An Unexpected Holiday Gift

by Martha Kennerson

  Ignoring his mother, Colby opened the front door and took off down the hall, heading to his class. Mia walked through the door in time to see Colby run directly into Keylan, who caught him before he hit the ground. “Whoa, slow down, little man, and watch where you’re going. Men, big and small, always walk with their heads held high. It commands respect and it shows confidence,” Keylan educated his young new friend.

  “Colby, baby,” Mia called out, running to her son’s side. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Mommy.” His voice was stern and his chin rose. Mia knew how much he hated being treated like a baby.

  Mia looked up at Keylan and offered him a half smile. “Sorry about that. He’s a little excited to get here today. You have to watch where you’re going, Colby. We talked about this,” she scolded.

  “What’s confidence, Mommy?” Mia cut her eyes to Keylan before dropping them back to her son.

  “It means you believe in yourself, in what you can do,” she explained.

  “I’m confidence I can play with Keylan today,” he declared with a big smile.

  Keylan grinned. “Yes, I will, but after school.”

  “No, play now.” Colby stomped his foot and fisted his hands at his sides. Mia knew a full-blown tantrum would soon follow. It was something she rarely experienced and it was usually done in private.

  “Colby—”

  Keylan raised his hand to stop Mia’s intervention, knelt and held Colby’s gaze. “No,” he replied with a little more bass in his voice. “I said we’ll play after school. School first and, if you’re good...” Keylan gave a half smile as if he was prompting Colby.

  Colby sighed, dropped his little shoulders and relaxed his hands. “I get to play with Keylan.”

  “That’s right.” His voice had returned to its normal octave. Keylan ran his hand through Colby’s hair. “You need a haircut, little man.”

  “Keylan can cut it.” Colby’s eyebrows stood at attention.

  “Sure—”

  Mia cleared her throat. “Time to get to class, son.”

  Keylan stood. “See you later, man.”

  “Bye, Keylan,” Colby called as he made his way down the hall toward his teacher, who was waving and greeting him with a friendly smile.

  “Bye, son,” Mia whispered, suddenly feeling like a third wheel.

  “I am—”

  “I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t try to discipline my son.” Mia moved past Keylan and walked toward her office. The nerve of him.

  “Good morning,” Sandra greeted, her eyes scanning Mia’s outfit: a Michael Kors camouflage short-sleeved scoop-necked dress and platform heels. “Where are you going?”

  “Morning,” Mia replied, ignoring her question, walking into her office with Keylan on her heels.

  Keylan crossed the office threshold and closed the door behind him. “Excuse me.”

  Mia set her things on her desk and turned to face Keylan, her hands placed firmly on her hips. “You heard me. I’m perfectly capable of handling my son’s inappropriate behavior. I don’t need your help.”

  Keylan slowly walked toward Mia. She couldn’t help but notice how handsome he looked in his blue suit and she wanted to kick herself. “I wasn’t disciplining Colby. Discipline indicates some form of punishment has been imposed. What I did was simply educate him on a few facts about our male species and remind Colby of our deal, which allowed him to self-correct.”

  Mia wrapped her arms around her waist and raised her chin slightly. “I could’ve handled it.” She knew she was overreacting but Colby’s growing infatuation with Keylan annoyed her.

  “I’m sure you could have,” he said. The corners of his mouth rose slightly.

  “What are you doing here so early?”

  “My aunt Elizabeth asked me to cover a few things here for her, since I’ll be hanging out at the office for a few weeks.”

  Lucky me. “Cover things like what, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “Not at all. There are a couple of meetings she’d like me to take and I have a few ideas regarding some new programs and activities we’d like to explore.”

  “New activities?”

  There was a knock on the door and it opened slowly. “Good morning,” a soft voice called out.

  Mia dropped her arms and took a step forward. “Miss Elizabeth, good morning.”

  “Good morning, Mia, darling,” she replied, pulling her into a hug.

