My Christmas Billionaire

by Katie Evergreen

  What’s the new code? For the life of her she couldn’t remember, and she was just starting to panic when the door opened and the man of her dreams walked out. Merry skidded to a halt before she ran right into him, but he was so distracted he barely noticed her. Only after a double take did he break into a smile, but he looked paler than he had before, as if some of the vitality had been sucked right out of him.

  “Oh, hi,” Merry said. “I didn’t realize you worked here.”

  “I didn’t,” he said, hovering in the door. “But I do now.”

  Merry had to stop herself from doing a little jig of happiness. That was fantastic news!

  He’s engaged, you dolt! her brain said, and the disappointment must have registered on her face because Christian laughed.

  “You don’t look too happy about it,” he said.

  “No, it’s great,” she said, beaming at him. “I’m really pleased. I’m just surprised, you don’t look like you need the money.”

  He glanced down at his suit, and once again she noticed how small it looked on him, his muscles straining at the seams.

  “This? Uh… I borrowed it,” he said. “To be honest I can’t wait to take it off.”

  Neither can I, she thought, her cheeks blazing as she ordered her brain to be quiet.

  “I think it suits you,” she said. “No pun intended.”

  “I’m not a formal kind of guy,” he said.

  “So are you on the store floor?” Merry asked. “A sales clerk? Are you in tomorrow? I can show you the ropes if you like. There’s not much to it, just smile and be polite. And, you know, don’t headbutt the customers.”

  He laughed, and Merry would have too if she hadn’t been so desperate for the toilet. She squirmed, wishing her bladder was a little bigger so she didn’t have to run.

  “But seriously,” she said. “It’s easier when somebody helps you out. My first few days here I was a mess, until one of the girls from perfume took me under her wing. Her name’s Alice, not that you need to know that.”

  Stop wittering!

  “That’s really kind of you,” he said. “But I’m not on the shop floor.”

  “Marketing?” she asked. “No, management. I guess a guy like you tends to run things. Are you my new boss?”

  She laughed nervously. Christian popped his lips, fixing her with those perfect brown eyes.

  “I’m actually working with the cleaning team,” he said.

  “You’re a janitor?” she said, the words exploding out of her mouth a little louder than she’d intended. She saw the moment his face fell, and she instantly regretted her tone. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that, of course. Really, it’s cool. I can’t tell you what a sty this place would be without you guys, we’d be wading in our own filth. Janitors make the world go around, if you ask me. You guys are really… cool.”

  Stop talking! she screamed at herself, mentally buttoning her mouth shut. She’d reached a crisis point, if she didn’t excuse herself in the next ten seconds then Christian’s first job was going to be mopping up the puddle she was about to make.

  “Thanks,” he said. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” she lied. “Sure. I mean kind of. Look, I’m really sorry but I have to go.”

  He stood to one side and she practically ran past him. This really couldn’t have gone any worse. Her dream man was right there and she was running away from him, all because she’d had one too many mochas on her last break. She stopped, catching the door before it could close. Christian stood there, a puzzled look on his face.

  “Look, I mean it,” she said, almost bent double. “I’m really happy to show you the ropes.”

  “I appreciate it,” he replied. “Maybe we could go for a drink or something? You could talk me through the basics.”

  Despite the agony, Merry couldn’t help but grin.

  “Yeah, I’d love that!” she said. “Will your fiancé mind?”

  “My what?” he replied, frowning.

  “Earlier, you told Mrs. Cradley I was helping you shop for something for your fiancé.”

  “Oh, right,” he said. “I just said that to get her off your back. It was the first thing that came into my head. There’s no fiancé.”

  This time Merry did do a little jig, and it was only partly because she was ready to burst.

  “So,” Christian asked. “A drink?”

  “Sure, I’d love to!” she squeaked.

  “Now?” he asked. Merry shook her head.

  “I can’t right now,” she said.

  “No worries,” he started, and he seemed disappointed. “Maybe—”

  “But give me five minutes. Don’t move!”

  And leaving Christian open-mouthed and stunned behind her, she ran for the bathroom.

  Christian hovered by the staff room door, not quite sure what to make of his latest encounter with the young woman called Merry. She’d rushed off so fast he had been convinced she wasn’t interested in talking to him at all, but then she’d agreed to a drink almost straight away. He’d never been particularly good at reading women—which is why he’d ended up in a relationship with Amy—but Merry had left him feeling even more confused than normal.

  Still, the good news was that she wanted to go for a drink with him. And it was good news, because she would be the perfect person to talk to about what was happening inside the company. He opened the manila folder his father had given him, flicking through the sheaf of documents inside. They were mainly accounts, and from what he could see there was definitely something weird going on. The company’s profits were down, spending was up, and the red line was steeper than a ski slope. Dad had been right, the company was on the edge of disaster. He’d just started to take a deeper look when he heard the door open behind him.

  “Right, ready when you are,” said Merry, practically skipping out.

