The Christmas Secret

by Kristen Kelly

  “How so?”

  “I kept thinking about her fucking someone else. In a sense, she was. It got me angry ya know. I was a little...rough, if you know what I mean. Turned out she liked it, but what if she didn’t? I mean, yeah, Abby loved the rough stuff once, but we’d had to ease into that in our relationship. I doubt she’d go for straight BDSM with a total stranger. Unless she knew it was me? What if she didn’t know it was me? Did that mean she was over me? Over us. What if she never wanted to see me again?”

  Zachary flexed his lips. “Relax, man. Shit. This is why I don’t date anyone exclusively. “Fucks with your balls, man.”

  “You really think this could work? I have to get her back. I have to. No matter what.”

  I wasn’t a man who took no for an answer, but Abigail Williams was proving to be my most difficult merger yet. If I lost every penny of my fortune, dissolved every company I owned, had all my assets confiscated, nothing would compare to losing Abby. For good.

  I wanted...no...I needed her back in my life and in my heart, and I wouldn’t stop until I claimed her all over again. And when I did, I was never...ever...letting her go. “So what now?”

  “The way I see it,” Zac said. “The next date has to be way different than the last one. No more out of bounds sex. No more growling or rough play that could send her running home to Nebraska. Shit, now that I think about it, Abby must love you or she would have left screaming from that room.”

  “I don’t know what to believe, but I do know I scared her. At least a little.”

  “You have to woo her now.”

  “Woo her?”

  “Yeah. Put on the charm. Make her forget all about... Well you know. The asshole she married.”

  “Right,” I said with a droll tone of voice. “Wait. What?”

  Zac burst out laughing.

  “You are having way too much fun at my expense. Why do I even listen to—?”

  Before he could say anything more, there was a knock on the door and then a tentative squelching of hinges. “Mr. Remington...?” It was our newest hire, Laura. She obviously didn’t know the parameters about not disturbing the boss.

  “Come in,” I said, clearly annoyed. I’d have Zachary talk to her later. On second thought, maybe I’d spare her my right hand man’s roving eyes. He really was a lady killer and I wanted to keep this one on the payroll.

  “What is it, Miss...?” I asked.

  “Kelly. Laura Kelly.”

  “Okay. Miss Kelly. What can I do for you?”

  “Um...” She was about twenty-two with a high blonde ponytail and a nice petite figure hidden beneath an oversized Christmas sweater. “We’re taking up a collection...” she babbled. “And I’m elected to approach you about...about...”

  “Collection?”

  “Um, yeah. For Mrs. ...Um...Mrs. ...”

  “She’s Miss Williams now, Laura and it’s okay. I know it’s her birthday soon.”

  “Um, yeah. Yeah it is. Everyone thinks you should...bake the cake for her?” She lowered her eyes and bit her lip.

  I scratched my head. “You want me to bake her cake. Why don’t we just buy one like everyone else?”

  “Um, yeah. Okay. Um. I’ll tell Miss Charlotte that...” She turned to leave.

  “Wait,” I said. “When is the party? Is chocolate all right?”

  Chapter Eleven

  Chase

  Baking a cake was not one of my chairman of the board duties, nor was it something I’d ever thought necessary once I’d started making enough money, but for some strange reason, the people I called friends and advisors, including that rascal Zac, thought I should do this.

  For Abby.

  Everything for Abby. Everyone loved her and rightfully so. She was sweet, kind, and didn’t possess a mean bone in her entire body. Me, however. I was just a bastard for breaking her heart. Or so I’d been told.

  I wasn’t a cook and I didn’t know the first thing about baking. Even less about women, or what made them tick. Still, it wouldn’t hurt to pick up a box and a can of frosting, right?

  I’d always known how to flirt with the opposite sex and what to do with them once I got them, but making them happy, well going by my track record, I wasn’t so good in that department. I was willing to learn though. I’d do anything if it meant getting my wife back. Since our little liaison in her office, she’d been staying as far away from me as possible. At least that’s what she thought. Little did she know I’d been tasting her sweet juices three or four times a week.

