“Little bit from column A, little bit from column B,” Matt said. “It’s batshit, but she’s the boss, so…” He leaned closer, his head all the way over the partition. He clearly hadn’t shaved in a few days. “Director of systems training is one of the roles. Everyone knows that should be yours, dude.”
Seth’s whole body clenched. “They’re finally creating that role?”
“About time,” Jenna said. “You’ve been doing the job since you transferred here.”
He had. He had, and that job was his. He’d done the job without the title and raise he’d deserved, hoping that he’d be rewarded eventually. He’d uprooted his whole life to come to Albany—after very careful consideration—with the promise that he’d move up in the company. Now that BRK had bought them out, this was his chance.
Too bad about his utter lack of spouse or family. He hardly even had friends after the breakup. There were some people back home in Georgia he saw on Facebook and never actually talked to anymore, and acquaintances at work. While Jenna had been on maternity leave, Seth had realized how friendless he was.
He’d thought about joining some kind of club—although definitely not the pretentious wine tasting group he and Brandon had attended before Brandon dumped him.
But which club? Seth had been researching it for, well, almost a year. There were variables and pros and cons to consider! He didn’t want to choose the wrong club. What if he ran into Brandon and Brandon’s new boyfriend? The thought was horrific. In the end, every weekend he’d wound up staying home. Alone.
Bitterness swelled. “Guess I’m not getting the director position. Single and gay won’t cut it.” He wasn’t sure who he resented more—Brandon for leaving or himself for being so pitifully alone and indecisive. If he didn’t deserve happiness in love, maybe he didn’t deserve it at work.
“She doesn’t care about the gay part.” Matt’s face lit up. “In fact, she’s all about LGBTQ inclusion. Thinks everyone should experience the joy of having kids and all that shit. And she’s got a real lady boner for showing off how open-minded she is. So just, you know, get married to some guy, stat. Tell her you’re going to adopt a starving orphan. She’ll love it.” He jerked his head around, then hissed, “Here she comes!” before ducking back to his desk on the other side of partition.
Angela Barker’s Texas accent and nasal tone preceded her as she made her way through the maze of pods. Jenna shoved a stack of paper into a desk drawer, then pawed at the stain on her blouse, muttering, “Why today of all days?”
Pulse racing, Seth straightened his little area, scooping a few stray paper clips into the jar by his keyboard. His pen and pad of sticky notes sat in their usual place by his phone, and his notebook rested on the other side of his computer. He adjusted the thumb tack pinning the calendar over his desk to make sure the December snowy sunrise landscape was centered on the bulletin board.
Said board also held a corporate lunch-and-learn schedule and a coupon for twenty percent off at Bed, Bath & Beyond Jenna had passed along to encourage him to buy more furniture for his house. He should have put up something Christmassy. He bet Angela loved Christmas.
Compared to Jenna’s desk, Seth’s looked hardly lived in. His black and white mug stated: “I really love my boyfriend cat.” Considering his ex had given it to him as a birthday gift weeks before leaving him, Seth probably should have tossed it instead of adding a splash of masochism to his daily cup of coffee.
Especially since his cranky old calico, Agatha, had died a few months after Brandon left. Jenna had asked him once why he kept using the mug, and he’d said it was because it was the last thing Brandon had given him.
She’d tilted her head, mouth pulled down in pity. “He’s not dead. He dumped you, and he’s dating a gym bunny from Schenectady. Which is what you should be doing. Get out there and hook up! You’re only thirty-seven. You’re still young!”
Too bad the thought of hooking up left him feeling even emptier than Brandon’s absence. Seth wished he was one of those guys—apparently every other man who walked the earth—who could have casual sex and not feel guilty and bleak.
Heck, he still felt guilty when he masturbated—although it didn’t stop him when the need was too much. He hadn’t been to church in years, yet he couldn’t seem to completely let go of the strict rules he’d grown up with.
He straightened the ridiculous mug.
“Well, it’s good to meet you, Lin!” Angela was a few pods away. Getting closer.
Seth’s pulse raced. He’d been the de facto leader of the systems training team for three years. He planned worldwide training sessions for clients who purchased Greenware’s corporate telecommunications system.
