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Almost everyone she knew had family and shared the holidays with them Emma was alone But she’d rather be by herself than spend it with her father and his neife Last year she’d ignored the season entirely On Christone to a movie and had buttered popcorn for dinner and that had suited her perfectly

"You don’t want to quit just before Christht I don’t" But she said itto confront Walt?" Phoebe peered at E

"Yes," Emma murmured She’d decided that after al feature articles than the day she was hired It was time to face reality She’d reached her li in the bowels of the drafty building, tired of spending half her week traipsing around Bonny Lake, Su dollars

"What are you going to say to hiarded her carefully

She didn’t knohat she could say that she hadn’t already said a hundred times If Walt refused to listen, she would simply hand in her notice She wouldn’t leave until after Christmas; that was for strictly financial reasons Where she’d apply next, however, was the question

"Walt won’t want to lose you," Phoebe said confidently

"You ?"

"He has a lot on his mind"

Emma narrowed her eyes Phoebe’s infatuation with Walt blinded her to the truth

It was now or never E to talk to Walt" She motioned at the stairwell "Do I have the look?" The one that said she was serious

"Oh, yes!" Phoebe was nothing if not encouraging

"You’ll be stuck writing all the obituaries," Emma cautioned

"I don’t oes"

Emma marched up the stairs and toward the back of the first floor, where Walt’s luxurious office was situated Well, perhaps it wasn’t as luxurious as all that, except when coated

Walt glanced up, frowning, as she planted herself in the threshold to his office

"Do you have a minute?" she asked politely

His frown slowly transformed itself into a smile, and for the first time Emma noticed her eize, but Walt didn’t let her finish

"I was just going to ask you to step into my office" He waved her inside "I believe you’ve met Oliver Hamilton"

It was all she could do not to ask why he was here "Hello again," Eed to say as her stomach lurched She should’ve known; Oliver wasn’t a man who took no for an answer

He stood when Emma caain, too"

Eed handshakes, not fooled by his friendly demeanor, and avoided eye contact A weary sensation caood At this point she didn’t knohat he wanted, but she had a feeling she was about to find out--a sinking feeling, which was one of those clichés she’d learned to excise in journalism school

"Sit down," Walt instructed when she re on the chair parallel to Oliver’s

Walt leaned back in his seat and studied her Despite the free and easy style typical of the office, Emma chose to dress as a professional, since that was the way she wanted to be perceived Her hair was secured at the base of her neck with a gold clip The i reporter with an edge Today’s outfit was a classy black pinstripe suit with a straight skirt and for for so other than obituaries," Walt began

"Yes, I feel--"

"You say you want to write what you refer to as a ‘real story’"

Elanced out of the corner of her eye at Oliver "However, if the story’s about planes and such, I don’t think--"

"It isn’t" Her employer didn’t allow her to finish