  “I hope I don’t poison anyone,” I said to Brutus, my large Siberian husky. He waited patiently by my feet, probably hoping for some crumbs while I added the last layer of frosting to the triple-decker German, chocolate birthday cake. “Because some of those people I rely on, know what I mean?” I licked the spoon, and congratulated myself on the canned peanut butter frosting I’d picked out, having chosen from over six different brands. I wasn’t exactly cheating. The cake was homemade and so would be the decorations. Well, sort of. At least, it would be my own design.

  I threw the beater blades, wooden spoon, and scraper into the empty metal bowl, and set it in the sink. Took me a little while to locate the damn things. Seemed Phyllis, the cook I’d hired, had them hidden in a closet I never opened.

  I filled it with hot, soapy water.

  Brutus barked and wagged his tail. His tongue dripped saliva all over my black and white tiled floor.

  “This isn’t for you, boy,” I said, still licking one of the spoons. I reached into a cookie jar and threw him a dog biscuit. The big, hairy beast looked down and then up. He had the most sorrowful big eyes I’d ever seen on a pooch.

  “Sorry, buddy. Chocolate no good for doggies.”

  Brutus hung his head and then chomped up the biscuit anyway, littering the floor with wet, sticky drool and cookie crumbs.

  I debated about whether to write on the cake, or use the candy letters I’d purchased from Walmart. Deciding my writing would probably suck, I opted for the letters and then wrote out happy birthday Abby. Then I stood back to view my creation.

  “Not bad,” I told Brutus. “Looks pretty good I’d say.”

  Brutus was still looking at me with that starving doggie look. “Not my fault dogs can’t have chocolate,” I explained. “How about this instead?” I threw him one of the sugar roses, thinking they had to be better for dogs than chocolate.

  “Voila!” I said after adding the store-bought red and white roses in a circle all around the edge. “She’s gonna love it.” I was feeling proud and my chest puffed up several inches.

  “Hey, maybe I should incorporate cakes into our Friday afternoon meetings.” I laughed. “Nah. It wasn’t that much fun.” I rustled through the cupboard for something to place the cake on and noticed the crystal cake stand. I looked back at the cake. “Too small,” I muttered, but it got me to thinking.

  Our wedding had been small too. Intimate I’d called it. Without much fanfare, and then I’d rushed off to London the next morning. Abby said all she cared about was marrying me, that she didn’t need a big fancy wedding, but I knew it wasn’t the truth. Not that she needed a lot of glitz, that wasn’t Abby, but she sure didn’t want me leaving her for two weeks following our nuptials. What bride would? She could have come with me, but there were so many details needing attention for this big merger I was working on, a merger that seemed to take every waking moment of my time for six long months. She probably didn’t realize it was going to become a pattern, but she didn’t say anything about feeling neglected so I carried on.

  In the beginning we kept in contact by phone. After all, she was my assistant and there were things I needed to talk with her about. After awhile, I realized Abby’s strengths lay mostly on the home front, completely opposite of what I’d hired her for, so I’d changed her position, giving her previous title of personal assistant to my ex-wife. Now that was the mistake of the century, but by the time I’d learned what an idiot I was, it was too late.

&n
bsp; BY THURSDAY, THE COMPANY was buzzing with excitement. Everyone was in on Abby’s surprise birthday party.

  Everyone except Abby.

  Or so I thought.

  I pushed the button for Abby’s office and spoke into the intercom. “Abigail?”

  No answer, but I knew she was there.

  “Mandatory staff meeting Friday afternoon at five.”

  “I have plans,” I heard her say.

  “Break them.”

  “I...I can’t.”

  “Did you not hear the mandatory part? I said, break them. Oh, and it’s by the pool. In the penthouse.”

  Silence.

  “With dinner,” I added.

  She let out an exasperated breath.

  “I’ll see if I can change my plans but no promises.”