Now they were Greenware Sync after the takeover from BRK Sync, but the equipment and systems hadn’t changed. Jenna didn’t technically report to him, and neither did the revolving door of interns who helped with the sessions, but they should have.
When Seth had transferred to Albany from Atlanta a year and a half ago, it had been with the promise of a promotion and manager title. A pay raise. Yet he’d received excuse after excuse. And now he’d be out of consideration for the director role because he wasn’t married with kids? It just wasn’t fair.
He muttered to Jenna, “I’m going to get screwed, aren’t I?”
“And not in the way you need to get screwed.”
“Hiya, Matt!” Angela Barker was right in front of their pod. Seth glimpsed the top of her poufy bleached hair over the partition. As she talked to Matt and a few other people, Seth’s mind spun. He wanted the promotion. He needed the promotion. Most of all, he deserved the promotion.
He rolled over to Jenna and whispered, “Too bad I don’t have a magic wand to create an instant family.” He pushed off the thin beige carpet and rolled back to his spot, clicking on his spreadsheet as he tried to look both busy and casual at the same time. It was what it was. There was nothing he could do to—
A framed picture suddenly appeared on the left side of his desk, Jenna diving back to her chair just before Angela popped into the wide entry to their pod.
Angela grinned. “Well, howdy!”
Before Seth could process the new addition to his desk, he had to stand and meet Angela’s firm grip. Around fifty, she was petite and slim, her gray pantsuit neatly pressed, a fuchsia scarf knotted around her throat. Her earrings were delicate little silver Christmas trees decorated with what was probably Swarovski crystals or even diamonds.
He said, “I’m Seth Marston.”
Jenna shook Angela’s hand next. “Jenna Derwood-Kim.”
“Hiya,” Angela said. “Not sure how much you know about me, but a few years ago, I took over the family business. My daddy built BRK Sync from the ground up in the eighties, and as technology and the times have changed, so have we.”
Seth wondered how many times she’d delivered the spiel. Probably millions. He said, “It’s wonderful to meet you, Ms. Barker.”
“Oh, I’m a proud missus, but you can call me Angela.” Her gaze went to Jenna’s colorful desk, and she neared it to peer at the photo frames. “And who do we have here, Jenna?”
“That’s my husband, Jun-hwan—but he usually just goes by Jun—and our two boys. Ian’s five and Noah’s almost six months.”
“Jun. Is that Korean?” Angela asked.
Jenna smiled. “It is! His parents moved here just before he was born.”
“Wonderful. I hope you’re transitioning back to work all right after the baby?”
“Yes, I came back part time a few weeks ago. It’s been a much better transition with the extended maternity leave option you introduced. Thank you.”
“Oh, my pleasure, sugar! I know how tough it can be as a working mom.”
Jenna said, “Seth’s been carrying so much of the workload. He’s incredible. The training department would fall apart without him!”
He cringed internally as Jenna laid it on but kept a smile on his face as Angela turned her attention back to
him and his desk—with the new addition from Jenna.
Angela leaned over the framed photo, which Seth realized was a new picture Jenna had put on her desk after Thanksgiving of her brother and his stepson. It was framed in cheery, multicolored wood squares, but Logan and the boy were barely smiling, their spines stiff as if they were lined up in front of a firing squad instead of posing for a family snap by the newly decorated Christmas tree.
Jenna’s brother was handsome in that craggy, Daniel Craig kind of way. The kind of rough-and-tumble guy Seth’s mother would have called a “bruiser” with a disapproving sniff. His wife had died suddenly in the summer, and Jenna worried a lot about him and the boy. It was all very sad from what Seth knew.
“And who’s this?” Angela asked.
Before Seth could hope to formulate a response to explain the picture, Jenna said, “That’s Logan, Seth’s fiancé, and their son, Connor. Seth has such a lovely little family.”
Angela clapped her hands together, appearing genuinely delighted. “Isn’t that something? You know I’ve always said gay folks are just as the good lord made ’em.”
My parents and their church would strenuously beg to differ. Seth kept smiling robotically. Say something! “Uh, yes. Thank you?”
