by Holly Rayner
Which meant she had plenty of time to do up her cubicle exactly as she liked it.
Forty-five minutes later, not only had Adison eaten lunch, but her work space was near perfect. With a red and green garland strung around the cubicle’s perimeter, an advent calendar next to her computer, and a stuffed Santa sitting in the corner, it was beginning to look a whole lot like Christmas.
She’d pick up a poinsettia or two when she had the chance, and maybe a little tree.
Yeah, she definitely needed a mini Christmas tree.
Satisfied, she settled back into her chair as the elevator doors opened and people started spilling back in.
“Hey.” Jazzie unlooped her scarf. “I was going to ask if you wanted to go to the deli, but you weren’t at your desk.”
“That was thoughtful of you! Thank you. I ran down to my car to get these.” Adison nodded her head and gave a flourish with her arm, smiling at her lunchtime handiwork.
Jazzie’s eyes widened at the Christmas decorations. “Oh. Wow.”
“I figured the place could use a bit of cheer.” Adison bit into her smile. “I noticed there are no holiday decorations around here, even with Thanksgiving in three days.”
“About that…” Jazzie’s gaze slid to the side, locking on someone approaching the other side of Adison’s cubicle.
Spinning her chair around, Adison found a tall, dark-haired man approaching. He caught Adison’s eyes, and it was like a magnetic force pulled all her attention to him. Perfection in a tailor-made suit walked directly toward her.
The man opened his mouth, about to speak to her, but then he clamped his mouth shut as if he had changed his mind.
Jazzie cleared her throat. “Hi, Mr. Montoya.”
Mr. Montoya?
As in Ken Montoya, the founder of the Montoya Foundation? The billionaire who had made a killing in investing during his mid-twenties, then switched gears and shifted to a career in philanthropy? At thirty-five, he was one of the most successful people on the East Coast.
Human resources had hired Adison, and during her two visits to the office for interviews, she hadn’t once seen Mr. Montoya. Wanting to learn everything she could about her prospective employer, she’d of course read up on him—but none of the stuffy business photos she’d seen online did justice to the demigod that stood before her now.
“How are you, Jazzie?” he asked with a curt nod. “And you’re Adison Hale, I take it. Our new charity administrator.”
Adison struggled to find her voice. Her pulse was racing, and she couldn’t get it under control. “Yes, sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
His eyes flicked to the advent calendar. “What’s that?”
“A calendar counting down the days till Christmas. See?” She rolled her chair over and flipped open the first flap, which revealed a little piece of chocolate in the shape of a candy cane. She popped the chocolate out and handed it to Mr. Montoya.
He held it between his thumb and forefinger, thick eyebrows knitting together and a frown pulling on his lips.
Adison’s cheeks warmed. “You know what? I think that’s from last year. It’s probably bad now, anyway.”
She plucked the chocolate from his hand and tossed it in the trash can under her desk. Still, he continued to frown.
Panic overtook Adison. Clearly, she was messing up somehow. If only she knew what she’d done wrong, she’d be able to fix it.
Ken Montoya took a step away from her cubicle. “It was good to meet you. I look forward to working together.”
He gave both women another nod of his head before turning and going through the double doors located at the other end of the open space. These Adison hadn’t been through, and if the boss had access to them, she was willing to bet most people didn’t.
She sighed. “Did I just mess up? He doesn’t seem to like me.”
“It’s not you.” Jazzie rolled her eyes. “Ken is a nice enough guy, but he hates Christmas. And I mean hate with a capital ‘H.’”
“Why?” Adison was aware her mouth was hanging open, but she couldn’t seem to get it shut. Who hated Christmas? Not celebrating it was one thing. Preferring other holidays was also understandable. But why hate a day that brought the world so much joy?
Jazzie shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Is that why there are no decorations around the office?” Adison whispered, afraid she’d already broken some unspoken rule.
“He’s never explicitly told us not to decorate the place, but…” Jazzie trailed off.
“Gotcha.” Adison bit her bottom lip. She certainly didn’t want to get on the boss’s bad side.
She also didn’t want to take the decorations down, though. Not only did they bring her joy, she was certain they would do the same for at least one other person in the office.
“If I kept them up,” she said, “do you think that would cause any problems?”
“I don’t think so. It might start some waves, sure, but no earthquakes.” Jazzie winked.
Then it was settled. The decorations stayed.
Jazzie went back to her desk several cubicles down, and Adison did her best to focus on work. All afternoon, though, her mind kept coming back to the expression on Ken Montoya’s face when he saw her decorations. For lack of a better expression, he looked like he’d been told Christmas was canceled.
It made no sense, but it was also none of her business. Everyone was entitled to their own opinion. Still, the man’s frown stayed on her mind.
Or was it him in general she kept thinking about? Just his physicality had been a shock. With his strong jaw, high cheekbones, and straight nose, he looked more like he belonged on the pages of a magazine than in an office.
Not that she should have been noticing. She had a boyfriend, and Mr. Montoya was her boss. There were so many other things she needed to think about.
Like work. And where she might be able to find poinsettias on her way home.
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