Aimee Duffy - The Office Christmas Party - A fun, feel good Christmas cracker of a romance!

‘Nat,’ Rose interrupted. ‘I can’t do tonight. Tom’s taking me out.’

So he wasn’t just there to taste test. Natalie was ready to bet he’d suspected they’d be out on the town again, going from party to party and having actual fun . After all, that’s how Rose had met him in the first place.

As for what her friend actually saw in him, Natalie didn’t know. He put the bore in boring.

Rose sighed. ‘Mode was great last year.’

Tom took her hand and rubbed his thumb over the back, then said smoothly with just a tiny hint of pain in his eyes, ‘I thought you’d stop this now we’re together. Or were you hoping to meet someone else?’

Natalie didn’t buy the false slice of hurt in his tone. He was using that to make Rose feel guilty for wanting to enjoy herself. And she’d long since given up trying to tell her friend she was being emotionally manipulated. It only ever ended in an argument, with Rose saying Natalie didn’t know how good a guy he was, and how kind and loyal and blah blah blah he was.

Rose’s chin dropped for a second. ‘Of course not, Tom. It’s just—’

‘Then there’s no need to discuss it further.’ He took the list from her and handed it back to Natalie, saying, ‘I can’t believe you use your work connections to find parties to crash. It’s ridiculous and completely immature.’

Natalie gritted her teeth before her temper could erupt with a string of insults. See, she could be mature.

‘Tom, stop it,’ Rose begged.

He just continued to stare at Natalie, as if he expected her to leave. And although she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction, she didn’t want to see Rose torn between them either. Taking her list, she went to her bedroom without a word.

Well, maybe not out loud , anyway. The words boring, rude and twat rolled around her skull all the way there.

If he didn’t make Rose happier than Natalie had ever seen her, she’d have told him exactly how much of an arse he really was, and then some.

Instead she dumped her handbag and fell onto her bed. So much for the perfect month of partying. With Tom around, she doubted she’d ever be able to get out with Rose on a normal night. But it had been like that for months, now, hadn’t it?

She mentally cursed him, but then let it go with a sigh. Her epic dislike of Tom could also have something to do with how jealous she was that he was monopolizing so much of her best friend’s time. Maybe he was genuinely hurt at the idea of Rose going out and flirting with other men.

Or maybe he was a bastard to the core.

Rose came into the room and closed the door behind her. She looked so worried Natalie had to force a smile to reassure her.

‘Maybe he’s right, Nat. I mean about the crashing thing. It was fun, but things have changed. And if you get caught, you could lose your job.’ She sat down on the side of the bed, patting Natalie’s hand.

So Tom had given Rose another excuse for not wanting her to go. He knew just how to pull at her friend’s heartstrings. Of course, Rose was so lovely she wouldn’t do anything that would potentially hurt anyone.

He was looking more and more like a bastard all the time.

‘I don’t just want to do this, Rose, I need to.’ Natalie shook the piece of paper at her friend. ‘You know why.’

‘Maybe this year could be different. We could do Christmas properly, start our own traditions.’

‘Christmas party crashing is our tradition!’ And the thought of celebrating on the 25th made her sick to the point she was sure the apple soft bakes were going to take a return trip. She couldn’t, she just … couldn’t.

Rose must have noticed, because she back tracked. ‘Or maybe I could talk to Tom again. He might feel better about it all if he came with us,’ she said, not looking hopeful.

Natalie wasn’t either. Tom had a weird emotional hold over her friend and he was clearly not thrilled at the idea of them going out together at all, never mind for a whole month straight. She got the awful feeling that she was losing her only friend, that soon she’d be alone again, as alone as she was when she met Rose three years ago.

And whether it was to Tom or something else, Natalie would have to deal with losing Rose eventually so there was only one thing she could do – get used to it.

Just because she couldn’t celebrate Christmas day without guilt choking her, didn’t mean she had to stop enjoying the season. And she’d leaned on Rose for so long, she was almost an acting crutch.

Plus, if she wanted to save enough to start her own business then she wasn’t going to turn down a chance of free food and drink for a month. Sitting up, she resolved to go solo.

‘Are you okay?’ Rose asked.

Natalie nodded, realising she really was. ‘I’m going to Mode tonight, alone.’ At Rose’s horrified expression, she added, ‘It’ll be fine, really. I’ll be home before midnight. Promise.’

***

The private club was decked out exactly how Natalie envisioned Christmas as a child. Silky white sheets trimmed in silver sequences dressed tables around the edges, fairy lights elegantly covered the walls and the ceilings, while the arches leading to the dancefloor were twined with holly and had tiny tea lights throughout. She’d done an amazing job, even if she did say so herself.

This was what she loved about December – all the glitz, sparkle and magic – even though she had to face icy wind and freezing rain to get there. But the atmosphere was so warm and full of joy she barely paid attention to her numb feet.

The place was packed already, with women wearing glittering red and gold gowns. The men wore slick suits with festive ties, reminding her of the cartoon reindeer ones her mum always bought her dad when she was little.

The memories were warmer now, not tinged with sadness, maybe because enough time had passed. More than likely it was because, officially, she was there as Nicole Porter the Temp tonight, not Natalie Taylor, the girl who had planned this party right down to the gourmet buffet being set up in the far corner. Separating herself made all the difference. Nicole didn’t have guilt or sadness, just a love of all things Christmassy.

Tom was right about one thing though; if Mick the Dick knew about her extracurricular activities his face would be a picture and he would probably sack her on the spot.

She’d turned his company into the first point of contact in the city if you wanted a party, especially during the holiday season. What thanks had she gotten for her hard work that first year? Nothing except a ton of overtime with no extra cash in her wages that month, or any month since. This was her way of getting something for herself out of it. And for Rose. But Rose wasn’t with her this time.

She squished down the pang of sadness and accepted a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. Determined to make the most of it, she headed towards the buffet table and grabbed a plate. A few men had already gathered and were stocking up on miniature mince pies, but it wasn’t the cakes or pastries she was after – nobody’s compared to Rose’s. Instead she filled her plate with the cold food that wouldn’t spoil easily, leaving the seafood nibbles for her next trip to the table.

When nothing else could fit on her plate without tumbling off, she made her way to an empty table at the back and filled the food bags she’d brought with her, stuffing her stash into her handbag.

When she looked up she caught the dark gaze of a guy across the room. He lifted one eyebrow, nodding to her bag and her cheeks flushed.

Busted.

But the guy just smiled a little mockingly, shook his head in amusement, and picked up a glass of champagne. No doubt Mr Perfect, in his expensively cut navy suit, wouldn’t need to stock up on free food to save a penny or two. And going by his broad shoulders and slightly muscled forearms hugged deliciously by the suit, he ate very well.