“Families are at the heart of our biggest successes in this world. Too many people try to go it alone.” Angela shook her head sadly.
Seth wanted to argue that single people could certainly be just as happy and successful—his own miserable single life notwithstanding—and that some people were thrown out of their families, but he just nodded and smiled.
Angela beamed. “When’s the big day?”
“Oh, uh… We haven’t set the date yet.”
Jenna said, “They’re thinking next summer.”
“I look forward to seeing the wedding pictures.” Angela eyed Seth speculatively. “Now, Seth—if I recall correctly, your name’s come up for one of the director roles we’re fixin’ to fill.”
“Has it?” he asked, trying not to look too excited. But maybe he didn’t look excited enough? “I’d love to discuss it further with you.” And if I pretend to have a fiancé while you’re around, what’s the harm if it helps me get the promotion?
“Seth’s really been holding down the fort for systems training since he came here,” Jenna said. “He’d be an excellent director.”
“Good to hear it! Seth, we’ll have to sit down soon and have a confab.” Angela checked her gleaming Rolex. “I’ve got to get going now—duty and lunch call.”
As if summoned from thin air, a short, slight young man with dark skin stepped into the pod. He wore a suit and glasses and spoke in a deep murmur. “I’ll alert the driver that you’re on your way down.”
“Thank you, Dale.” Angela motioned to him with a wide smile. “My right-hand man. Wouldn’t know if I was comin’ or goin’ without him.” Before Seth or Jenna could reply, she chuckled as she glanced around. “Now I told y’all I didn’t need an escort while I toured the office, but darned if I’m not turned around.”
Dale opened his mouth, but Seth quickly offered, “We’ll walk you out!” Between beige partitions, he could feel the eyes of coworkers, the floor unnaturally hushed as he and Jenna guided Angela and Dale back toward reception.
“How did you and your fiancé meet?” Angela asked as they passed Becky’s immaculate desk and approached the glass doors leading to the elevators. Becky sat almost comically straight, smiling with gleaming white teeth.
“We—Uh, we met through Jenna, actually.” Seth debated whether to dart ahead and open the door for Angela. Was that anti-feminist? Or rude not to? Dale wasn’t opening it for her. Should Seth—
In the time he was trying to decide, Angela had already pushed open the glass door. “Oh, here’s your fiancé now!”
As Seth attempted to process the cheery, absolutely horrifying words ringing in his ears, he stared at Logan Derwood. Logan was all scruffy and—wow, gorgeous—in his black leather jacket, somehow standing there in the flesh. In real life.
Seth prayed the polished tile beneath his feet would open up and swallow him whole in one merciful gulp.
Chapter Three
As the elevator doors slid shut behind him, cutting off the damn cheery instrumental version of “Jingle Bells,” Logan gripped Jenna’s car key in his pocket, the metal digging into his palm. At least if he dropped off the key early and bussed it back, he wouldn’t have to make conversation and pretend everything was fine and that he wasn’t about to be homeless.
“Oh, here’s your fiancé now!” a woman exclaimed. Small and aggressively blond, her teeth flashed in a blinding smile. Beside her was a tall, slim man with dark brown hair and blue eyes gone comically wide. The vaguely familiar man gaped at Logan as the woman stuck out her hand. “Logan, wasn’t it?”
He automatically shook her hand. “Uh, yes. Logan.” That part was right, although he sure as hell wasn’t anyone’s fiancé, least of all this stuffed shirt’s. Clothes perfectly ironed and tucked in, not a hair out of place. Although at the moment, the man’s face was bright red, and he looked as if he might puke all over the woman’s fancy stilettos.
Jenna and another man trailed them, Jenna’s frozen expression of horror making Logan tense. He hated seeing her upset. That’s when it clicked into place—the tall guy was Jenna’s co-worker. Her boss, maybe? Logan recognized him from the odd Facebook post.
Since Jenna and her boss didn’t seem able to do anything but stare mutely, and the short man only came to stand beside the blond woman with a passive expression, Logan was forced to speak. “Um, good to meet you…”
“Angela Barker from Dallas, Texas. President and CEO of BRK Sync, which owns Greenware now. I’m getting out in the field and meeting the family, like your fiancé. Seth was telling me about your wedding plans.”
