

“Lousy internet here,” Ty said. “No chance of Zoom, but I’ll listen in.”

“You know the agenda,” Chloe teased and he laughed.

Meesha, their social media manager, joined the group then. There was a new pink streak in her hair, squiggling up from her temple like a lightning bolt. She had an affection for pink, but it hadn’t been in her hair before.

“Ms. Frankenstein?” Chloe teased and Meesha grinned.

“It’s my mad professor look.” Her expression turned diabolical. “Consider yourself warned.” Then she looked Chloe up and down. “You’ve made some changes, girl. I might have to work with that.”

“Don’t put me on your shipping board!” Chloe said. “My mom’s matchmaking is more than enough for me.” Meesha routinely started discussions among the members across social media platforms. One of the most popular initiatives let members propose and vote for fictionalized relationships between the partners or other staff, sometimes with celebrities, sometimes with members.

“Come on! You look really hot. Still single?”

Chloe nodded and tossed out her stock reply. “Sometimes I wish Tyler had a younger brother.”

Meesha laughed. “Get in line, girl. That one goes around the block.”

“I heard that,” Ty protested.

“None of us have a chance,” Nate complained as he came into the conference room. “Hey, Chloe! Looking awesome, as always.” Chloe gave him a hug, too, noting that he’d bulked up a bit. It was probably all the coaching he was doing with vets in the weight room. He looked more at ease, too, which pleased her. When they’d met, he’d been more self-conscious about the prosthesis he wore on one arm. It was probably because no one at the club made a fuss about it.

“You could lift your game,” Theo suggested. “Get a good suit.”

“Waste of money,” Nate said easily. “I wear my uniform for funerals and weddings.” He was an ex-marine, like Damon.

“There is that,” Theo agreed.

The human resources manager, Jax, had shut down her computer in the main office and joined them, shuffling a bundle of paper. “Good to see you back, Chloe,” she said with a warm smile. “We’ve missed you.”

“Thanks, Jax. We could use someone as organized as you out west.”

“Maybe I’ll move,” Jax said, to Chloe’s surprise.

“I’ve got a job for you, if you do.”

“My oldest is in Los Angeles. It might be nice to be closer,” Jax said, then smiled. “I hear you’ve taken up kickboxing. We’ll have to square off while you’re in town.”

Chloe laughed. “I’m too much of a newbie to be a threat to the queen, but I wouldn’t mind a few tips.”

“Chloe doesn’t need any help on the finance end,” Theo said. “She even keeps Kyle’s spending in line.”

There was a low whistle from Damon at that. The quietest of the five founding partners, he strode into the conference room. Chloe thought he looked a bit more frazzled than usual, then she remembered. “How’s Haley?” she asked and Damon pushed a hand through his hair, his expression worried.

“Three days late,” he confessed. “She’s serene about the baby taking its time, but the waiting is making me nuts.”

“She is a nurse,” Cassie reminded him and he nodded.

“I know. First time for me, though.”

“Psst, they don’t come with instruction manuals,” Cassie teased and Damon smiled.

“She says it’s common for a first child to take its time,” he said. “I know all of that, but I’ve been ready for two whole weeks!” He threw up his hands and they all laughed at his exasperation.

“Wait for it,” Cassie warned. “Your world is about to be turned upside down.”

“Babies come in their own time,” Theo said. “Remember Michael?” He was referring to Tyler and Shannyn’s son: