Page 44 of All I Wank for Christmas

He kisses me on my forehead in such a loving way, I practically swoon into him. “I would have been here sooner, but there are things I have to do after a delivery run. Inventory. After parties. Bonuses for the staff. Dad got worse, and he’s in hospice now. It’s been nuts.”

“I’m so sorry, Jasper. Is he still alive?”

“Yes, but he’s not doing well. It won’t be long.” He glances at the man on the table as the man’s hand wanders to his own dick. Jasper points. “Is he going to jerk himself off while I’m in here?”

“Sir, are you getting started without me?”

“I’m on a time crunch. My break is over at five.” The man grabs another glob of spilled lube from the table and starts rubbing his own length, complete with a thwacking sound as his hand moves back and forth over his dick.

Jasper shrugs and looks back at me. “This is really unromantic and not at all how I pictured this, but I’m here for you, Holly! I had to come get you. I thought I could drop you off and move along my merry way, but I realize I can’t. I can’t live another day knowing that you’re in the world and I’m not sitting next to you.”

“Why me? I don’t understand,” I say, gesturing to the man still jerking off on my table. The man’s mouth is open in pleasure like he’s oblivious to the conversation. “You could have a million women. You’re handsome, and you’re fucking Santa Claus.” I glance at the man on the table, but if he registered the Santa remark, he doesn’t comment. “Look what I do for a living.”

“You shouldn’t sell yourself short like that,” the man on the table says. Obviously, he is paying attention. Maybe he thinks Jasper is a mall Santa. “Your profession is one of the oldest, and you’re still a human being. You provide a service and contribute to the local economy as a consumer and a taxpayer.”

“Thank you,” I say, patting his shoulder.

“Your profession doesn’t matter to me, but you don’t need to do this any longer, sweetheart,” Jasper says. He runs his hand through my hair, and I lean into his palm. It’s strong and warm. Like home.

“I don’t have an accounting job, Jasper. I need to buy Mom’s meds and take care of her. Look around this town! It’s devoid of any job opportunities. Helena can’t pay for tuition and her other expenses alone. I need this job until I can find something remote or even get a business loan to start my own LLC.”

The man on the table gestures for me to come closer, and I move next to him as he grabs my boob through my tank top with his free hand. I ignore it and so does Jasper. He moves with me, coming to the table and standing in front of me, ignoring the man jerking off inches away and the man accidentally rubbing Jasper’s chest while he’s palming my breasts.

Jasper pushes his forehead to mine. It may be a cliché, but he smells like peppermint. Toothpaste, perhaps. “Come work for me.”

I raise my head. “What?”

“The last few days have taught me one thing. OK, two things. Number one, I like you. I haven’t enjoyed someone’s company like that in years. I want to see where this goes between us. I don’t care that you had a job where you gave hand jobs. As long as I’m the guy you give hand jobs to in the future, I don’t care about the past. Number two, I need help with bookkeeping and inventory. You’re fucking brilliant, Holly. The way you handled everything on Christmas Eve and the way you can think on your feet when something goes wrong…well, I can’t find elves for that. Come work for me and be my operations manager.”

“This sounds like a really good opportunity for you. You should take it,” the man on the table pants. He rubs his balls and squirms, clenching his butt cheeks and arching off the table.

“Let’s go in the hallway,” I whisper to Jasper. “We’ll let this gentleman finish his business.”

“Where am I supposed to…put it?” the man on the table asks. “Do you have a tissue, or should I take off my sock?”

Jasper quickly hands the man a wad of tissues from my table before grabbing my hand and pulling me out to the hallway. I realize I still have my gloves on, so I take them off and throw them on the carpet without a care for the fact that I’ll either have to pick them up later or explain why I’m littering in the hallway to Linda One. Jasper grabs my hands again, and I squeeze back, relishing the warmth of his fingers without the gloves.

“What about my mom? I can’t leave her.”

“I’ve thought of that. Bring her. We have plenty of room. I’ll even go with you to explain the whole thing to her. She’ll get the best medical care, and Canadian prescription costs are lower than American costs, even if you’re not a citizen. We’ll take care of her, Holly, and we’ll do it together. As a team. We already know we work well together. You and I together? The world wouldn’t be able to stop us. You fill the gaps of my weaknesses. I will help you with whatever you need.”

A loud groan comes from my massage room, and Jasper and I stare at each other without blinking as the man probably unloads into the wad of tissue. We stare at each other as I think about the offer, biting my lip.

Could I move in with Jasper? Helena’s old enough to stay in our house and go to school. Maybe she can have a couple of roommates move in and pay rent to make up the cost of the mortgage and taxes. I could work with Jasper. That way, if it doesn’t work out, I can always come back to the house and start again.

I couldtrywith Jasper.

This kind of offer doesn’t come along every day, and my stomach roils with nerves. Moving. Living with a man for the first time in my life. Explaining to my mother that Santa is real and regularly uses anal bead wands with her daughter. I liked those and want that to be a regular thing. My thighs clench together at the thought.

“There’s a lot to consider,” I tell Jasper. “I want to try. I want to see if this works between us. It’s just scary. Would operations mean I have to boss around elves? If it doesn’t work out with us, how can I put that on a job application as past employment? Not to mention there’s a lot to moving. I mean…Canada is a scary place.”

He crinkles his forehead and cocks his head to the side. Before he can respond, the man comes out of the room and zips his pants. He nods to me, and I stop him before he gets to the end of the hall. “Sir, tell Linda One to refund your money.”

The man turns around, “Will you get in trouble? It sounds like you’re having a rough time, and I don’t want you to get fired, sweetheart. We all have rough days.”

“She won’t fire me,” I say, smiling and looking back at Jasper. His eyes plead with me to make a choice, and there’s no way I can say no to those eyes. “I just quit.”

One Year Later…

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