Her Secret Santa: A Christmas Protector Romance (Perfect Kisses Book 3) Page 4

  When I got home, I slumped down in my favorite chair with that cold beer I’d been craving. I was far more exhausted than I had been when I left the building, but somehow, I couldn’t wait to get back there and get more things done. I loved being a part of something so special. It made me feel that I was truly special as well and I really did belong there. I’d made it through sheer will and hard work.

  And now I was determined not to squander the opportunity.

  I was just scrolling through the Netflix listings when my phone rang. It was Lizzy.

  “Hey, skank,” I answered.

  “Hey, cock,” she shot back.

  I laughed. “What are you up to?”

  “Just chilling. I just got back from the salon. Those new people I hired have no clue how to cut hair. I should send them back to beauty school.”

  “That’s rough. Didn’t you give them a test or something before they started working for you?”

  “No. The school certificate they have says they passed those tests already. That’s the purpose of it. I’m starting to believe that they are all spoofed. I think these new kids are getting these things off the internet.”

  “Right. I’m sure it’s an elaborate plan to trick you into hiring them so they can mess up people’s haircuts. When they see these people walking around, they can point and laugh. They’ll whip out their cameras and put it on their Instagram to let everyone know they did that shit.”

  She was almost rolling on the floor laughing now. She was so easy to bust up. “You are terrible. But the worst part is I think you are actually right.”

  “Just check the credentials better. That’s all you have to do.”

  “Thanks for the tip. So, how was your day?”

  “It was actually really great,” I said.

  “Did you fuck him yet?”

  “What?”

  “Yeah, that Tony Caplan is so hot. I’ve seen him on television a time or two.”

  I shook my head and wiped my mouth. “You are warped. But no. I did not fuck him. He seems like a nice guy. I’m going to enjoy working there.”

  “Well, that is great. I think you should go for it though. When are you going to have the opportunity to sleep with a billionaire again? You need to take advantage of these things when they come up.”

  “I’m not sleeping with anyone. Why are you so warped on this?”

  “I’m not warped. I just think you are wasting a nice opportunity. But it’s none of my business. You should at least go out with Jake. You know how much he likes you.”

  “I’m not dating your brother. You yourself have told me how much of a pig he is.” Jake was a year younger than Lizzy, but he acted like he was all of twelve. He had a lot of growing up to do and I didn’t think he was going to do that anytime soon.

  “I think the two of you would make an adorable couple,” she giggled.

  “I know you’re trying to set me up for a horrible night out,” I said. “I’d tell you how bad it was and you’d get a good laugh going. I know how your sick, twisted little mind works.”

  “Ok, fine. Don’t date my brother. But why not give this billionaire a chance?”

  “Where is this coming from? It’s my first day on the job and you are already asking me to flirt with the boss.”

  “I’m just saying it wouldn’t hurt for you to be a bit proactive.”

  “Proactive against what?”

  “If the boss really likes you then he is more apt to listen to your ideas. And it is great for causing jealousy among your coworkers. If they think you are in tight with him then they will hate you.”

  “How is that a good thing?”

  “Because then they will talk smack about you, and he will wonder why they would do such a thing when in his eyes you are totally awesome. That makes them look bad. And he starts to observe them a bit more closely. Then he can see how bad they really are at their jobs and you start to shine. How do you not know any of this? It’s like you have never watched any reality shows.”

  “This isn’t a TV show and I’m not doing that. I will be fine on my own merit, but I do appreciate you taking such an interest in my new work life.”

  “That’s what besties are for. By the way, have you talked to Nellie?”

  “No… why?”

  “Oh, my God…I have to tell you this. She’s been dating that new guy, Jason, right?”

