Firefighter Christmas Complete Series Box Set (A Firefighter Holiday Romance Love Story)

by Nella Tyler

  “Yeah, I’m sorry that sounded like I was a jerk.”

  “Oh, Natasha tells me you are one of the biggest jerks around.”

  I paused at that revelation. It was true, I really couldn’t contest it. From a woman’s point of view, I loved them and left them. But I wasn’t a jerk about things. I was a stand-up guy and did my best to make every night mutually enjoyable.

  “Evan, can we talk,” Rebecca said from the door.

  “Hey, Rebecca, this is Darla. She is filling in for Natasha.”

  “Hi, Rebecca, so nice to meet you,” Darla said as she shook Rebecca’s hand.

  I could see the look in Rebecca’s eyes of judgment over how Darla looked, but she quickly got over it and smiled at her.

  “Can you give me five minutes? I’ll come find you when we are done,” I said as I pointed to some work on my desk.

  “Sure,” Rebecca said as she turned and left the office.

  “Is that the woman you are trying to fuck?” Darla asked.

  “What? No. Why would you say that?”

  “Oh, you have already screwed that one,” Darla said as she watched me.

  “What are you, some sort of mind reader? How would you know that?”

  I had to laugh. Of course, Darla was right. But it still shocked me to be called out like that for having sex with a co-worker. Even my boss went about it a more politically correct way.

  “I could tell by the way she looked at you.”

  “Well, it was a while ago. We are just friends now,” I said as I tried to change the subject.

  “She doesn’t seem like your type.”

  “Why? Because she’s voluptuous? I like all women. I think every size is beautiful.”

  Darla laughed.

  “No, I meant because she’s really smart and has her life together. You seem more into the women who need to be rescued.”

  Damn, she was right on the money.

  “Yeah, that’s me. Just call me Superman.”

  “It’s a defense mechanism that many people use when they are afraid to go after a person who is a true match for them.”

  This was getting serious. Darla was a wise woman. Much wiser than I and I wanted to sit and talk to her more, but I also didn’t want her delving into all the deepest darkest areas of my life.

  “Let’s continue this conversation later,” I said light-heartedly. “I need to go catch up with that smart, independent woman because I had her doing some research for me.”

  “We can talk anytime.”

  Darla took the cue and move back out to her desk outside of my office. It was weird to have just met someone who knew my secrets already. She certainly could tell I was a player with the ladies, a womanizer for sure. It was nice to not have to hide behind my usual mask around the temps, it was also nice to not have the need to chase after her and fuck her like I normally did.

  I looked for Rebecca at her desk, but she wasn’t there. It annoyed me to have to go look for her, but I really did need to talk about the research. I didn’t like to have to look for, or wait for, anyone. Typically I didn’t have to.

  She was in the break room reading the Wall Street Journal when I finally found her. Not many people actually sat in the break room. Most of us were too busy trying to make money and we never wanted to take a break from our money making long enough to sit in a different room.

  “What did you find out? Did you find the payroll information?” Rebecca said as she looked up from the paper.

  “The files were moved.”

  “Evan, that’s huge. Why would they move the files if they weren’t trying to hide something?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe they just needed the room for other things?” I said as I tried to be as optimistic as possible.

  “No. This woman is in on it and she knew you were fishing around so she hid the files.”

  The idea that Alicia knew what was going on did not sit well with me at all. I really liked her, I enjoyed our time together, there was no way I could think of her as a criminal. Surely, even if she was involved a little, she didn’t understand the extent of illegal behavior she was contributing to. At least, that is what I hoped.

  My brain just couldn’t imagine that Alicia would knowingly, and willingly, do something illegal. She was sweet, nice and seemed very law abiding to me.

  “I really don’t think she knows what is going on; if there is anything going on at all. Maybe we are looking for something that isn’t even there. Have we stopped to think that her company might actually be on the up and up? There could be no illegal money laundering or anything going on. This could just be a really good investment.”

  “Ah, fuck Evan. You like this woman, don’t you?”

  “No, I mean…yes. But what if the company is legitimate?”

  It was possible we had all this concern about Alicia’s company and there wasn’t anything illegal going on. I knew in my head that it wasn’t probably, but there was a possibility. I needed to hold onto that. I couldn’t imagine that Alicia was involved in defrauding all the people who had just purchased stock through her IPO.

  “Evan, you are always the first one to say, ‘if it looks fishy it is fishy.’ Don’t let your judgment get clouded by a pretty woman. The pretty once are often the best at hiding their illegal shit.”

  “Anyways, I wasn’t able to get the documents. The files were moved offsite.”

  “Where?”

  I cringed. I didn’t want to have to tell Rebecca where the files had been moved.

  “Her house,” I said quietly.

  “What? Wait a minute; did you just say the files were moved to the CEO’s house?”

  “Yes,” I winced at the look on Rebecca’s face.

  “So you’re protecting this woman even though she obviously was involved. She…had…the…files…moved…to …her…house! Even come on, this woman is in this big time.”

