My Only Christmas Wish. J.M. Jeffries

mean a lot to Sophia.”

      “You’ve only been with Sophia for an hour, how do you already know all this about her?”

      “Partly because of my fancy education, and as you will find out eventually, Bennett’s is magical.” And with that she turned and left.

      Eli knew his mouth was hanging open at her reply. Nobody had ever spoken to him that way before. He jumped to his feet and stalked after her, throwing open the door to Darcy’s office and entering.

      She was speaking on the phone, but at the frown on his face, she told the caller she would call back, said goodbye and hung up.

      “Do people not understand that I am the ‘Boss’ with a capital B? And that entitles me to a modicum of respect.”

      Darcy stood, quietly facing him, her shoulders squared. “You don’t want respect. You want them to fear you. They treat me with respect.” She paused and covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, must be because I earned it.” She took a deep breath and crossed her arms over her chest. “There isn’t one person here who doesn’t know how much I love getting into the trenches. They don’t know that about you.”

      “I will do what it takes to make this store succeed.”

      “Respect is one thing, but if you want these people to work for you, to give blood, then you make them love you they way they love me and I love them. If you can’t do that, then pack up your seven-thousand-dollar briefcase and leave now. That’s how Bennett’s works.”

      He thought a moment about what she’d said. Making people love him was not on his agenda. He was the boss. “As I said, I will do what it takes to succeed.”

      “Sure you will, Mr. Austin. Have a nice day. Why don’t you start by making your daughter happy and have your picture taken with her and Santa?”

      Eli stalked out. He’d give her this battle. But the war was far from over and Eli Austin never lost.