  “Yeah…”

  “Well, they’ve been dating for about two months and things are progressing nicely and she feels that this is the night she is going to get busy with him. Why she has waited this long, I have no idea. It’s like she read The Rules and is stuck in the eighties. This isn’t your mother’s reckless twenties, right? Anyway…they go out to dinner and things are going great. Then when they get back to his place they start making out and things escalate. Jason suddenly stops in the middle of this and asks her if she would mind only doing anal.”

  “What? That’s weird…”

  “Yeah. He said he's saving himself for marriage. So, he only does oral and anal because that doesn’t count as actual sex according to his religion.”

  “Oh, shit,” I said. “That is strange. What did Nellie say?”

  “She said the anal was pretty good,” Lizzy replied.

  I burst out laughing. “She did not!”

  “She totally did. I’m just telling you what she told me. My guess would be that it totally freaked her out and she chickened out of the whole thing, but who knows. Anyway, have you ever let a guy in the back door?”

  I paused. “I’m suddenly thinking you made all of this up to ask me this random question.”

  “No, I did not make any of this up. Ask Nellie; I’m sure she’ll tell you. Hell, she’ll probably put it on all of her social media.”

  I shook my head. “That is so bizarre. But to answer your question, no. Why do you have that on the brain tonight?”

  “I’m curious. No guy has ever even asked me to try it. I feel left out.”

  “Maybe they thought you’d say no.”

  “I’m pretty sure I’d say yes. I think it’s obvious from my bubbly personality that I’m down to try anything. You know, I think I’d even try pegging. Maybe do a swapping deal. He fucks my ass; I fuck his ass. I’ve always wanted to wear one of those strap-on things.”

  “Are you on high or something?”

  “No more than usual,” she said.

  “Well, thanks for the laughs tonight. I needed them after the stressful first day. I think tomorrow will be easier.”

  I finished the phone call and watched a bit of television until I was tired enough to go to sleep. When I laid down to bed that night though, I could not stop thinking about Tony. I wondered what kinky things he would like to try in bed.

  And I wondered what kinky things I’d let him do.

  5

  Tony

  Two Weeks Later

  The Christmas party was amazing.

  It was my favorite time of the year. We always held the party in the ballroom that was built on the bottom floor of the main building. The crew I’d hired a few weeks back had done an impeccable job getting the place ready for the annual party. Everyone was there with their significant others. They were drinking, laughing, joking, and dancing their troubles away. That’s the way Christmas should be every single year.

  My father had never been that interested in the holidays. I can remember that my mother and I spent the holidays alone half the time since he was at the office, which meant his staff was there as well. He used to say that no one could get ahead without doing what the competition was not willing to do. Hardly anyone worked three hundred and sixty-five days per year. That was why he had built a huge empire, I supposed. I owed him a lot that way, but sometimes I even wondered if it was worth the sacrifices. I worked hard to make sure my team had nights like this. It was my way of giving back to them, to thank them for all of their efforts.

  “Enjoying the party?” Quinton asked at my shoulder.

  I didn
’t even know he was there yet. I was too busy schmoozing with one person or the other. I also invited several of our biggest investors to the ball. So, there was always some work that could be done.

  “Yes,” I replied. I gave him a hearty slap on the back and then I reached out to take Sophie’s hand. “Sophie, it’s a pleasure as always.” I kissed her hand softly really laying it on properly. She smiled and blushed a little bit. This made Quinton uncomfortable, but I’ve always been a huge fan of tradition.

  “Thank you,” Sophie said. “You aren’t dancing? I’m amazed. Who are you here with?”

  “I’m flying solo,” I replied.

  Sophie looked shocked. “Wow, I never thought I’d see the day when you came to this party by yourself.”

  “Oh, I might ask a few ladies to dance here and there, but tonight is really just about enjoying the season. You know I’m not actively dating anyone.”

  “I admire your strength,” she said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Isn’t it bad for your image?”

  “I suppose,” I said. I shrugged. “I’ve never been too concerned with my image. I’m much more concerned with my brand. That’s what affects the business. My love life doesn’t.”

  “Gotcha.”