  “Just be there,” I ordered. “Or did you forget who signs your check?” That last part was uncalled for, but I didn’t know what else to say to make sure she showed up. It was obvious my little seduction scene would not have a repeat performance. If only I could remove that damn mask.

  Chapter Twelve

  Abby

  After Chase’s authoritative declaration, I immediately got on the phone with Charlotte.

  “Did you hear about the mandatory staff meeting that asshole just threw at us on the spur of the moment? Tomorrow! Fucking tomorrow. Can you believe him? Some of us have lives. Some of us have plans. And besides, it’s my damn birthday and I wanted to spend the night with Steve,” I complained. “I bet he doesn’t even remember it’s my birthday.”

  “Yeah, tough break. Anyway, you still have the rest of the weekend.”

  I groaned. “Not like it matters anyway. I never told Steve it was my birthday but still.”

  “He still wearing that mask?” Charlotte asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Isn’t that a bit...weird? Don’t you want him to take it off?”

  “Sure I do, but I’m afraid too. Maybe he’s like the Phantom of the Opera under there, ya know. What if he’s been in an accident or something? Maybe it will ruin this romantic fantasy we have going on.”

  “I have to admit, it is pretty hot.”

  “Anyway, what’s all this about a meeting? I’m the one that schedules all of them and I did not see this one on the list.”

  “How do I know? I’m only there in the evening. Maybe we’re getting bonuses again.”

  “Well, he can’t just order me around. I think I’ll going blow it off. Teach him a lesson.”

  “You can’t!”

  “Of course I can. This isn’t Russia!”

  “I mean, yeah, you can, but do you really want to? I mean, he did say it was mandatory, Ab. Sounded pretty important to me.”

  “Ha! Trust me, nothing that man can say would be so important that he can’t fill me in on Monday morning. He probably just wants to gloat about our latest acquisition or the stock increases, and to be honest, I don’t give a damn.”

  “Could be something else, Ab.”

  “I doubt it. The only thing he thinks about is profit. Why do you think we’re divorced?”

  “But...Um...You can’t make me go to it alone.”

  “So blow it off too. I’ll call Steve and maybe we can double. He must have some friends. That would be fun, right?”

  “Did you even make plans with Steve for Friday night?”

  “Not yet but...”

  “So, we’ll go to the meeting, eat some good food and then call it a night. As long as we make an appearance. You can pretend you have cramps or. Or whatever. Please. Maybe you can afford to ruffle a few feathers on the boss, but I’m still on probation. I need this job.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “Okay, Abby, confess. The real reason you don’t want to go is you don’t want to see Chase. Well, you work for the man and you don’t plan on quitting, so you need to look at his mug sooner or later. So suck it up, sister.”

  “It’s not that. Well, it is but...I kind of did something stupid.”

  “Like what?”

  “I sort of got his hopes up a few weeks back and now that I’m seeing Steve...”

  “Abby, it’s a business meeting. Not an orgy!”

  “I know but...”

  “Okay, I didn’t want to tell you this, but it’s a surprise.”

  “A surprise?”

  “Yeah. For you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yup, and your asshole boss...” She made quotes in the air. “He planned the whole thing, Abby.”

  “Oh, God.”

  “So it would be mean to not show up at your own birthday party.”

  “Okay, I guess I have no choice, but just this once and we are not getting back together no matter what he tells you.”

  SNATCHING A FLUTE OF champagne off a passing tray, I drained the glass. Expensive drinks definitely had their advantages. This was not like Charlotte’s cheap, Lombroso that gave me such a whopping headache a few weeks back. I’d never been so sick in my life. You’d think I would learn, but I didn’t. I’d already had three or was it four?

  The whole afternoon I’d been so nervous about seeing Chase again—I’d managed to avoid him after that whole seduction scene—but I’d never actually forgotten. I’d emailed the same clients three times, forgot to meet Charlotte for lunch, and I’d worn mismatched shoes to work. It wasn’t that I hated Chase, or even disliked him. On the contrary, he was a man who had many admirers. One of them was me.

