Corporate Christmas

by Bernadette Marie

"Likewise."

  "And I didn't mean to come between you and Deborah. I didn't think you'd sign this without having it looked over."

  Gloria shrugged. "Honey, I've never played by the rules. Go read some tabloids. I like you. I like what you have to offer. I know there are going to be obstacles because this is bigger than your firm. But you have balls if you want to swim in the same ocean with us. I want to see you succeed."

  And that was why Chloe had been drawn to Gloria Vandenberg.

  Chapter 14

  The sleeves of his dress shirt had been rolled up and his tie had been loosened. The cup of coffee on his desk had gone cold and his temper had gone hot.

  Jason paced behind his desk, in front of the bank of windows that looked out over the busy city. All the people below him went about their day without knowing that he was stewing in his office over Chloe's insubordination.

  He had the power to fire her. The thought had crossed his mind. So had the thought of kissing her in the elevator the night before, but that was totally irrelevant. He worked with the woman and that was rule number one in his book—never date a co-worker or be involved in any way—and maybe that was just his bullshit way of talking himself out of something good.

  Deciding to get some work done, and forget about the Pop! Cosmetics account, Jason turned to sit at his desk when he saw Chloe headed toward him.

  The scarf was still tied around her neck and her coat was buttoned with fresh snow on her shoulder. The woman had on a skirt and stilettos. She was crazy, he decided. Who wore that stuff in the snow?

  There was a power that resonated from her as she walked right through the door and threw a manila envelope on his desk.

  "Read it and weep," she said as she plopped down in the chair in front of his desk and crossed her legs.

  "What is this?" he asked, making sure to not look at her legs.

  "Open it."

  He didn't like her game. For all he knew, it could be her resignation. After all, she must not have thought enough of him to have waited for him as they had arranged.

  Jason picked up the envelope and opened it. Pulling out the contents he looked up at her. "This is the contract for Pop! Cosmetics."

  "Sure as hell is. Flip to the back page," she said smugly.

  Jason did just that and his breath caught in his lungs. "She signed this."

  "Oh, baby, not only did she sign it without taking it to legal first, she signed it in front of Deb," she exclaimed as she stood from her chair and sat on the edge of his desk.

  "You're kidding me?"

  "I couldn't even make that up."

  "Why? Why was Deb—Deborah there?"

  Chloe shrugged. "They did hot yoga. But she liked our proposal better."

  "Oh, my God."

  "Oh, my God!" Chloe echoed his cheer. "We got it."

  Jason walked around to the front of his desk and pulled her up and into a tight embrace. "You got it. You did this," he said as he hugged her so tightly he could have broken her.

  "We," she reiterated, her breath warm in his ear, before she eased back to look at him. "A lot of what won her over were the additions you made. The exclusive team spoke to her."

  "I knew it would," he agreed as he looked at her, still wrapped in his arms.

  This should have been the moment he let her go and took a step back, but he couldn't seem to release her. His theory of not falling for co-workers was just that, bullshit. Those blue eyes which contrasted with her dark hair stunned him into paralysis. He could hold her right there for the rest of the day. He wanted to hold her right there.

  Chloe managed to push back from him and take those necessary steps to distance them, perhaps she could read the internal conflict in his eyes. "We need to set up a meeting with the people we want on the Pop! Cosmetics team. We need to make some plans as to what we want to do first. We need to get Gloria's budget in place. We need a meeting with Gloria and her team."

  She was pacing now and he watched as the genius he'd only heard about began to work.

  "Whatever you need, you just let me know. I'll make sure we have the people to make this work. You know the staff better than I do. Tell me who you want to work with, and I’ll make sure they’re covered on their other projects."

  Chloe lifted her head and smiled at him. "Thank you. I was sure you were here to steal this away from me."

  "I would never do that to you."

  "I believe you now. I'm sorry I didn't wait for you this morning."

  "I guess you knew what you were doing."

  "I'll get to work on this. I should have a basic outline of a plan by the end of the day." She started for the door.

  "Chloe," he called to her and she turned to him. "Congratulations. You deserve this."

  "Thank you."

  * * *

  Chloe managed her way around the corner before she took a breath. She'd done it, and he was happy for her. They got the account—she got the account. Pop! Cosmetics was hers to run. Who needed the management position? She'd gotten what she'd wanted.

  When she turned into her office, she gently shut the door before she leaned against it and pressed her hand to her chest. The contract, the jab at Deb, the thought of running an entire team for one account was somehow diminished by Jason holding her against him in his office. Had he even realized what that had done to her?

  It was innocent. He'd hugged her to congratulate her on a job well done, but it had lingered. There was no way he would have considered that it was more than that, not in light of what he'd told her about Deborah King doing the same thing to him. It was a friendly gesture, but oh how it shook her to her toes.

  Even now she could hardly balance on the stilettos she'd chosen to wear in the snow just to impress Gloria.

  The very thought of Deborah King's expression made the moment that Gloria signed that contract even sweeter.

  Chloe moved her hand from her racing heart to her fluttering stomach.

  She had to let those impulsive feelings of attraction go. She couldn't even consider Jason as anything other than her boss—but, oh, that embrace.

