Club Endless Fantasy

“I got mine with bread.” She winced. “I probably should have skipped the carbs…”

“They do make their own bread—it’s really good.” My mouth started to salivate. “I don’t think one sandwich is going to kill you.”

You’re skinny enough—I’m one sandwich away from buying a new wardrobe.

“Speaking of things that may kill me—please don’t…” She handed me my phone.

“What did you do? Add chips to my order?” I raised an eyebrow.

“No…” She shook her head back and forth. “I downloaded the app—and signed you up.”

“What!?” I slid my finger across my phone. “Ugh. I’m just going to delete it. How did you sign me up anyway?”

“It links to your Facebook—all it takes is one click.” She leaned back. “Don’t delete it—please…”

My Facebook? I haven’t updated anything on there in like two years…

“I’m not even going to look at it, Starla.” An audible grumble echoed in my throat, and I pressed my finger to the app so I could get rid of it.

“Maybe you should…” She tilted her head and smiled. “You got an immediate match.”

“I—did?” I blinked in surprise and noticed there was a notification on the app—similar to the one I got when I had a new text message waiting.

“I didn’t look at his profile, but his name is Ian.” She grinned. “He’s hot.”

“How do you know he’s hot if you didn’t look at his profile.” I narrowed my eyes at Starla.

“It showed his picture when you got matched with him.” She took a sip of her wine. “Aren’t you at least a little curious?”

“No.” I shook my head back and forth—but my finger hesitated when the delete option popped up.

Damn it, just hit delete. You’re not going to go out with someone that you got matched with on a dating app—especially a Christmas one…

“Is that another notification?” Starla leaned forward when my phone lit up.

“It would appear so.” I sighed. “What does that mean?”

“He just sent you a message.” She grinned. “Come on, Elly. At least see what he said…”

I can’t believe I’m even considering this…

Chapter Two

Ian

Earlier that day

I could already tell it was going to be a great holiday season—for business. Every time I drove by the mall, it looked like they had found a way to fit even more cars into the parking lot. The sidewalks by the shopping plaza a block from my office were overflowing with people ready to break out their credit cards and let the sales whip them into a frenzy—since they would only be available for a limited time. All the marketing reports predicted a slow season for brick and mortar retailers because the weather was going to make most holiday shoppers buy their gifts online. They were obviously wrong. It was a damn good thing I trusted my gut instead of the reports and invested in the Secret Santa Romance app over the one that helped people find the best deals on the Internet.

That split-second decision caused a lot of the developers at Alexander Software to question my sanity, but I learned one thing at a very young age—never bet against holiday spirit. It had a way of bucking every trend and turning market reports into inflated fiction. That’s exactly what happened. Online retailers were reporting average sales, while brick and mortar stores were experiencing a boom. The weather didn’t force people to stay indoors—it got them in the mood for the traditional shopping experience.

“Mr. Alexander, I know you wanted a status report this morning, but I don’t think we’re ready for the presentation.” Joe, the head of app development, poked his head into my office. “Do you think we could reschedule the meeting until after lunch?”

“Is it going to be good news?” I raised my eyebrows inquisitively.

“I think you’ll be pleased.” He nodded quickly. “We’re just trying to work out a few kinks. It’s nothing to worry about.”

“Okay.” I smiled. “Sure, go ahead and have Samantha reschedule the meeting for later this afternoon.”