  She’d taken off the Carroll’s uniform and was wearing a pair of jeans that fit her perfectly, and a pretty blue knitted jumper with snowmen on it. Beneath the Santa hat she was still wearing, her green eyes seemed to glow. She fumbled with her sneaker, hopping a couple of steps and almost falling. Christian reached out instinctively and she caught his hand, managing to pull on her shoe. It seemed to take her a moment too long to let go. Not that Christian was complaining.

  “I just had to… change,” she said. “Sorry about that. They’re pretty strict here.”

  “I can tell,” he said, trying not to notice the way his palm tingled from their touch. Her skin had been so warm, the perfect antidote to winter. “Mrs. Cradley, was it? She reminds me of a teacher I had back at school. She used to terrify me.”

  “Oh, yeah, she really is terrifying,” Merry said. “One time she caught me walking out the store at the end of my shift still wearing my Carroll’s dress and she made me stay for an extra two hours, without pay. I felt like I was in detention.”

  Christian laughed. There was something about Merry’s energy that was contagious. Even though every part of him ached from the journey, he felt like he could talk to her all night.

  “Then maybe we should get out of here before she notices the hat,” he said, and Merry groaned, pulling it off her head. Her incredible red hair spilled out like tinsel, cascading around her shoulders. Stuffing the hat in her back pocket, she smiled up at him, and he felt his stomach loop-the-loop like he was riding an elevator. It had to be the fact he was jetlagged and exhausted, because this definitely wasn’t the kind of reaction he usually had to women. He wondered if he should postpone drinks until another night, but the thought of heading to his hotel seemed unbearably miserable. Besides, he really did want to start solving the mystery of the store’s collapse.

  “Do you have anywhere in mind?” Merry asked as she led the way back through the store.

  “For drinks? No.” He shook his head. It had been so long since he’d been back to the city he didn’t even know what bars were still open. “I’m happy anywhere.”

  “I don’t really go out muc
h,” she said, trying to push through a crowd of people browsing coffee machines. “I don’t make much money here, and I send most of it home to my folks. To be honest I’m much happier at home. Not that I’m inviting you to my home, of course. Not that I wouldn’t invite you.” She cleared her throat, muttering something to herself. “But there’s a nice place around the corner. Man, it’s so busy!”

  “Come with me,” Christian said, leading her back the way they’d come. They walked through the staff room door and down a dark, unused corridor. He wasn’t sure if it would even still be here, but when he opened the unlocked door at the end of the corridor, the old freight elevator was exactly where he’d remembered it being. Back when he’d been a kid, he’d spent hours riding the ancient contraption back and forth between the floors. His dad hadn’t minded because they’d had a new freight elevator installed, and it had been too expensive to have this one removed. It looked like an antique, and it was thick with dust, but the little green light by the door and the hum of electricity indicated it was still operational.

  “What is this place?” Merry asked. “I’ve been here months and I’ve never seen it. How did you even know it was here?”

  “Oh, uh…” Christian wondered if he should just tell her the truth, reveal his identity, but right now he needed to be anonymous. If word got out that he was Christian Carroll, heir to the Carroll empire, then he wouldn’t be able to find out what was going on. “They mentioned it during my interview. It’s a quick way for the janitorial staff to get about with buckets and mops and things.”

  He hated lying, and he grabbed hold of the door to cover the shameful blush. It took a bit of effort, but eventually he wrenched it loose and slid it open.

  “Are you sure it’s safe?” Merry asked, lightly holding onto his arm as she tried to peer down the shaft. “It looks ancient.”

  “This old gal is as reliable as they get,” he replied as confidently as he could. “It’s lasted over a century, it should be okay for another day.”

  “That really doesn’t make me feel any better,” she said. “But hey, anything beats having to fight our way through the Christmas crowds. Just do me a favor?”

  “Anything,” he said.

  “You get on first.”

  He did, the cab rocking alarmingly. He held out his hand and Merry took it, hopping in beside him. This time she didn’t let go, and Christian held onto her as he pulled the door shut. His heart was racing, and it had nothing to do with the drop beneath his feet. He looked at Merry and smiled.

  “Ready?”

  “Not really,” she said.

  He pressed the button for the bottom floor and the elevator groaned like it was a living thing. It rocked, dust pouring from the ceiling. Then it lurched down so hard that Merry screamed. She squeezed Christian’s hand with surprising strength, but he didn’t let go of her. The lift seemed to remember what it was supposed to be doing, clattering down with a noise like a steam train. Christian glanced at Merry, saw the fear in her expression, and all he wanted to do was pull her close. There was something about her that made him feel protective, that made him want to look after her, and he couldn’t figure out what it was.

  The elevator shook and shuddered and slowed, and only when it had stopped completely did Merry pull her hand away. Christian grabbed the door and tugged it open, poking his head out into a small, bare room. He suddenly wondered if the way out was still open down here, and whether he might be trapped for a while with Merry. The idea wasn’t exactly awful. When he walked to the only door, though, it opened without any trouble.

  “I can’t believe I never even knew that elevator existed,” Merry said, following him out into the deserted access corridor. The distant sound of Holly Jolly Christmas floated in from the store floor. “Is it just for the janitors?”

