Her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest and she tried to hold back the beaming smile. Jeremy wanted to meet her family. Or was willing to meet them. Was this too fast? It felt like raising the stakes in a big way. But Natalie found that she didn’t mind at all.
“Fine,” she said. “But all bets are off. You’re buying dinner.”
“Deal,” Jeremy said, sticking out his hand.
She shook it, then pulled his arm into hers. “Ready for our last day?”
“Yes. And no. As awful as this job is, I’ve enjoyed being next to you all day every day. But at least now I have something to look forward to at the end of the day.”
Jeremy tugged the beard down just for a moment, so Natalie could see his brilliant smile. She couldn’t help but smile in return.
After he readjusted the beard, they walked out into the mall, following the familiar path to Santa’s Workshop. Natalie realized that she felt the same way as he did: she couldn’t wait to take off this outfit for the last time ever, but she had also gotten used to being near Jeremy all day. What if their date didn’t go well? What if this was the last time she was with him? The thought made her realize just how much she was starting to fall for him.
Maybe they didn’t know each other well. Maybe they wouldn’t see each other after tonight. Or maybe tonight would be the start of something new. For the first time this holiday season, Natalie was beginning to feel the sense of magic that Christmas usually held. Her mantra was now more mournful than elated: Only one more day.
By lunch Natalie wasn’t sad anymore, just excited to be done, get her paycheck, and go on her date with Jeremy. Jeb had shown up just before lunch, then followed them all into the break room, fuming about her shoes. Natalie stood her ground. With half a day left, she had nothing to lose. It was more than a little satisfying to see him storm off, annoyed that his elf was wearing Converse high-tops.
“I’m barely in the pictures,” Natalie said. Jeb was gone, but she was still going over her argument with him.
“Right,” Jeremy said. “Have you seen any of the final shots?”
“No,” she said. “I think Alex’s camera has a Wi-Fi connection and he sends them right to the site. I’m guessing Jeb or someone else in the company does the back-end stuff remotely. I didn’t ask how it all worked, but apparently within an hour or so people can order their pictures. I don’t really get the tech behind it, but it’s got to be something like that.”
“Why does he have a laptop too?” Jeremy asked.
“Good question,” Natalie said. She opened the locker next to the one with her shoes. It had a lock, but Alex hadn’t remembered to lock it and his laptop was sitting right there.
Natalie hesitated. It felt like snooping. But for some reason, she felt compelled to look.
Jeremy put his book down when she put the laptop on the table. “Going through other people’s things now, eh? Are you an elf with a record? Let’s see: petty theft, jaywalking, drunk in public. Now felony larceny.”
“I’m not stealing. I’ll put it back! I just wanted to see some of the pictures. I haven’t seen any of them. And I may not see anything if there’s a password.”
But when she opened it, the screen flashed right to the homepage. “What kind of dummy doesn’t have a password for their laptop?” she muttered. “I’m in!”
There were folders lined up neatly on the desktop, arranged by date. She opened the top left folder, labeled Santa’s Workshop 12-21. It was funny to see things from the other side. Jeremy as Santa in the big green chair, a little boy in his lap. Natalie off to the side in her uniform, in the heels with the thin tights she’d worn that first day. In photos, the outfit looked even more out of place for photos with children. Thankfully she was hardly noticeable in the background.
“You sure we should be looking at this?” Jeremy asked. “I mean, a guy’s computer is like his fortress. Or something. I forget the saying.”
“That’s definitely not the saying. I only wanted to see how the pictures turned out. I may have to ask for at least one, just for posterity. Maybe he can take one of you and me without kids in it?”
Natalie felt immediately embarrassed that she had asked, but Jeremy smiled. “We have to. I’m sure Alex would do it.”
Natalie was about to close the computer when the last folder caught her eye. It was labeled simply “Fun” and was right next to the dated photos from this week. Her finger hovered over the trackpad. This felt way more invasive than simply looking through the folders that she knew were for work. But there was a feeling that kept nagging at her, making her hesitate.
