My present reality is I don’t get many PR packages from companies that want me to review their products on my vlog tutorials and I damn sure never ever, ever get anything from someone as big and incredible, or as well-known as Trinity Sykes.
But here it is.
Her collection that she ripped off from Meredith and Guru Girl. I marvel at how stunning it is because, damn it, the thing is like a fine piece of art. It’s more than makeup, it’s more than just stuff to put on my face, it’s everything. It’s perfect. It’s what I get off on as an artist, seeing this beautiful box full of ideas and colors brought to life, complete with a story that is clearly defined.
Holy candy cane lip gloss.
“Why does this look so incredible?” I mumble, pulling the palette out of the box.
Bianca smooths her hand over the glossy ice-blue box embedded with white glittery flakes of fake snow.
“Looks better than Meredith’s Frostbitten.” That was Bianca. She’s bold like that. “I’m just saying, Ginger. You know I have to keep it real.”
“She stole this idea, Bianca. But...how the hell is it so much better? Like everything is just better quality, better looking, better feeling. Damn it, feel the paper alone she used to wrap everything in. This is custom for this kit. This isn’t what something knock-off feels like. Every piece would take months to design and put together.”
“What are you suggesting?” Bianca holds her hands over her mouth. And then squeals like a little pig. “This is piping hot tea!”
“Please stop saying that.” I roll my eyes and laugh a little. “I’m probably just sleep deprived and not thinking clearly. There is no way Meredith would ever copy someone. She’s a legend. An icon.”
I slide the package back to Bianca. “Merry early Christmas, Bianca.”
“Really?” This makes her day. She even leaves me alone about the whole birthday party thing.
But, there’s still booze and cake. Thankfully. We dive into both at warp speed. I’m shoveling huge bites of cake into my mouth letting the vanilla frosting swirl across my taste buds as she asks about Everest. I nearly choke.
“That good, huh?” She giggles.
I clear my throat and sip a long swig of wine. “Doesn’t matter. He wants to date my boss.”
Her eyes widen like saucers. “Are you shitting me?”
“I wish.” Wait, what? I shake my head. “I mean... it’s whatever. I don’t even know him.”
She hops up on her knees and faces me on the couch. She’s applied the blue frosty color of Trinity’s winter collection to her lids and that color mixed with her platinum blonde hair gives me serious Elsa from Frozen vibes, which only makes me laugh as she tries to have a serious convo with me about this whole Everest ordeal. And yes, it’s an ordeal.
“G, you can’t just make out with some random guy in an elevator and then say it’s no big deal.”
“Why the hell not? It’s my life. It was a moment and now it’s over. I’m good. I am soooo gooood.”
She lights up like a Christmas tree. “Because this is everything. You haven’t even talked about a guy, let alone made out with one, in months.”
“Thank you for reminding me of my desolate and uber depressing life.” I swig directly from the wine bottle. “God, he was so damn hot. And hard.”
She bursts out laughing. And so do I.
“I knew you loved it.”
“His mouth, his hands, his eyes...oh my gosh. His eyes are amazing. Green gemstones. And his smile is like a dream come true. Like a badass version of a Ken doll with an actual dick.”
“But he wants Meredith? Ew. Why? I mean, she’s pretty and all, and I get the whole she’s rich thing, but yuck, is he just a gold digger or something?”
I slap my forehead. “Thank you, Bianca, for reminding me of my poorness.”
“I just don’t get it. That’s all I’m saying. And why make out with you first?”
“I. . .I don’t know.” My head hurts.
“Maybe, it’ll be good though. I mean, she’s such a bitch.”
“Are you suggesting I let this guy try to date her and whatever else, just to have a better, nicer boss?”
She nods with a smile. “We can always do a background check.” She hops up and sprints for her laptop. “We’ll make sure he’s not a serial killer or something horrible, and then we’ll decide.”
I roll off the couch right onto the floor where she parks her little detective self. “What has my life become?”
