Santa's Naughty Helper

by Ari McKay

  Kevin kept his face straight, although he was sorely tempted to grin like an idiot. He knew Erik’s weakness for chocolate would doom the one-pound box of Godivas to a short life, but he hadn’t expected Erik to dig in quite so quickly.

  “No, thanks,” he replied, giving Erik a questioning look. “Breakfast of champions? Were they out of bagels at the deli?”

  Erik closed his eyes as he chewed and swallowed, his face suffused with pure bliss. “No, I had breakfast, but this was sitting on my desk when I came in. I had to sample the quality, didn’t I?”

  The expression on Erik’s face made Kevin’s breath catch; if Erik could look that pleased over a piece of candy, Kevin desperately wanted to see how he’d look in the throes of passion. Feeling his face beginning to heat up, he moved quickly to put the folder on Erik’s desk. “I suppose so. Who left them? The same person who gave you the wine?”

  “My secret admirer strikes again!” Erik put the box aside and held up a plain white card with a typed message. “Whoever it is knows what I like, but I guess everyone in the firm knows how much I like Godiva chocolate. The package was wrapped in the same paper as the wine, and they left a note that said ‘Only the best for the best.’” He looked somewhat smug at that.

  Kevin chuckled, glad Erik was pleased. He’d had a difficult time figuring out what to say on the note, and he hadn’t wanted it to sound sappy or trite. “If whoever it is continues to give you your favorite foods, you’ll have to spend all your free time at the gym. Although it might be a little problematic for them to leave steak and a baked potato on your desk. It would get cold.”

  “And that would be a tragedy,” Erik replied with a somber nod, the lack of irony lacing his voice making it clear he was serious. But then, Kevin knew how much Erik loved a good steak; no doubt it wasn’t a joking matter to him. “If my secret admirer wants to give me a steak for Christmas, I hope they give me a gift certificate—or better yet, meet me at the restaurant.”

  “Then you’d better hope they aren’t a vegetarian.” Kevin was teasing, but he filed away the information for consideration. He didn’t have all the gifts picked out yet, and he was willing to be flexible. He wasn’t sure he’d have the courage to meet Erik at a restaurant and admit to being his admirer, but it was something to aspire to.

  “God forbid!” Erik gave a little mock shudder. “Well, if they know me well enough to know I like Godiva chocolate, they should also know I would never survive as a vegetarian.” He picked up the box again and held it out enticingly. “Are you sure you don’t want one? I can’t guarantee how long they’ll last if you change your mind later. I’m willing to share with you, though. Everyone else can keep their grubby paws off my chocolate.”

  Kevin knew he shouldn’t be as pleased by Erik’s willingness to share as he was, but he couldn’t help it. “All right, you talked me into it,” he replied as he selected a piece of chocolate. “But you have to promise to come to the gym with me this evening to work it off.” Seeing Erik all sweaty and flushed in his tank top and workout shorts, muscles flexing as he exercised, was a far more tempting treat to Kevin than all the chocolate in the world.

  “Considering how many chocolates I’ll need to work off today, you’ve got a deal.” Erik snagged one more piece for himself before closing the box and putting it away in a drawer. Not that it would remain there long, if he didn’t show more willpower than he usually did with a box of Godivas in the office. “Come get me before you leave, okay?”

  “Sure.” Kevin nodded, popping the candy into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed, then pointed to the folder he’d left on the desk. “The McAllister brief is ready. Try not to get chocolate fingerprints on it, okay?”

  “Oh, very funny.” Erik shot him an aggrieved look. “I’m not the one with chocolate on his mouth.”

  “What? I do?” Kevin felt himself flushing in embarrassment. God, Erik must think he was a total idiot!

  “Here, I’ll get it.” Erik stood up and skirted around to the other side of the desk. He rubbed his thumb against the corner of Kevin’s mouth and then licked the smear of chocolate off his finger. “No need to let it go to waste, right?”