  “Aunt Elizabeth, you’re early.” Keylan hugged his aunt and kissed her on the cheek. “You look lovely.”

  Elizabeth looked down at her gray, pleated, short-sleeved Calvin Klein dress and smiled. “Thank you. Your mother insisted that I dress a little more conservative when I come into the office. But—” she pointed to her gray-and-hot-pink shoes with bows on the heels “—she can’t control everything.” She laughed.

  Mia smiled and Keylan laughed. “She certainly tries. Good for you, Auntie.”

  “Can I get you anything to drink? Tea perhaps?” Mia offered.

  Elizabeth took a seat in one of the chairs facing Mia’s desk. Mia sat in the one next to hers while Keylan stood beside the desk, his hands in his pockets.

  “No, I’ve had my fill. I just wanted to bring you up to date on a decision we’ve made.”

  Mia’s eyes cut to Keylan’s. “Yes, your nephew was just bringing me up to speed on things.”

  “With our company coming under siege by the government, my sister needs me to play a more active role. I do own half the company.” She crossed her legs at her ankles and gripped her crystal-encrusted handbag. “I know it’s hard to believe, but my sister has a few weaknesses that I help strengthen.”

  “My mother weak? Not possible,” Keylan mocked.

  “I must agree. Your sister’s the most intimidating person I’ve ever met,” Mia confessed.

  Elizabeth laughed. “Our husbands, who were brothers, were intimidating. My sister is just about as weak as I am strong,” she admitted.

  “I’m sorry, but I can’t believe that. You’re one of the strongest people I know,” Mia declared while Keylan nodded in agreement.

  “Thank you, my dear, but we all have our weaknesses or weak moments. The key is finding someone who’s there for us in those moments.” Mia’s and Keylan’s eyes collided. “With the death of our husbands, we became that for each other... That’s enough of that. I’ve asked Keylan to step in for me here so I can help Victoria. I’m leaving you in good hands.”

  Mia angled her body more toward Elizabeth. “With all due respect, Miss Elizabeth, and no offense—” She looked up briefly at Keylan, who was slowly shaking his head. “What does he know about the daily operations of the foundation?”

  The corners of Keylan’s mouth turned up as he leaned back against Mia’s desk, then slowly removed his hands from his pockets and raised them. “I assure you, Mia, my hands are quite capable.”

  Elizabeth swatted Keylan’s hand. “Stop teasing Mia. My dear, I assure you my nephew is more than capable of running this place. After all, this foundation was his idea.” Elizabeth rose from her seat. “Now I’m going to go say hello to everyone before I head out. Walk with me, Keylan.”

  His idea?

  “Of course.” Keylan offered her his arm.

  “Have a good day, my dear, and kiss that beautiful son of yours.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Mia stood and watched as the Kingsleys took their exit. She walked around her desk, plopped down in her chair and kicked off her shoes. Crossing her arms on her desk, she dropped her head down.

  “Mia?” Sandra called, walking into the office. “Are you all right?”

  “Not even a little bit.” Mia raised her head. “Close the door.”

  Sandra complied and took a seat. “What’s going on?”


  “It seems Mr. Kingsley will be ‘assisting’—” she used air quotes to emphasize the word “—us for the next I-don’t-know-how-long.”

  Sandra presented Mia with a smile that spoke volumes. “Really?”

  Mia rolled her eyes skyward. “Can you please keep your hormones in check for just a moment and focus on what that means?”

  “What does that mean?” Sandra frowned.

  “I don’t know, and that’s the problem. Get this—according to Elizabeth Kingsley the foundation was his idea.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep, and since he’s a Kingsley and this is their foundation, he can do whatever the heck he wants, with or without my input.”

  “Well, that explains all that additional equipment that just got delivered to the gym.”

  Mia frowned. “What equipment?”

  “The treatment table, a NordicTrack, an exercise bike, an electrical muscle-stimulation machine and a bunch of rubber-band-looking things.” Her confusion was clear.