Natalie knew that she shouldn’t even be on Alex’s computer. Normally she wasn’t that nosy. Now as her finger paused over the computer, she kept thinking of Alex’s subtle and not-so-subtle comments all week that made her feel uncomfortable. She had a strong sense that she needed to see that folder.
Click.
Natalie sucked in her breath as photos filled the screen. Anger began to bubble up within her. And shame. Her teeth chattered with it as she clicked through the images.
There were dozens of photographs—all of Natalie. Close ups of the deep V in her sweater. Her legs. From the back as she bent to help a child onto Santa’s lap. The outfit, which had looked out of place in the normal photos, looked obscene through the zoom lens and the angles Alex had chosen. She looked obscene.
The outfit was questionable, but it wasn’t over-the-top, or she would have refused altogether. The images Alex had taken emphasized all the wrong things. All the comments and the way he had looked at her all week were summed up in these pictures. It literally turned her stomach. Even on the days when she had worn the boots and tights under the short skirt, Alex made every picture look sexual.
Natalie didn’t realize at first that Jeremy had gotten up to stand beside her, looking over her shoulder. The moment she felt his presence, she slammed the laptop shut and put her hands to her face. She couldn’t look at him. It didn’t matter that the photos had been taken without permission and were intentionally taken to emphasize the worst parts of the outfit. It didn’t change the shame at someone else seeing them. She felt nauseated and humiliated. All she could think about was running home to change into a baggy pants and a sweatshirt. After taking a scalding hot shower.
Jeremy put a gentle hand on her shoulder. Natalie flinched, but his touch was firm and reassuring. She sat like that for a long moment, trying to keep from crying. It was hard to even breathe with the rush of shame and panic.
“Natalie.” There was so much kindness in Jeremy’s voice. A small comfort, but it quieted the rush of thoughts in her head.
“What?”
“Are you okay?”
“I think I might throw up.”
He grabbed the trash can and placed it next to her, a hand on her back. She leaned over it, trying to slow her breathing. Natalie couldn’t stop thinking about the images, picturing them on websites and social media. Getting back to her parents and to the law schools she had applied to. And to Seth. She knew how the internet worked—once they were out there, she couldn’t get them back. Or know how they were being used. Things like this lived on the internet forever. Many of them didn’t show her face, but it felt like only a matter of time. The internet always knew.
Her stomach churned, then settled.
“We can take care of this,” Jeremy said, his voice sure and calming. “It’s going to be okay. Let’s start by deleting these from his hard drive. He may have them on the memory card still, so we can deal with that next.”
“Or a flash drive. He might have made copies. It could be on the internet somewhere already or—”
“Hey,” Jeremy said, sliding the laptop away from her. “Breathe. I promise you I’ll help however I can. Okay?”
Jeremy waited until Natalie nodded before he opened the laptop again.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m going to delete the folder and clean out the trash and any trace
of these pictures,” Jeremy said.
Natalie put a hand on his arm. “Wait.” He looked curiously at her.
An idea came to her for how to handle Alex. Not as payback, but as justice. Maybe this wasn’t the first time he did something like this or the last. The photos could be just for him, but she had no way of knowing that he wasn’t putting them up online somewhere.
“Leave them there.”
“Are you sure?”
“Trust me. But I do need your help. I’m going to get back out there late. Can you manage to do my job until I make it out there?”
Jeremy smiled. “I’m pretty sure Santa can handle the job of one elf.”
Without wanting to, Natalie found herself grinning. “I can’t believe you can make me smile at a time like this.”
“It’s the least I can do,” Jeremy said. “Seriously. I’m really sorry. Any way I can help, I will. If that’s walking the kids in and out, I can do that. If it’s getting you to smile, I’ll do that too. It’s a win-win, since that means I get to see how beautiful you look when you smile.”