  Kevin’s eyes grew wide as he stared up at Erik, unable to believe Erik had just done that. The simple gesture shouldn’t have seemed so erotic, but he felt in danger of spontaneously combusting on the spot. His skin tingled where Erik had touched him, and he wanted nothing more than to close the short distance between them and press his lips to Erik’s.

  It was impossible, of course, and he quickly lowered his gaze so Erik’s keen brown eyes wouldn’t see his desire. “Of course.” His voice was a bit husky, and he cleared his throat. “Thanks. Let me know if you want any changes to the brief.”

  “Sure thing.” Erik returned to his chair. “I’ll look at it this morning and get back to you with any necessary changes by this afternoon. Does that work for you?”

  Nodding, Kevin stepped back toward the door, eager to escape before he did something foolish. “See you later.”

  “Later, Kev,” Erik replied absently, already reaching for the brief.

  Kevin walked slowly back to his office. He didn’t think he’d given himself away, but it had been a near thing. Of course, the entire point of the game was for Erik to find out he was the secret admirer, wasn’t it? Shaking his head, Kevin quickened his pace. It would probably be for the best just to forget the whole thing and leave well enough alone, but he knew he wouldn’t. He just had to convince Erik that he was better than a box of chocolates or even a steak dinner.

  And that, he knew, would probably be the hardest thing he’d ever done.

  BY THE end of the work week, Erik had to admit he’d fallen for his admirer’s game hook, line, and sinker. He loved mysteries in both fiction and reality, and this was a mystery just begging to be solved. Unfortunately, he had no more clue as to his admirer’s identity than he had on the night of the office party. Whoever it was had been careful about leaving any incriminating evidence; all the notes were printed out, and each gift had been delivered by a new and unexpected method every day.

  On Wednesday the delivery girl from the deli where most of the firm ordered lunch every day brought a gaily wrapped package along with Erik’s roast beef on rye. For once, Erik had put his food aside in favor of tearing into the gift, which had been a set of holiday candles in small jars, each one with a different scent, from evergreen to cinnamon. The note inside the box read “Because you brighten up my day,” which solidified Erik’s theory that it was someone he saw at the firm regularly, but that didn’t narrow down the field by much.

  Thursday’s present arrived from FedEx, and this time he received three CDs of holiday music, all of them focused on the romantic aspect of the holiday season. His admirer knew his taste in music as well as in chocolates, because two of the CDs featured swing and big-band-style songs and the third was holiday jazz. The note read “Something to remind you of the best part of the season,” which Erik assumed was referring to romance.

  He burned the CDs to his laptop and put the songs on repeat, letting them play quietly as he worked. Kevin had teased him about showing more holiday spirit than usual, and he supposed he was. Normally he didn’t do much for the holidays; his parents were deceased, and his siblings were scattered across the country and spent the holidays with their own little families and in-laws. He went to the Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall and took a walk after work on Christmas Eve to admire the lights and elaborate window displays, but that was the extent of his holiday celebrations. He didn’t bother putting up a tree since there was no one but him to see it.

  But this year was shaping up to be different. He was tired of his life being all work and no play, and his admirer had come along at the perfect time to help him break out of his rut and start thinking seriously about finding someone to share his life with. What better time to start than Christmas?

  So he was open to the unusual courtship and looked forward to seeing what kind of c
reative spin his admirer would put on each gift—until Friday.

  A bike messenger delivered Friday’s gift, and Erik opened it eagerly to find a copy of Love Actually, which he’d never seen before. Once he read the blurb on the back, he realized why: it was a romantic holiday film that focused on love. On heterosexual couples.

  Dismay turned into outright panic when he saw the note, which read “Love is all around, if you want it.” What if his secret admirer was female? Chocolates, candles, romantic music and movies. Suddenly everything seemed like a gift a woman might pick out for a man she was interested in, and his mind raced as he tried to think of ways to find out the gender of his admirer. If it was a woman, he had to let her down gently, because there was no chance that he would ever return her interest. Perhaps she was someone who’d been hired recently and didn’t know he was gay? If that was the case, he could find some way to send her the message without actually having to say anything.

