All I Want for Christmas

by Hadley Raydeen

  “Have the Tillermans spoken to any of their tenants, directly?” Niya asked, taking the tablet back to place the ad online.

  “Not that I know. We did a story about Bryson turning the mall around, but, we didn’t interview him; he was unavailable for comment.”

  I would have like to see him again. From the pictures I’d seen, he’d aged quite well, and had filled out in all the right places. “For some reason, he is having that bimbo Tanya do all the talking to his tenants. I wonder if he even knows half of what she is down there spewing while he sits in his ivory tower.” I shook my head.

  “Is she a Tillerman?”

  “Hell no. That girl wishes. She’s been trying to get her claws in Bryson since we were in school. She is a Cavanaugh. Their fathers are good friends. I’d heard from a reliable source, he’d dumped her right after graduate school because of some drinking incident that had landed Bryson on the front page of my newspaper. But, obviously, they’d made up if she’s still working for his family’s company.”

  The thought of her being with him made my blood boil. Even though I’m not his type, he deserves someone better than the likes of her.

  “Well, she sucks at her job,” Niya seethed.

  “I’m sure it’s not the only thing she is sucking,” I quipped.

  “Oh, she’s one of those ‘get ahead, while laying on your back’ type? That would make more sense because she has zero personality. Her look is basic. I don’t know who she’s modeling that lingerie she bought today for, but I bet she is like a dead fish in bed.”

  “Gross, Niya. I don’t want to think about her at all, let alone think about her in bed.”

  I reached for the bottle of white wine on my coffee table and topped off my glass, handing the rest to my sister to refill hers.

  “Well, if she isn’t a Tillerman, I wonder which one of them she reports to, and who she is laying up under?” Niya commented.

  “I wonder if it’s him?” I mumbled to myself.

  “Him, who?” she asked.

  “Keep up, Niya. Bryson Tillerman.”

  “Never heard of him.”

  I rolled my eyes. You could tell Niya was twelve years younger than me. Mama and Daddy’s ‘later in life baby’ was just starting school when I was graduating. Of course, she wouldn’t know anyone I graduated with when she was barely out of pull-ups.”

  “He’s heir to the family fortune. You know they own just about every mall and shopping center in the tri-state area, as well as office buildings, casinos, golf clubs. You name it, ‘Tillerman’ is written on it. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Parkway Central Mall is just one of their latest projects. I think this mall project is Bryson’s way of proving himself to his father...” I wondered aloud.

  “I could find out,” Niya said, inspecting her nails.

  “How in the world would you do that?” I knew my sister was a little nosey when need be. So, whatever her method, I wouldn’t be too surprised.

  “The other shop owners talk, Milya.” I almost expected her to say, ‘duh’ as if I was just born yesterday.

  “I couldn’t help it, I wasn’t around as much as her to hear what they have to say. When I wasn’t at the shop, I was generally at the newspaper, putting in hours there. No wonder it was so hard getting a man and keeping him. I never really had time to put into a relationship as I should.

  “So, you’ll get the scoop from the rumor mill on building management?” I laughed at her as she nodded her head. I knew my sister, and she would seek out that information.

  Our parents called her their ‘little detective’ when she was growing up. She had no problem digging up the goods in any situation, especially things that had nothing to do with her.

  “So, this Bryson guy, is he hot?” she asked, brow raised as she eyeballed me over the rim of her wine glass.

  “I have no idea,” I lied like a rug. Of course, I knew he was as sexy as sin. He was cute back then and ridiculously hot now. I couldn’t admit I fantasized about what those lips could do more than once.

  “Oh, yes, you do—you know good and well... How did he look in high school?” she quizzed.

  “That was umpteen years ago, Niya. I mean, I guess he looked okay for a white guy.” I wouldn’t give her more than that. My friends used to tease me back then for having ‘jungle fever’ I didn’t want to hear it from my sister too.

  “Pretty fly for a white guy?” she said, quoting the song by the 90s group Offspring.

