When I pulled the front door open, the guard was gone. Good, no creeping was required. I just needed to make it back up the snowy path to the main house and give everyone a piece of my mind. Then I would hop on the little shuttle bus they’d hired for the night to take those employees back in town who’d opted not to drive. I had driven but knew that I wasn’t in any condition to do so now. I’d just have to return for my car the next day.
Part of the decision to hire the bus was to ensure that if people wanted to drink, they didn’t have to drive.
“Slow, but steady, Noelle. You can’t fall in this snow and ruin a four-hundred-dollar pair of shoes,” I warned myself.
The trip back up the path to the house appeared to take longer than the journey from the house to the cottage. It didn’t matter that I was upside down beating against Marc Easton’s big muscular back when I’d been brought out here. The only thing that mattered now was that I’d made it, and I was thankful.
I walked up to the double glass doors and stared at the handmade wreaths hanging there.
I was certain they were from Claire’s Floral Shop. I needed a wreath like that for my door. We were fifteen days out from Christmas, and I had no wreath or tree.
The thought of that brought tears to my eyes. And if I didn’t have a job, there would be no tree or presents. I still needed to shop for gifts for my parents and my best friends, Holly and Ari.
Those thoughts brought more tears to my eyes. By the time I pulled the doors open that he’d exited from earlier, I was a sad drunk, sobbing and boohooing at the thought I was a replica of my father. He’d been a wretched drunk before he finally got sober.
I noticed the house was much quieter than before. Gone was the Christmas music and the drunken party-goers who sang loudly with it.
A few servers remained, but no longer did they stand quietly in corners with a tray in their hands. Instead, they hustled and bustled about cleaning up the remnants of the party.
The Christmas lights still twinkled around the house, giving it a festive air.
“Excuse me,” I said to a female server who seemed to be swaying left and right. Why couldn’t her ass just be still? Why were there two of her now?
I swiped at my eyes. “Have you seen Tucker?”
Shit, I noticed my voice changed a lot. Was I slurring my words still?
“Who?”
“Tucker. Tucker Timbers? The asshole who’s in charge of the company you guys hosted this party for?”
“No. No ma’am. But I can get Mr. Easton if you’d like?”
Why was she looking at me all strange and shit?
“I don’t want him. I want Tucker or Anya.”
Shaking her head, she said, “Sorry, ma’am. I can’t help you.”
I watched as she hurried away from me, her attention already appearing to be elsewhere. I walked through the house some more, looking for Tucker. It seemed as if pretty much everyone had left. I hoped he and Anya were still around. All I needed was to give them a piece of my mind.
Their asses were probably in a bedroom somewhere. I’d find them and show them a thing or two.
But first, I needed to make it to the restroom. The topsy-turvy roiling of my stomach and the pounding of my head were in sync with one another. I was going to throw up pretty soon, of that I was sure.
But what was worse was I was starting to feel dizzy. That was a first. Maybe I’d had too much to drink. Usually, I could hold my liquor pretty well.
I could worry about all of that later; I needed a toilet or sink! It was too difficult to jog in heels when I was sober; I really couldn’t do it now that I was drunk. Not to mention the quicker I moved, the dizzier I became.
Turning a corner, I was thankful that I only had a few feet to go before making it to a restroom I’d used earlier. Unfortunately, someone chose that moment to round the corner, as well, and bump into me.
There went the dinner we’d been served earlier, along with the hors d’oeuvres I’d polished off, followed by all that liquor.
Oh gosh, this was horrible. Never had I felt like my insides had crawled to my outside. And then, blackness.
2 – AN ANGEL
Gahdamn! Of all the luck! How the hell I’d forgotten about that crazy woman, I don’t know.
Now she’d thrown up on my suit and shoes. Not that I cared about the clothing that much, but I didn’t have time to shower and change. I needed to make sure the servers finished their duties, and my house was clear.
I hated that I’d offered to host this damned Christmas party every year. But it was one of the things the marketing company I’d hired suggested my security firm do. Nice things for my clients and nicer things for my big clients.
Christmas gifts were fine for some of the smaller clientele, but Timbers Pharmaceuticals was my biggest contract. And Gregory Timbers, the founder, and CEO, deserved nothing but the best. And not because I was a kiss-ass, but because I respected the man and had worked for him in the past. We developed a good relationship, and he and my father were old friends.
His son, Tucker, on the other hand. Certified, class A jerk. An obnoxious asshole who was full of himself. But as it stood, that’s who I had to work with now that Gregory had taken an inactive role as the CEO of the company and given most of the responsibility to Tucker. It was Tucker who decided if the contracts would be renewed or not.
According to the marketing team, I needed to remain remarkable in their heads so they’d renew the contracts; that was the goal. Hence, the Christmas party.
Hence the drunken woman who was bleary-eyed and wobbly and now...Shit! I caught her just before she fell to the ground flat on her face. It was bad enough that she was drunk, but now she was drunk and dead to the world.
Blowing out a breath, I slowly lowered her to the ground as I thought about how to resolve the situation.
All of the Timbers Pharmaceutical staff had left for the night, along with all of my security detail. Only a few servers remained in attendance.
