There's No Place Like Christmas

Has the Wilcox estate closed?

Both parties signed this morning.

Over asking price with multiple offers,

if I heard correctly?

Way over asking. Congratulations.

Well, thank you. I loved that home.

I'm excited for the family. I think it's the perfect fit for them.

Grace, have you ever thought about management?

Uh, management? No. Why?

We have a satellite office that's in a bit of a pinch.

Their manager went on maternity leave earlier than we expected.

We need someone to handle things in her place until she gets back.

Didn't you tell me you were from Evergreen Falls?

I am.

But I haven't been there since my parents sold their house.

Well, that's where this branch is located.

Grace, you've got a track record of sales that's on par with theirs.

They're a very high-performing group. I think you'd be a great fit.

I appreciate it, but I'm not sure about being a manager.

Do you know what every buyer or seller tells me

when we ask about their experience with you?

Every one of them says you made them feel listened to, heard, that you truly cared.

And the majority of managing people is just that... listening and caring.

And being that it's December 15th, I also already approved

everyone else's vacation time off.

I'm sorry. My parents are supposed to be coming here,

but they're stuck in back to back snowstorms.

Well, should you say yes to the assignment,

maybe they can meet you in Evergreen Falls.

Well, we haven't been there as a family in a long time.

What do you say?

Would you go there for a few weeks?

Step in as interim manager?

- I'm your girl. - Wonderful.

I'll have temporary housing set up by the time you get there.

Enjoy this adventure.

And we'll see you in the new year.

Well, when would you like me to start?

Yesterday.

Okay.

- Hello? - Hannah.

- Where are you right now? - I'm at the church.

Grace: I'll see you there.

Man: 20 seconds until the perfect shot

is all aligned.

Three, two, one. No, no! Stop, stop, no!

- To your right. To your right. - Excuse me?

Please. Please just... please just move.

Just move. Just...

You know what? Never mind. It's too late.

I missed the shot. I missed the shot. Ugh.

- I'm sorry. - Do you have any idea how long it took me

- to set up for that shot? - Well, good news is the sun will rise again tomorrow.

Yes. The Earth's tilted on its axis,

so the angle of the sun changes every day as we orbit.

So that light hitting that statue creating that perfect shadow

and the perfect picture will only happen once a year.

So, yeah, the sun will rise tomorrow,

but I'm gonna have to wait 365 days

to get that shot again.

Oh. Okay.

Uh, I'm sorry

about the year and the tilted axis.

The light around the sun?

And I'm sorry about the sun, too.

You're sorry about the sun?

Okay

Almost there.

You know, you shouldn't be sneaking up

on the vertically challenged

when we're trying to defy gravity.

It looks really great in here. Oh!

It's a little bit crooked. Ah! There it is.

- Oh, my goodness! - It' so good to see you, Anna.

So tell me, what are you doing here?

Oh, my gosh, the kids have been asking about you non-stop

since we saw you in the city so long ago.

"Where's Aunt Grace? Where's Aunt Grace?"

How long are you here for? We've got a lot to catch up on.

I'm here through Christmas temporarily managing the local branch.

That is so exciting. I know having you here for Christmas

in Evergreen Falls was not part of the plan,

but I'm so glad that plans changed.

- Me, too. - Is Brad meeting you up here?

Uh, no.

We're not together anymore.

- Oh. I'm so sorry. - No, it's okay.

I mean, I was pretty upset, but it's for the best.

- Why didn't you tell me? - I don't know.

I threw myself into work and ate a lot of ice cream.

How many times can I call you and say it didn't work out?

At some point, I start to wonder if it's me.

Grace, stop right there. I promise you it is not you.

- It's just simply not the right guy. - You have to say that,

being my first friend, and my best friend.

- Well, since you are kind of a local now... - Temporarily.

I'm ignoring that.

How do you feel about swinging by the house tomorrow afternoon?

I'm in charge of donation days this week

and the Winter Warm Up drive is up first.

I can't make any promises,

but if I can get away from work, I will be there.

I'll take whatever I can get.

So you gonna help me finish on up over here?

That sounds like so much fun,

but I have to go prep for tomorrow.

I'm meeting the team and I want to be prepared.

I hear that they run a very tight ship,

so I want them to know I'm up for the challenge.

- You'll be great. - Oh.

- Oh! I love you. - I love you.

- Okay, I'll see you soon. - Okay.

I'm gonna get some punch.

- Hello! Hi. - Hi.

- I'm Grace Sawyer. - Diane's replacement. Welcome.

I'm Kendall, receptionist,

assistant to all, and organizer of everything.

- Our interim manager is here, guys. - Hey, everyone.

- Hi! - Welcome. Hi, welcome. Welcome.

I'm so sorry to interrupt the Christmas party.

We were hoping you'd be here to be a part of it.

Pamela, your most experienced employee.

It's great to meet you, Pamela.

We were told that you would be filling in on our open house on our new listing.

We're really excited about it, but between us,

- it puts us really close to winning the award. - Mm-hmm. Yeah.

- The award? - The Golden Key award.

It's presented to the office

that generates the highest sales volume

in home transactions during the holiday season.

That's brilliant.

Our offices are closed then

so it makes sense that I didn't know about it.

And Christmas is the slowest time of year for sales.

We've almost won it the last three years, but I can feel it.

- This is gonna be our year. - I hope so.

I've got a warm weather wardrobe on my Christmas list.

The company who wins gets an all expenses paid

weekend away in a luxury resort.

That's incredible. Is there a desk I can use?

Yeah, I can take your coat. I can show you...

Someone must've just closed on a house!

That puts us one house closer to sandy white beaches.

Congratulations!

- Let me take you around. - Okay!

I'm gonna have some punch. I gotta...

I wasn't sure what you liked, so I got you my favorite.

Aww.

Wow. That is amazing.

Christmas in a cup if you ask me.

I have to say, I didn't expect you all to be so festive.

Why not?

I guess because you're one of the top-grossing offices.

- But it works for you. - It does.

Here are your listing photos for your open house today.

These are incredible. All this natural light.

- Perfect timing. - Whoa.

- What are you doing here? - Sun-tilted axis guy?

Do you two know each other?

- Yes. - No.

I'm the interim manager. What are you doing here?

I'm the in-house photographer

behind the photos you were just admiring.

So you do know each other.

- No. - Yes.

- She ruined the perfect shot. - I said I was sorry.

Okay. Grace, this is Luke. Luke, Grace.

Your work is very good.

When I can actually get the shot, it is.

- Yes. Thank you. - Right.

Well, I thought it would be great for Luke to go with you today.

He wanted to get a few more pictures of the house with natural light.

Of course, he did.

I'm gonna go get my bag.

Okay, I'll... I'll meet you there.

Great.

Perfect.

- Guess who's got donuts. - Oh, great.

Oh, hold on. Let me help you.

- It's okay. I got it. - I got it, I got it.

- I can do it. - I know you can, but I am here

and I'm just in the way if I'm not helping.

- Just next to the tree. - All right.

When a potential buyer walks into a space,

they immediately gauge the size of the room,

and these chairs are disrupting the flow.

Right. Where does this one go?

Oh, uh, right by the natural light

coming through the window.

Okay, yeah.

Ah, perfect!

Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah, I see what you're doing here.

Those chairs were definitely clogging the room up.

Good flow.

It does look much bigger.

You have done this before. Oh, wow. Wow.

- Really welcoming. - Make yourself at home.

I like to get to know a space before I shoot it.

By lounging on the couch.

Yeah, seriously. Give it a try. Come on.