Page 15 of The Christmas Fix
Cat set the photo back in its place and flashed him her most winning smile. “I think I should be asking you that.”
His eyes narrowed and a deep line appeared between his brows.
She walked around his desk and extended her hand. “Cat King.”
“Fuck.” He muttered the oath and sidestepped her to dump his messenger bag on the desk.
“It’s lovely to meet you, too,” Cat said.
“LookCator whatever ‘I’m so sexy’ name you go by for work, why don’t you just do us both a favor and sashay on out of here. I’ve got work to do and none of that involves letting a camera crew victimize my town.”
“No one is looking to victimize anyone,” Cat argued, hands landing on her hips. “I’m offering you help. Financial and otherwise. Can your town afford to skip Christmas this year?”
“What Merry can and can’t afford is none of your business.”
“Well that’s just bullshit,” Cat shot back. “I have friends who live here. Friends who could use a hand putting their lives back together again, and I’m not going to walk away from that.”
“Then send them a damn gift card and leave me the hell out of it.”
“I have the resources to get this entire town back on its feet and ready for Christmas. To walk away from that is irresponsible and downright idiotic.”
“Being a reality TV star, I’d think that would be your life’s mantra.”
Cat’s eyebrows winged up.So, Mr. Manager wanted to play dirty. Good. She didn’t mind getting dirty.
“You’re really willing to pass up the opportunity to rebuild and still host your Christmas Festival just because you don’t like me? Is that really in the best interest of your town?”
“I don’t like what you stand for. Profiting off the misfortune of others? Selling a front row seat to it and then disappearing as soon as the cameras are off? Yeah,” he scoffed. “You shouldn’t be lecturing me on the best interests of others.”
“You’re behaving like an ass right now.”
He came around the desk to stand toe-to-toe with her. “Frankly, I don’t care. My town is wading out of the worst natural disaster it’s ever seen. I’m on the phone twenty-four hours a day with insurance companies and the state and concerned citizens who can’t even drink the water yet, let alone go home and start to rebuild. You’ll excuse me if I don’t jump at the chance to add to the circus. We’re a family in Merry, and you and your reality show don’t belong.”
Cat didn’t back down. She never did. At five-foot-nine, she could be just as imposing as the tall jackass in front of her.
“I wonder what your neighbors would think if they could hear you turning down help for them? Do you think they’d be so quick to dismiss the offer? Think about it. A show leading up to Christmas Eve and the big reveal of the day Merry came back to life. That kind of publicity doesn’t just go away. Next year, your festival will be even bigger. More tourism dollars, happier residents.”
Noah’s eyes flashed. “Get out of my office, Cat, and don’t come back.”
He was backing her toward the door, and Cat let him. She was going to take an extreme amount of pleasure in emotionally eviscerating him in just a few short hours.
“I have a feeling you’re going to regret this,” she promised with a wide grin.
“Wanna bet?”
He slammed the door in her face, and Cat skipped her way downstairs. She was going to grind Noah Yates into a bloody pulp and tap dance on his remains. And then she was going to fix his town.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Noah fought off the encroaching headache with sheer stubbornness. It was already dark, and Sara had called him twice to see if he’d be home for dinner. He blamed Catalina King and her sneak attack on him in his own office for it.
The woman was a viper. Sniffing around for ratings. It was people like her that he needed to keep Sara away from. His daughter already spent way too much time with fashion magazines and reality TV shows that glamorized pretty over smart and rich over worth.
He didn’t feel equipped to battle the sexist, demeaning messages Sara and her friends were bombarded with every single day. He had to admit he’d never paid much attention to such things until he held his daughter in his arms. Theneverythingtook on a new meaning.
He had promised that little pink bundle that he’d make sure she understood she could be anything she wanted to be as long as she was strong, independent, and smart.
Women like Cat? They were walking self-esteem diminishers. Those long, long legs? All that honey blonde hair? The high cheekbones and the delicate hollows of her face? He could see why she and TV found each other. Technically, she was beautiful. Stunning even. But that was only on the outside. He knew enough about Cat and her industry to keep her far away from Sara.