Natalie smiled. Even in the middle of this, Jeremy had the ability to make her happy. She touched his hand. “It’s no small thing. Thank you. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some serious elf business to take care of.”
“Can’t wait to see what you get done. Whatever it is, he deserves it.”
An hour later she rejoined Jeremy and Alex in Santa’s Workshop. Jeremy raised his eyebrows at her. “You take care of everything?” Jeremy asked in a quiet voice.
“Yep,” Natalie said.
He sank down in the chair. “Good. Because your job is way harder than I thought. Or maybe it’s just hard to do both things. Either way, I missed you. You’re the only thing making this bearable.”
“I agree,” she said, smiling. “Thanks for covering for me. Things should get exciting in a few minutes.”
“Yes, they should.”
Natalie could see a mischievous glint in his blue eyes. “Oh, really? Well, I just can’t wait then.”
They didn’t have to wait long. Jeb came storming into Santa’s Workshop just as Natalie returned the last little boy to his mother. She walked slowly back over to Jeremy, trying to listen to the whisper-shouting that Jeb and Alex were doing. Natalie sat down on the arm of the big Santa chair, leaning just slightly into Jeremy’s shoulder.
“I can’t hear them,” Jeremy said. “What’s going on?”
“Remember the release forms we signed?”
“Yeah…”
“Well, those releases meant that the company that owns all this owns the photo rights. All the photo rights. Before I deleted the pictures from Alex’s computer, I went ahead and manually sent them along to the back end of the website along with all the other normal photos. Which means—”
“That they now know what else Alex has been doing.”
“Yep. Which could get their company in a lot of trouble. No one wants to hire a photo company to take pics of kids if they are also getting pictures of…other stuff. My guess is that Jeb is reaming Alex out now.”
“Think he’ll get fired?”
Natalie shrugged. “I can’t imagine that he wouldn’t. I may have also had a friend send an email with one of the photos to Jeb, saying that she got that instead of the photo with her kid and Santa. If he checks out her email and all that, it will be clear that she didn’t actually ever order photos, but my guess is that he’s more concerned about the potential damages. Jeb strikes me as the explode first, ask questions later kind of guy.”
Jeremy laughed. “I think you’re right about that.”
Jeb had taken the camera and was looking through the pictures on the back. “Hang on, that’s my cue.”
Natalie crossed her arms and walked over to look at the photos over Jeb’s shoulder, trying to be inconspicuous until he got to a photo that was of Natalie. Alex had zoomed in on her backside. With the leggings, no skin was showing, but it still was clearly not the kind of photo that should be on the camera.
“Hey!” Natalie said. Jeb jumped, advancing to the next photo quickly. Unfortunately for him, that one was zoomed in on her chest in the red sweater. Raising her voice to a near-shout, she said, “What kind of company is this?”
Jeb turned off the camera and stepped back, his face looking ashen.
“I didn’t sign a release for that kind of photo,” Natalie said to Jeb, still loud. They were starting to attract attention from people passing by. Jeb looked around nervously. For the first time, Natalie looked at Alex. The normal smirk was missing, and he looked terrified. Good. She glared at him until he looked down at the floor.
She had spent part of the last hour poring over her copy of the release and had sent it to one of her dad’s lawyer friends. She had interned at his office the summer before, just doing grunt work, but he was happy to look at the release when she texted him. He pointed out a few ways she could approach this with her boss. Thankfully, she didn’t have to give him many details about the situation over the phone. The sooner this whole thing went away forever, the better.
Natalie recognized the security guard from the day before as he made his way over. She had also talked to him, letting him know that she was having issues with her coworkers and that she hoped he would stay close. Just in case.
“Steve from Security. What seems to be the problem?”
“Everything’s fine here,” Jeb said with a strained smile.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Natalie said, crossing her arms. Jeremy came over wordlessly, not touching Natalie, but standing just close enough that she could feel his support.