  “Yeah, I think so,” Christian said, not wanting her to get into trouble by riding it by herself.

  “I think I’d rather take the other one anyway,” she replied. “Or the customer lifts. Or the escalator. Or the stairs. Or, like, scale the outside wall with my bare hands. That was… scary.” She blinked up at him with those huge, green eyes. “But thank you for looking after me.”

  “No worries,” he said, feeling even fainter than before. He really was tired. “This way.”

  They walked toward the fire exit, and Christian pushed open the door. He was almost blown off his feet by the gust of freezing air that blew in, and he fought to keep the door open.

  “Oh shoot,” said Merry as New York threw handfuls of sleet into their faces. “I probably should have brought my coat.”

  “Here,” said Christian, using his foot to prop open the door while he shrugged off his suit jacket. He braced himself against the cold, shivering as he offered the jacket to Merry. She shook her head.

  “I couldn’t,” she said. “I’ll be fine.”

  “I insist,” he said, his teeth chattering. “It’s too small for me anyway.”

  She took it, throwing it on over her jumper.

  “Thank you,” she said, heading out into the cold. He waited for a moment, trying to get his head around the day. He was back in New York after five years away, he’d just spoken to his dad for the first time in forever—and he’d learned that the old man was quite possibly dying. He had a job to do, a life to return to, a business to run back in the Philippines.

  But all he could think about was how much he wished Merry was still holding his hand.

  4

  It was only a short walk to the bar, but it felt like they were hiking across Antarctica. Merry pulled Christian’s jacket tight around her, feeling guilty that he was outside in this weather wearing nothing but his shirt. She wasn’t feeling that guilty, though, because the rain had turned his shirt completely transparent. She was doing her best not to stare, but Christian had the body of a gymnast. His chest was a slab of muscle, his shoulders rounded and his arms bulging. His stomach was ridged with perfectly defined abs, and more than once Merry had to scold herself for staring at it for too long.

  Hot men were two to a dozen in New York, but even here Christian stood out. She wasn’t the only one who had noticed, either. All along the street she caught people staring, and at one point she even thought she heard the squeal of car brakes and the sound of a fender bender. It was a completely new experience for her, to be walking alongside a beautiful man. Adrian had been… there was no kind way of saying it, really, he just hadn’t been that good looking. Back in high school, where they’d met, he’d been charismatic and energetic, and she’d been drawn to his energy, not to mention his star position in the football team. But the older he’d got, the lazier he’d become, and his charm had worn away as quickly as his hair. The painful truth was their relationship had ended a long time before she’d found out about him and his assistant.

  “It’s just up here,” she said, crossing the sidewalk. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” said Christian, but it was a lie. He looked like he was turning blue. “Come on, you can’t sit in a bar like that.”

  There was a discount menswear store up ahead, and Merry pushed through the door, shaking the rain out of her hair. There was a rack of plain T-shirts by the checkout, and Merry lifted a plum-colored one.

  “Please,” she said. “My treat.”

  “It’s fine,” he replied. “Honestly.”

  “There’s no way I’m going to let you freeze to death,” she said, pulling out her purse.

  “I’ll get it,” he said, but she waved him away. If he was going for a janitor’s job then he didn’t exactly have cash to throw around. She didn’t either, of course. After her rent and utilities and food, almost everything she earned went back to Nebraska, to her luckless dad and her sick mom. But it was okay, the T-shirt was only twelve bucks. She handed the money to the cashier.

  “It’s my fault you’re soaked through,” she said. “Do you want a sweater too?”

  “I’m good,” he said. Merry tucked the T-shirt into the suit jacket so t
hat it wouldn’t get wet, then ran the last few yards to the bar. Christian opened the door for her and they stepped inside, enveloped by a gust of warm air. The wind snatched the door from Christian’s grip and it slammed behind them, every pair of eyes turning to look, and all of them widening at the sight of Christian.

  “Here,” she said, handing him the T-shirt. “Thanks again for being a gentleman.”

  “Thanks for the present,” he said with a smile. “It feels like Christmas already.”

  “If all Santa brings you is a twelve-dollar T-shirt, then I feel sorry for you,” she said. He laughed, excusing himself to go to the restroom. Merry pulled off the sodden suit jacket and walked to a table in the corner, sitting down and shaking her hair like a wet dog. Why did it always have to be hail and sleet in New York? Where were the fairy tale drifts of snow that fell on Central Park in the movies?

  Fairy tales aren’t real, she told herself. And neither are handsome princes, so be careful.

  Her brain was right. She didn’t know anything about Christian, and even though he’d behaved perfectly honorably in the short time she’d known him, she had no idea what he was truly like. After all, she’d trusted Adrian completely, and look where that had landed her.

  “Wet out there?” asked a voice, and Merry looked up to see a waitress.

  “No, I just like the damp, half-drowned rat look,” she said, laughing. “I think it will catch on.”

  “What can I get you, hon?” the woman asked.

  “Something hot,” she replied. “And chocolatey.”