  I shook my head back and forth, there was no way I could believe that Alicia was involved in anything illegal. She wasn’t the type. Somehow I needed to figure out what was going on before she got into trouble, though because deep down I knew Rebecca was right. If it smelled fishy, it was fishy and I didn’t want Alicia to be caught up in something that could ruin her career.

  Hopefully, she didn’t actually know anything about illegal actively and hopefully she wasn’t involved in any of it.

  “I know. I know. I can’t explain it, but I don’t think she knows what is going on. I just need to get to know her better, get her to open up to me so I can help her. I think her finance VP is making these decisions and putting her company at risk.”

  “She’s had the guy around for a long time, I’m pretty sure she knows what decisions he’s making. But if you want to live in a fantasy land where pretty women don’t make mistakes, it’s your prerogative.”

  “I appreciate you helping me Rebecca, you are the best.”

  “I am pretty damn good, you should stop by my house sometime and I’ll show you again just how good I am.”

  Rebecca grabbed my tie and pulled me in for a kiss. It was the first time she had been so forward with me at work and I felt like I might have crossed over to the wrong side of the thin line I walked with her.

  I wanted Rebecca to keep working with me, and I was fine with sleeping with her again. But I was also perfectly fine with not sleeping with her. My brain was on Alicia and not sex with anyone else.

  The thought shocked me. I didn’t want to sleep with her? Something had changed in me and my thoughts were consumed by Alicia. I didn’t want to sleep with Rebecca or anyone else. I did really want to see Alicia again. It was a surprising thought that I couldn’t remember having with any other girl in my past.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Date number five was lined up for Friday night and I was actually excited. Not really that excited to see some new clothing line, but certainly excited to see Alicia. I knew I was the worst detective ever, I kept going out with Alicia and not finding out any information that w
ould help me. It was a good thing I wasn’t an actual investigator.

  “Now I feel like this is my lucky night,” I said as I saw Alicia in front of her building.

  “Oh, you think I’ll sleep with you tonight?” She joked.

  “I didn’t mean that, I mean I’m lucky that I get to be seen out with such a sexy woman.”

  “Good line there, Mr. Gade.”

  “What? It’s true, no lines; just the facts.”

  Alicia had a great sense of humor; it was one of the things I really enjoyed about her. She didn’t take life too seriously, even though her current life was full of really serious issues. I couldn’t imagine most people would be willing to relax like she had over the last week, considering her company and all the changes they were going through.

  “So, tell me about this friend and her clothing line,” I asked as we got into the car and my driver headed off toward the fashion show.

  “Like I said the other day, it is between classic American and grunge. She’s a little more hipster than I am so it might not be your thing. But thank you for coming with me.”

  Alicia reached over and squeezed my hand. Her touch electrified my body and was the main reason I had been so horrible at investigating her company. Anytime I was near her I wanted to have her naked on a bed and devour her. It was a primal response that my body had and I just couldn’t think of much else when I was around her.

  “I’m sure I’ll survive.”

  When we arrived at the fashion show, there were paparazzi all over the place. It was a red carpet event and I was glad that I had actually worn something appropriate. My custom tailored charcoal gray suit fit in perfectly with the crowd. Alicia had on an elegant white dress with a crocheted design. It looked really expensive, although I didn’t really know what brand it was; women’s fashion just wasn’t my thing.

  “Aren’t you proud, I dressed appropriately,” I said as I held my hand out for Alicia to get out of the vehicle.

  “Very proud.”

  She held onto my arm tightly as we tried to make our way through the crowd. I wasn’t exactly sure who her friend was, but there were a lot of people there for this opening. I felt pretty privileged to be able to come with Alicia.

  Red carpet events weren’t really my thing. Most of my time was spent with the stock market people and other boring financial world stuff. Although, living in New York, there were often red carpet events throughout the city. I was just as fascinated by them as the rest of the world.

  “Ms. Warren, there is a rumor that you are about to sell your company. Can you respond to this?” A reporter said as we walked past.

  Alicia stopped. She looked angry as she turned toward the reporter. I could tell she hesitated and was thinking about what she should say in response. No one wanted to look angry on television.

  “We can keep walking if you want, you don’t have to answer them,” I said when I saw the look of confusion on her face.

  She wanted to talk to them.

  “I have no intentions to sell my company. The information is false; you should check your sources.”

  Alicia didn’t wait for the reporter to respond and instead moved quickly into the auditorium. She seemed really irritated. I hurried to keep up with her as she moved quick in her four-inch heels.

  “Where do you think they heard that?” I asked.

  “Everyplace I go, they are always asking me that. I have no idea where they get it from. Obviously I’m not selling my company: it’s my company. I’ve worked for years on it, I wouldn’t sell it.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about it too much; they are probably just hearing each other ask you the question and they all want the scoop.”

  “I hate the press,” Alicia said as she leaned against a wall in the lobby.

  Personally, I didn’t have a reason to hate the press, but I also wasn’t often the subject of their attention. I assumed it would get really old really fast if they were always asking you questions and following you around. Celebrities always complained about the press and after just this short interaction, I could see why they disliked the paparazzi so much.

