Read a Sample: Christmas Knights

Prologue

Late October

“This is worse than planning a bloody invasion!” Fritz Bronnley glared at the planner covering their project board. Outside the conference room windows, a breeze swirled coloured leaves into pretty patterns and sent ripples across the lake. Fritz wanted to be out there, letting the wind cool his aching head and enjoying the sunshine after weeks of long nights and longer days unravelling a fraud case. Instead, he faced a planner brimming with black, blue, purple, and green notes while he—red marker in hand—hunted for white space. “We don’t have the manpower to cover all these events. Not if we want to get any work done. Even then we only need one unexpected client, and the bricks will hit the fan.”

“You’re mixing your metaphors. Now I’m worried.”

Hollis hadn’t left his side since Fritz had come home the previous afternoon, exhausted and unhappy after proving a man he’d almost considered a friend had stolen from his own staff. He needed more time to process that, but until then he welcomed any distraction. And he appreciated that Hollis had grumbled only a little when Fritz had ditched the chance of a lazy morning in favour of tackling the charity requests.

Now, though, he plucked the marker from Fritz’s fingers. “I get that work doesnae stop, but Advent is supposed tae be a month for sharing and caring. People want tae do special things. It’s only normal.”

“I have no issue with the sentiment. What I have an issue with is—”

“That there’s too much going on.” Rylan, who’d already been at work when Fritz walked in, topped up Fritz’s mug of coffee. “We can narrow it down, Cap.”

“How?” Fritz poked at the stack of invites and requests for sponsorship and donations. “Carol concert, Christmas Fair, another carol concert, charity ball, Christmas market, candlelight party, Christmas tree farm, Secret Santa, Santa’s Grotto…” Their business had been too new the previous year to attract invitations and requests for support, leaving them free to help as they chose. This year was a different matter. The White Knights had started to make a name for themselves, and now people came to them for more than professional assistance. “If we attend all these things, we’ll get no work done for a month. And they’re all good causes. How do we even choose?”

“We don’t.” Grant wandered in, bright-eyed despite the early hour, coffee in one hand and a jam doughnut in the other.

“What?” Fritz narrowed his eyes at his friend. “We can’t ignore all these requests. That’d be selfish.”

“Who says anything about ignoring? You want to help everyone, Cap, same as we do, and if you separate out the actual invitations, you’ll see that between us we can cover them without leaving any clients in the lurch.”

“But what about—”

“The requests for sponsorships and donations? I suggest we’ll support all these causes but do it on our terms.”

“And how are you planning tae do that?” Hollis asked, more animated now than when Fritz had started wading through the stack of requests.

“By hosting an event of our own, of course.” Grant took a massive bite of his doughnut and licked sugar from his lips. “Spencer said the hospital held a charity auction one year which turned out to be their best fundraiser ever. If we did that—”

“We can support the Rebel Retreat and the hospital, and make donations to all these causes.”

“Exactly.”

Fritz considered the idea. “What kind of an auction?”

“Whisky?” Hollis suggested, displaying impeccable Scots credentials. “Or are we living in the gin age now?”

“Nothing wrong with either, but you’d be limiting your audience. And how would you get donations? Maybe… vintage items?” Grant said, ever practical. “Decluttering for a cause. Finding unusual Christmas gifts. That would also be a good reason to hold it early in the month. And if Jax were to perform at the event, he’d only have to mention it on his social media feed, and we’d have crowds without needing to advertise.”

“How about promises?” Rylan suggested. “And things that money can’t buy. Remember Jax making up swag bags and signing things before he and Luca headed off for his last concert? That’s something we could do, maybe? Auction off signed items. We have a few celebrity clients we could ask for help.”

“I like both of these ideas,” Fritz said. “I’ll run it past people at tomorrow’s Chamber of Commerce meeting. See what’s been done in the last few years.”

“Right. So this,” Grant pulled the planner off the project board, “can go in the skip. Rylan and I will research what’s involved in hosting a charity auction and put a list of actions together. You and Hollis take the day off. You’ve worked non-stop for over two weeks and if you can’t plan an invasion without assistance, you really need some R and R.”

Fritz wanted to glare, but his brain felt so sluggish he couldn’t even muster annoyance over betraying his exhaustion. Besides, White Knight Security wasn’t his sole responsibility. Ry, Grant, and Luca all had a stake in their business and wouldn’t let the place go to ruin even if Fritz took a day off. Hollis was warm against his side, and the lake beckoned. A quiet hour in a boat sounded heavenly, and Fritz would accept his friends’ gift and be grateful. He found a smile for Ry and Grant, not minding its tired edges. “Thank you.”

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