  “That song is way beyond your years, Niya,” I teased.

  “I can like 90s music, damn it. Hell, I was born in that decade. That’s my time. Anyway, so he’s hot enough to make your teeth sweat. Nice.”

  “I never said that—”

  “He’s got stacks of cash, also…”

  “His family is loaded, yes,” I said slowly, not knowing where my sister was going with this line of Bryson items she was ticking off on manicured fingers.

  “And, we know his fine butt is single because he dumped that bitch Tammy—”

  “Her name is Tanya, and they could be back together. We don’t know.”

  “I’m gonna find that out too. We can’t have that broad in the way…” She looked up at the ceiling as if she were concocting a plan.

  “Wait a minute, in the way of what?” I asked.

  She ignored my question. “That is the trifecta, Milya, fine, rich, and single; you better get you some of that.” She nodded as if that was the period on this argument.

  A held a hand up. “Whoa there, Sister; hold your horses. You haven’t heard one damn thing I said, have you?”

  “Nope.” My sister winked at me.

  “Well, let me remind you. That man is not thinking about me. He wasn’t thinking about me back in high school when I had to tutor him in math. He isn’t thinking about me right now, while he is running an empire. Men like him like the skinny, blonde Tanya Cavanaughs of the world. Not the thick, black Jamilya Hawkins type. That is a no-go on the Christmas list this year, my friend.” I sipped my wine, reviewing the ad for the paper on my tablet. I’d need to update this to match the Craigslist ad and the social media accounts and—

  “Excuse me,” my sister said, cutting into my thoughts. Clearly, she wasn’t done with the conversation. I’d been okay with fantasizing about Bryson from afar for damn near twenty years.

  “That is some grade-A bullshit. You are gorgeous, talented, multi-faceted, and you blow that hoe Tanya out of the water in the personality department. You better watch yourself, belittling my big sister; you’ll find yourself in a world of hurt.”

  I laughed, wanting to hug my little sister for the pep talk. “Oh, hush. I wasn’t ‘belittling’ myself. I’m just saying, I know what his type is, and it’s not this,” I said, gesturing to my hips and large breasts.

  “Um, I’m pretty sure any man would motorboat the hell out of those titties. I’m just saying.” Niya laughed and dodged as I tossed another pillow at her.

  “Then why don’t you go after him then, smart mouth,” I laughed.

  “I don’t want him. He is older than my age requirements. I told you I don’t want no old—”

  I interjected, “He is the same age as me. We are in our 30s. You better watch yourself. We aren’t that old!”

  “Well, it is for me,” she said, her nose in the air. “But, it’s not too old for my gorgy sister.” She flashed her pearly whites at me.

  “Oh, no, you don’t. You are not trying to hook me up again. We both know what happened the last time you tried to hook me up with someone.” I shook my head.

  Niya laughed, choking on her wine. “Oh, please. I’m gonna need you to let that go. That happened only one time. It won’t happen this time. He was just a fluke.”

  “No, shit. You’re right; it won’t! First, he lied about his age. Then, he said he looked like Denzel, looking more like someone’s Uncle Boo Boo on the grill at the family reunion, wearing sandals with socks and all!”

  Niya threw her head ba
ck and howled with laughter. “He was not that bad.”

  “He wasn’t that good either,” I countered.

  “Aww, Sissy, no second date?” she teased.

  “You better get out of here with that,” I warned, as she continued her fit of giggles.

  “My friend is the one who suggested him; she said her older cousin was looking for that ‘special someone.’” She shrugged.

  “You need new friends.” I point at her.

  She shook her head. “No, you are so damn picky. When is the last time you had a date?”

  “I’m good. I’m too busy for a man right now.”

  “No, you aren’t. It’s been years since you broke up with...what’s his face.”

  “Malcolm. Sis, you know his name.”

  “Like I said, ‘what’s his face.’ He didn’t deserve you. You are a strong, beautiful woman, talented, smart, a business owner...that loser was a playboy and took you for granted.”

