by Audra North
Thankfully, she brought up a topic that was decidedly unsexy, and his arousal abated somewhat. “How was your meeting with the senator?” She pitched her voice low so that the crowd couldn’t hear them as they walked toward the ballroom.
“It went very well.” He nodded at someone who waved at him from another set of doors, but kept walking. “He agreed to most of my suggestions for additions and edits, and I think this bill has a pretty good chance of passing.”
“Oh! I’m so happy for you!” She squeezed his arm, inadvertently pushing her breasts against his biceps. His eyes nearly rolled back in his head. When was the last time he’d been so turned on by the press of breasts against his arm? The answer was never. He’d never felt that way. The women he’d dated in the past had, for the most part, been smart and nice, but he’d simply never felt so right with any of them as he did with Meredith.
But before he could process the rest of that thought, that Meredith was the main attraction and he didn’t think he’d be able to tear his attention away when the end of the night rolled around, they entered the ballroom and she gasped in delighted surprised.
“Oh, my gosh! It’s beautiful,” she gushed. But all he could do was shake his head, because the only thing running through his mind as he turned and looked at her was Yes, you are. You really are.
***
As promised, the ballroom had been transformed into a winter wonderland—the whimsical North Pole, complete with white Christmas trees, wrapped “presents” arranged in centerpieces at every table, a lovely candy house on one side of the stage at the front of the ballroom, and snowflakes dangling from the ceiling. White lights everywhere gave the room a magical glow.
A thrill rolled through Meredith. It was the most incredible transformation she’d ever seen. It really did feel as if she were in a different world.
“Magic at the North Pole,” Andrew remarked, just as a waitress wearing an elf costume stopped to offer them hors d’oeuvres from a gleaming silver tray. His eyes were on her, but his face looked strange, as though he’d gotten lost and couldn’t figure out where this abundance of sparkle and magic had come from.
Her mind was whirling with a thousand thoughts a minute. Since she’d left her last foster home for college, she’d not bothered with putting up a tree, or any kind of decorations, not feeling much like celebrating on the same day that her parents had died. And now, standing here in a gorgeous gown, on the arm of an even more gorgeous man, she couldn’t help feeling that maybe she’d been wrong all these years to turn her back on Christmas.
She felt a sharp pain in her chest as the breath whooshed out of her. Definitely not the tribute to her parents that they would have been pleased to see.
Before they had died, Christmas at her house had been so magical, with a big tree and carols playing on the living room stereo. Her mother used to bake cake and pies and cookies, and Meredith would perch next to her on a stool at the counter when it was time to ice the sugar cookies.
Warmth and celebration and joy. Hadn’t this been exactly what she’d dreamed of when she’d wished for a family for Christmas? Or was she feeling this just because Andrew was the one who had given it to her?
He escorted her to a table right in front of the stage, pulled out her chair, and introduced her to several couples before murmuring, “I have to go now. I’ll be back for the main course, though.” And then he was gone, following a swiftly moving little blond woman behind the stage.
“So, how long have you and Andrew been together?” the woman to her left—Genevieve, was it?—turned to Meredith.
“Oh, we’re not together,” Meredith said, but Genevieve’s eyebrows immediately rose at those words, clearly disbelieving.
“Could’ve fooled me,” came a laughing voice from Meredith’s right, and another woman, Caroline, leaned across Andrew’s vacant chair, joining the conversation. If one could call it a conversation. To Meredith, it felt more like an exercise in humiliation at the moment, even though these women were being perfectly nice.
“He looked about ready to gobble you up just now. Are you trying to keep it quiet? You know, for the press? Because we understand how that goes.” Caroline looked back for a moment at her husband, and Meredith tried not to gape.
Caroline’s husband was the mayor of New York City. Of course she would understand wanting to keep a relationship out of the public eye.
Except Meredith wasn’t being coy, but Genevieve spoke before Meredith could convince them otherwise. “Oh, that makes sense. The way he looked all hot and possessive about you, oh!” She fanned herself with her hand, teasingly.
“Nothing like scoring the hottest young bachelor in town,” Caroline added with a laugh and a wink.
I wish, Meredith wanted to say. I wish so desperately that were true, but it’s not. He’s just my boss! Though by the time she got finished processing what they had said…gobble you up…hot and possessive…someone had tapped the microphone on the stage, just behind her, and she turned with the rest of the suddenly hushed audience to look at the speaker.
It was Jon Myerberg himself, introducing Andrew, the golden boy of the tech industry, but better known across America as the Santa CEO…
Andrew walked out on stage and stole her breath at the sight of him, even though she’d seen him only minutes before. The ballroom clapped for him, then quieted.
“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming out tonight to show your support for the Myerberg Foundation and for all the good work it does for our nation’s underprivileged children. Ten years ago, when I started Harbor Technologies, I had the privilege of meeting Jon here, and it was a meeting that changed my life.” He nodded toward Jon Myerberg, who was standing to one side of the podium.