Wait! What about Foster? He was the one assigned to watching her at the cottage. How the hell did she get past him?
“Foster!” I called into my mic.
“Yeah, boss?”
“Where are you?”
“Uh...driving towards I-9, heading home.”
“The hell? What about the woman you were supposed to guard?”
“Well, I told Maxwell to watch over her.”
“The fuck! You don’t reassign someone without checking with me first. You know that. I saw Maxwell drive off twenty minutes ago. I need you to turn around and come back. I’ve got a situation.”
“Uh...I can’t do that. I’ve got a situation, too, boss. Megan is in labor.”
“Shit!” I groaned.
“I know. Wish I was already there with her. As it is, I’ll probably have to meet her at the hospital.”
“All right. Go ahead and get there for your wife and baby. Be safe, Foster.”
“Will do, boss.”
I clicked off the mic and groaned. What the hell was I going to do now? I had a drunk woman on my hands that I had no idea what to do with.
“Um, Mr. Easton, we’re finished, and the three of us are heading out for the night,” one of the servers said.
I looked up at the young guy and groaned. There wasn’t anything they could do to assist. I’d sent the caterer home almost an hour ago because they’d done such a great job. The only thing left was the cleanup, and I was fairly certain that would go smoothly. Besides, what could these young teens do to help me, anyway?
I looked down at the woman in my arms. Not a good position to be in. Not a good look at all, having a drunk woman in your arms passed out.
“Well, could you...”
He’d disappeared in no time at all. I was on my own.
Sighing, I sat still for a few moments longer until I came up with a plan. The only thing I knew to do was return her to my guest house. She could sleep it off in the cottage and head home in the morning.
I’d seen her around the offices of Timbers Pharmaceutical. I’d always noticed the energy between her and Tucker was different and wondered if something was going on. But I wasn’t paid to wonder but protect, so I’d pushed those thoughts away, along with any ideas about her.
She was always composed and professional, nothing like the woman that showed up at my house this evening. Come to think of it, she wasn’t the same toward the end of the evening as she was at the beginning. I suspected it had something to do with that announcement Tucker made about his new wife.
Looking down at this woman lying almost lifeless in my arms, I couldn’t erase the thoughts taking over my head. Thick, plump full lips dusted with traces of pink, probably from a lipstick she’d worn. A matching blush highlighted the apples of her high cheekbones. Her face in repose was much calmer than it had been just minutes ago.
Golden bronze skin was slightly pale from all the vomiting and drinking. Yet, despite that, a glow from the moonlight shone on her, highlighting her beauty, giving her the appearance of an angelic being. How ironic when she’d just acted like the devil.
But still...she was beautiful. A woman who I might not mind knowing under difference circumstances.
With my focus on my business and the weight of the grief I’d been carrying, it was difficult to find love. Not that I was interested in it, anyway. I couldn’t fathom losing someone else who’d meant the world to me. But that didn’t mean I didn’t want someone to love. Eventually.
I stumbled in the snow with that thought, trying desperately to push it aside. I chalked it up to the Christmas season. I was just sentimental, was all.
And lonely.
I shifted her weight in my arms. She was a curvy woman but felt featherweight in my arms, even in her drunken state.
I’d heard the words she’d exchanged with Timbers. There was no doubt in my mind that he’d played games with this woman. I wasn’t sure exactly what all transpired, but I knew that he was involved with her, and he was a married man.
My lack of respect for Timbers wasn’t because he cheated on his new wife, although that didn’t help. I lacked respect for him because he lacked it for others. The man was obnoxious, arrogant, and rude. Not to mention a liar, and I trusted nothing about him. He was the complete opposite of his father, but I still had to do business with him.
Juggling the woman in my arms, I fiddled with the doorknob of the cottage until it opened.
“Hunh,” I said aloud. “How the hell do I have a strange woman in my cottage, and I don’t even know her name? And I’m not even the one that’s drunk this time,” I muttered.
There’d been a time or two when I woke up with a strange woman in my bed in the past. But this wasn’t one of those times. And usually, that bed was a hotel bed, not my home.
I seldom allowed anyone up here at my cabin. Last year when I’d hosted the party we held it at a conference center. Unfortunately, this year we’d waited until the last minute to call-in reservations. That, too, was a result of Timbers.
He’d declined the offer to have the party stating the company was doing something different this year. Then a week before the date, he called to say they’d love to have the party. My assistant had gone crazy, trying to pull it all together. But Kate had done a wonderful job, and I’d made sure I put a little extra something in her Christmas bonus.
Making my way back to the bedroom, I gently lay her on the bed. I wasn’t worried about waking her because she was out of it. But I didn’t want her to get sick and throw up on me again.
Carefully I removed her coat, and she didn’t budge. I removed her shoes and jostled her around on the bed to get her into the perfect position to cover her with a blanket. Once she was no longer in my arms, I maneuvered the covers around her and covered her up so she could get a good night’s rest.
That was another problem. I decided I’d have to spend the night at the cottage. She would need someone to watch over her throughout the night. If she vomited in her sleep and drowned in her vomit, I’d feel responsible.
