by Peggy Bird
“I will. And let me know what I can do to make this easier on you. I’m willing to help with whatever you need.”
She nodded, her attention back on her smartphone.
David watched her walk away and smiled. There was nothing he liked more than a challenge. And, whether she knew it or not, Ms. Hannah Jenkins had just handed him one. All he had to do was figure out how to deal with it.
Chapter 3
“Mandy, isn’t it? I don’t know if you remember me. I was here a week ago with Mr. Austin. I’m David Shay, the—”
“Of course I remember you. I never forget a cute guy.” Mandy winked at him. “What can I do for you?”
David had been afraid Mandy would be overprotective of her boss. But now it sounded like it might be easier than he thought to pump her for information. “First, you can tell me if Hannah’s around and also if she has plans for lunch.”
“That’s first and second, isn’t it? But never mind. Yes, she’s here. She’s holed up in her office working on some report or other. And there’s nothing on her calendar. You want me to pencil you in and pretend the appointment’s been there for days and she’s forgotten?”
David laughed. “That sounds like something my assistant would do. I can see I should never let the two of you get together and plot.”
“Too late. We’ve already been talking about the party. And who knows where that will lead.”
“How long have you worked for Hannah?”
“She inherited me when she was promoted. I’ve been the administrative assistant to every manager in this store for twenty years.”
“Twenty years? Did you start working when you were in kindergarten?”
“Don’t you know better than to flirt with women old enough to be your mother? It’s a strain on our old hearts.”
David glanced around the office as if hoping for reinforcements. “This is a tough room to play, isn’t it?”
“If you think this is a tough room, wait until you get in there.” Mandy motioned toward the closed door to what David knew was Hannah’s office.
“Are you trying to scare me off?”
“No, just warning you what might happen.” Mandy paused for a moment, as if thinking about how to say something. “Look, I shouldn’t, but I’ll let you in on a little secret. Hannah’s not as tough as she pretends to be. If you’re patient, she’ll eventually show you how to find the door in the wall she’s built up around her.”
“I’m grateful for the heads-up, but curious why you’re willing to tell me this.”
“Mr. Austin thinks the world of you. And I’ve never known him to be wrong in his assessment of a person. If he trusts you that much, you might be the man who can get past the façade Hannah’s put up ever since ... ” She shook off the end of the sentence. “Anyway, I thought from the sparks I saw between the two of you last week, I might give you a little help. I’m more than her guardian at the gate. I’m her friend, too.”
David was definitely curious about what Mandy wasn’t telling him, but smart enough not to push. “From what I can see, you do both things well. So, I’ll impose for one more question—would you tell me what her favorite lunch restaurant is?”
“She hardly ever leaves the building for lunch, but on the rare occasions she does, she likes Thai food.”
“Nice to know. Thanks.” He started toward the closed door. “I know a good Thai restaurant not far from here.”
“Good luck getting her to go with you.” Mandy bolted from her chair and headed him off. “Wait. Let me announce you.”
“She doesn’t like surprise visitors?”
A huge grin broke out on Mandy’s face. “No, she’s fine with surprises. I want to see her face when she sees you’re here.”
• • •
Hannah was up to her ears in a sales report when Mandy knocked on her office door and peeked in to say, “My lady, you have a visitor.”
“Oh, crap. Did I get so wound up in this stuff I forgot about an appointment?”
“No, you don’t have an appointment. You have ... ”
“An unexpected guest,” David Shay said as he came into the office.
Mandy had a goofy grin on her face as she popped back to her side of the door and closed it.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” David said.
Hannah resisted the temptation to make sure her hair was neat and her shirt unwrinkled. “No, you’re not. To what do I owe this ... ?” She stopped, not wanting to reveal that it was a pleasure to see him standing at her office door. “This ... visit,” she finished.
David perched on the edge of her desk not two feet away from her, the smile he aimed at her seeming to indicate he knew how the sentence was originally supposed to end. “Well, the ostensible reason was to bring you the Santa letters you asked for last week. But hidden behind that was the hope I could talk you into having lunch with me. And, since you can see from my empty hands that I forgot the letters, I’m forced to confess upfront my real reason for being here, not the one I was faking.” He put out his hands, palms up, as if to show her how empty they were.
“So, if you are really the amazing woman Simon Austin thinks you are, you’ll take pity on me, overlook my intention of using the Christmas hopes of innocent children as an excuse to ask you to lunch, and just say yes, even though I failed to bring you what you asked for.”
As hard as she tried, Hannah couldn’t help laughing. “That was the most pathetic invitation to lunch I’ve ever heard.”
“It was, wasn’t it?”
“You say that so proudly.”
“I’m proud that I got you to laugh. Did it get me lunch with you?”
Hannah wasn’t sure if he was flirting or merely making nice because Mr. Austin was being so generous to SafePlace. And she was even less sure whether spending any time with him was a good idea. Although he was as tempting as a pan of brownies just out of the oven—sweet, dark, hot.
Stop. Just stop. However attractive he was, she had to work with him. Which meant it broke her no-personal-contact-with-colleagues rule to consider him as anything but a business associate. But she couldn’t be rude, either.