“Epic.” She laughs, typing at warp speed as she finds a place to do this thing. “Now. . .what’s his full name?”
Fuck.
I take a swig of wine and stare at the blinking cursor on the screen, waiting for me to give up the goods.
Five
Everest
Breathe. That’s my motto for today. Breathe.
I stand outside the office doors of Guru Girl, waiting to make my move. Inside of my black dress pant’s pocket my phone keeps vibrating, because my boss Hunter wants to know what the fuck is up. I’ve been avoiding him on purpose. I need to stay focused, and I really need to stay in character. This week’s going to be hell.
The door to Meredith’s office is hot pink and emblazoned with her signature logo for Guru Girl with the same double G’s right in the middle. Which makes me twelve again, and inside my head thinks of every dirty joke regarding double D’s and G’s and well…you get it. I’ll spare you the rest. Besides, I’m much more refined than my teenage self these days, with one exception—I feel like I’ve got a serious crush on a certain redheaded beauty. Unfortunately, she’s also behind this door. Doubly (no pun intended) unfortunately, she’s not the person I’m here for today. Although, once I open the door, I wish I was.
Damn. Ginger sits at her hot pink desk looking like a goddess. A fucking goddess. She’s undeniable. A ten. A girl with a great body is all good and everything, but damn I love a girl with a great set of eyes. Stop it. I’m not telling more juvenile jokes. I told you.
Ginger Darling has an incredible set of electric blue eyes that scream and demand attention. The fact she’s also this amazing little make-up artist that knows exactly how to frame them in warm caramel tones that really make them...just fucking amazing. I’m honestly a bit in awe and it’s unsettling. I’m never in awe. So, I breathe.
Fucking breeeeathe.
She spots me as she looks up to take a sip of her iced coffee. For a moment, there’s something in her features that shifts, almost like she’s happy to see me, but it quickly fades and turns into the all business route. “Can I help you?”
I play it cool. “I’m here to pick up Meredith for our lunch meeting.”
“Oh.” Ginger fumbles around her desk and it’s then that I notice what she’s up to. The pantone color swatch books. Storyboards. Ugh. She's creating something for Meredith.
I step closer as she swoops everything up into a neat pile and tries to act casual about it.
I lean on the desk a little, tapping my finger against the wood. Ginger glances up at me with her wide-eyed gaze, all innocent and sexy. Her lips could light a fire. My dick goes hard just thinking about those full glossy lips wrapped around it. The sounds she makes when she's turned on. Her breath on my face panting in ecstasy. Fuck. Breathe.
“Busy little bee, aren’t you?”
She blinks her long lashes. "Um, Meredith should be out soon if you have an appointment." She holds my attention as she flicks her eyes from mine to my mouth. Fuck. Did she just moan?
I lean a little closer and lower my voice.
"You really think I give a damn about seeing her right now?"
“Um...” She rises from her desk and gathers up a bunch of papers.
I still her hands and then say to her, “What’s wrong, Ginger?”
“Nothing. I’m just busy. You guessed it right. I’m just a busy little bee.”
“Your smile isn’t real.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t reach your eyes.
What’s really going on in that beautiful mind of yours?”
“I told you. I’m...just busy.”
“Still thinking about us in the elevator?”
“Look,” she says with a little sigh, “I don’t want to make things awkward. In fact, I think it’s great that you’re interested in Meredith. She needs a good man in her life.”
“Really?” I nearly laugh at her words. What would ever make her assume I am a good man? And why the hell would she want her boss to be happy after all the hell she has put everyone through?
“Yes, really. So please don’t make lunch weird. Let’s just get through it. Ok?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m her assistant. And that means I tag along on most of these kinds of things.”
“You’ve got to be shitting me.”
“I wish.”
My brow arches. “Do you?”
“Everest,” she says, but doesn’t continue.