It was bad enough that she’d passed out on me after throwing up, and there were witnesses to her drunken state in my arms. But being left alone here with her like this, I didn’t need any unwarranted questions or investigations.
I cursed myself for allowing Tucker Timbers to put me in this situation. If it weren’t for him, I’d be here at my cabin alone the way I was supposed to. Not only was I not alone, but I’d compromised my privacy. Before tonight, no one knew where I lived except two of my staff, Foster and Richardson. Now an entire company of folks, er...executive, and senior management, anyway, knew where I lived.
Guilt weighed down on me as I grabbed her purse and held it. I’d never gone through a woman’s purse before. Not even my mother when she’d send me to get her wallet. I’d just bring the purse to her so she could remove her wallet.
Tonight was anything but normal circumstances. Blowing out a breath, I opened the tiny little purse. I wondered briefly if she was one of those women that carried those big bags on her arm when she wasn’t at a party.
There was a cardholder inside of her purse. I flipped straight to her license, choosing not to look at anything else. The last thing I wanted was to get too far into her personal life and learn anything else about her that I had no business knowing.
Noelle Riley. That’s right, I recalled that she had a name synonymous with Christmas, but I couldn’t remember it before. May seventeenth. She was thirty-four years old and lived on Oakridge? That was downtown, not far from the firm.
Hmm. I tucked the license away again. I’d gained the information I wanted, her name, and then a bit more, her age and address.
Walking back into the living room, I headed straight for the bar. I hadn’t taken a single drink all night because I was technically on duty, although I was the host.
I needed something after the night I’d had. Tucker’s wife, Anya, blew up at him and threw a drink in his face. She’d spewed a string of curse words about being humiliated by “trash.” Two people who’d driven were too drunk to drive home, and we’d had to help maneuver them into the shuttle bus I’d arranged. One of the servers was caught stealing from one of the guest’s purse, and there was a fight between someone’s husband and a supervisor.
This was not turning out to be a very Merry Christmas. And now I had a drunk woman in the guest bedroom of my cottage.
I just needed to make it through the night, and I could get her out of here and back to my life. But first, I needed to take a shower and change, so I could return and watch over her throughout the night.
3 – WINTRY WONDERLAND
Who the hell was banging on the wall? They needed to stop because my head couldn’t take anymore. I shifted in the bed and frowned.
Why was I still dressed? And why the hell was my mouth so grimy?
Oh! The Christmas party. That was a bust. I’d cursed out Tucker and outed him. Damn! I’d had way too many drinks if I actually found the courage to say how I felt.
Did I still have a job? I rolled over to reach for my phone on my nightstand.
Where the hell was my pink and white nightstand? An oak nightstand to my right held a vase with a candle. A little wreath around the rim of the vase had a tiny red bow. Behind that was one poinsettia.
I hadn’t decorated my bedroom; as a matter of fact, I hadn’t decorated my house.
Where the hell was I?
Sitting up in bed, I looked around at the room.
An Indian handcrafted rug covered most of the wooden floor. There was an oak chair positioned in the center of the carpet but near the foot of the bed at an angle. A cushion that matched the rug was tossed haphazardly in the seat of the chair. Pictures of Lake Glacier hung on the walls. I could tell they were taken at different periods over the years.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed, wondering where
my shoes were. This room was reminiscent of the cottage I’d been banished to the night before, but I remembered leaving it and heading to the big house.
What the hell happened after that? I couldn’t recall. I sat on the side of the bed, trying to remember the events of the night before, but my head hurt too badly.
My stomach turned again, and I jumped up and ran to a closed door in the room that I hoped was the bathroom. Jerking it open, I found that it was, and I let the contents of the night before come forth.
My throat burned, and tears stung my eyes as my stomach turned inside out. Everything that I’d consumed was coming up and burned my stomach.
I held on tightly to the edges of the sink, trying to regain my composure. Wobbly on my feet, I closed my eyes, waiting for the next wave. When it came, it caused me to lift on my tiptoes. I vomited until nothing remained.
Turning on the water, I washed everything down the sink.
“Are you okay?”
The man’s voice with its rich, rumbling timbre ran something through me.
I jumped at the unexpected appearance of someone in the bathroom other than myself. Glancing over my shoulder, I wiped my mouth and took in the visitor, looking at me over his shoulder.
Damn. It would be him. Marc Easton.
“Are you okay?” he repeated.
He repositioned his sweatpants before turning around to face me fully.
My eyes took him in from head to toe. Well, good morning, Mr. Easton, I thought, as I noticed how his sweatpants clung to him, protruding in certain places.
How I’d missed him in the bathroom taking a piss when I entered, I didn’t know, but damn. The man was packing.
“Up here, Miss Riley,” he said, pointing his fingers towards his eyes.
I blushed, having been caught checking out his shit.
“Are you okay?” he repeated.
“Do I look okay?” I rasped.
“I’ll get you something for that,” he said, disappearing as quickly as he’d appeared.
Noelle's Holiday Rebound: A BWWM Christmas Romance (A Glacier Hollow Christmas Romance Book 1) Page 2