“Was he?” Logan asked. Behind Angela, Jenna nodded frantically at him, making a rolling motion with her hand, gaze imploring. Logan tried to smile, glancing at this Seth, who appeared close to hyperventilating, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
What the fuck is all this?
Angela beamed. “I think it’s so wonderful you two will be creating a family with your son. Family first, I always say. Gay or straight!”
My son? He wanted to scoff as he thought of Connor’s hunched shoulders and hateful scowl. Shit, Logan just wanted to be alone, but Jenna pleaded with her eyes, and he couldn’t deny her anything.
He bit down the knee-jerk denial that he was gay and kept what he hoped was a friendly expression on his face. Clearly he’d been roped into some kind of weird scheme, although for the life of him he couldn’t guess what the hell it was about. Seth stood beside Angela with a rigid smile.
“And what do you do, Logan?” Angela asked.
There it was again, the shame somehow jaggedly icy yet burning as it ripped through him. I don’t do anything. I’m a useless waste of fucking space. He cleared his throat and said, “Railway work.” At least it had been true for more than ten years.
“Oh, how fascinating!” A gleam entered Angela’s eye. “You know, I have been on the road so much lately, and I would kill for a home-cooked meal.” She glanced at Seth. “What would you two say if I shamelessly invited myself over for dinner while I’m in town?”
Logan would say he had no fucking idea what was going on, but he only raised an eyebrow at Seth, who said, “Uh, th—that would be wonderful, Angela! It would be our pleasure.”
To the short young man in the suit, who was probably her assistant, Angela said, “Talk to Seth and schedule something for next week before the retreat.” She turned back to the rest of them. “I hope you’re as excited about the retreat as I am! Going to be fun for the whole family. I know I’m springing it on y’all, but I hope you can make it.”
The tinny notes of a pop song echoed from Angela’s dark-pink purse, and she exclaimed, “I’m so sorry, but that’s my daughter’s ring tone. She loves that Shawn Mendes.” She swiped to answe
r. “Hey, sugar! Hold on a sec.” To Logan and Seth, she smiled widely. “So wonderful to meet you. I look forward to seeing you both again soon! Don’t worry, I’m not a fussy eater!”
Logan took the opportunity to turn and press the elevator call button so he wouldn’t have to say anything else. Thank fuck it had parked on the floor, and the doors opened immediately. He nodded and tried to smile as Angela stepped on with her assistant, chattering to her daughter about a dog named “Pom-pom” who was pissing on the furniture.
Jenna twisted a loose curl from her ponytail around her finger the way she did when she was stressed as hell. As soon as the elevator doors shut, she and Seth exhaled loudly. Seth rubbed his face, mumbling, “This was a terrible idea.” Then he hissed to Jenna, “This was a terrible idea!”
Jenna glanced around the empty foyer, and Logan looked as well. To the right, through glass doors, a young redheaded woman at reception watched them with sharp-eyed interest.
Jenna whispered, “I was just trying to help!”
“Someone want to fill me in on what the hell’s going on?” Logan asked.
Seth winced. “I’m so sorry. Thank you for playing along.”
“Anything for my fiancé,” Logan said dryly. “Seth, is it?”
“Seth Marston.” He extended his hand. “I work with Jenna.”
Logan shook Seth’s sweaty palm. “Right. And how did we get engaged? Neat trick since we’ve never met and I’m not gay.”
“Let’s discuss this in a breakout room,” Jenna said, leading the way into the carpeted main area past the redhead, who didn’t try to hide her curiosity as they went by. Jenna chose the first of the rooms that ran down a long wall. After knocking and poking her head in, she ushered them in and closed the door.
Jenna stood by the oval table in the middle of the narrow, windowless room. “I thought you were coming to pick me up at three?”
“Got done early. I’ll bus it back. Sorry to mess up your little plan, whatever the hell it is.” Logan crossed his arms and glared at Seth. “You in the habit of telling people I’m your boyfriend?”
The Christmas Deal Page 3