“Before that meeting, I had always thought of philanthropy, of good works, as things that simply happened. I didn’t bother to really think about how giving, like any other thing we do in business, is a conscious action that we have to make happen or it will fall by the wayside. Jon changed that for me by asking me one simple question. Within the first minute of our meeting, he asked me, ‘What do you want?’”
He paused, looking around the room, and Meredith couldn’t help but feel relieved that he wasn’t looking at her just then, because it felt like her cheeks were on fire. Hadn’t he asked her that today, in not so many words? Hadn’t she been asking herself ever since she’d woken up this morning and realized that she had wanted something more?
“I wasn’t sure why he’d asked me that until I answered. Now I can’t remember what I said. I think it was something about Harbor’s software, but it doesn’t really matter. What Jon pointed out to me was that, until I’d voiced my request, he would never have known what I was looking for. He showed me that silence is not action. Giving does not just happen. It might seem counterintuitive to so many of us, but the truth is that you have to go out and ask for the action of giving. It is not enough just to ask it of yourself. One person can only take things so far. You have to let other people know what you want in order to truly attain it. You have to take action, and silence is not action.”
Oh, God. Was that her heart in her throat, threatening to choke her dead?
“That’s why I am telling all of you tonight that Jon and I have partnered to create a new organization specifically focused on helping corporations to set aside and manage funds that give back. We want you all to consider putting a portion of your organization’s earnings into a fund that we can grow to benefit the most people possible. We are telling you what we want. We are taking action. We hope that you will do the same.”
What? He was starting another company? Did that mean that he would be leaving Harbor? Andrew paused, and she could hear a few murmurs of approval around the room, but Meredith had to fight back the urge to shake her head. If he left Harbor, would she even see him again in passing, much less have another opportunity to spend a night like this with him? With someone she respected, admired, and, yes, lusted after with an intensity she’d never
felt for any other man?
But then Caroline leaned over again and whispered, “Andrew is so inspiring,” making Meredith snap to attention, force a smile to her lips and nod casually, as though she wasn’t afraid. But she was. So afraid that she was once again going to lose a connection that she hadn’t even realized she wanted so badly until tonight.
You’re here for Andrew. Put on a happy face and pretend this is the most wonderful thing you’ve ever heard.
“It is amazing to think back to that meeting, a decade ago, and realize that my life completely changed overnight.”
His voice had quieted, and she could practically feel the audience collectively lean in to hear his next words. But instead of staring out back at the crowd, Andrew shifted his gaze to the table where she sat. To Meredith herself. Their eyes locked, and she could feel herself practically being pulled into him, mesmerized.
“From one day to the next, I became someone different. It took a person who cared enough to take the time to really talk to me, to see me, to teach me how to ask for what I wanted. That’s what it took to shake up everything I knew and turn my life around. For the better, of course,” he added, and the crowd chuckled. “While that description might make what Jon did seem commonplace, or easy, I have met very few people since who had had such a profound impact on my life.”
His eyes were practically boring into hers now. “And somehow, each one of those people seems to have impacted me the same way that Jon did—effecting a transformation in such a short time that I often wonder if some kind of magic wasn’t at play.”
At that, he broke eye contact with her, but she couldn’t stop staring, watching his face as he smiled at the audience, almost everyone in it riveted on Andrew.
“Tonight, I hope you’ll enjoy some of that magic, here in this special North Pole that the Myerberg Foundation has worked so hard to create for all of us. And more importantly, I hope that each of you will take home a little of that magic for yourself, to effect your own transformation by hearing the want we have expressed tonight, and taking action in giving. I am honored to have been invited to speak with all of you tonight, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you for listening.”
He gave a little bow, and the room erupted in applause. Jon walked forward to shake his hand, and the two shuffled off to the side a bit to take photos and give short interviews to the press. Music began to play, Christmas carols filtering softly into the room, and soon the clink of silverware and glasses being moved around joined the sound of the music.
But Meredith barely heard any of it over the sound of Andrew’s words being repeated, over and over in her mind. Silence is not action…go out and ask…not enough just to ask it of yourself…take home a little of that magic for yourself…
Yes, her thoughts replied. Yes, I’ll take it.
Chapter Eight
“Thanks again for coming with me tonight.”
They were in the car, being driven to Meredith’s apartment. Andrew had insisted on seeing her home instead of taking his leave at the entrance, which would have been much more practical. They’d gone uptown from the gala to drop her off, while he lived downtown.
And yet she couldn’t manage to let it really bother her. They were sprawled in the backseat, falling into the leather, hands nearly touching on the cushion between them, and the outside world seemed impossibly far away.
“I had a wonderful time,” she sighed, enjoying the profound relief of being off her feet.
“Really?” He turned to face her, bringing his body that much closer to hers, his eyes gleaming as they passed under a streetlight.
“Really. The people I met were friendly and the ballroom was so, so lovely and your speech—” She sat up and twisted, too, narrowing the space between them even more. “Are you leaving Harbor to start this new company that you talked about?”
