Page 3 of Santa's Dirty Secret
"Why don't you take your fiancé?" I offer. "You can take the company card and get yourselves something nice to wear and make a night of it."
“As tempting as that offer is, the charity isn’t interested in your assistant and her fiancé. They wantyouthere, so they can have you write them another check.”
I sigh. "Right now, I don't have a name for you. So whoever I find to come with me will just have to handle not having a name tag at the table."
"Alright, I will let them know." She says, typing something into her tablet.
We go over a few more items on her list before her phone rings, and she steps away to take the call. I can tell from her tone that it's her fiancé. I feel something pinch in my chest, like a pinprick on my heart. I can only assume that what I'm feeling is jealousy. Not because I have feelings for Gretchen, but what she has.
Since she met her fiancé last year, something changed in her, something I can't quite put into words. It's like she's lighter, like the love she has for him has taken some of the burdens of life off her shoulders. I want that. I just need to find the right woman.
My phone beeps, alerting me to a text message. I pull it out of my suit pocket and see that it's from Rachelle.
RACHELLE: I found the perfect dress for tomorrow's event, but the store says my card was declined.
ME: We broke up.
ME: The card was canceled.
RACHELLE: Baby, please. It was just a one-time thing.
RACHELLE: You know that you are the only one for me.
Suddenly a picture pops up, and I see it's a nude selfie of Rachelle looking seductively at the camera. A lesser man might have been tempted by her fake tits and dick sucking pouty lips, but she is not what I want. Alexis's smiling face pops into my mind, and I let my thoughts linger on her a moment before I push the image away. She and I could never be anything more to her than what I am now—her father's best friend. Besides, he'd kill me if he knew the thoughts that crossed my mind about her at night, or in the morning, or in the shower, or—
RACHELLE: Do you forgive me?
ME: We’re done.
It's harsh, but I don't know how else to make it any clearer? I'm the type of man that when I make up my mind, that's it. It's helped me in business, and right now, it's going to spare me a lot of hassle down the road in my personal life. Cutting ties with Rachelle for good is the best Christmas gift I could give myself.
I close the text message and see the voicemail that I missed earlier. My heart and my dick jump when I see that I missed a call from Alexis. Every worst-case scenario I can think of flips through my mind.
Does she need help? Where is she? Is she hurt?
I press the button to play the message and listen with my heart lodged in my throat.
“Nick,” the melodic sound of her voice saying my name has my cock screaming for her. “I can’t believe you. How could you send my dad away on Christmas? I know you’ve forgotten about me, but I never thought you could forget my mother—” she slurs something I don’t understand about some kind of wonderland. “I wanted this to be special, but you sent him away.”
What is she talking about? I never sent Mason away; he texted me an hour ago to tell me he was on his way to Fiji with his new girlfriend until the new year. Did he not tell her? Anger flares in me at my friend.
There is a long pause, and I wonder for a moment if the message ended, but when I look at the screen, it’s clear there is still more.
"I miss you," her voice breaks, and so does a piece of my soul. "Why did you leave me behind?"
It's like there is a clamp around my heart, and with each word she speaks, the clamp tightens. I had no idea she felt this way. I thought I was doing what was best and letting her have her own space. It's killed me not to be there for her back then and especially now.
“I just wish that you missed me too.”
Fuck.
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Chapter 2
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ALEXIS
