“Could you help me with this table?” Tim asked Wyatt.

Wyatt nodded and looked around. “Where is this going?”

“Against the wall outside.” Tim pointed to a spot just outside in the hallway.

The two men picked up the long table and set it down in front of two elderly women outside the conference room.

 “Thanks, boys.” The woman on the left smiled at Wy. “You’re such a nice young man for helping Tim. We were having such trouble before you got here.”

“No problem.” Wy loved helping Tim with town work. “Everyone is so nice here. I really hope I get a spot on the crew.”

“I’m sure you will.” The woman patted his hand. “We need men like you who are eager to work.”

“I hope you’re right.” Wy gave the woman a big smile before he went back to Tim.

Wy loved when he got to work with his friends during his regular job, but those times had been few and far between this year. Working with any of the other guys made the time drag by. They were all nice enough, but they didn’t joke around as much, and they all seemed to hate their jobs. Wy liked working outside and making enough money to support himself. The park jobs even had great benefits. He didn’t know how those guys could spend the whole day complaining.

Even worse, they complained about their families too. He could understand the humans complaining, but not the shifters. They were married to their mates, and if not, it was their own fault. That was a great part of being a shifter. That was why he loved working with his buddies. They were so positive, and it made his day fly by. If he had to spend his nights alone, he at least wanted to have fun during the daytime hours.

That was one of the reasons he was trying to get a job with the Christmas Crew. All his friends had already been hired as snowplow drivers for the season, but Wy hated having to wake up early and go out in the snow. When he heard that Tim would be needing help with a new project, he had jumped at the chance. The park district was going to be putting on more events for the community this winter, and there were many positions that needed to be filled. There was bound to be one that was right for him.

“Next?” he asked when he found Tim in the conference room.

“We just need to bring the ladies the boxes of packets.”

“I still don’t understand why you’re spending all the money you got from the state so fast,” Wy said as they walked to Tim’s office. “We were so lucky to get that money to help us do cool things. Are you going to spend it all on Christmas?”

“No.” Tim opened his office door. “We have the tree lighting in December, the ice-sculpting competition in January, and the Valentine dance for the middle-school kids in February.”

“Right. Then you’ll be out of money?”

Tim laughed. “I didn’t know you were so worried about us running out of money.”

“I like all the cool events you put on. I don’t want to spend all the money in the winter and not have anything left for spring. That Easter egg hunt you put on was awesome.”

 “I wish everyone was as enthusiastic as you.” Tim shook his head ruefully. “There’s a method to my madness. I won’t come close to spending all my funding for this quarter on those three events. If I don’t use most of the money, the government won’t give me as much next year.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. If you’re careful with the money, you get punished.”

Tim handed Wy three heavy boxes. “They’re trying to cut back on waste. If they give us only slightly more than we need, they can spend the money somewhere else that needs it.”

“But, then, how do you get to do better projects without any money? I mean, if you keep putting on the programs, you’ll never spend more, and ’you’ll never get more. Right? Or am I misunderstanding something?”

“No, you got it right. That’s why this is such a big deal. If this new Christmas lineup is popular, we might even be able to squeeze more money out of the state for other special holiday events next year.”

“This is going to be popular,” Wy said. “There isn’t anything like it around here. You’ve just got to get people to play all the roles.”

“I hope so. This is the biggest Christmas event we’ve put on. I’m pulling out all the stops.”

Wy nodded. Maybe it was time for him to do the same. He wanted to make new friends at this job, but maybe he should take Blair’s advice. Maybe he would be able to find a woman to date casually. It wouldn’t be easy, but it couldn’t hurt to try at least once.

Today, they were having a big interview to find people to help with the different stations around Christmas at the pavilion. The big one that needed filling was Santa’s Workshop. They had set up a winter wonderland at the new pavilion, and kids could come and meet Santa. There was going to be a place to sit on Santa’s lap, Santa’s house where Mrs. Claus would have cookies baking, and the elves’ workshop where the kids could see the elves making toys.

Wy thought it was the best idea ever. The kids were all going to love it. They had already cast Santa and Mrs. Claus and had found a few people for some of the other roles. That was how Wy had heard about it. The people like him weren’t officially hired, but it was basically a done deal if they wanted the job.

Tim had started looking for new people right away, but some had already turned him down. There wasn’t much time before they opened on December first. If they didn’t find everyone today, they were going to be understaffed. Wy had already applied to be an elf at the workshop, since that was the area where they needed the most people.

He was a bit big to be an elf, but none of the people who’d been hired to be elves were small. It would have been nice to have elf-sized people to play the elves, but Wy knew that would have been impossible to pull off. There weren’t many little people in the area. Better to have a bunch of oversized elves than none at all.

