Page 59 of Bad Boy Bachelor Christmas
Justin crossed one leg over the other and brought his coffee to his lips. I felt his eyes on me.
“What?” I asked.
“You’re staring.”
“I assume you are, too.”
He chuckled. “Yes, well, it can’t be helped with an ass like—”
“Can you knock it off?” I shot him a dark, menacing glare. “Winter isn’t here for you to ogle her. She’s here to do you and your buyers a favor, as she’s done several times this month, and continuously indulging in checking her out is a shitty way to repay the favor.”
Justin frowned. “Fuck. What crawled up your ass and died?”
“I’m not messing around, Justin. Lay off.”
He shrugged. “Fine. It was all in good fun. You know I don’t think of her as just a hot chick, right? I know how talented she is. Kind, too. And I know how much you like her.”
I kept my eyes down on my coffee and didn’t say anything.
“Ah yes,” Justin mused, “always radio silence whenever I’m on to something. This isn’t about my horndog ways. This is about you feeling like she’s yours. Right?”
I rolled one shoulder. “So what if it is?”
He grinned. “Love that for you, man.”
“Let’s change the subject.”
Justin shifted gears. “How’s business?”
“Good.” I stood up straighter. Talking about work was much more comfortable than talking about the feelings I’d developed for my intern. “Really good, actually. I have one last contract I’m trying to secure with the director of New York City’s Mall. Stubborn bastard. Real picky, too. He’s debating between us and another company they’ve gone with for the last decade, but they botched the job last year royally. I swooped in and managed to get them a tree on site within a forty-eight-hour time frame, but the ripple effects weren’t good for business. If I can get him to sign with us for this year, I think we’ll have them in our pocket for life. He just has to make the jump.”
“When do you meet with him next?”
I checked my watch. “A few hours. I’m bringing her with me this time.” I nodded at Winter, who was giggling as she wielded a candy cane like a fencing sword and jabbed at the air around Cami. Cami shrieked and raced around the side of the tree. A smile curled my lips. “She’ll charm his pants off, I’m sure.”
“She’s a closer.”
“And how’s business for you?” I set my now empty coffee mug on the windowsill. “Things still going smoothly?”
Justin nodded. “Better than smoothly. I’m done until the new year, thank God, and then it will be full steam ahead. The Christmas party brought in some new leads of people who want to list their properties with me. I have eight potential new clients who I’m meeting in the first half of next month. Ideally, I’d like to secure six of the eight. If I can get them all? Even better. I have a feeling next year will be a record breaker for me. It’s too bad, though,” he added.
“What is?”
“That Winter won’t be around. Otherwise I’d use her to stage all my open houses.”
Right.
By the new year, which was now only twelve days away, Winter would be back in Portland. Hell, she’d be back in Portland sooner than that. We had made our way through most of our large events for the season. Every single day had been packed with work, meetings with clients, video calls, and design boards. Winter had found her groove and had already done almost nineteen trees for different events. She’d collected quite a portfolio of her work, which she’d shown me last night after I walked her back to her cabin when we got back from St. Louis. She’d compiled everything into an online folder website that looked polished and professional, and she added a Christmas tab, which showed off the trees she’d done as well as Justin’s heritage house staging.
I’d have hired her faster than I could blink based on the presentation alone.
I watched as she strained to hang a star-shaped ornament on a high branch.
What was life going to look like when she was gone? Who was I when she wasn’t here? How quickly would I sink back into my isolated ways?
Instantly,I thought somberly.
“We should throw her a party or something before she goes home,” Justin said. “A big hoorah to thank her for everything she’s done for us and to make sure she knows she’s always welcome back here. I know it’s probably not a hot spot for her career, but you never know, maybe Maple Hill charmed her. Or someone here did,” he added with a wink.