We’re locked in each other’s eyes as time ticks on. What I wouldn’t give to just lift her on this desk and fuck her senselessly. Those long legs wrapped around my waist. Her sweet voice in my ear as I make her come. There would be no better Christmas gift than that. Dear Santa, I’ve been naughty, yes I know, but I’m trying to make up for it. Please leave Ginger Darling under my tree. Naked. With a big red bow. Sincerely, Everest Snow.
I put my hand under her chin and it’s all bets are off. We crash into each other and spiral out of control with a heated kiss that shoots straight to my dick. I’m so hard. My hands grab her ass, loving that she’s wearing a tight-fitting jumpsuit that feels like a second skin under my touch.
Ginger tastes like a candy cane today. It only heightens my Christmas fantasy to the next level.
I picture her in my mind sucking on the candy, taking a long piece of the stick into her mouth and slowly pulling it away, and then humming at the taste of it. I could nearly come just picturing it in my head as she roams her hands across my expensive suit jacket and moans in my mouth.
Her hot breath is across my face and all over me and I cannot handle this shit. I want her so fucking bad. I’m seconds away from tossing her tight little body on this messy desk of hers when I hear the creaking of a door.
We immediately pull apart and turn away, respectively trying to recover and hide the evidence of what we’ve just done.
It’s so naughty. Neither of us is getting shit from Santa. Let’s be real.
But fuck, her kiss is so worth being bad for.
Six
Ginger
I should be paying attention to what’s happening at lunch, but instead, I’m lost remembering what just happened in my office. Holy crap.
I nearly had sex with Everest on my desk. In my mind, all I wanted was for him to swipe his strong hand across the papers, send my work flying to the ground, and take me on that desk. I’m still wet thinking about it. And the worst part is, he’s here with us, smiling that perfect smile of his with all his glimmering super perfect white teeth and charm.
And instead of staring at me, challenging me to not want him with his eyes and sexy tone, he’s smiling that sexy ass smile at Meredith and acting very interested in everything she has to say, even though she’s mainly talking about herself.
Ugh, of course she is. He’s interviewing her.
Bianca and I found out that the name “Everest Snow” is a nothing burger. Yes, you heard me right. Nada. There’s literally not a damn thing on the internet about him. So, I’m highly suspicious about why he’s so interested in my boss. And me.
Or am I just a bar to leap over to get to her? I don’t know. But, holy nail polish, he turns me on so badly. And honestly? There isn’t anything about him that gives me bad vibes. I’m still drawn to him. I still crave him and fantasize about him.
What does he want with Guru Girl?
I made sure Meredith invited me to this meeting to keep an eye on him. That’s an easy enough task. He looks fucking amazing. He’s dressed in an expensive dark jacket and matching pants, looking dashing as ever with his dark hair in a chaotic mess that somehow he makes looks like a piece of art. And super sexy. He’s aggressively masculine from his sharp jawline to his broad shoulders and even with his jacket on, you can see what a killer body he has under those clothes.
I’ve felt his strength and power as we tangled ourselves up in those two hot moments we’ve shared. And now, thinking about them all over again is making me want to bite down on my linen napkin because I’m about to moan his name if I don’t.
I opt for filling my mouth with more wine instead. And as I take a sip, my eyes meet with Everest’s for a moment.
He keeps stealing glimpses of me every now and then, but turns all his charm back to Meredith, who seems pretty smitten with him. I mean, how could she not be?
I’m not going to get upset about this. I’m not going to let it ruin the fact that I will have my own collection soon. There are more important things in the world than hot sex, charming men, and love. Right? Right. So, I keep my chin high and smile as I drown myself in wine. Which is dumb. Because I’m now beyond tipsy.
The good news though? There’s now two Everests. And both of them look incredible.
“Jennifer, is the car waiting?” Meredith asks.
“Youuuuu bet your sweet ass it is.” I put my cell to my ear because I have not in fact remembered to call for the car. But I am now. Or was.
Everest leans across the table and carefully snatches my phone out of my hands.