Jeb looked panicked. “I feel confident we can work this out without help.”
“Can we?”
“Yes, of course. Whatever you want,” Jeb said. “I’m so sorry for this and we will be handling it.”
“And handling him too?” She pointed at Alex, not wanting to even say his name.
“He’s been fired,” Jeb said, shooting daggers at Alex with his glance.
Security Guard Steve looked between Natalie and Jeb. “Need me to escort him out?”
“That won’t be—”
“Yes,” Natalie said. “I’d feel much more comfortable if you did.”
Steve took Alex by the arm. “Let’s go. If you have anything stored in the back, we can get it and then I’ll make sure you get to your car.”
Jeb turned to Natalie, still looking panicked. “I’m so very sorry this happened.”
“What’s going to happen to all the pictures? I know my lawyer would have some choice words about them.”
“No need to get a lawyer involved. They’re as good as gone. Forever.”
“Great. I just want my paycheck and to get out of here.”
He pulled out two envelopes and handed one to Jeremy and one to Natalie. “Thanks so much. And if you ever want to—”
Natalie held up a hand. “No, I don’t. Ever. But thanks.” She turned to Jeremy. “Shall we go? I think we have a dinner to attend.”
“Hang on,” Jeremy said, taking Natalie by the shoulder and turning her toward the open area near the food court. She could see Security Guard Steve leading Alex away. “Just wait. In three…two…one…”
Natalie heard a shout that seemed oddly familiar and then a motion from the second-floor overhang above Alex and Steve caught her eye. She didn’t see the cup in the air this time, but it hit Alex square in the neck. Strawberry milkshake covered part of his cheek and dripped down the collar of his shirt.
“Bullseye,” Jeremy said, grinning. Security Guard Steve looked furiously toward the boys running on the second level, picking up his walkie talkie without letting go of Alex’s arm.
Natalie laughed, and Jeremy slid his hand from her arm. He pulled off his glove and then wrapped her hand in his. The sweet gesture had her heart thumping. She had escorted him back and forth all week, but they hadn’t been holding hands. Now they probably looked more like Santa and Mrs. Claus.
“
I had no idea something so juvenile could feel so satisfying. Now, how did you set that up?”
“Santa’s got a few trade secrets. It was the least I could do. You handled everything else beautifully. I’m pretty impressed, actually.”
“Thank you,” Natalie said. “This isn’t the kind of situation I thought I’d be dealing with the week of Christmas, but hopefully Alex will think twice before trying something like that again … or something worse.”
“You did good, elf. Now, I don’t mean to sound forward, but I’m ready to get out of this beard. Plus, I’ve got a date with a beautiful woman later. I don’t want to be late or waste a single moment of time with her. But there’s one thing we did forget.”
“What?” Natalie asked.
Jeremy dropped her hand and pulled a phone out from somewhere in the Santa suit. “We need a picture together. Before we never put on these outfits ever again. You ready?”
Pulling her close, Jeremy shifted so they were in front of the giant Christmas tree. The beard tickled her neck and Natalie giggled as he started taking pictures.
“Hang on,” Jeremy said, taking his arm from around her shoulders and switching which hand held the camera. She wrapped her arm around his waist so that she was still close, then smiled up at the new angle of the phone.
“Wait, Natalie!”
She turned at the urgency in his voice. In a swift motion Jeremy leaned close, pulling his beard down, and pressed his mouth softly to hers. Time seemed to freeze in that moment as Natalie relished the feel of his lips. It was a tender but chaste kiss, holding promise of something more. Her nerves felt as lit up as the Christmas tree behind them and as he pulled back, she clutched at the white trim of his Santa coat. The beard was already back in place. She couldn’t help the small groan that escaped her as he tucked the phone back in his pocket.
“Had to keep it quick,” Jeremy said, leaning in so that his breath tickled her ear. “Don’t want to ruin Santa for any little kids who might be watching. Now how about that date?”
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