Naughty Christmas Nights

by Tawny Weber

  Gage tried to keep his expression smooth, but didn’t have much luck holding back the scowl. Was that all she saw it as? A good time? What the hell?

  First off, it’d been great. Not good.

  And second, she was pissed because he hadn’t minded his manners? He wanted to call bullshit on that, figuring it as a face-saving excuse.

  But the chilly disdain in her eyes didn’t give way to any hint of hurt, no petulant rejection. Nope, just irritated dismissal.

  He didn’t know how to deal with that.

  “I didn’t want to wake you. If I did, I wouldn’t have been able to resist more.” He kept his voice low, but let all the heat he felt ring out, so his words were a little husky. Unable to resist, he risked losing a limb and reached out to trace one finger along the delicate curve of her cheek. “I knew we’d see each other today at the meeting and figured you’d appreciate some sleep.”

  Lame. As soon as the words were out he wanted to snatch them back. He didn’t need to see her roll her eyes to know that was a suck-ass excuse.

  What was it about Hailey that had him so off center? He’d never been this bad at talking to women, had never had any issue charming his way into or out of any situation that involved a female. Then again, he’d never encountered a business deal as weird and difficult to navigate as this one, either.

  As the pretty little blonde glaring up at him was the common denominator, he had to figure it was her. Not him.

  “Well, thank you so much for considering my needs. And now—” she shifted her arm out of his hold “—I’ve got an event to prepare for. I’ll pull together my notes and email them to you. You can add or adjust as you see fit, then we can send them to Rudy.”

  In other words, she didn’t want anything to do with him.

  Pretty freaking insulting, considering she’d jumped his body and sexed him into an orgasmic puddle against her wall.

  But if that was the way she wanted to play it?

  Fine.

  Without another word, not bothering to attempt an argument or another lame excuse, Gage stepped back and let her go.

  Just as well. They were business rivals. One way or another, one of them—her, specifically—was going to lose. Better to let it go now, chalk it up to lust and some sexy lingerie and get his life back on track.

  Still, Gage had to wonder how many times he was going to watch the sweet sway of her ass as she stormed away from him. And ponder why he liked the idea of seeing it a few hundred more times.

  * * *

  “HAILEY, HOW’D THE meetings go?”

  “Did you wow Rudolph with your vision of romance?”

  “Of course she did. Merry Widow designs sell themselves. All our Hailey had to do was show the guy the lineup, sweet-talk a little and bat those eyelashes, and boom. We’re in for a Christmas treat.” To emphasize that, Jackie did a little happy dance through the warehouse that sent the jingle bells on her hat, shoes and necklace a dingling.

  Hailey forced a big smile on her face, sidestepped the questions and tried to make it to her office. She was waylaid again to approve a new design change, then a third time to admire the Christmas tree made of coat hangers and decorated with bras one of the team had set up in the corner.

  They were all so excited.

  Every face in the warehouse glowed, not unheard of on a Friday afternoon. Or with excitement over the anticipated Rudolph deal.

  She’d trained them well.

  Shoot for the stars, and never doubt you’ll have a happy landing.

  What a bunch of crap.

  “I’ve got some samples together for the spring-line photo shoot on Wednesday,” Jackie said, finally through with her dance. “I know you want to hold off to decide which pieces we’re offering until you know which ones Rudolph will make exclusive. But I figured it couldn’t hurt to be prepared. I’ve been shopping for accessories and props to go with it all.”

  Jackie gestured to the variety of lingerie, jewelry, shoes and pretty accoutrements spread across a long, fabric-covered worktable. “I even picked up some little goodies that I thought would go well with our Christmas pieces, figuring maybe you might want to give Cherry a little gift for the holiday.”

  Hailey had to blink fast to keep from bursting into tears.

  Everyone was so excited. So sure they’d get this account.

  Just like she’d been.

  Swallowing hard to clear her throat, Hailey tried to figure out when she’d lost her hope.

  “That’s a great idea,” she managed to say, offering a shaky smile. “Thanks for putting in the extra time.”

  “Oh, believe me, it was my pleasure. This is going to be the best Christmas ever,” the younger woman said, all but clapping her hands together. “Don’t forget, you have to do the Secret Santa drawing today, too.”

  “Right.” More Christmas cheer. Hailey kept her grin in place as the other woman danced away.

  Ho, ho, freaking ho.

  As soon as she hit the stairs leading to her office, Hailey let her cheery smile drop, along with her shoulders and her hopes.

  “You’re late.” At the top of the stairs was a loft that spanned the length of the warehouse. Between the top step and Hailey’s office was what she often referred to as the dragon-guarded moat. In other words, Doris’s desk. Manned, as usual, by the beehive-haired dragon. “You were due here an hour ago.”

  “You knew I had a meeting,” Hailey reminded her in a weary tone.

  “You knew it was Friday. I work half days every Friday in December.”

  Seriously? Knots ripped through her shoulders. On top of everything else, she needed this crap from a woman whose paycheck she signed?

  “So leave,” Hailey snapped, waving her hand toward the steps and stomping past the huge desk to her own office.