  Slowly she walked to her desk and sat down. There was a lot to do, and for the next few weeks they would be short staffed. The holidays always seemed to have people flying here and there, and their heads certainly weren't in work mode—and neither was she.

  The discussion she and Jason had had last night about Aubrey Heights took her away to the snow-packed streets, carolers, sleigh rides, and quaint storefronts. And he'd been there—Jason had felt its magic.

  Would he like to go again? Would it be too personal for him to see the town through her eyes? It would be a celebration of sorts. They were a good team.

  What would her mother think?

  She shook her head. God, she was a mess. What would her mother think if she took Jason home? She'd think they were an item, and they were the furthest thing from it.

  Chloe Richardson had just landed the biggest account of her career, and she'd slyly done it behind Jason Mitchell's back. That wasn't something that started a good relationship anyway. Besides, they weren't going there, and her emotions were just stirred anyway because of the holidays and not getting the job she'd thought she'd wanted.

  What she really wanted was to make Gloria Vandenberg happy, and she was going to put everything into making sure that happened.

  Chloe opened her notebook to a fresh page and picked up her pen. It was time to get her head out of the fluffy snow clouds and back to the task at hand.

  Chapter 15

  As much as he wanted to sit at Chloe's desk and watch her mind work, Jason kept his distance. He'd taken six calls from clients who had heard he'd left Stockton and wanted to move their accounts to Mason Arts. It seemed as if Deborah was making the wrong kind of splash, and he couldn't help but find humor in her misfortune.

  Oh, what he would have given to have seen her face when Gloria Vandenberg signed the contract for Chloe. He wasn't one to wish anything bad on anyone, but there seemed to be so
me justice in it happening.

  He'd hoped to have seen her plan before lunch, and it would have given him a reason to offer to take her out. Just a business lunch. A celebration lunch. A working lunch. But Chloe had yet to emerge from her office.

  When he finally decided he'd order in deli, and he'd get some for her too, William knocked on his door and let himself in.

  "My dad says you've had a busy day." The grin on William's face was as phony as the Rolex on his wrist. He made himself at home in one of the chairs that faced Jason, and kicked his feet up on the desk. "I knew bringing you on was going to be a stellar idea."

  "I appreciate that. But the biggest news of the day is Chloe bringing in Pop! Cosmetics."

  William shrugged and adjusted his watch. "That should have been finalized last week."

  "I think it worked out for the best," Jason primed. "The contract has more built in, and it'll bring in more revenue."

  "It needs more people to work it."

  "It's a big account."

  "You'll be overseeing, so it's in good hands." William dropped his feet to the floor. "Got a lunch date. Why don't we plan to meet at six for drinks? I want to go over your objectives with Pop!"

  "Chloe is making the plan now. I can bring her along."

  William shook his head. "Just you. You're in charge." He pointed his fingers at Jason in the shape of a gun and gave him a wink as he walked back out the door.

  Jason eased back in his seat. Byron Mason was a much different man than his son. William had that spoiled-in-charge attitude that made Jason sick. It had been a turn off to working for the company, initially, but the need to get out of Stockton was great, and Byron had won him over in the end. He was a good man with a good business sense. It wasn't the first time that Jason had worked for a company with a self-centered boss' kid as his boss. In life, he'd found that those who were raised by the boss usually worked harder than anyone for less acclaim, but there were a few that gave that position a bad name.

  Deciding to order in that lunch, Jason turned to his computer and saw Chloe emerge for the first time since he'd talked to her that morning. She stopped by Jody's desk—he was certain of the woman's name now—and then headed to the elevator with her coat on and the scarf tied around her neck again.

  Maybe if he hurried he could cash in on getting her to have lunch with him.

  Nearly taking the corner of his desk into his thigh, he headed for the door. Grabbing his coat off the rack, he hurried to the elevator, just as Chloe stepped in.

  "Hold that for me?" He called out and saw her hand slide between the doors. "Thanks."

  "Rushing out?" she asked as she pulled her gloves from her pocket and slid them on her dainty hands.

  "Need to get some lunch. Are you going to walk far in those shoes?" he asked looking down at her feet.

  "I'm a master in high heels," she humored. "I have a cab waiting for me. I won't be in the elements long."

  "Oh, you're heading out?"

  "Tyler Ashby asked me to meet him for lunch."

  Jason thought on the name. It was familiar, but he couldn't piece it together. "Who is Tyler Ashby?"

  "Needed Bean Coffee. There are eight of them in a ten mile radius of our building and sixty more throughout the state."

  "No kidding? He's one of our clients, right?"

  When she smiled it radiated. "It was one of the first clients I brought in during my internship. I went to college with Tyler. We dated actually. He inherited the first store from his father who was big into sourcing beans from economies that needed an income boost. Tyler was a genius and turned it into what it is today."

  For some reason Jason got stuck on the dated part of the conversation. "So this is a business meeting?"

  "Lunch with a client who is a friend. We were going to go out for dinner, but this worked better."

  Dinner meant date, didn't it? he thought as the elevator door opened.

