For my online friend, who has become a real life friend. She finally gave me the push to write this.

.

Chapter 1 the Family Business

"Listen, you've got the wrong person! I can't be Santa Claus!" Jughead Jones argued with the girl sitting across from him.

She tightened her already tight ponytail and shuffled the parchment paper around as she smiled at him. "You aren't the wrong person though! You're Noel's only male heir, you have to be Santa Claus!"

Jughead took a deep breath. "Listen, Miss—"

"Cooper," she reminded him. "But you can call me Betty. . . if you'd like."

"Listen, Miss Cooper, I'm really the last person who should be Santa Claus! I am not exactly jolly or filled with cheer and goodwill towards men. My grandfather knows this, he wouldn't make me take over for him. He wouldn't expect me to!"

"He doesn't expect anything of you!" Betty assured him. "It's just. . . he would like to retire soon and he's hoping you'll come apprentice with him to prepare for taking over the whole operation by next December."

"What happens if I say no?"

"If you say no, there are other applicants!" Betty replied, rearranging the paperwork again and snapping them a few times against the table.

Jughead reached out and stilled her wrists because it was starting to drive him nuts. She looked at him apologetically, dropped the papers on the table and folded her hands in her lap.

"Other applicants?" Jughead repeated.

"Oh come on, Mr. Jones, you know enough about the job to know you can't go and apply for it online! But there are others, grandchildren of your grandfather's friends. A few random do-gooders that's been on the nice list. But you are his first option, of course."

"You're new to the job," Jughead observed. "I haven't seen you before, my grandfather's assistant was. . . well, a little more. . . mature than you are. So, how did you get the job?"

"Well, like the Santa Claus position, it isn't exactly something you'd find on Career Finder," Betty laughed. "I mean, come on. Santa Claus Seeks Secretary wouldn't go over so well. It would probably attract a lot of. . . well, girls not looking for nice things. Being Santa's assistant is a job that the women on my mom's side of the family usually undertakes. The woman you were talking about is my grandmother, Gloria. She's ready to retire as well. So, she's training me to take over for her."

"Oh."

Jughead remembered Gloria, she had had an air of Meryl Streep elegance about her and had been every bit as pretty as Betty was. She always showed up when his grandparents had been visiting Riverdale, talking about a crisis at the factory or what shenanigans the elves were getting into, or Christmas next year when Christmas present was still 6 months away. She'd always brought presents with her, the latest toys for him and Jellybean to experiment with before sending them to all the other kids around the world.

And then, there had been the naughty and nice lists. Bound up in red, patent leather with gold pages and written in his grandfather's beautiful penmanship.

"I know your grandmother," Jughead told her. "But she never mentioned that she had grandchildren."

Betty shrugged. "My mom didn't want anyone to know we were related to her. You see, she's not really a Believer. She thinks the whole Santa thing is a bunch of fairy tales designed to trick kids into behaving themselves."

"I see. . ." Jughead trailed off. "So, are you the only girl on your mom's side of the family? Is that how you got the job?"

Betty shook her head. "No. I have a sister but she's a nurse and she has twins to take care of. She wasn't really interested in the job."

"But you were?"

Betty tugged on the collar of her red and green plaid button down. "I wanted to work in publishing. I interned with Toni Morrison when I was 15 and then every summer between the one I graduated from high school to college, I interned at Penguin Publishing."

"That's a lot of iced coffee," Jughead said.

Betty ignored at him and straightened the cuffs on her red sweater. "The past 5 years, I've been working on my dad and mom's paper as an editor but then my grandmother showed up and told me that it she wanted to move on from her job and take a break. So, here I am."

"Ruining my life," Jughead quipped.

Betty looked him straight in the eyes and raised a perfectly manicured brow. "Ruining your life? It doesn't seem like you're doing much with your life right now."

"I'm a writer," Jughead informed her.

"When was the last time you actually wrote something?"

Jughead stood up and poured himself another cup of coffee. "So, my grandfather's spying on me now?" he asked, leaning against the counter and studying her.