  She didn’t get any farther than tossing her bag on the chair and her coat on the floor before the dragon stormed in after her.

  “You’re sure in a grump of a mood. I told you going to all that trouble to try and impress Rudolph was a stupid idea.”

  Hailey’s glower covered Doris, the woman’s dour words and the entire day in general.

  “I thought you were leaving. Half-day December, remember?”

  “I came in to give you your messages,” the older woman said with a sniff, her sky-blue-tinted eyelids lowered in a sad puppy-dog look. “Thought they might be important. One from your date last night.”

  Her heart tumbled, then bounced around her chest in excitement.

  “Gage?”

  Had he left it before or after the meeting?

  Was it an apology for leaving her, naked and wanting, in her own bed?

  Or another nagging reminder that they had to figure out their final pitch?

  And why did she care so much?

  Sure, he’d acted as if he was trying to make nice after his toss-under-the-bus attempt in today’s meeting. But she’d trusted him once. She’d got naked with him. And he’d left her.

  “I don’t want to talk to him,” she announced. “If he calls back, tell him we’ll handle it by email.”

  Doris’s pout disappeared into a look of speculation. “No. Mr. Rudolph. Isn’t that who you were out with? Him and the singer lady?”

  Hardly.

  But Hailey just shrugged and held out her hand for the messages.

  Doris, of course, didn’t hand them over. Instead, she kept right on looking as though she was trying to figure out all of Hailey’s secrets.

  What the hell was it with people inspecting her like this? Her face, her soul, her secrets, they were her business, dammit.

  “Another call, too. This one from your mom.”

  Like a cement block, Hailey’s hand dropped to her side. Disappointment settled deep and aching in her b
elly. She didn’t need to hear the message to know what was coming. The same thing as always.

  “She said she’s sorry. She’s not gonna be able to do Christmas with you, after all. Turns out she got a part in a traveling theater troupe and needs to be ready to hit the road on January one.”

  To her credit, Doris shared the news with a heavy dose of sympathy. Even her wrinkles seemed to empathize, all curving downward with her frown.

  “Anything else?” Hailey asked, trying not to feel defeated by a morning determined to kick her ass.

  Doris hesitated, then curled the messages into her fist and shook her head.

  “Nope. That’s it.”

  How was that for pathetic? The woman who regularly scorned Hailey’s rose-colored-glasses-wearing optimism was hiding bad news from her.

  “Doris?”

  The older woman’s sigh whooshed through the room and she gave a jerky shrug.

  “Just those Phillips brats, checking to see if you’ve made arrangements to pay off the business.”

  Hailey pushed her hand through her hair, wishing she could as easily shove away all the stress tying knots in her scalp. She wasn’t ready to throw in the towel, dammit. But, inch by inch, the towel was slipping out of her grasp.

  “Maybe it’s time to call a meeting,” Doris murmured.

  Clenching her jaw, Hailey stared at the workroom floor beneath her, clear through the plate-glass window that separated the loft-style office from the rest of the small warehouse.

  Below, two desks were manned by her sales team, while her marketing guru was curled up in a beanbag in the corner, laptop in hand. She could see production just beyond the curtains, packaging up the smaller orders that were going out for the holidays.

  Her tiny empire, a dozen people total including her and Doris. Wouldn’t calling them together for a “we’ve failed” meeting be tantamount to giving up? Didn’t she owe it to them, to herself, to see this through?

  “Next week,” she said quietly, turning away to meet Doris’s oddly patient gaze. “Friday at our monthly meeting. I’ll either give them their holiday bonuses or give them as much severance pay as I can pull together.”

  A week and a half to save her business. Hailey was damned if she’d give up before she had to. Chin high, she held the other woman’s gaze, waiting for the slap down.

  Instead, after a few long seconds, Doris gave a jerky nod.

  “I’ll take a look at the books, see what’s what. For the bonuses. Or just in case.”

  Without another word, and with those vile messages still clutched in her talons, Doris clomped out of the room.

  Just in case.

  Hailey sighed, sinking into her chair and dropping her face to her desk.

  Maybe everyone was right.

  Maybe it was time she quit believing everything in life would work out if she just held on and had faith.

  After all, what’d actually turned out that way for her?

  Her father still didn’t consider her a part of his real family. Her mother blew her off with more ease than a five-year-old making a wish on a dandelion. And now her business, the one thing she’d figured she could count on because she’d built it herself, was imploding.

  Tears slid, silent and painful over her cheeks.

  And she couldn’t do a damned thing about any of it.

  11

  HER PALM DAMP, Hailey curled her fingers tight. Then with a grimace she shook her hands to air-dry them, curled one again and used it to knock at the heavy oak door.

  Okay, maybe knock was an exaggeration.

  Tap. Lightly.

  Still, it counted.

  She had to do this. Had to give it one last shot.

  She’d wallowed in misery for an entire hour. She’d eaten Doris’s entire stash of cookies. And she’d watched her employees, all buoyed up with holiday cheer.

  As she’d realized that whether it made her a sucker or not, she had to keep trying. Giving up, it just wasn’t her.

  Of course, neither were uncomfortable confrontations.

