The Project

“Not happening,”Devyn said, not bothering to look up from the notes that she’d made last night.

“But-” Andi started to say, only to grumble when he cut her off.

“We don’t have time, Miss Dawson. We have a meeting,” he drawled, mostly to piss her off since he couldn’t help but notice just how fucking adorable she was when she grumbled.

“Not for a few hours,” Andi pointed out, shifting anxiously next to him. “Come on, Devyn, please!”

Biting back a smile, Devyn looked up and-

Where the hell did she go? Devyn wondered as he slid his phone back into his pocket as he searched for the small woman that kept him up half the night only to sigh when he spotted her making her way into the large ballroom that the hotel had turned into a winter wonderland. As soon as he spotted the brochure in his room last night, he knew that Andi wouldn’t be able to resist. It didn’t matter that Christmas was a month ago, he knew without a doubt that she wouldn’t be able to resist the lure of candy canes and reindeer. He’d planned on taking her after their meeting, but apparently, the lure of fake snow and cheesy Christmas music had been too much for her to resist.

For a moment, Devyn considered letting her get it out of her system only to remind himself that they had a job to do and reluctantly went after the small woman that was making it difficult to stay focused. Every time that he tried focusing on what needed to be done, he found himself thinking about her, about how much he liked having her around, her smile, and just how fucking good it felt to touch her. He just…

Needed to stop thinking about her, Devyn thought, rubbing the back of his neck as he walked into the ballroom and took in everything from the fake snow falling from the rafters above Santa’s Village to the “Ice Slides” set up in the back corner, the gingerbread decorating tables, the Christmas shop, and finally, Santa himself and-

Sighed, just fucking sighed when he spotted Andi sitting on Santa’s lap, her arm thrown over his shoulders, smiling hugely as a middle-aged woman dressed as an elf took their picture. When she was done, Andi gave Santa a hug, climbed off his lap and-

Took off again, leaving him to sigh as he followed her to the slides surrounded by thick white foam to look like snow. Knowing better than to take his eyes off her again, Devyn made his way across the large ballroom and joined her just as she grabbed a red and green striped potato sack and stepped in line with a satisfied sigh.

“We don’t have time for this,” Devyn pointed out as she grabbed his hand and dragged him up the stairs.

“We have nothing but time,” Andi said, smiling hugely as she placed the colorful sack down at the top of the slide and gestured for him to sit down. Knowing that she wouldn’t stop bugging him until he gave in to the little bully’s demands, Devyn sat down only to grunt when the little pain in the ass crawled between his legs, pulled his arms around her, and gestured for him to get on with it.

With a murmured, “You’re a pain in the ass,” Devyn scooted them to the edge and tightened his hold around her as they went flying down the slide, the sound of her laughter making him smile. When they reached the bottom, Andi released a satisfied sigh as she got to her feet, grabbed his hand, and said, “Gingerbread house!” as she quickly made her way across the large ballroom, giving him no choice but to go with her.

“I love Christmas!”

“I can tell,” Devyn said dryly even as he couldn’t help but chuckle when she suddenly changed direction with a reverently whispered, “Santa’s sled!” and he found himself waiting next in line to take pictures in Santa’s sled.

“You don’t like Christmas?” Andi asked, throwing him a questioning look as she pulled money out of her pocket only to grumble and reluctantly put it away when he glared down at her while he grabbed his wallet.

“Never had a reason to celebrate it,” Devyn said, shrugging it off as he handed over two twenties to the cashier dressed as an elf.

“Why are you trying to make me sad?” Andi asked, blinking up at him as the cashier handed him the receipt.

“Everything makes you sad,” he said, reaching over to brush fake snow off her cheek with his thumb, unable to help but notice just how soft her skin was.

“Only when I talk to you,” she said, blinking up at him before following that up with, “What did you do for Christmas?”

“Same as the year before,” Devyn said, only to bite back a sigh and add, “Worked,” at her questioning look as he dropped his hand away.

Nodding slowly, Andi said, “Talking to you hurts my soul.”

“I’m sure it does,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck and couldn’t help but wonder how they’d ended up having this conversation.

“You can spend next Christmas with my family,” she said with a firm nod as though that settled everything.

“That’s not really an option,” Devyn said as the couple in front of them made their way to the sled.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s not really appropriate,” he said, but God, was he tempted to say yes.

“And spending Christmas working is?” Andi asked, frowning up at him in confusion.

“Yes,” he said, knowing that he didn’t have a choice, not if he wanted to pull this off.

“We really need to work on your priorities,” she said as the couple in front of them climbed out of the sled.

“There’s nothing wrong with my priorities,” Devyn said as the elf manning the camera gestured for them to take their turn in the sled.

“It’s sad that you don’t think so,” Andi said as she climbed into the large sled with a satisfied sigh.

“There’s too much to do,” Devyn said, which at this point was a fucking understatement.

“Which is why you hired me,” she said, nodding solemnly as she scooted over and patted the red velvet bench next to her.

“True,” Devyn murmured absently as he sat down next to her only to sigh when she grabbed his arm and pulled it around her as she snuggled in closer to him. “Did you make a decision about the gala?”

At her blank look, he bit back a heavy sigh as he said, “The gala in May?”

“Why would I need to go to a gala that only board members and executives are invited to?” Andi asked, frowning in confusion.

“Besides the fact that you saved Carta Hotels ten billion dollars?” Devyn drawled even as he considered pointing out that Harold came to his office yesterday to personally invite her to the gala, but he already knew that he’d be wasting his time since she’d sat on the couch, absently humming to herself the entire time as she did whatever it was that she did.

God, she was the cutest fucking oblivious woman that he’d ever met, Devyn thought, biting back a sigh.

“I also made sure that the boardrooms had the good snacks,” she pointed out, making his lips twitch.

“Which, of course, is why they’re rewarding you,” he said dryly.