"He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake. . ." Betty teased, faltering when she saw him scowling at her. "He wasn't spying. He's just concerned your life is stalled and he wants so much more for you than that."

"He wants me to be Santa Claus!" Jughead emphasized.

"You had to have known it was coming!" Betty shot back, standing up. "Surely he told you that one day you were going to take over for him."

"Did your grandmother tell you when you were growing up? Betty, one day you are going to be Santa's personal assistant?"

Betty sighed. "Point taken but remember, I wasn't exactly close to my grandmother because my mother disapproved of her. And in the end, we have an obligation to family. Do you really want your legacy handed over to somebody else!?"

"Let me think about that—"

"Just give it one holiday season!" Betty interjected desperately. "You can't reject it without at least giving it a chance! If in the end, you decide you're not interested in being Santa Claus then your grandfather will choose somebody else to do the job for you."

On the one hand, Jughead didn't want to disappoint his grandfather (and somewhere, deep down, he knew Betty was right. He didn't really want to see the family business handed over to some stranger) but on the other hand. . . he didn't know if he wanted to sign his life away for who knew how many years in the name of Christmas. It was just a trial basis though, he didn't have to make any life changing decisions quite yet.

He studied Betty, a girl who had probably given up everything she had wanted to follow in the footsteps of a woman she barely knew because it was tradition. He at least had gotten to develop a relationship with the man who was asking him to give up everything and follow in his footsteps. He respected and admired him, held him in one of the highest positions of esteem.

"Just this one season!" he finally relented.

Betty clapped her hands together excitedly. "Wonderful! Grandmother says a lot of our training will take place together. So, if there's anything you need. . . anything at all, just ask me and I'll do my best to see and make sure it gets done!"

.

"Your grandparents brought a guest!" Jughead's mother, Gladys informed him when he came home for Thanksgiving on Wednesday night, she took his bag from him.

"Hello, Mr. Jones!" Betty said, coming out of the kitchen with a mixing bowl in her hands. Her hair was still in a ponytail, but she looked a little more relaxed in black leggings and an oversized sweatshirt.

"Betty's replacing Gloria as your grandfather's assistant," Gladys explained.

"I know, we've met," Jughead answered.

Betty nodded and continued to stir whatever it was that she was mixing. "We met on Monday," she added. "When I went to tell Jughead that Noel wanted him to take over the family business."

Gladys's eyes widened. "You mean. . . he actually agreed to it!? My dad had mentioned he was ready to retire and that he wanted Jughead to take over for him. I just never thought he'd actually agree to it. . ."

"He didn't," Betty replied, glancing at Jughead. "This Christmas is only going to be a trial basis only, to see if it's a good fit. Right, Mr. Jones."

"Forsythe!" Gladys said, following her son into his old bedroom. "Do you really want to lose the family business!?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't do it at all!" Jughead protested. "I'm just seeing if it's something I want to do before I commit the rest of my life to it!"

"I know you, Jughead. You're going to go into it determined to make everybody miserable, including yourself. If I know you and I do, you've probably already decided to say no! I'm begging you. . . as your mother, as somebody who loves my father dearly, to give it a chance. I know how much he wants to keep it in the family."

Jughead sighed, his mother was right. He was going to go through the motions, but when it was all said and done, he was going to tell his grandfather thanks but no thanks. . . now with her imploring, he had to really give it a chance before saying no.

"I'll do it," he agreed. "But only because you because you want me to and I don't want to disappoint Grandfather."

"I know you'll do the right thing," Gladys said, giving him a hug. "You're a good boy, Juggie. I'm counting on you to do the right thing."

The thing was Jughead wasn't sure he would do the right thing.

TBC. . .

.

Author's Note:

This is only laying the groundwork for the story and seeing if there's any interest in the story. This is something I've wanted to write for about 7 years now, so I am really excited that I've found a fandom where it could work. Tell me what you think! I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Until Next Time!

Lots of Love,

Holly, 11/18/2017

P.S

While we are on the subject of Thanksgiving, I want to thank all of my readers in the Bughead fandom for taking a chance on my stories this year. I am beyond grateful for each and every single one of you!