  So after another five seconds of silence, she figured she’d given it her best shot and, with a relieved sigh, turned to leave.

  “Hailey?”

  Crap.

  Forcing herself to shift her grimace into a smile—of sorts—she sighed, then turned back around.

  “Hi, Gage,” she said in that fake, perky-door-to-door-saleswoman tone.

  He looked gorgeous. More casually dressed than she’d ever seen him, he wore a plain black T-shirt and jeans with socks. She shifted from foot to foot in her Frye boots, rubbing her gloved finger over the smooth texture of her tights below her black wool miniskirt. Clearly she was overdressed.

  As usual, whenever she was around Gage, Hailey had the urge to strip off a few layers of clothes and see what they could do together, naked.

  Grateful for the cold night air against her suddenly hot cheeks, Hailey puffed out a breath.

  Why was she here again?

  Not for that, she reminded herself.

  “I was hoping we could talk. Nail down those specifics Rudy wants.”

  “He wanted them by five.” Gage made a show of checking his watch, then gave her an arch look. “That was an hour ago.”

  “I spoke with him. He’s fine with having the information in the morning.”

  “Ahh, so that’s why you’ve been ignoring my calls and emails.” He paused, probably waiting for her to look ashamed. Hailey made sure to keep her smile in place, though. She was tired of other people calling the shots, dammit.

  After a second, he shrugged and asked, “Did you send a hooker to his office to persuade him?”

  Hailey’s lips twitched. Too bad she hadn’t thought of that herself. It’d probably have taken less time.

  “No. But I did promise that I’d handle everything, including getting Cherry to show up.”

  “Good luck with that,” Gage muttered, stepping away from the doorway to gesture her inside. “Come on in. I’ll make coffee.”

  Hailey hesitated. This was what she’d come for, to talk to him on a casual—hopefully friendly—basis. Which meant going inside.

  Still, her stomach did some tumbles as she did.

  “Nervous?” he teased, his eyes intent on her face.

  “Of what?”

  “Good question.”

  Hailey lifted her chin and gave him a hard look. One she hoped made it clear that she was here for business. Not to see if the sex against his walls was as good as the sex against her walls had been.

  Nope. That idea hadn’t once entered her head.

  Not once.

  Because, she assured herself, a few dozen times didn’t count as once.

  Still, he didn’t need to know that. A man who left the morning after without a word didn’t deserve any ego strokes. Or to revisit the delights they’d shared.

  Dammit.

  “Let me take that,” he said, gesturing to her purse. She handed it to him, then slipped off her leather gloves to give him those, too.

  And, try as she might, she couldn’t hide her little shiver as his fingers skimmed her shoulders when he helped her out of her coat.

  “C’mon in,” he said.

  She met his grin with a glower. Yeah. He knew what that shiver had meant.

  But once she moved out of the entry and into the living area, desire took a backseat to curiosity.

  Wow.

  She tried not to gawk.

  She hadn’t been raised poor by any means.

  But Gage?

  Clearly he’d been raised rich.

  Art, not knickknacks or decorations, but signed-by-famous-people art hung on the walls, was tucked into cubbies, hung from a corner. The furnishings were
simple, leather, sleek. But it wasn’t cold or, well, fancy.

  She noted the pair of tennis shoes kicked off by the couch, the newspaper tossed on the chair.

  It was a home.

  That shouldn’t appeal to her so much.

  But it did.

  “Is coffee okay? Or would you prefer hot chocolate? Wine? Water?” he offered, playing happy host as he moved through an arched doorway to what, if the hints of stainless she could see were any indication, was surely the kitchen.

  She followed, this time not able to hide her appreciative sigh.

  “Wow,” she murmured. Double oven, a stove and grill, hickory cabinets and granite countertops all screamed kitchen fabulousness.

  “Yeah?” He followed her gaze, then shrugged. “I guess. But I mostly order out. Coffee and scrambled eggs are about the extent of my cooking expertise.”

  “But you offered me hot chocolate.” Something she was suddenly craving like crazy, especially if it came with whipped cream.

  He lifted a brown-and-white metal tin with a familiar logo. “Heat milk, stir in chocolate.”

  “No whipped cream?”

  His gaze heated, then did a quick skim down her body, as if debating where in particular he’d like to dollop that cream before licking it up.

  Hailey’s nipples tightened in a silent scream of here, put it here.

  Focus, she warned herself.

  “I wanted to get this entire matter settled, and figured it’d be easier to discuss between just the two of us.” She waved her hand between them. “No Rudy, no marketing gimmicks.”

  No sex.

  She managed to keep that last part to herself. Not so much out of concern for saying it aloud. But because she still wasn’t completely sure she could—or wanted to—follow that particular mandate.

  After a long look, Gage nodded. He moved around the kitchen with ease, gathering a pot, milk, grinding coffee.

  Happy to leave the discussion for a bit and just watch him, Hailey settled onto an oak stool cozied up to the work counter. He moved with an economic grace, totally comfortable in the kitchen and with himself.

  When he added an extra scoop of chocolate shavings to her hot milk, she tried not to drool. Especially since her mouth wasn’t watering over the drink, but the man stirring the spoon.