  “They’re called isokinetics. They help build strength and assist with flexibility,” Keylan explained, walking into the office.

  “What’s up with the electrical muscle machine?” Sandra asked, flexing her arm muscles. “I could use some help in that area but I really don’t like to sweat. Unless it’s sexy time and—”

  “Sandra.” Mia glared at her friend and assistant.

  Keylan snickered. “Electrical muscle stimulation helps rebuild basic tone and strengthens. If you’d really like to work on building muscles, I can recommend a good personal trainer I know.”

  “He single?” Sandra’s eyes lit up.

  “No, she’s married,” he advised.

  Sandra shrugged. “I’ll think about it. Do you need anything else, boss lady?”

  “Yes, I need you to stop calling me boss lady.”

  “Got it,” she said, laughing, as she walked out of the room.

  “What’s going on? Why are you having all this equipment delivered here?” Mia questioned.

  “I’m moving my therapy session here,” he explained, silencing his buzzing phone.

  “You’re doing what?” Mia’s eyes widened.

  “It just makes sense. I’ll be working here every day for the next few weeks, so having my physical therapy here will make it that much easier to balance it all.”

  “About that...”

  Keylan’s forehead creased. “What about it?”

  Before Mia could reply there was a knock on the open door. “Excuse me, but no one’s at the desk,” a tall and slender dark-haired beauty, wearing a pink-and-black workout outfit similar to one Mia owned—only she was sure it didn’t look nearly as good on her—interrupted, smiling.

  Keylan looked over his shoulder and gifted the beautiful woman with a broad smile. It was the type of smile that caused a pain in Mia’s heart; one she couldn’t explain. Keylan stood. “McKenzie, what’re you doing here so early?” He checked his watch.

  “I was in the area and since my appointment canceled, I figured I’d stop by and check out the new setup. Did everything arrive on time?”

  “Sure did, thanks for setting everything up for me.”

  “Anything for you, you know that,” she said, giving Keylan a smile so wide Mia swore she could see every tooth in her head.

  Mia cleared her throat.

  “My apologies, please excuse my manners. Mia, this is McKenzie, she’s my—”

  “Oh, yes, his personal trainer.” For some reason knowing that this beautiful woman was in fact his married personal trainer made Mia feel better instantly. “Pleased to meet you. We were just talking about you.” Mia offered her hand.

  The woman’s eyebrows rose and she gave Mia’s hand a small shake. “Actually, I am—”

  “Dr. McKenzie Lee, and she’s not my trainer,” Keylan corrected. “McKenzie’s my physical therapist.”

  “Oh, sorry about that.” Mia’s eyes automatically dropped to the woman’s ring-free hands.

  “No problem.” She turned her attention to Keylan. “Care to show me around, KJ?”

  “Sure, but at breakfast you said you had another appointment.”

  Breakfast with a tall, beautiful doctor. I should have known. Mia had no idea why she was so annoyed by the idea.

  “I did, but it got canceled, too. If you have time, we can get started early.”

  “Sure.” Keylan turned to face Mia. “I made a few notes and recommendations on activities and programs that I’d like for you to review. I emailed them to you. We can discuss them this afternoon.”

  “Of course.” Mia’s eyes bore into him. She didn’t even try to hide her annoyance.

  “Until later, then...”

  Chapter 7

  Mia watched as Keylan led his beautiful therapist out of the office. She went back to her desk, sat down and fired up her computer. “Notes for me to review. Who the hell does he think he is? The boss, that’s who,” she reminded herself, sitting back in her chair, waiting for her computer to come to life.

  Sandra walked into the office holding a tray with a plate of muffins and two glasses of milk. “I thought we could use a morning break so we can sample some of the new chef’s muffins.” She took a big whiff. “They look and smell divine.”

  Mia sat forward and her brows snapped together. “Wait—what new chef?”

