Linda Thomas-Sundstrom - The Boss's Mistletoe Manoeuvres

“I’m really sorry I can’t help,” Kim said, lush strands of gold brushing her face when she shook her head. “I’ve already made plans for my time off.”

Chaz was actually starting to enjoy this game. He had always been good at chess. He did wonder, though, how far she’d go...and how far he’d go to stop her.

“Any way you might break those plans?” he asked.

“I’m pretty sure I can’t at this late date.”

“If I say please?”

She sat motionless for a minute, and then began to turn her glass in circles on the table without taking a drink. Chaz didn’t fail to notice that she hadn’t so much as placed her lips on the glass since it had arrived.

“As a favor to a potential client, then,” Chaz said. “Not to me personally.”

Another beat of time passed while he awaited her response.

“Didn’t you just say that you read my contract?” she finally said with a subtle tone of disappointment underscoring her reply.

Chaz found himself fascinated with thoughts about how this would play out. He had said please, right? Surely she had to realize that this one decision could make or break the upward mobility of her career, at least with this agency.

He downed some beer and waited to see if she would explain herself.

“I truly am sorry,” she said seconds later. “I’d be happy to help out any other time, with any other holiday. Really, I would help now if my situation were different.”

“Different?” Chaz couldn’t wait to hear this. If she was seriously involved in a relationship with some guy, and had that kind of plans for the next week, he’d have heard it from the people feeding him office gossip that afternoon. According to Alice, his agency bloodhound, Kim was pretty much a free agent in the serious relationship department.

“I’m...” she began.

“It’s against her religion,” Brenda said for her, and immediately flushed pink for having spoken out of turn.

Kim squirmed. He saw it. In the process, her left arm brushed his. Chaz’s body responded with a jerk. The aftereffects of the surprise ignited a new and relatively irritating blaze of heat in his chest that robbed him of his next decent breath.

“Oh,” he said. “That’s what prevents you from working on all this holiday stuff?”

She recrossed her legs and blinked slowly. “Well...”

She didn’t finish her excuse. A lovely flush crept up her neck, presenting a very seductive picture, for sure. The best he’d seen in a long time. But right then he wanted badly to throw her over his knee and give her a good spanking. Bad little princess, he’d say. Why the white lies and the avoidance? Let’s get right to the truth. You could do this if you wanted to.

Or maybe he should just kiss her pouty mouth for all it was worth and see if that got a rise out of her. Maybe if they got that kiss out of the way, Kim might confess the real reasoning behind her ridiculous holiday reluctance.

On the other hand, she might slap his face and call it a night, and he’d be back to square one. Taking it further, she might take that walk, and take her clients with her.

Well, okay, there was a fine line between pushing her away and getting what he wanted, but he did owe her a shot at the title she coveted.

His inner musings on how this might go ceased abruptly when she leaned forward over the edge of the table. His eyes dipped to the sight of the dewy top of her rounded breasts and the fact that she wore nothing beneath the red dress. Nothing visible, anyway.

Although the sight doubled his heart rate, a thought occurred about this sudden closeness potentially being a purposeful move on her part to distract him, an enactment of the power of her all-too-obvious feminine wiles. Of which she had plenty.

Hell, maybe he just got turned on by the promise of a good fight. In his family, close as they were, fighting had become a sport.

The truth, though, was that he had grown tired of women who assumed they were owed something because of their looks. That aside, he had a short span of time to get this agency working better, and a Wonder Woman could help him do that.

Working this out would be the decent thing to do. The best outcome for everyone.

“Anyway, as I was saying, it’s a special event,” he continued. “If you’ll hear me out, I’ll explain.”

She had no immediate reply to that, and continued to absently fondle the fragile stem of her glass in a way that he found extremely appealing.

At the same time, he was nearing his limit on patience. He noticed Brenda looking at him intently, and that look served to clear his mind.

“I’ll find someone to help you,” Kim finally offered. “I can find someone who will do a good job and is an ace at spur-of-the-moment stuff.”

“Who would that person be?”

“Will you excuse me a minute?” Brenda broke in. “I have to, well, you know.” Her exit was abrupt.

Kim didn’t seem to notice her friend’s departure. She didn’t lean back or try to make her own escape.

“All right,” she said. “I’ll hear you out since I don’t seem to have much choice in the matter, and then suggest somebody to help you. What is this special project?”

Chaz tried really hard not to grin. Kim had just given in, and an inch was better than nothing.

“It’s a party. A Christmas party, and as much of an extravaganza as we can pull together this late. Nothing huge, really, and more indicative of a big family celebration. We’ll need decorated trees, live music and a couple elves.”

“Elves?” she repeated with a touch of sarcasm in her tone.

Chaz nodded. “Can’t have Christmas without elves. Then we’ll need packages. Large boxes, small boxes, all with big red bows. And snow.”

“Snow?” Kim offered up an expression of surprise that overrode her former skepticism about elves.

“Sure. We can bring some snow inside a building, can’t we? Aren’t there snow machines? We can bring in some of the real stuff on trays and carts for the buffet table, as well as ice sculptures.”

She winced, probably unwilling to tell him what an idiot he was for suggesting real snow inside a building. It likely cost her plenty to hold that chastisement in.

“We’re not party planners,” she said calmly. “You do know that we’re a respected advertising agency?”

Chaz couldn’t address that. He didn’t dare. This was a test. A silly one, true, but he had to make it sound as if he needed her help. He couldn’t say that it was his family’s party he’d invade with all those Christmasy things if Kim actually agreed. In the meantime, he’d try to find out what irked her about the holiday stuff. He’d use all the holiday terms to push her buttons.

“Candy canes,” he continued. “Mounds of them. Also anything and everything else that could make an indoor fantasy come true for the company and its top tier of stockholders.”

McKinley’s lush lashes closed over her eyes. Her hand stopped caressing the glass. She seemed to have stopped breathing.

“This must be a big deal,” she said at length.

“Indeed, it’s very big. For you.”

McKinley’s expression changed lightning fast. She sat upright on her stool, taking most of her deliciously woodsy scent with her.

Chaz’s grin dissolved. Had he accidentally put the wrong spin on that last remark, making it sound sexual? Hell, he hadn’t even thought about it, and sure as heck hadn’t meant it that way.

“It’s a potentially huge contract,” he rushed to say, thinking that if she would merely agree, this would be over. One little “yes” and she’d be on her way to the metaphorical Oval Office. She just had to be willing to circumvent that stubborn mind-set and get down to business.