  “What are you doing this weekend?” Quinton asked.

  “I’m not sure, yet” I said. “Why?”

  “Well, I was thinking that it might be a good time to go white water rafting, like you were talking about. I told Sophie and she is ready to go.”

  “Um…sure. We should be able to make that happen. Let me research the best spot this time of year. It’s tougher to find a good surge during the winter months. But yeah, that sounds like fun.”

  “He’s been super excited about it ever since you put that idea in his head,” Sophie said.

  “Glad to do it,” I said. I gave Quinton an approving look, but I wished I could have told him to tone it down a bit. He was acting way too eager with it. It could be a bit off putting.

  I mingled with a few more people at the party and had a few drinks. I wasn’t dancing though. Now I wasn’t sure I was even going to dance, although I’d mentioned that I might. I wasn’t sure I was going to do anything in the realm of romance or what might be interpreted to be romantic with any woman any time soon. I was too focused on work, and lately the memories had been pulling at me. It had been over ten years, but I still could not stop thinking about how much I missed her.

  It was a devastation I would never get over, and while I knew that moving on was not the same thing as forgetting, moving on was especially cruel at reminding. I didn’t want to be reminded about the love I’d lost anytime I felt anything with a new woman. I’d tried it over and over and it had become too much for me. I would not move on and actually see it through and the woman I was with would eventually leave, and rightfully so. It wasn’t fair to them. I needed to just be single. I’d had my chance at love. And I’d lost it. That was the way it was.

  Or at least, that was what I thought...

  About an hour after I spoke with Quinton, it was time to begin the Secret Santa program we always did. It was the most fun time of the party in my opinion. We all took turns drawing a name out of a hat as it was passed around and we would seek out this person to be their personal Santa for the time being. We had to buy them a gift or perform any service they needed done.

  “Mr. Caplan,” Bryan Johns said on the microphone. I always let him host these things since he was so good at it. He was a natural born comedian and was born to be on stage. He would announce the games, the events, and hand out the door prizes. The guy was a total clown. And a hell of a nice man that I liked to consider a friend.

  I ran up to the lectern and shook his hand. “Thank you, Bryan. How is everyone doing? We enjoying the festivities?”

  The crowd erupted in cheers. “Fantastic. Glad to hear it. I hope you all get completely hammered tonight. It’s on me.”

  Another round of applause. “Ok, let me get this game started.” I drew the name out of the hat.

  “Julie Ashby,” I read the name out loud. The crowd cheered, but it was half as much as it had been, mostly because a lot of them did not know who Julie was.

  Julie…yes, she was definitely on my radar. I had thought of her a lot since I first met her. Since that time, I’d run into her several times and we always had a nice conversation. She was fun, pleasant, sweet, and she was so smart and talented. She was bringing a lot of greatness to the team and I couldn’t wait to see some of her ideas in action.

  But I was very hesitant to get too friendly with her. I had been fairly firm in my convictions that I was not going to let myself get attracted to another employee and have it turn into something. But I couldn't help it. Julie had this thing over me, this hold. When I was around her, I just got lost in her little world. I wanted to hold her, caress her, kiss her, and make beautiful love to her. Dammit, why was I so in lust with her?

  It was enough to drive me insane sometimes when I saw her walking through the halls. She had this confident attitude, this sweet shake to her walk that said she meant business and people needed to get out of her way.

  “Alright, Julie. I’ll come and find you,” I said with a grin.

  I shook Bryan’s hand, and I left the stage. It took me a few moments, but I did find Julie hiding out by the punch bowl. I wasn’t sure how long she’d been at the party. It couldn’t have been too long. I would have noticed her when I was moving around talking to people.