He lifted one hand as though to place it on her arm, to reassure her, but must have thought better of it, because it sort of froze in midair, hovering over her elbow. Without even thinking, she brought her hand up and threaded her fingers through his just as the car slowed in front of her apartment building.
“Meredith—” he began.
But before he could say something like, We have to keep this professional or I’ve always adored you for your work, but as a woman? Ha! No way, she drew on her ever-expanding courage and asked, “Would you like to come up?”
***
Was she asking him what he thought she was asking him?
Andrew stared for a moment, trying to process what she meant by the invitation.
“I mean, of course you don’t have to. I just—I’d like to hear more about this new thing you’re doing, but I know it’s late and you probably have other things to do, and I’ve already inconvenienced you enough…”
Don’t take away that magic she gained today. That incredible confidence. It turned him on. Turned him inside out.
“Yes. I’d love to come up.”
The driver opened the door then, and Andrew got out first, turning to help Meredith from the car.
“I’ll be seeing Ms. Klaus safely inside, Jim, and will take a taxi back to the office later. Thank you for your service this evening.”
The driver tipped his hat at both of them. “Good night. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” Meredith said, smiling, before leading the way up to her apartment.
They’d just gotten in the elevator when Andrew spoke again. “I’m not leaving Harbor. Jon and I talked about it and we both felt that it would make more sense if we found someone else to run North Star Industries.”
It was the first time he’d told anyone the name, and her reaction was everything he could have hoped for. Her face lit up with delight. “North Star? You’re really going all out with your Santa CEO nickname,” she giggled.
He grinned. “That was Jon’s idea, actually. He wanted to play up my nickname while making sure that the theme for the gala would match the spirit of the name, so that it would remind people that Myerberg was a part of it, too.”
The elevator stopped, and he gestured for her to precede him while he held the door open. “He’s a really nice, down-to-earth kind of guy,” she said softly. It was a few minutes past eleven at night, and her floor was completely quiet. He followed her in silence to a glossy white door and waited while she unlocked it. They stepped inside before he spoke again.
“Jon thought the same of you, you know. Except he added ‘smart, charming, and breathtakingly beautiful.’”
Her mouth dropped open. “He did?”
Andrew laughed. “Well, maybe he just agreed when I said those things.” She gave a squeak of protest, but he barreled through. “And he also agreed when I suggested that we ask you to be the executive director.”
“I don’t—”
“You don’t have to answer right away. In fact, I’d prefer that you didn’t. Just think about it for a bit, and if it’s something that you want, the job is yours as soon as we can wrap up your work at Harbor. But only if you want it for yourself. Not because you think I do, or Jon does, or anything like that.”
“Oh, gosh,” she sighed. “Did you mean that?”
He gave her a confused look. “Absolutely. You’re more than qualified to run an entire organization. Despite this unexpected problem with the Christmas Bonus Fund—which wasn’t your fault to begin with—you’ve proven yourself to be an excellent CFO. I think you could make the transition pretty smoothly.”
She smiled and blushed. “Actually, I meant—that part where you said—”
Ah. That’s what she’d been talking about. “Where I said you were smart, charming, and breathtakingly beautiful?”
They were standing in the foyer of her apartment, crowded close to each other in the small space. The dim glow from the single sconce on the wall behind him illuminated only her face, but he could feel the heat of her body, like a living thing all of its own. Everything beyond this narrow stretch of hallway disappeared when she leane
d closer, and desire flooded through him stronger than he’d ever felt before.
“Yes,” she whispered, green eyes glinting up at him. There was no hesitation as he closed the distance between them in a heartbeat, his arms wrapping around her back and his lips pressing against hers.
She yielded immediately, hands sliding up to his shoulders, gripping at him through the layers of clothing. Her mouth opened under his, and he stroked inside, licking at her, letting her suck his tongue and hum in appreciation before she slid her hands up to his neck, threading her fingers into his hair.
He groaned at the feel of her touch against his skin. And that was just her fingers on his neck. What would it feel like to have those hands on his body, stroking down his chest, gripping his cock—
He tore his mouth away. “Meredith, is this okay? I didn’t mean to do this without asking. I don’t want you to feel—”
Whatever he was about to say fled his thoughts, because she slipped off her glasses and slid them into the pocket of her coat before putting her hands to his coat, slipping the top button open, then working her way downward. This wasn’t a polite Let me take your things.
She was undressing him.
“You don’t want me to feel what? Turned on? Hot? Needy? I haven’t felt this way, ever,” she admitted, breathless, her fingers working so fast that his coat was already hanging off his shoulders. She yanked his bow tie loose, the two ends draped down his chest by the time his brain finally managed to catch up. He pulled her back to him for another kiss.
By the time he lifted his lips from hers again, both of their coats were crumpled on the floor at their feet, the pins had fallen completely out of her hair, and both of them were gasping for breath.
And they hadn’t even left the foyer. He put one hand on the small of her back as he stroked her from neck to navel with the other. She arched against his touch.
“You look amazing in this dress. God, Meredith,” he groaned. “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”