  Chase was an amazing man. He had this knack for looking into someone’s eyes, and know exactly what they were thinking. A very useful trait in business with competitors, but not something I preferred he entertain with me.

  Especially right now when all I could think about was Steve and how to convince him without damaging his ego that rougher sex was the way to go. I craved being dominated, loved having a man call the shots in our lovemaking, and tried not to admit that Chase was one up on poor, misguided Steve. I could not let Chase know this, however. Nor did I want him to know about Steve. He likely already did, but he didn’t need to know my true feelings. Not yet. Even though we were divorced he’d told me he still loved me. I didn’t want to hurt him. Or maybe I did. I was so confused these days.

  I leaned back in my seat, admiring the decorations around the pool of the penthouse on the sixteenth floor. There was a glass ceiling and it opened up into a brightly lit room with all kinds of plants and orchids with soft comfy chairs decorated with palm fronds and tables along the outskirts of the walls. I loved that room and the pool as well. Two years ago, I’d remarked to Chase how much I liked swimming, and wasn’t it a shame we couldn’t swim in the winter so he’d had the pool put in. That was the day he’d claimed a piece of my heart.

  Tonight, Chase had gone all out, with candles everywhere, escargot and canapés that were to die for. He’d even rented swans to swim in the pool. Swans, for God’s sake! What kind of man does that for his ex-wife? When I heard how he’d made the cake with his own two hands, my heart melted into a puddle.

  “I can’t believe you did all this,” I said, noting how his eyes seemed to glitter in the moonlight. He didn’t respond, just looked around the room before he met my eyes again and said, “I heard you were thinking about not coming.”

  “I...”

  He put a finger to my lips.

  “It’s okay. I get it. You wanted to spend your birthday with...him.”

  “How did you—? Yes.” My face heated as guilt spread through me. “I’m sorry.”

  He shrugged. “It’s okay, Abby. I couldn’t expect you to be single forever. You’re a wonderful woman. Some man was bound to notice that.” He didn’t seem too awful sad about me seeing another man, which in a way, made me sad.

  “I’m sorry,” I repeated.

  Why did I keep apologizing? We were divorced. Naturally, one of us would start dating sooner or later. I just hadn’t thought it would be me.

  “I’m happy for you, Abby.”

  “Are you? I though
t you’d be... upset. Or something.”

  “Nope. Not upset, as long as he treats you right. I’d like to meet him if that’s okay.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

  His eyes narrowed. “At least let me do a background check on the guy. I do still care about you, and who knows maybe we could be friends. What are his interests?”

  “Interests?”

  I suddenly realized I knew very little about Steve except he liked romantic legends and made me feel sexy and wanted. At the time, that had been enough.

  “Yeah. Maybe we have something in common besides the fact we both... Never mind.” He took out a pad and pen from his pocket. “What’s his name anyway?”

  “Name?”

  “I told you I want to run a check on the guy.”

  “Um, I don’t think so,” I said, indignant.

  He reacted with a smug smile.

  What the hell!

  “Can we talk about something else? Because it’s really none of your business.”

  Chase threw up a shoulder. “Just looking out for you, Abigail, but if you don’t know this guy well enough to share anything about him then...”

  “I...I love him. Is that what you want to hear? There. I said it.”

  To my surprise, Chase scratched his chin, but his face remained stoic.

  “Okay,” he finally said, and that was that. No, ‘are you sure you’re making the right call here?” Not another word, which I found odd since less than two weeks ago, he’d told me he still loved me.

  After eating the best chocolate cake ever, and a few more glasses of champagne, I dismissed all negativity from my brain.

  The rest of the evening went remarkably well.

  I’d never laughed so much and I needed that. Big time. Chase regaled me with stories of how when he was eighteen, he’d tripped over his dog and landed in the pool while carrying his dad’s birthday cake, right before the whole table of refreshments fell in as well.

  “I really hated delivering mail, but my father thought it was the best way to introduce me to the business. I’d planned his birthday so I could show him I was capable of more, but of course it was the birthday from hell.”