Jingle Ball

Fuck.

“You’re a very creative lyricist, Wendy.” His smirk disappeared behind his coffee cup as he drank.

And yes, she watched his throat move. And yes, she did get wet. Could’ve been due to her new thong. The satin panel tended to rub her just the right way.

As right as her vibrator would need to rub her after work if she had any hopes o

f getting through the holidays without making a very big mistake. Otherwise she just might end up using her garland to bind Des to his desk chair so she could have her jolly way with him.

“It’s more fun to make up the words.” She tugged off her rainbow garland and snatched a couple of strands of blue-and-silver. “Especially when I get drunk. You’d die if you heard some of what I come up with then.”

“I’d like to.”

She glanced at him, frowning, but he’d turned away to pour more coffee. The guy was a hardcore caffeine junkie, drinking the stuff like some men swigged beer. Though he might do that too. She didn’t know him outside of work.

“I don’t drink that often.” Wincing at the unexpected loudness of her voice, she bit the inside of her cheek and wound the garland strands together to create a thick, glittery rope. She’d finished her dictation early and hoped to decorate a good portion of Des’s office before she had to get back on the phones when the other receptionist, Vanessa, went to lunch.

The big party was tonight and they had a lot to do to make the place festive. The sprawling Victorian that served as the base for Martin & Warner had been remodeled to look like standard office space, but by this evening, the huge conference room would be set up for dancing, and the reception area would contain enough food for a small army. Van had worked there for three years and she’d set up her share of Christmas parties. Apparently Des and Cole spared no expense for the gathering.

Noticing Des hadn’t replied, Wendy looked up to find him studying her silently while he mainlined his coffee. It was disconcerting to say the least, and she was tempted to start singing and dancing again to try to alleviate the odd tension in the room.

“I imagine you don’t go out partying too often. You’re too responsible to leave your mom on her own all night long, aren’t you?”

Rather than reply, she examined the garland she’d continued to twist until shards of blue and silver littered his pristine navy carpet.

She’d probably told him too much about her personal life. But she’d only arrived in town last fall and hadn’t known a soul outside of her aunt. After Wendy’s dad had died unexpectedly last year, her mom hadn’t been the same so they’d moved from Chattanooga to be closer to Aunt Gert. Wendy had wanted her surviving parent to be near family, especially considering Noreen’s own heart problems.

So they’d uprooted themselves and moved north—and Wendy had found herself confiding in her surprisingly compassionate boss. He’d listened without offering advice she didn’t want, and he’d helped as much as he could. Just offering them health insurance had alleviated the bulk of her stress.

Her loneliness…well, that was a different story.

“You’re the most responsible twenty-four year old I’ve ever met,” he continued, drawing her from her thoughts. “Are you sure there’s not an eighty-year-old woman hiding in there?”

His teasing defrosted her sudden freeze. “In this lingerie?” She gestured at herself, though he obviously couldn’t see what she meant. “Doubtful.”

He chuckled and reached over to open a packet of sugar, stirring it into his coffee. Weird. Hadn’t he already drank half of it? Unless he was developing a sweet tooth.

“Did Daniel Jenkins call?” he asked, and just like that, they were back to work.

No more singing, drinking or lingerie talk. A good thing, she mused later on at her desk, giving her jingle bell earrings a twirl as she considered the reception area. The tree in corner was done up in silver and blue as requested, the boughs dripping with icicles and each branch weighed down with unique ornaments. There were four small trees in the place, along with a huge towering real fir in the conference room.

That morning, a grinning Cole had dragged out the box of ornaments from the attic and unveiled them for Van, Des and Wendy. Van and Des had oohed and aahed then rolled their eyes behind his back, but Wendy had been genuinely impressed with the collection. Most were from the multi-pack boxes found at any retail outlet, with a few unusual ones that gave the trees character.

She sighed and played with her earring again. She and her mom had been forced to leave a lot of their ornaments behind in Tennessee due to the cost of moving, though she’d saved some of her favorites. They were still tucked in tissue paper, waiting for her to get over her holiday blues long enough to unpack them and do up their tree right.

Her mom needed that. She needed it.

Until then, she’d vowed to enjoy decorating the office. She and Van had laughed throughout the afternoon, despite this Christmas being a lot different than others in her past. Back when she’d had two healthy parents and a hometown she loved. When she’d had friends and knew interested guys if she wanted to date…or more, if the urge struck.

Something it was doing now. A lot.

“Hey girl.” Van popped around the half-wall sectioning off Wendy’s cubicle and grinned. “You still here? I thought you’d be home getting ready by now.”

Wendy blew out the cinnamon candle flickering on her desk and faked a smile. “Just about to head out. I had a few letters to finish up for Des. You know how he is, the taskmaster.”

“Oh, am I?” Des appeared behind Van, his big hands cupping her shoulders. Her short blond curls bounced around her face as she hurriedly made room for him at her side. “And here the taskmaster dragged himself from his endless piles of work just to make sure you two ladies had gone home. Guess I shouldn’t have bothered.”

Van immediately transitioned into full-on flirt mode. “Oh, Des. You’re the best boss ever.”