Chapter Fifteen

 

Christmas Eve arrived like a scene from a movie. A fresh blanket of snow covered the fallen pine needles, adding an extra crunch to Phoebe’s steps. She burrowed into her coat for the short trek into the office.

Her three-day weekend ended on the first day when Ted’s mom had to be taken in for emergency surgery, leaving Phoebe to manage any situations that arose at Jasper Properties that couldn’t be addressed by the front desk.

Unfortunately for her, Deena had arrived at the office thirty minutes ago and announced the cabin had not lived up to her expectations and insisted the studio receive a full refund. Yet, she’d not made a single complaint the entire length of the almost three-month-long stay.

When Cameron called to inform her of the issue, Phoebe reluctantly postponed the drive to her parents to address the problem with Deena. She entered through the back door of Jasper Properties and dropped off her purse in her office.

Voices in the adjoining room gave her pause. She recognized them as Deena and Lynz, and they appeared to be in a disagreement.

“You’ve pulled a lot of stunts, but this isn’t right.”

“I don’t recall asking you.” Deena’s voice dripped with disgust.

Lynz growled. “Someone needs to stand up to you.”

“Another word and it’s your job,” Deena sneered. “I have a dozen numbers I could call right now of people who would replace you instantly.”

“So be it,” Lynz countered. “Taya Faye’s been trying to get me for months.”

Deena gasped. “You wouldn’t!”

“Oh, but I would. Less drama and more money.”

“I’ll blacklist you,” Deena hissed.

“When word gets out about your affair with Dante Torio, your power in Hollywood is gone.” Smug satisfaction resounded in Lynz’s voice.

“Nobody will believe it, and my publicist already has a backup plan in case anyone does.”

“Mac was your backup plan, and you ruined it.”

Deena’s laugh was anything but joyous. It rang of mockery. “I tried but looks alone can’t make up for his boring personality. Every moment with him was a fight to stay awake.”

Anger swelled in Phoebe. She should make her presence known, clue them in to the fact she could hear, but she couldn’t. For Mac’s sake, she wanted to hear this conversation through.

Lynz snorted. “You fell for him hard. You’re just mad because he saw through you. Any man worth dating is going to have self-respect, and you did everything you could to rip that from him.”

“Whatever.”

“Seriously, Deena.” Lynz sighed. “We agreed you’d find a boy-next-door to date while here filming to secure your reputation if the news of Dante broke. You couldn’t have kept it up for a few more months?”

“What was I supposed to do?” Deena’s disgust changed to frustration. “He broke up with me.”

“Then you should have made nice and tried to get him back instead of going all loco and stirring up trouble with his new girl.”

“Phoebe’s so perfect it’s disgusting.”

“You’ve never been an outwardly jealous person. It doesn’t look good on you.”

Phoebe clutched her chest, shocked at what she heard. She’d known something was up, and she didn’t understand exactly what happened but put enough pieces together to know Mac had been used, and Deena had serious character flaws.

“What am I supposed to do?” Her emotions seemed to have calmed down, and Deena spoke in a quieter, more reasonable tone.

“First of all, drop this nonsense about the rental. It’s not even your money paying for it, and you loved your stay there. Second, you go back to Mac, apologize for your behavior, and ask him for a second chance. And for the love of everything, don’t have any more affairs with married men.”

Phoebe had heard enough—she could admit her life had been sheltered compared to many, but she couldn’t imagine leading a life like Deena’s. Affairs, using people, manipulating others. It was no way to live. Any jealousy she’d harbored toward Deena faded to pity.

For the sake of them all, she thought it best if Deena and Lynz didn’t know she’d overheard their heated conversation. She quietly left her office, leaving the door open to create as little noise as possible. She tiptoed to the front and sat in the chair next to Cameron.

He gave her a tight smile. “I’m sorry to call you in on your day off. I tried everything to reason with her, but she wouldn’t budge.”

“It’s okay. I’ll handle it then be on my way.”

“If they ever stop shouting at each other.” Cameron eyed the side room where Lynz and Deena were. “Sounds like they’ve calmed down finally.”

Phoebe swallowed before she admitted to eavesdropping. “We’ll give them a few more minutes, then knock on the door.”

“Any big Christmas plans?” Cameron said.

“My family and Mac’s are having Christmas Eve together. We’ll all attend the candlelight service then have a late dinner at his parents’ home.” Joining their families for Christmas could have seemed like a big deal in their relationship, but the idea came naturally. The siblings and parents had all been friends for years, and it only made sense to celebrate the holiday together. “Do you?”

“My little sister is an angel in this year’s program at our church.” He pointed to her in the family portrait on the desk. “As soon as I close up here, I’ll pick up my girlfriend, and we’ll head to the church.”

“I didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”

A mild blush appeared on his cheeks. “It’s in the early stages.”

“I wish you the best. She’s a lucky girl.”

“Thanks.”

A door closed, followed by two pairs of footsteps.

Phoebe closed her eyes and whispered a brief prayer. “Give me guidance and wisdom to handle this situation in a manner pleasing to you, Lord.”

To her surprise, Deena walked directly out of the building without giving her or Cameron a glance.

Lynz stopped at the desk. “Deena has decided to retract her complaints. Have a Merry Christmas.”

Cameron stared at Phoebe after Lynz left. “Is it me, or was that weird?”

“I’d say we witnessed a Christmas miracle.” Her eyes remained focused out the window on the two women as they entered the limousine and rode away.

She doubted she’d ever see them again, and for that, she couldn’t muster an ounce of remorse.