Christmas Overnighted

by Lara Norman

  He had such boyish charm to him when he looked at her like that. He was tempting her merely by standing there. “The whole afternoon?”

  “I should be done by two or three, and the concrete floors are setting up at the construction site. Nothing I can do over there, so I thought we could play hooky.”

  She looked at the paperwork on her desk. “I don't know about leaving before five. You can get back to me a little after four and I’ll have a better idea of what time I can leave.” She handed him a business card with her work and cell number listed.

  “Okay. I’ll do that.” It wasn't a no, so he left her office with a smile. Of course, all that changed when he called her later in the day.

  “Oh God, Warren, I’m sorry. I had another account dumped on my desk that I have to finish before the morning.” She sounded more harried than usual.

  Warren suppressed his groan of frustration and thought of an alternative. “How about I bring you dinner?”

  There was a pause as she thought it over. “I can stop for dinner around seven if I’m fast.”

  “All right, then, work fast.”

  He called her when he arrived so she could let him in the locked front door. She had her hair pulled up in a messy bun with a pencil shoved through it, and her shirt was wrinkled and untucked. He found her endearing in a sexy librarian kind of style.

  “Hey, thanks for this.” Cora closed the door behind him and relocked it, shivering in the cold air that snuck in with him. There was a fresh scent brought in with the snow, and his coat was covered with it.

  “It’s not the same as taking you out, but we learn to make do.” He stomped the snow from his boots and followed her as she moved across the main room of cubicles toward a doorless room.

  She led him into the break room to eat since her desk was covered in paperwork. Warren set out the Chinese food containers and drinks while Cora grabbed a handful of paper towels to use as placemats. It was a skewed version of a date, but it felt nice to Cora to have someone take care of her for at least a few minutes.

  “So good,” Cora moaned as she took a bite. “I had a granola bar for lunch. I think it was at eleven.”

  He stopped moving, his fork paused in mid-air with a piece of sweet and sour chicken speared on the end. That moan had gone straight to his dick. He coughed lightly. “I could have brought you lunch.”

  She stopped eating and looked at him. His eyes were so blue, like the ocean. They were kind and sincere, two important qualities she could add to the list of positives. “That would be too much to ask.”

  “It’s not too much to ensure my friend eats. I had a light workday, and you were swamped. I would have done it.” He shrugged and popped the piece of chicken into his mouth.

  “Well, thanks.” She chewed some more and thought about him calling her his friend. “Are we friends, Warren?”

  He studied her face as he swallowed. Her expression was completely neutral. “I’d like to think so.”

  “Okay.” She went back to eating and struggled not to think of the consequences of being his friend.

  “Why?” he asked casually. “Do you not think so?”

  “Maybe acquaintances is a better term. We don’t know anything about each other.”

  His eyebrows went up. “Didn't we cover numerous topics at lunch yesterday?”

  “Surface topics.” She took another bite and avoided his eyes. She wasn't sure why she was downplaying what was building between them, except that she was as reluctant to get involved with someone that was holding a secret. She liked him, but she didn't want to like him. She wanted to date him, but she still felt like she shouldn’t get involved with him. It was more complicated than she had time for at the moment. When she was with him she wanted him more than anything, but when he wasn't around she easily convinced herself she didn't have feelings for him.

  Warren dropped his napkin on the table. “What do you need to know to consider us friends? Because let’s be perfectly honest with each other, Cora. I want to consider us more than friends, but if you’re not feeling it, we can keep our efforts low-key and just be acquaintances.”

  Cora sighed a little with the realization that she wasn't the only one with more feelings than she had expected to be dealing with so soon after meeting him. She felt herself soften as she often did when they were together. “There’s something, Warren, okay? I can’t define it, and I don’t know if I want to yet.”

  “Just don’t take too long figuring it out, okay?” He was beyond ready. He would wait

  for her to get there if he had to, but he wasn’t against nudging her along when necessary.

  She nodded, knowing it wouldn’t be fair to him to keep stalling. But what was fair for her? She didn't have the answer to that question yet.

  Ten

  All Cora could think about after their dinner in the break room was her feelings for Warren. She didn't know how to define them, and she was fearful that he would push her into figuring them out sooner than she was ready. He seemed like he was looking for something specific from her, and she wasn't in that place. At least, that was what her brain kept telling her. Her heart was miles ahead, already living together in the beautiful Victorian he was renovating. She would never tell him that, though.

  It was the twentieth of December, and Cora was working just as hard as always. Warren came in with his delivery, and she had to try hard not to stare at his melting-snow-covered hair gleaming under her fluorescent lights. It was the color of pale honey and she wanted to touch it.

  “What have you got for me today?” she asked when she found her voice.

  “So much stuff, Ms. LeGrand. All your office supply needs with a side of sexy delivery guy.”

  She tried not to laugh. He had zero shame. “You’re funny, Kline, real funny.”

  Warren slapped a hand to his chest. “You wound me. Don't you find me sexy?”

  She looked at him very carefully: long legs, strong hands, hair in wet disarray from the day’s snowfall. She bit her lip. Yeah, okay, he had things going for him, but how did she tell him that without inflating his already wealthy ego?