“You think a lot of people are going to show up?” Wy asked Tim. The boxes were filled with applications and information packets.

“Yes. I hope so.” Tim dropped his box on the floor next to the women at the front. He checked his watch. “I already have interviews set up with three people. I’m going to have to get myself set up in there.”

“Don’t we need twelve more people for the Winter Wonderland?”

“Yes, but I’m sure more people will come.”

Wy looked outside. “The parking lot looks pretty empty.”

“People are going to show up,” Tim said. “Just be patient. I’ve already set you up with your second interview. That’ll be in an hour with my boss.”

“Sounds good.”

“Thanks for helping me set up. You’re a lifesaver, man.”

“No problem. I was just sitting at home, bored. At least I have people to talk to here.”

Tim nodded. “You can hang out in my office if it gets too crowded out here for you.”

Wy looked around the empty room and laughed. “I think I’ll be fine.”

As if on cue, the door opened, and ten people walked inside. They must have all been waiting outside, because it was exactly ten minutes before the interview was scheduled to start.

“Told you we’d be fine,” Tim said before he left.

Wy counted until there were more than twenty people in line to pick up applications. This was very good. If they didn’t find enough people, it would ruin his holiday season. With this many people, they were bound to fill all the positions.

Watching all the happy people in line got Wy pumped; being a part of the Christmas Crew was going to make this the best holiday season ever. It would be impossible to come home and be sad after spending the day around happy coworkers and kids.

Tim and two of the other city managers were set up behind tables in the conference room. Wy was the first to do his second interview. It was over pretty quickly, then he had to fill out more paperwork. When he was done, he took a spot near the ladies at the table. He was going to stick around and see who else they hired. He had already seen a woman he knew from the bar be hired as an elf. Maybe more people he knew would get picked.

And it wasn’t like there was anything pressing he had to get home to. He was going to order a pizza for dinner again and then just sit around. He could waste a few more hours at the pavilion.

The room was filling up quickly. Teenagers and adults were standing around. There had to be at least thirty people waiting to talk with someone. It was a good thing Tim had had Wy set up so many folding chairs.

“Can I sit here?”

Wy looked up. There was a woman pointing to the seat next to him.

“Sure,” he said.

“Thanks,” the woman said cheerfully. “Are you here for the interview?”

Wy shook his head. “I work here already.”

“Oh, really? What do you do?”

“Uh. Winter Wonderland?” Wy couldn’t remember what his job title was. He couldn’t remember much. It was hard to think when the most beautiful woman he had ever seen was standing in front of him. She was tiny and curvy. It was a combination that set his gorilla off. He could barely contain the animal. 

“Oh, that sounds so cool.” She held out her hand. “I’m Dottie.”

“Wyatt.” He carefully shook her delicate hand. His hand was at least twice as big as hers. She couldn’t be more than five feet tall. “You’re going to get the job. You’d be the perfect elf.”

“I hope I get it. I don’t even know what they’re hiring for, but I want to do it.”

Wy stared at her. He hoped she got it too. From the way his animal was reacting, Wy knew he had to be friends with this woman.

“I’m an elf,” he managed to remember. “I’m an elf working at the Winter Wonderland.”

“That would be fun!” She took off her hat and fluffed her short blonde hair. “You seem pretty big to be an elf. Are you a shifter?”

“I am. Gorilla.”

She shuddered, and her smile faltered for a moment. “That’s a very big animal.”

“It is,” he said proudly. “Are you a shifter?”

Her smile returned, and her blue eyes sparkled. “I am. Butterfly.”

“I’ve never met a butterfly shifter before.”

“And I’ve never met a gorilla. I guess it’s a day for firsts.”

“I guess it is. Are you new here? I’ve never seen you around before.”

She looked up from the application. “I am. I don’t live here, exactly, but I’m staying in my aunt’s house.”

“Cool.” Wy watched her as she filled out the form. There was no way she wouldn’t get the job. She was the smallest woman in the room, and she had the perfect personality. She practically radiated happiness. Wy couldn’t keep the smile off his face when he looked at her. “You’re very beautiful.”

“Thank you. I hear ‘cute’ all the time. No one except my dad has ever called me beautiful.”

“Well, when we’re working together, you’re going to get used to it. Seriously, your face is perfect.”

“I guess I picked the right spot.” She patted him on the leg. “You’re really hyping me up for the interview. No way they’re going to turn a beautiful woman like me away.”

“I don’t think they will.”

“Okay, I’m going to go turn this in.”

“I’ll save your seat.”

“Thanks.”

She left her purse and coat with him while she waited in line to turn in her application. Wy couldn’t keep his eyes off her. There was no way he was going to go home before he found out if she had gotten the job or not. This girl was perfect. Blair’s casual date idea didn’t sound so far-fetched anymore.