  “Her name is Donna Shea. From what I could gather, she’s Keylan’s personal chef and has been for years.”

  “So he brought in his personal chef to cook for him while he’s here?” She rolled her eyes skyward. “Typical rich-playboy crap.”

  “No, she’s here to help out. She’s going to run the kitchen from now on. I guess Keylan wants to bring in some extra help for the line cooks,” Sandra replied before biting into a cranberry muffin.

  “Who authorized this change?”

  Sandra covered her mouth and said, “He did, I guess. Anyway, the cooks don’t seem to mind much.” She picked up her glass and drank some of her milk. “Damn, this is good. It’s made with Greek yogurt.”

  Remembering Keylan’s final words, Mia turned to her computer, searched her system and found his email. She began reading through his notes and recommendations. “Hmm...” Mia frowned.

  “What is it?” Sandra asked, reaching for one of the blueberry muffins. “You’re not having one?”

  Mia waved off her friend and continued reading.

  “Whatever you’re reading can’t be as good as these muffins,” Sandra said, licking her fingers.

  Mia released a deep sigh. “Since I haven’t tried the muffins, I can’t make a comparison. However, his program recommendations and changes to the nutritional menus are actually pretty good.”

  “Care to share?”

  “He wants to use that tract of land between the kitchen and the playground to cultivate a garden so we can grow vegetables and herbs that can be used in the kitchen. He even wants to set up cooking classes for the kids and their parents. He basically wants to help bring better eating habits to the community at large.”

  “Well, that’s cool.” Sandra finished off her milk. “You sound surprised.”

  “I am, actually. I wonder what other surprises he has in store for me,” she said, reaching for a cranberry muffin as she continued to read. “He wants to offer more services to the community.”

  “Like what?”

  “Extended child care. He wants to institute a parents’ night out program and extend some of the financial and educational services we already offer. He’s even attached relevant research to his proposal. His recommendations are actually pretty insightful.”

  “That all sounds great. Personally, I can’t wait until lunchtime.”

  Mia laughed. “Why?” she asked, using her
mouse to flip through the pages on her screen.

  “Because Ms. Donna is making fish and turkey tacos for everyone. If they are half as good as these muffins, we’re in for a real treat.” Sandra stood, gathered up the trash and empty glasses. “I better get back to work.”

  “Yes, you should,” Mia agreed, smiling up at Sandra and watching as she left the office, closing the door behind her.

  Mia printed out all the documents and immediately began reading through them, making notes as she read. Halfway through, Mia found her mind drifting toward thoughts of the author. She checked her watch and was surprised to see how close to noon it had gotten.

  Mia sat back in her chair and began tapping her nails on her desk. “Oh, what the hell...that’s what it’s for.” Who are you trying to fool? Mia turned to her computer and ran her fingers across the keyboard. Within seconds multiple smaller windows appeared on her screen. An image in a center box immediately caught her attention. Mia exited out of the other windows, expanding the one that held her greatest interest. She stared at the muscular vision wearing black biker’s shorts and tennis shoes and had sweat running down his broad, bare chest. He was pedaling on the NordicTrack machine.

  “Oh, my...” Mia sat back and watched Keylan work out and his arm, thigh and chest muscles began to contract. Mia felt a warm tingling sensation building between her legs and the need to cross them was too great to resist. She tightened her thigh muscles as they met, releasing a slow, labored breath. She ran her right hand slowly across her lips, over her chin and down her neck as she closed her eyes. Mia began to wonder what it would be like to be the beneficiary of all the exertion as her hips began to sway in her seat.

  “You all right, boss lady?”

  Mia’s eye’s popped opened. She dropped her hands and sat up in the chair.

  Sandra stood in the doorway, her mouth twisted upward. “I did knock.”

  “Excuse me...oh, yes, well... I guess I didn’t hear you,” she explained, hoping her face wasn’t as red as Sandra’s lipstick.