  She was right and hit the nail right on the head. That was a waste of my life. It started out great. He was attentive. We had a good time together, in and out of the bedroom. But, toward the end of the relationship, he’d become distant, acting like I was bothering him; work, sleep and video games were more important than me—when, what he was really doing, was online dating and finding his next boo. Last time I heard, he’d found some chick on a dating app, and he was ‘all in’ with her. Whatever, I was better off. My business was going downhill, and I spent less time at the paper in those six months, messing with his good for nothing ass. I’d spent more time invested in something he wasn’t invested in at all.

  Now, with him out my way, I was able to watch my business grow. I’d be damned if some new property management would come in and take that away from me. And, I sure wasn’t about to be distracted by another man, no matter how fine, rich, and possibly single he was.

  “What would it hurt if you happen to run into Bryson while you were, say…paying rent?” Niya was still trying.

  “No. Rent is paid to the office—not directly to him, and I’m not hunting that man down. You don’t know; he could very well be in a committed relationship.”

  “Doubtful. He seems like the ‘always at work’ type, just like you. We’ll see what my source has to say about it.”

  “And, who is your source?” I ask.

  “Don’t you worry; she’s reliable!”

  “Oh, like your friend and her ‘Denzel’ cousin?”

  Niya huffed. “You’ll never let me live that down.”

  “You’re damn right. Anyway, now that we finished these ads, we sit back and wait for our sexy Santa to come to us.”

  Chapter Five

  Bryson

  “Did you see this?”

  I looked up from my laptop at Clara, standing in the middle of my office.

  When had she even entered the room?

  I was so engrossed in what I was doing, I didn’t hear her come in.

  “See what, exactly?” I asked, eyeing the newspaper in her hand.

  Lord, not another newspaper incident.

  I know I hadn’t been in any drunken stupors in my vehicle recently. But, something about being approached with the morning paper, still caused my stomach to plummet.

  Clara knew all about that morning as my mother had told her all about it, so she made sure to soften the blow.

  “It’s not bad.” Her warm smile appeased my nerves.

  She handed over the paper, and the words ‘Sexy’ and ‘Santa’ caught my attention.

  “What is this?” I raised a brow at her.

  “Read it, silly,” she chided.

  I checked it over and looked up at Clara. “Isn’t this the lingerie shop downstairs that was robbed by that stupid Santa the other day?”

  “One and the same.” She beamed with glee.

  “Why in the world would they want another Santa after that happened?”

  I didn’t get it. One Santa wasn’t bad enough, snatching half their inventory and running for the hills?

  “Mall management provided that other Santa, Bryson. They took it upon themselves to get their own to drum up business before the end of the year ‘cuts’.” Clara side-eyed me. I knew she’d heard about the evictions Tanya insisted upon. From the look on her face, and the sarcasm in her tone, she did not agree.

  I let out a long sigh. “I’m not sure that is happening, yet. I want to review the financials myself. Tanya jumped the gun, letting the businesses know, but I will handle that.”

  “Jump the gun?” Clara squeaked. “That girl has overstepped before, but this takes the cake, Bryson. It’s Christmas for God-sake. She oughta be ashamed of herself—that heartless little hussy!”

  I snorted. Nothing amused me more than seeing Clara or my mother get worked up. One of these days, I should just let one of these older women have at Tanya, but for now, I’d handle it. “Play nice, Clara.” My tone wasn’t convincing at all.

  “Humpf. I’ll play nice when I want and today is not the day!” She calmed down before she continued, “Maybe you should go down and introduce yourself to the shop owner. This is an excellent idea she came up with to drum up some business. I’m sure there will be quite a few women who wouldn’t mind a pic with this #SexySanta. Plus, it benefits the kids. How cute is that? It’s a win-win for everyone.”

  “How so?” I ask looking up from my computer again.