  "I'll see you in a bit. I promise not to be gone too long," Chloe called back to him as she pulled up the collar of her coat and walked out into the snow toward the cab that waited for her.

  Jason watched her disappear and his heart sank. This was asinine. Why did he care that she was having lunch with Tyler Ashby? He was bringing money into the firm that paid Jason's bills. It was a good thing that she had a good relationship with the man. And if she was dating him, it was none of Jason's business.

  His stomach growled and he figured he'd better make the most of his run down to the street. Outside there was a hotdog vendor braving the cold to bring the masses of the city a mediocre meal. Who was he to pass that up?

  * * *

  Chloe sat back in the cab as it maneuvered through lunchtime city traffic. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought that Jason had run to the elevator just to talk to her.

  Wasn't that a stupid thought? Well, not really, she reconsidered. She was working on the biggest deal the firm had ever landed. He was going to want to know her every move until the team was working like a well-oiled machine. Gloria would appreciate that too. She had also been on Chloe's phone multiple times that morning to check in.

  Lunch with Tyler would be the icing on the cake, she decided, as the cab made its way to the restaurant. He was bringing his new wife with him, and Chloe had yet to meet her. She would have thought she'd been jealous when she received the announcement that they'd been married in Jamaica, but that ship had sailed so many years ago, she could find nothing but joy in her heart for her friend.

  Perhaps someday she'd bring the man of her dreams to lunch to meet Tyler. Someday.

  * * *

  Tyler's wife was as genuine and as sweet as Tyler himself. And, from the way she hung on his every word, and his arm, Chloe knew they were truly in love.

  She found that as he talked about opening ten more stores throughout the midwest, her thoughts wandered home again to the streets of Aubrey Heights. Certainly that was triggered by the snow falling outside the restaurant window.

  But she thought of the little coffee shop in town, and the Christmas tree that had been erected in the corner of the store. She thought about Melanie Peet's little gift store and Abby Foster's candle store. She remembered them all decorated for Christmas.

  She soon realized Tyler was talking about holiday scents and decor in his stores. No wonder her mind had wandered for a moment.

  "We're going to fly down to Brazil after the first of the year to look at a new bean farm. We thought we'd take in a tour of some rainforests, too," Tyler said, and his new bride glowed next to him.

  "That sounds fantastic."

  "You should go with us. It would give you a new perspective on what we do—how we source our beans and what goes into our decisions."

  Chloe was fully alert now. "That would be quite a trip."

  "Think about it," Tyler's wife said. "The world is such a big place. You don't want to miss seeing any of it."

  And how depressing was that?

  Chloe had never traveled the world. She hardly made it out of state. Her world was her clients and her little apartment. But that was what she'd wanted, right?

  "I'll give it some thought. I've never traveled like that before."

  Tyler looked at his wife and then back at her. "We'd love to have you join us."

  Chapter 16

  Examining the stitches in his forehead, Jason realized he'd been unproductive in his day. After he'd arranged meetings with the clients who had called that morning, he hadn't gotten much done. And tomorrow he had his appointment to have the stitches taken out, so that was going to cost him even more time.

  He'd wanted to hit the gym after work, but it looked like a few miles on his Peloton bike at home was going to have to do.

  Chloe had come back from lunch and promptly locked herself away in her office. It seemed to be her method and perhaps why she was so good at her job. He'd seen Jody come and go from Chloe's office, always shutting the door behind her, giving him a big signal that she didn't want to be interrupte
d.

  Jason took a conference call in the board room toward the end of the day, waving at Byron Mason as he walked by the bay of windows and toward the elevator. He watched as Byron tapped on Chloe's door, opened it just enough to talk to her, and then headed out of the office.

  While he conducted business with one of his former clients, Jason watched as the office began to empty, until once again only he and Chloe remained.

  When he finalized the call, he realized that William still lurked in the office, when he opened the door and plopped down in one of the many empty chairs at the table.

  "You've been a busy man today," William said, smiling as he picked up one of the pens from the cup on the table and twirled it between his fingers.

  "I've had a lot of former clients call today looking for new representation, here."

  "That's fantastic to hear. Gotta love a guy who has a lot going for him." William turned and leaned in on the table with his elbows. "How’s Pop! coming along?"

  "Chloe is working hard on it. She and Gloria seem to have a good relationship. She's finalizing the plans right now. After the first of the year we'll be ready to hit the ground running."

  William nodded his head slowly. "Do you think she can handle the size of the account? I mean…" He didn't finish his thought, only shrugged.

  Jason wasn't quite sure what kind of answer William was searching for. "I think Chloe is going to handle this just fine. She knows her business and the team we build for this account will be top of the line. Pop! Cosmetics is going to bring in a lot of revenue for the firm."

  A smile formed on William's lips as he pushed himself back from the table. "You sound like you have a thumb on everything going on."

  "That's why you hired me."

  "Sure is. See ya tomorrow."

  Jason watched as William walked out of the office past Chloe's door, and he didn't stop to say goodbye.

  By seven o'clock, he was ready to call it a day. He could have left the office an hour earlier, but he was compelled to stay since Chloe's light was still on in her office.