• • •
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 whic
h 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.
“So, it looks like you had a good lunch.”
“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.
“I’m sorry. I was so wrapped up in getting things out for the kids I wasn’t paying attention.”
She smiled. “Don’t apologize. I’m early, and you were obviously having fun.”
“This is one of our favorite days this time of year. The kids can’t wait to get here after school to get the tree set up and the Kwanzaa and Hanukkah displays organized.”
“No Ramadan display?” she said with a grin. “No winter solstice?”
“Ramadan was early this year. We’ve already done our display about that. And eventually one of the bulletin boards will have a display explaining the movement of celestial bodies and how that makes the seasons change. We’ve found that to be more acceptable to a lot of parents than an explanation of Wiccan solstice rituals.” He tugged at her hand. “Come meet some of the staff. And you’re welcome to help, if you’d like. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to finish up here before we go to dinner.”
“Thanks, but I’ll watch. I’m not much of a decorator.”
“Neither am I. Actually, I’m only useful because I can reach higher on the tree than the kids can. But I get such a kick out of it I can’t stay away.”
After being introduced to his staff, she found a seat at one of the only tables not directly involved in the decorating. At first, what was going on looked like chaos. There must have been two or three dozen kids, maybe more—it was hard to count them when they were moving around so much—unpacking boxes, hanging ornaments, setting up displays, and pinning things on the bulletin boards. But after watching for a few minutes, she realized that although the kids seemed to have free rein to set things up the way they wanted them, every activity had adults overseeing it. David and two others were working on the Christmas tree, two staff members were setting up the Kwanzaa table, and two more were at the Hanukkah table. And as each of the displays was set up, the adults in charge kept up a running commentary on the origins and meaning of the different holiday items.
In what seemed like no time at all, the chaos resulted in two table displays and one tree completely decorated with great care and attention—if not with designer style. Hannah had to admit it was fun to watch.
David seemed to give a few last-minute suggestions to his staff before coming over to her again. “I’m about finished. Five more minutes and ... ”
A little girl with a blonde ponytail interrupted by tugging at his hand. “David,” she said, “I finished my Santa letter.” She handed him a folded piece of paper. “But I’m worried.”
He knelt down so he was on her level. “What are you worried about, kiddo?”
“How’s Santa going to know where I am? Maybe he won’t be able to find me because we had to move.”
“Santa always knows where kids are. It’s one of the things he does best.”
She obviously wasn’t convinced. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
She sighed. “Okay. I guess you know.”
He stood up and pointed at a table in the back. “Hey, I think the cookies and milk have arrived. Why don’t you grab some before they’re all gone?”
The little girl smiled and ran to where the snacks were being dispensed to the kid decorators.
“What’s her story?” Hannah asked. “Why is she here?”
“Let’s just say her mother left a really bad situation so she and her kids could have a violence-free future.”
Hannah shuddered at the idea that anyone would hurt that adorable little girl. “She’s, what, five? Six?”
“Almost six, and her brother’s four. We’re trying to find a permanent safe place for them but probably won’t be able to before the end of the year, so they’ll be in the shelter ’til then.”
On an impulse, Hannah walked over to where the little girl was eating her cookie and sat down in a chair next to her. “Hi, my name’s Hannah, and I’m one of Santa’s helpers this year. I promise you,” with her forefinger she made an X across her chest, “cross my heart, that Santa will get your letter. And I’ll tell him where you are so your presents won’t get lost.”
“Is your name really Hannah? My name’s Hannah, too.” The little girl’s grin was so big it almost cracked her face. It definitely broke the adult Hannah’s heart.
“Well then, Hannah, too, that makes it even more important I make sure Santa knows where you are. Us Hannahs have to look out for each other.”
The little Hannah threw her arms around the older Hannah’s neck. “Thank you so much, Hannah One.”
“Hannah One?”
“If I’m Hannah, too, you’re Hannah One, aren’t you?”
“I guess
I am.” Hannah One laughed at the impish look on the little girl’s face.
“When you tell him where I am, can you tell him about my brother, too?”
“Of course. What’s your brother’s name?”
“George.”
Grown-up Hannah made a great show of taking a piece of paper and a pen out of her purse and writing down the information. “There. I have it all. Santa will be sure to get your gifts to the right place.”
As she walked back across the room, she saw the soft look in David’s eyes. “Don’t go thinking this is making me a convert to Christmas,” she said quietly when she was close enough for him to hear.
“I’d never think anything like that about a hardnosed Scrooge like you.” But his smile betrayed his words. “I’ll add Hannah’s letter to the ones I have in the office for you, and you can—”
She grabbed the letter. “Nope. Don’t get it mixed in with the others. She’s mine. And I want her brother’s, too.”
From the expression on his face, David was thinking about saying something else to her, something gloat-y, she thought. But he didn’t. He merely put his hand at the small of her back, and pointed her toward his office. “Let’s go get the rest of those letters and get out of here. I’m starving. If we don’t get dinner soon, I’m going to steal the cookies from the kids, and that wouldn’t look good on my next performance evaluation from my board.”
• • •
It couldn’t have gone any better if he’d orchestrated it. David had hoped seeing the kids so excited about the holidays would open Hannah’s eyes a bit to the real meaning of the season. What he hadn’t foreseen was the arrival of a six-year-old heartbreaker who shared Hannah’s name. This was date one, and a little blonde cutie had achieved exactly what he’d wanted for this stage of the plan. Hannah Jenkins was now invested in making Christmas merry for a couple of kids. Now he could focus at dinner on getting to know her for personal reasons, not because of the bet he’d made.
Because Mandy had told him Hannah liked Thai food, he headed for Pok Pok, the best Thai restaurant in town. After they’d ordered, they settled into a Dating 101 conversation, exchanging information about families, colleges, work experience. They branched out into books and movies they liked, music that spoke to them, discovering considerable overlap.
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