  “Don't you have other clients to get to?” she said to deflect. Her breathing picked up

  every time he was near, making her sound a tad bit winded.

  “Sure.” He grinned. “But you're my favorite.”

  She flushed. “I swear the heat just kicked on,” she mumbled when he seemed to notice, judging by the way he studied her closely.

  Warren came all the way into the office when he noted the pink on her cheeks. “I think it’s me.”

  “I think you’re crowding my space.”

  “I think you're scared to admit any feelings you might have toward me.” He ran a fingertip over her cheek. She liked the way his nearness made her forget about everything else going on around them. His touch was gentle, and she felt a little thrill.

  “I think it’s too fast, Warren.” Her mouth had gone dry, so she swallowed. Who am I trying to convince?

  “According to whom?” His breath washed over her face and she felt a strong desire to kiss him.

  “I don't know, convention?” She frowned, realizing she was losing the fight. She

  couldn't even remember what she was fighting against.

  “Who says we have to follow convention?” He angled close, and Cora sucked in air. Warren’s breath puffed out on her cheek once more, and she held her own breath, knowing he was going to kiss her for the first time. Her spine tingled in anticipation, and her chest and neck were flaming.

  “Excuse me, Cora?”

  She blushed fully then, closing her eyes and stepping away from Warren. “Yes, Susan?”

  When Cora reopened her eyes, she saw that Susan was standing awkwardly in the doorway holding a stack of paperwork. “I need your approval on payroll.”

  “Yes, of course.” Cora tried her best to ignore Warren as he moved to the corner of her office. She had Susan put the papers on her desk and they went over them together
for the next twenty minutes.

  Warren watched her work. He’d been right, she was good at what she did. Her confidence was high as she and the other woman worked. It showed in the authoritative but kind way she spoke and the sure stroke of her pen as she signed. There was no hesitation in her decisions as she nixed the overtime of one employee that apparently couldn't properly prove her reasons for staying late, and hadn't attained supervisory approval before doing so.

  “I’m just saying, Susan. You know how late I’m here every night, there’s no way I could have missed Rebecca being here as well. She needs to be watched.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Susan left, and Warren pushed away from the shelves full of books and pictures of Cora and two of the women he’d seen in the office. He’d leaned against them while Cora and Susan worked. ”You're good at your job.”

  “Thank you for that observation.”

  She sounded curt, and he supposed she was embarrassed at having been caught with him in her office as closely as they had been standing. “You're welcome. What’s got that bee in your bonnet, Cora?”

  She huffed a frustrated sound and shuffled some papers around, unable to meet his gaze.

  She thought it was pretty obvious what was wrong. “It’s unprofessional for you and me to be canoodling in my office during business hours.”

  “Canoodling?” His brows went up. “That was most definitely not canoodling. Maybe consorting, but not canoodling. However, if you want, I can definitely provide you with a proper demonstration of canoodling.”

  She groaned. “Warren, I have work to do.”

  “Okay, I'll leave. I only need one thing before I go.”

  “You're not getting a goodbye kiss.” She crossed her arms over her chest and stood firm while she waited for him to leave. Whatever romantic feelings she’d had earlier were long gone, overthrown by her embarrassment.

  “Maybe that’s not what I’m after.” He came closer again, like before, and moved right up into her space. “I need it, Cora, to get me through the day. Please?”

  She was confused as to what he could mean if not a kiss, but she was staring into the depths of his azure eyes and found herself mesmerized despite her struggle at resistance. “What do you need?”

  He smiled slowly at her harsh breaths. His mouth curled up a bit on the edges as he stood close enough to touch her body with his. All of those points of contact fired off lust in his gut. “Are you sure?”

  “I—no, but, just—what?” She cursed herself for sputtering and narrowed her eyes as he chuckled at her flustered response.

  “I need your signature.”

  She closed her eyes and took a large step away from him. “You're incorrigible.”

  “Maybe, but I still need that signature.”

  Eleven

  It was more of the same the next day. Warren came in and lingered, making Cora feel stressed. Most of the businesses in the area were winding down for the holidays, leaving Warren with shorter routes and more time on his hands. He wanted to take Cora out on a proper date since the previous one had gone to shambles.

  “Cora.”

  The way he said her name sent her heart into a fast clip. “I’m working, Warren.” Her tone of voice had been icy, but the corners of her mouth lifted up in a semblance of a smile. She pulled her upper lip between her teeth in an effort to stop the grin that threatened. It was becoming more and more clear that she couldn't continue to keep him at arm’s length. She enjoyed his presence, his personality, too much for that.

  “I noticed. You haven't kicked me out, though.” Warren had made himself at home in the guest chair, one foot propped on the opposite knee. She tried not to focus on the triangle of space left between his legs and the obvious bulge that was clearly just barely contained by his pants.

  “Warren, really. I’ve had so much work dumped on my desk to be completed by the end of the year that I can’t entertain you today.” She continued to stack the paperwork she had to run up to the second floor in an effort to ignore him. At the very least, she had to stop staring at his zipper as he sat like that.