  That afternoon he took a long lunch and tracked down a shop that sold gay pride merchandise; when he returned to his office, he hung a small rainbow banner emblazoned with two entwined male symbols on his door and placed a gay rights sticker prominently in the window facing the hall.

  “I didn’t know you were a gay rights activist.” Shelley stopped in front of his office and examined the new decorations.

  “Of course I am,” he said, but his sense of integrity forced him to add, “Well, when I have free time.” He raked his fingers through his hair and blew out a sharp breath. “To be honest, I was hoping to send a message to my secret admirer. I’m starting to suspect it’s a woman, and I don’t want to string her along.”

  Shelley’s eyebrows shot up at that, and she seemed to be fighting back laughter. “Erik, every woman at this firm knows you’re gay. We brief the newbies—male and female—on who’s eligible and who isn’t before they can get their hopes up. Whoever your admirer is, I can promise it isn’t one of the ladies of Caldwell and Monroe.”

  Erik breathed a sigh of relief at that. He knew Shelley was jacked into the company grapevine, and he trusted her insider information. If she said his admirer wasn’t female, he believed it. “Thanks for letting me know.” He studied the banner and sticker for a moment. “I think I’ll leave these up, though. Maybe it’ll remind me to get more involved.”

  “Good idea.” Shelley patted his arm and went on her way, and Erik returned to his desk and picked up the DVD case.

  Maybe he’d give the movie a shot when he got home. He could use a little holiday romance and cheer, and anything that gave him the opportunity to listen to Alan Rickman’s voice couldn’t be all bad.

  At that moment Kevin stuck his head in the door. “Pride Week isn’t until June. Or are you adopting a rainbow scheme for Christmas decorations this year? I could get into that.”

  Erik hesitated before replying, debating whether he wanted to admit the truth or not, but he decided he’d already made enough embarrassing confessions for one day. “No, I thought I was overdue for showing some support, that’s all. What’s up?”

  Kevin smiled and shrugged. “Nothing much. I’ll be leaving in about fifteen minutes. I just thought I’d wish you a good weekend.”

  Erik glanced back down at the DVD, and on impulse, he held it up for Kevin to see. “Would you be interested in coming over and watching this with me over the weekend?”

  He wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t want to watch the movie alone. Maybe because it was about the holidays or maybe because it was about love, but whatever the reason, he wanted to share it with someone. He and Kevin might only be friends, but they’d watched movies together before. Granted, they’d mostly been action movies, not romances, but his admirer hadn’t stepped forward, and hopefully, Kevin wouldn’t think his request was too weird.

  Fortunately, Kevin grinned at him in apparent delight. “I love that movie! Sure, I’d be glad to come over and watch it with you.” He blushed suddenly. “I always watch it this time of year. It doesn’t really seem like Christmas until I’ve seen that and It’s a Wonderful Life.”

  “Really? Huh.” Erik was surprised at the revelation of Kevin’s romantic side, but at least he hadn’t made himself look like an idiot in suggesting that they watch it together. “I’ve never seen it, but my admirer gave it to me today.” He paused, considering how much he wanted to say. “The holidays are quiet enough without watching a romantic movie alone on top of everything else.”

  Kevin’s smile faded, and he stepped closer to Erik’s desk. “Maybe this year, you won’t be alone. Obviously someone is going to a lot of trouble to show you how he feels about you. I suppose the only question is who it is—and whether you can feel the same way about him.”

  “It’s possible.” Erik leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “I like the way his mind works, at least. I mean, this whole secret-admirer thing with the daily gifts is quite clever, and I’m pretty sure it’s someone who works here, so we have that in common. If he ever reveals himself and we have good chemistry, I’d be open to dating him and seeing what happens.”

  “You really don’t have a clue who it is yet?” Kevin tilted his head to one side, looking at him intently.

  “To be honest, I haven’t tried all that hard to figure it out.” Erik smiled sheepishly and spread his hands. “I’ve been enjoying the game as it unfolds. I know it’s someone who knows me well enough to give me things I really like, but I haven’t done any snooping around yet.”