  “Oh, for goodness sake—the place makes money to keep them in the mall, and the ladies are happy because they get to meet a sexy Santa, while buying all the pretty things, and the kids get toys for Christmas; that equals…win-win!”

  I let out a low chuckle. “Okay-okay, have they found a Santa yet?” I asked.

  “Well, I don’t know. It looks like they placed the ad a few days ago. I could go down and find out. I wouldn’t mind seeing a sexy Santa myself,” she giggled.

  I grin at one of my mother’s oldest friends. She’d been with Tillerman management ever since I could remember. Thinking about her sitting on some Sexy Santa’s lap would give me nightmares well after the holidays, though.

  “How about I go down and investigate?” I smirked at her.

  “What? You don’t think this old woman could handle the sexiness of—”

  I held up a hand. “Nope, nope. Please do not finish whatever you were about to say. I don’t want to hear it.”

  “I’m still in my prime, Bryson Nicholas Tillerman; I’ll have you know, young man.” She wagged a finger at me.

  “I do not doubt your...primeness, Clara. I just don’t want to hear about it. I’ll go down and introduce myself. I’ve meant to go down to that shop to meet the woman that tackled that felon Santa like she was a free safety for the NFL,” I chuckled. “That was one impressive move.”

  Clara regarded me with amusement on her face. “Well, my-my, has someone finally caught your attention? This is truly a Christmas miracle.”

  “I have no idea what you are talking about,” I said, looking back down at my laptop. This was the same cat and mouse game I played with Clara all the time. She and my mother were always trying to find me a ‘good woman’ to keep me company. They didn’t approve of the women I dated in the past; that is when I could actually find the time to date.

  “Work won’t keep you warm at night, Bryson.”

  She always said this to me. She may be right, but a glass or two of scotch did a good enough job, for now. My only concern at the moment was bringing the mall into the black and getting my father off of my back.

  “I’m just saying that—”

  “Don’t start, Clara.”

  “My God, you are so impossible. She is a beautiful girl, a business owner, smart. She’s obviously in shape if she could run after that guy as she did.”

  Flashbacks of her sprinting without effort through the mall crossed my mind. She definitely had long, tone legs for days. From what I could see, smooth, brown skin stretched over curves and muscles, and my fingers itched to trace along it. I’d been with wom
en outside my race in college, so I was no stranger to it, nor was I opposed now. It wasn’t necessarily the choice my family would have for me, though. My father avoided scandal like the plague, and for some reason, dating anyone besides a blonde, snow bunny would cause whispers amongst his inner circle. If he had his way, I’d be with…Tanya, but no way in hell was that happening.

  I’d have to prove myself on the business front, first, and then any romantic involvement, approved or otherwise, may fall into place afterward.

  It was ridiculous to think anything could happen with this shop owner I’d only seen from a distance of three stories in a shopping mall, anyway. She could be married or otherwise involved for all I know. Thinking about anything beyond that was ridiculous.

  “I’m not looking for anything right now, Clara. I’m sure she is a lovely woman. However, my focus right now has to be on this property and its profits. If she has this good idea to drum up business, I’ll let her know we are here to support it. That’s all.”

  “Hmm,” she said as only Clara could. “That’s all well and good, but you never know, there might be a connection—”

  “No.”

  “Stubborn ass.”

  “Would you have me any other way?”

  “Actually—”

  “It’s rhetorical, Clara.” I closed my laptop and looked at my watch. “Since I don’t seem to be getting any more work done here, I’m gonna go grab a bite, and I’ll stop by the shop on my way back. I still have that meeting with Smith Gruden at 2:00 P.M.?”

  “On the dot,” she confirmed.

  I’ll be back by then—go grab yourself something to eat, too.”

  “Will do, Boss.” She winked at me before I walked out of the office.

  Chapter Six

  Jamilya

  “Oh...after lunch? Okay, okay. I’ll handle it. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks, Clara,” Janiya said, as I walked behind the register, she finished up a phone call.