“I really don’t have time for lunch in a restaurant someplace” she said. “But maybe we could grab a quick sandwich and swing by your office so I can get those letters. I need to see your common area where we’ll be having the party anyway. Your building isn’t far from here, is it?”
David hopped off the desk and extended his hand to her to help her out of her chair. “Nope. And there’s a food truck parked nearby that makes great gyros.”
She pointedly ignored the proffered hand. “One of my favorite sandwiches. Let’s go.” Preceding him out of her office, she waved at her assistant as she walked past. “I’ll be back in an hour, Mandy. And I have my phone if you need me.” She swore she saw David give Mandy a thumbs-up.
• • •
A short walk, a bit of a wait in line at the food truck, and they had their gyros. David led her to his office, where he cleared off one end of his desk.
“I thought we’d eat in here instead of out in the common room. It’s often crowded and noisy at lunch. Sometimes lunch at my desk isn’t a punishment, it’s a pleasure. No one interrupts.”
As if to prove him wrong, a woman walked into the office. “David,” she said, “I need to talk to you about ... ” She seemed to suddenly realize he wasn’t alone. “Oops. Sorry. I didn’t know you had someone in here. I’ll come back later.”
“Thanks, Jenny. I’ll be here all afternoon.”
But Jenny was just the first of a spate of staff and clients, who needed—or wanted—to see him. He was patient with every one of them, never short-tempered or abrupt. He put off his staff until later in the afternoon, but he answered the questions of the two program clients who had been part of the parade of people.
After handling his fifth request, he apologized. “I’m sorry about this. There’ve been so many interruptions we haven’t had much of a
chance to talk about the party. I don’t know where it all came from today.”
“It’s okay. I got to eat an amazing gyro. They really are good, if a little messy.”
“There’s a staff bathroom to the right and down the hall. You can wash up there while I clean up the desk.”
When she got to the bathroom and saw the mess the gyros had made of her face, Hannah wasn’t sure merely washing up would be enough. Tahini sauce had dribbled out of her mouth onto her chin and dripped over her hands and down her arms. A shower might have been more effective.
A shower. The image of being in a shower with David flashed through her mind and had to be banished before it took up residence there. What was wrong with her? She’d never fantasized about a man she barely knew. Okay, maybe some movie star, but not a guy in real life. She took a few moments to get her thoughts under control before returning to his office.
David’s smile when he saw her almost resurrected her shower fantasy. Only this time she needed a cold shower to cool off from the heat his smile generated in her. She shifted focus from his mouth to the bulging manila envelope he handed her.
“The Santa letters you want. There are a few more kids who should be getting their letters to me by week’s end.”
“Thanks. I’ll get our IT guy on this.”
“IT? I thought you were doing the giving tree.”
“I’ll put up an actual giving tree in the staff break room at my store, but I thought it would be a good idea for people in the other stores in the chain to participate, too, so we’re setting up a virtual giving tree. One of the IT staff volunteered to create and maintain it. He was excited to be able to help. I’ll send you the link when it goes live.”
David handed her a business card. “My email address is on there. So’s my cell number. You know, in case you have a Christmas party emergency after business hours and need my help.” He cocked his head and gave her a winsome smile. Again. “Actually, I’d be glad to help even if it’s not an emergency.”
“I don’t plan on having Christmas party emergencies during or after business hours. I’ve got it all under control, but thanks.” Letting him help would take some of the responsibility off her. And she’d get to spend time with him.
But those were also the reasons to turn him down. No way would she let anyone, especially someone who could relay the information to Mr. Austin, think she couldn’t handle her assignments. And more time with him meant more temptation. She didn’t need that.
She started for the door. “I should get back to my office, but before I go, can I take a look at your common area and kitchen? I promised the committee in charge of food and decorations I’d give them some idea of what they have to work with.”
David led her to a large, light, and airy open space with tables and chairs scattered around and colorful bulletin boards decorated with children’s work on all the walls. Three of the larger boards already had a few holiday decorations on them.
“Wow. Decorations up and it’s barely December. You’re really into the holidays, aren’t you?” Hannah said.
“I love the winter holidays. And we have kids who celebrate just about everything—Christmas, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, even Ramadan if it falls late in the year. I try to recognize all the traditions, even if they’re not mine.”
She hesitated for a moment. “I saw a menorah in your office. Is that your tradition?”
“Yup, I’m Jewish. The staff and whoever’s around light candles every night of Hanukkah before we leave work.”
“Interesting. You’re Jewish, but you love Christmas?”
“And everything else people celebrate this time of the year. I had a non-Jewish grandmother who instilled the love for Christmas in me, as well as parents who loved Hanukkah. It was easy to extend that affection to anything else that happens in winter.”
“No wonder you don’t understand us Scrooge-like people. You’re like Tiny Tim or something.”
“A bit older. Considerably less physically challenged, but the attitude’s pretty close.”
Hannah sighed. “I wish I could share your enthusiasm. It would make life a lot easier in December. Maybe I need to have a couple ghosts visit me.”