  Kevin raised one eyebrow. “Are you worried it’s someone you couldn’t be interested in? In which case, the game would have more interest for you than the outcome.”

  “I’d like to think I’m not that shallow,” Erik replied dryly. “There’s always a chance I won’t be as interested in him as he is in me, but I’m going to give it a try, at least. In the meantime, I’d like to enjoy whatever he’s got planned. It’s making the holidays special for me in a way they haven’t been in years, and I don’t want to rush to the end so soon.”

  That was more than he’d planned on confessing to anyone, even Kevin. He hoped he didn’t sound pathetic, but every word was true. The game was bringing joy back to his holiday season, and he hadn’t realized how much he’d missed it until he felt it again.

  A fond smile curved Kevin’s lips. “That makes sense. I’m sorry you haven’t enjoyed the holidays in the past, but I’m glad you have a reason to be happy this year. And hopefully for a lot of years to come.”

  “I hope so too. Maybe if I’m a very good boy, Santa will bring me a special gift to unwrap this year.” Erik grinned wickedly, joking to lighten the mood.

  For a moment Kevin looked surprised, but then he chuckled. “Maybe he will, at that.” He pointed at the DVD. “When do you want me to come over? I’m available all weekend.”

  “How about tomorrow night?” Erik suggested. “I’ll order a pizza, and we can have dinner and a movie.”

  “Sounds perfect! I’ll bring a six-pack and popcorn. Anything else you want me to pick up?”

  “No, I’ll take care of everything else. No anchovies or peppers for you and no onions for me.” Erik looked to Kevin for confirmation of what he already knew.

  “Exactly!” Kevin smiled and nodded. “Well, I’d better get going. I need to get Christmas gifts for my nieces and nephews and get them in the mail. Six tomorrow?”

  “Sounds good! See you then.” Erik waved as Kevin departed, pleased about their date. Well, it wasn’t a date, really, but it was as close to a date as he was going to get for now, and Kevin was rather cute in a “boy next door” kind of way. Maybe if things didn’t work out with his admirer… but no, Kevin hadn’t given any sign of being interested in him beyond friendship. Besides, Erik didn’t want to risk ruining their partnership at work. They were good together, and the firm needed them as a team.

  He’d just have to hope things went well with his admirer so he could form a more personal team that worked well outside business hours.

  “NOW WHAT i
n the hell do I do?”

  Kevin ran his hand through his hair and stared down at the box on his desk. The wrapping paper was red and decorated with candy canes, and he was proud of the elaborate white bow he’d created to top it off. But the problem at the moment wasn’t the box or even the rather naughty nature of the contents. No, the difficulty was that Shelley had gotten into the office before him, and there was no way Kevin could get past her to drop the gift on Erik’s desk without being noticed.

  He supposed he could try to sneak it in, but if Shelley saw him, she’d know he was Erik’s admirer. He could always try to bluff his way out by claiming to be a delivery elf for the real culprit, but he was a terrible liar. Shelley would know he was fibbing, and his secret would be out, and he didn’t want the game to be over yet, for Erik’s sake.

  After Erik’s admission that the secret-admirer thing was making his Christmas better, Kevin was determined to see it through, if for no other reason than to make Erik happy. Just knowing he was helping to give Erik a little bit of joy at Christmas was reward enough.

  Something else Erik had said had given Kevin the idea for the remaining gifts of the game. He’d been going to stick to romantic gifts, nothing terribly suggestive, but Erik’s comment about hoping to have something special to unwrap this year had changed his mind. So he’d gone to Macy’s and picked out three pairs of boxers: one in plain black silk, one in green silk with “Jingle My Bells” written across the back, and a red pair with “Stuff My Stocking” across the front. He hoped Erik would get a laugh out of them, and Kevin had tormented himself with imagining Erik wearing them.

  He glanced at his watch, groaning when he noticed it was almost half past eight. More people would start coming in soon, and he needed to deliver the gift before anyone else arrived. Sighing, he resigned himself to letting at least one person in the office in on the secret, and he hoped by specifically enlisting Shelley’s help, she’d be willing to not spill the beans to anyone else.