  “Let’s get our seats. I can’t wait for the show to start,” I said and winked at Alicia.

  We made our way into the showroom area and took our seats right in the front row. Alicia sure was a big deal in the fashion world and I liked getting to be her date; even if it meant I had to look at clothes for an hour straight. I liked being in the front row of events, getting backstage passes and other elite level things. It was a sign of wealth and I loved to make sure people knew I was wealthy.

  “Get ready, and please don’t laugh, no matter what,” Alicia said when the lights turned down.

  “Why would I laugh?”

  “Just don’t do it,” Alicia smiled and I suddenly got really worried about what I was going to see on that stage.

  The music started and it seemed like a normal fashion show. Lights moved in all directions as the upbeat music pumped. Then the first model came out and I realized just why Alicia had prepared me. She was right, it was really hard not to laugh.

  He was dressed in ripped clothing that looked like it was filthy. The model also looked filthy with his long hair teased out and dirt or dirt-looking makeup all over his face. I even thought I smelled him and his filth as he walked by. It was impossible to imagine what the clothes looked like when they weren’t dirty, or what they would look like on a regular person.

  I looked around the room to see the shocked faces of everyone else as they watched the show, but to my surprise everyone was not shocked. The crowd intently watched the model and then clapped loudly as he went off stage and another model came out.

  Alicia looked over at me and just smiled as we continued to watch the model or homeless youth. It wasn’t my scene and Alicia knew it. She grabbed my hand and held onto it, though, probably because she didn’t want me to leave. But either way, I wasn’t about to turn down a little intimacy with her.

  The show seemed to go on forever as more and more stinky, dirty models made their way down the runway. It baffled me why everyone was so excited. I seriously could not understand what the excitement was for. I could have donated some of my old clothes to homeless men and let them walk down the runway and they would have looked nicer than the models.

  When all was said and done, we made our way out of the auditorium and back to our car. I couldn’t stop shaking my head back and forth as I thought about the craziness that I had just witnessed. It was certainly a prime reason why I was not interested in the clothing market.

  “Does she think that this show will help her sell her clothing?” I asked.

  “Oh, she already sold her line to Nordstrom’s.”

  “Really? Why would a fancy retailer like that want her dirty clothes?”

  “They have a huge clientele of rich kids that want to look grunge. I think she’ll do very well there.”

  “Wow, I’m just in awe. I cannot believe people liked that.”

  “It’s hard to get used to the weirdness of the fashion industry.”

  “Yes. Yes, it is.”

  “Are you alright with having the driver drop me off first?” Alicia asked.

  I was surprised. We hadn’t had dinner or drinks or anything yet. We had basically only sat and watched homeless looking hot twentysomething's walk on a runway. It wasn’t a long enough date to get to know her or work on getting her to invite me back to her apartment.

  “No drinks or dinner?” I asked, hopefully that she would agree to one of them.

  “Not tonight. I need to get some sleep.”

  I scrambled in my head to try and figure out how I could make the date last longer. I needed more time with her. I needed inside her apartment. My money was tied up in her company and I really wanted to get it out if there was illegal securities fraud or money laundering going on. I also desperately wanted time alone…in bed…with Alicia.

  As we pulled in front of her building, panic set in. I didn’t want to was
te the entire night and I certainly hadn’t found out any more information about her company. I needed a move; something big that would get me in her door.

  “Can I use your restroom?” I blurted out.

  Instantly I felt like a chump. Why had I said that? It was the most unromantic thing a man could say. I really couldn’t believe myself. What had happened to my awesome game with the ladies? I felt like an awkward teenager around Alicia. My smooth moves and ability to get a woman to do absolutely anything I wanted seemed to be failing me.

  “Sure,” she said.

  I motioned for the driver to wait for me and I followed Alicia up to her condo.

  A little part of me thought that Alicia might change her mind and let me into her condo to stay for the night. I wanted just a few minutes to look around, but I would have stayed for the night, of course.

  Alicia opened the door and motioned to the hallway.

  “The bathroom is the second door on the right,” she said as she walked the opposite way.

  I watched her as she walked into the kitchen and as soon as she was out of sight, I made my way to the hallway. Quickly I looked in all the rooms to see what they were. The second door on the left was filled with boxes and there was a desk near the window. That was the room I needed to spend more time in. But I couldn’t do it just then, I would have to come back. There were way too many boxes and not enough time to make any progress in finding what I needed to find.

  I made my way to the kitchen and wrapped my arms around Alicia in an attempt to get her in the mood to keep me for the night.

  My lips pressed against the back of her neck and her tattoo.

  She pressed into me and I held onto her tighter. My hands moved to her hips and I grabbed onto both of them and swayed her back and forth. I wanted to stay the night more than I had wanted anything in a very long time.

  I spun her around and pressed her back up against the counter as I took her mouth with mine. I needed to taste her. I wanted to feel her tongue intertwined with mine. For a brief moment I thought she was going to invite me to stay. Her whole body ached for me, I could tell by the way she kissed me. So why wouldn’t she just give into me? Why wouldn’t she just say yes?