  “Okay, fine, but I do want you to entertain me this evening.”

  Her head snapped up and she saw his raised brow. “What did you say?”

  He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped. It was too easy to rile her up. “Or I could entertain you, I'm not picky.”

  “What time?” The words came blurting out of her mouth before she got the chance to think about her response.

  He sat forward, dropping his foot to the floor. “Seriously?” His other eyebrow had gone up to match the first, wrinkling his forehead as he prayed she didn't change her mind.

  “I don't say what I don't mean. What time?” she repeated. They might as well move forward since she couldn't stop thinking about him.

  “I feel like I need to let you pick since you have more on your plate right now.” He watched her stack the papers in her hand and staple them. They went into the box on the edge of her desk.

  “It might be later than you're used to for dinner.” She at least had to warn him of that

  fact, despite that he most likely had that figured out by then.

  “I can deal with that. I just want to take you out.”

  She stopped her movements and looked at him, seeing that his body language was earnest and his voice sincere. “Why?”

  “Because I like you, and you like me. Remember? Acquaintances looking to be friends, looking to be . . .” He smiled to show he was kind of teasing. He did want to be her friend, of course, but he wanted more, too.

  “Nothing fancy, and nothing with lights, decorations, or carols playing.” She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her fingers on her arms. He enjoyed the sassy effect it gave her. He would do whatever she wanted as long as they were together.

  “You drive a hard bargain, Ms. LeGrand.”

  She smiled in return. There was no need to be a hardass, but it came so naturally to her. “I try. I’ll let you know when I’m available. Will that work?”

  “I’ll work around your schedule, yes.”

  “Then I’ll see you tonight. If you don’t mind, I really need to get working on all of this. I have dinner plans.”

  He stood, but instead of leaving, he went to where she was standing. She was wearing a teal sweater that fit her nicely and a pair of black tailored slacks. Her hair was down, and he truly enjoyed seeing it swirl around her shoulders. “I want you to have something to make you think of me for the rest of the day.”

  “That’s really not—”

  He cut off her protest by touching his mouth to hers. He’d been wanting to do it for weeks, but he’d resisted. There was no resisting her any longer. He could have waited until after dinner, but he simply didn't want to wait anymore. There was nothing that could hold him back right then, except the woman herself, and she was certainly participating. Her lips were as soft as he had expected, warm and pliant as he slanted his mouth to get a better angle. He kept his tongue in his mouth; after all, they were at her office.

  “What the hell was that?” Her words were muted as she stood inches from Warren, her fingers coming up to touch his lower lip. It was rougher than hers and wet from their kiss. He tried not to groan at the mental image of her slipping that digit in his mouth and letting him swirl his tongue over it.

  “That was something I’ve looked forward to doing with you since shortly after I met you.”

  He brushed the backs of his fingers over her cheek and kissed her gently one more time before withdrawing and leaving her standing there dazed. Neither of them realized that Andy could see everything and was mentally fist pumping in silent victory.

  Cora worked her ass off for the rest of the day. Warren had woken something up inside her that made her want to explore where they could go with it. She wanted that dinner date more than she wanted to meet her work deadline. She had to eat sometime, and it wouldn't kill her to stop at seven instead of nine. She worked too much as i
t was; she knew that. She was smart enough to ask Andrea for help, grateful when the other woman kept her mouth shut about what plans Cora had for the evening. Andy made a point of not telling her boss that she’d seen the kiss between her and the On-Time delivery man because she was happy that Cora was letting her guard down for a change.

  End-of-year was simply always busier for her company. Always had been, and it had never bothered her before. She’d been glad for the distraction at the Christmas holidays and the excuse to keep her from picking which parent to visit. She didn't visit either of them because Manu and Rewa had made their child into a bitter specimen with their treatment of her. Cora didn't want to be that way anymore; resentful of everything Christmas related and everyone that tried to offer her inclusion. She was going to do her best to open up to Warren and prove to herself that she was more than an empty shell. Julia had been her only friend for

  a very long time, and a thirty-two-year-old should have more going on in her life than a friendship with a sixty-seven-year-old. Julia was great, but she had a life as well, with her synagogue, knitting club, book club, her grown children, and her grandchildren. Even as a widow, Julia was more involved in life outside of work than Cora. Andy was slowly becoming her friend as well, though they hadn’t spent any time together outside of work yet. Cora was well aware that it was because she tended to be closed off, not because Andy hadn’t made the attempt to befriend her.

  As she watched the copier collate her latest budget proposal, Cora wondered if she’d been the problem in most of her relationships. She was, after all, the common denominator. Obviously, her line of thinking didn't apply to you’re-lucky-to-be-seen-with-me guy, and maybe not the cheater, but others. Maybe she’d been too hard on them, and that was why they’d left. Maybe the cheater was driven to be such because she was too work-oriented or too unbending in her thoughts and routine. She couldn't recall a specific incident where they said anything to her about it, but maybe it truly wasn't that she had bad luck with men. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t handle change; she was flexible. Maybe she’d had bad luck in her childhood and had never taken the steps to overcome it. She figured going out with Warren was the first step in trying on her new outlook on life.