“What the heck, snowman?”
“I’ll call for a car, Ginger.”
“Sure, steal my job too.” I swig another sip, but the glass is sadly empty. “Fitting.”
“Jennifer,” Meredith says, smoothing her hair back behind her ear in that pompous ass way she does things. “Watson tells me you haven’t signed our deal yet. Is there a problem?”
“Nope. No problem. No problemo. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Holy shimmering highlighter, there’s so many words that mean no. Wow.”
“Then maybe you should sign them now?” She ruffles through her Louis Vuitton, and then slides over a folder.
Everest’s hand tugs the folder away.
I glare up at him. “What’s with you stealing everything? This is Christmas. A time for giving.”
He hides a smirk. “I don’t think you’re in any kind of shape to be signing anything. Let’s just wait on that.”
“It’s not your business, snowman.”
Meredith backs me up. “She’s a big girl. She can do what she wants. Men don’t tell women like us what to do. Do they, Jennifer?”
“It’s Ginger.” Oh. The way Everest says my name sounds like an exclamation, a claim, a territory she should not cross. His eyes are heated when I stare at him. His nostrils just slightly flaring in annoyance and defiance and I’m beyond turned the hell on.
Who is this man? I don’t know.
But I’ll take two of them.
* * *
“I’m fine. Really.”
“You’re walking like a newborn baby deer.”
“Don’t mock deers. It’s politically incorrect.”
Everest cracks a grin. “I doubt it is, and I’m not mocking them anyhow. It’s a fact. They walk horribly as newborns.”
“How do you know that?”
“Discovery Channel.” He shrugs and then searches around. “Uh, your keys?”
“In my purse.”
I can’t let go of him, because if I let go, I’ll fall down. We’re outside my apartment door and I pray that Bianca’s not home because this will be the “piping hot tea” she lives for. Me failing on my first ever attempt to conduct an investigation, and not only did I fail, but I brought home the main suspect. And now I’m telling him to take my keys and bring me into my apartment.
Everest roots around for the keys and then lets out this sexy sounding “ah-ha” once he finds them. Only he could make something like that sound good, I don’t know why.
He carrie
s me over the threshold and then closes the door with his foot, upping his appeal with how coordinated he is. Might not sound like much, but I’ve dated a man who didn’t know how to walk and chew gum at the same time before, so, you know, I have little to no experience with a man this well equipped, seemingly in every aspect.
He even knows how to handle Meredith. I mean, she wasn’t even pissed that I had to take off early. Old Meredith Taylor would have had my head for a stunt like this. She barely even blinked at me as I got into a cab with Everest.
He sets me carefully down on the couch and I can’t help but to snuggle into my sofa cushions. I’m so tired and the wine is not helping with that. There’s no sign of Bianca.
Everest glances around for a moment, and then pulls a blanket off the back of the loveseat. That makes him laugh. Hard.
“It was a gift,” I say in my own defense. “And it was an amazing gift.”
“It’s a burrito blanket. You honestly look like a little old lady all wrapped up like a burrito.”
“I told you—amazing.”
He’s quiet for a moment. “It is.”
I peek at him. “You were totally thinking of making a joke about eating me or something in that range of thought, weren’t you?”
“Maybe.”
“Don’t play, Everest.”
“Ok. Absolutely.” He laughs.
“I knew it.”
Everest smiles and then turns away. He pulls a chair away from my dining room table, and sets himself up close to me.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
He swipes a gossip magazine from my coffee table. “Just making sure you get some sleep.” He grins. “And don’t do anything stupid like drunk dial an ex or your boss.”
“You just want to sit there and imagine me as a Fourth Meal.”
He laughs and it’s real. And cute. And everything I desire. I have to snuggle myself deeper into my burrito blanket so I don’t try to do something dumb. No, not like drunk dial an ex, but more like hop up from this couch and tackle this hottie with all my might.
A Very Merry Alpha Christmas Page 4