  When I saw her, I had to stop mid-step and take her all in. I almost forgot what I was doing, and I didn’t see that someone was walking right in front of me, so I almost collided with them. Luckily, I pulled up just enough right before I collided with them and I was able to do it in a very inconspicuous way. I’m not sure if Julie even noticed it. She was not looking at me as I approached her. She was talking with Barb, one of the leads in her department. Barb was checking me out very obviously and looking me from head to toe and back again. She’d had a thing for me for a while, and while I’d entertained the idea of dating her, nothing had ever come from that more than just a passing fancy. She was attractive, but we didn’t really have that extra spark.

  “Hello, Julie,” I said as I approached.

  Julie looked up at me with a bit of surprise and then she relaxed with that beautiful smile of hers. I could never get tired of seeing that. The way her eyes lit up brightly, the way she slowly spread her lips in that ever so sexy manner, and then finally, the way she leaned back into the smile and owned it so confidently.

  “Hey,” Julie said.

  “Hey, boss man,” Barb greeted the same time.

  “Hello, Barb,” I said politely. I wished Barb would go away. I really wanted to get to know Julie a bit one on one. We hadn’t really taken that time yet. But we were here at this party and it was a much more socially acceptable thing to do now. “Are you ladies having a great time?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Julie replied. “Thanks so much for inviting me.”

  “Of course. You are one of us, now. You belong to the team.”

  “You hear his choice of words?” Barb asked Julie. “He owns your ass.”

  I smiled at Barb’s joke trying to put Julie at ease. Barb was known to make outrageous comments from time to time, and she was usually the life of the party for that very reason. Julie didn’t seem put off by her comments at all. I sensed some jealousy from Barb right then. She wanted me badly and she could tell that I was very interested in Julie. I shouldn’t have been interested in anyone who worked for me. It was a huge conflict of interest and professionally it was very improper. But I was just so damn drawn to her.

  “Doesn’t that mean he owns yours, too?” Julie asked.

  Barb was right on it. “Oh, he doesn’t want mine,” she said. “I think he is out for some new blood at the moment. Isn’t that right, Tony?”

  I played dumb. “What do you mean?”

  “Oh, now he is playing games,” Barb t
eased. Just then something caught her eye. “Hey, is that Roy Diehl? Hey, I’m going to let you alone with this one for a bit. I’ve got to talk to someone.”

  Julie nodded. “Ok.”

  “You be nice to her,” Barb said giving me that disapproving eye before grinning widely. Yeah, she knew better than to stand there running interference for Julie. It was not Barb’s responsibility to care who I was interested in. And if I wanted to express my romantic interest in Julie, then I would. After that it was up to Julie. But I wanted to keep things as professional as possible between us. That was important to me.

  “So, what is this Secret Santa thing?” Julie asked. “I heard something about it when you were up there, but I was talking with Barb, so I missed quite a bit of it.”

  “Well, basically I am your Santa. That means I will take care of your every whim, every need, and give you anything you desire from now until midnight. So, you have four hours to tell me exactly what you want, and I will make it happen.”

  Julie’s eyes widened. “Ah, that is very interesting. I think I like this game.”

  “It does turn out to be one of the favorites. So, what do you want?”

  She thought for a moment. “I don’t know. I don’t need that much.”

  “Well, you can think on it for a while. I’m at your beck and call. I think you should take full advantage of it.”

  “I’ll try to do that, but I’m pretty independent.”

  “Oh, I know that. It’s one of the things I find most irresistible about you.”

  Julie’s eyes lit up and I saw her blush. She put her head down and smiled weakly. The confident woman I saw a moment ago had withdrawn into a shy, young lady. I wanted to comfort her, hold her, and tell her that I would make sure that everything would be alright for her. Nothing bad would happen to her on my watch; that I could assure her. In fact, if she’d asked for it, I would have given her the moon right then. I existed for her desires. My heart, my body, and my soul were all yearning for her.

  Why did this have to happen right now? Why did I have to feel this strongly for Julie? It was dredging up a lot of old feelings, but I decided I was not going to be a slave to them. I deserved to move on and strive for happiness.