David tapped his forefinger on his mouth. “Hmm. There’s an idea. I’m no ghost, but I have a suggestion.” He put out his hand, palm up. “Make a bet with me.”
“A bet. About what?”
“I bet that by the time our Christmas party is over, I can convince you not only to like Christmas, but even to believe that Santa Claus, at least in spirit, exists.”
Hannah snorted. “I don’t make bets I know I’ll win.”
“I can be very persuasive.”
She pushed his hand away. “Nobody’s that good. Not even you.”
“Humor me. We’ll play by Dickens’s rules—he had three ghosts convince Scrooge. Give me three tries to show you how much fun this time of year can be.”
She was headed down the slipperiest of slopes spending time with him. She knew that. The only safe answer was “no way.” Why was it so hard to say those two simple words? It’s not like she really wanted to learn to like Christmas anyway. But instead of “no,” what came out of her mouth was, “What’s in if for me when I win?”
“I’ll stand in front of the Christmas tree in Pioneer Courthouse Square and denounce the entire season and all its manifestations.”
Hannah giggled. “And you have to write a Scroogey editorial for the paper.”
“Okay. But what do I get when I win?”
“Believe me, you won’t. But I guess I should indulge you. What would you like to win?”
He wiggled his eyebrows up and down and shot an exaggerated leer at her. “I can think of a number of things I’d like to win from you, but how about this—when I win, I get a kiss from you on New Year’s Eve.”
Oh, crap. Now what had she gotten herself into? Kissing him? On New Year’s? Why couldn’t she just walk away?
“A kiss. On New Year’s Eve.”
“Yup.”
“What will your date, whoever she is, say about that?”
“I doubt very much that will be a problem.”
She was afraid to ask why. No, that wasn’t right. She was afraid she already knew why. But it wouldn’t matter. No one, not even David Shay, could convince her to like the holidays. He didn’t have a chance of winning this bet. She’d be home alone on New Year’s Eve, just like she’d been last year and the year before and the year before that.
It was a sure thing. She couldn’t lose. “Okay, you’re on.”
• • •
On the walk back to her office, Hannah tried to figure out why she’d agreed to the bet with David. It wasn’t about winning. She knew she was going to win. That wasn’t in question. But it was out of character for her to agree to spend time with him on what he didn’t call dates but which she suspected he meant as just that. So what had made her say yes to this man who was a virtual stranger? One who was, admittedly, massively attractive. But other than that, what did she really know about him, anyway? She knew he had such a large dose of confidence that he felt free to challenge her core belief in the foolishness of Christmas. And he cared enough about the holidays that he’d caused her to cross a line in the sand she’d drawn about dating people she worked with. She also knew he’d impressed Mr. Austin, which, she had to admit, said something good about him.
But that was the sum of what she knew about David Shay.
However, if he meant what he said, she would soon get to know him a lot better. Her imagination—and those pesky hormones—ran wild at what that could mean. She had to put a stop to that line of thinking. This would be nothing more than meeting with a colleague. Just meetings. With an attractive, sexy colleague who had shown up in a number of her recent fantasies.
Oh, crap. That wasn’t working. She’d have to work on a better line of defense.
When she walked back into her office, Mandy looked up from her computer and grinned.
“If you like gyros, I know where to find good ones. A food truck near the SafePlace building.”
“I have a feeling it was more than gyros that put that smile on your face.”
Hannah dumped the envelope full of Santa letters on Mandy’s desk. “For that, you get to work on the giving tree project. I need all these letters copied and sorted by sex and age. I want to take them home with me tonight to work on.”
“Your wish is my command, my liege.” Mandy stood up and threw a crisp salute at her boss.
Hannah shook her head and tried not to smile. “You can skip the fake obedience. Just get the damn letters copied.”
“How about ‘as you wish’? Does that sound better?” Mandy asked.
Hannah kept her response to herself. Her assistant would love to know that she thought it would sound better in certain intimate settings in the baritone voice of one David Shay.
Chapter 4
It took David a while to figure out a plan to convince Hannah to enjoy the holidays. When he finally did, he called her. She was in a meeting. And when she called back, he’d turned his phone off so he could give his full attention to a new client. After a couple more rounds of telephone tag, he sent her a text asking her to meet him in his office after work the following Friday. There was something he wanted to show her, and then they could grab a bite to eat.
Stage one of “The Plan” was to lure her into getting involved with the kids who would be there that day to set up the Christmas tree and the displays for Kwanzaa and Hanukkah. How could anyone resist the kids’ excitement? If anything could begin to soften her up about the holiday, that should do it.
• • •
Hannah was a bit early arriving at SafePlace for what she was still calling just a meeting, not a date. She found David in the common area. He was busy unpacking boxes of Christmas ornaments; kente cloth, candleholders, and fabric art fruits for the Kwanzaa display; and dreidels, gelt, and menorahs for Hanukkah. When he didn’t notice her right away, she stayed close to the door, watching him at a task he obviously enjoyed as he chatted with the kids and his staff who were helping. Eventually he looked over and saw her. He grinned as he strode across the room.