The Boss's Mistletoe Maneuvers (14 page)

“Sorry you lost her so soon, bro.”

“I didn’t imagine her, Chaz.”

“Sorry,” Chaz repeated, ready to get another drink in order to catch up with Rory, and intending to drown his sorrows.

Rory’s laugh was self-deprecating. “Well, I suppose there is another blonde here somewhere with an alluring hazel-eyed gaze and a body like sin. If so, I plan to find her.”

Chaz experienced a slight bump in his drinking plan, but couldn’t have explained why. “Hazel eyes?” he echoed.

“Yeah. Aren’t we all suckers for eyes like that?”

Chaz had to ask, knowing the question to be ridiculous, but unable to beat off the strange feeling in his gut. “Did she wear a red dress?”

Rory shook his head. “A little black number that fit like a glove. But hey, this isn’t all about women. Tonight’s for celebrating. You’ve found potential buyers for the agency, I hear, and they’ll wait six months to decide to move forward on a sale if you get the place running smoothly.”

“Yes. I suppose that’s good news.”

“Suppose? Chaz, it’s your first big deal. Shall we have a toast?”

That bit of odd intuition returned and clung. Chaz couldn’t seem to shake it off.

“Did she have hair about to here?” He touched his shoulder. “And long legs?”

“You did see her, then?” Rory replied teasingly. “I didn’t imagine her in some Christmas-related state of hopefulness?”

“Was she alone?” Chaz pressed.

“I wouldn’t be pining if she’d had a guy by her side.”

Chaz barely heard Rory. He was already out the front door and thinking that if it could have been McKinley...

If there was any way it might have been Kim, and she had made the effort to show up here after all...

Did that mean she was interested? Had she hoped to find him?

He didn’t see her on the portico or in the yard.

Hell...
Wasn’t there an old fairy tale about finding a shoe on the steps that would fit only one person on the planet? Which would help to narrow things down a bit for a poor, lovesick guy tired of pretending he didn’t give a fig about the woman who owned that shoe, when he cared a whole frigging lot?

When he, Chaz Monroe, cared about Kim McKinley so much, he felt empty without her?

His keys were in his pocket. His car was parked in front of the garage. Waving people out of the way, uttering quick words of greeting and something vague about an emergency, he got in, started the engine and stepped on the gas.

Seventeen

C
haz couldn’t get past Sam, no matter how hard he tried.

“No, sir. Not tonight. Strict orders to let no one in, on the threat of ending my life as I know it.”

Kim wouldn’t answer her phone. At first Chaz thought that she might not have come home, but at last, Sam, sensing a desperate man’s weakness and caught up in the holiday spirit, confirmed she was indeed up there.

“Hate to see her alone on a fine night like this,” Sam said.

All Chaz thought about was seeing her. She had come to the party, showed up on his parents’ doorstep, and he’d somehow missed her. Rotten luck. But she hadn’t stayed long enough for him to find her. According to Rory, she’d dashed out the door. So here he was, with his heart thundering way above the norm, determined to see Kim tonight. And as he paced in front of her building, looking up, there seemed only one way to accomplish that...if he didn’t get arrested first.

The fire escape.

* * *

Floor six. Several windows down ought to be hers, but it was possible he’d gotten turned around. That window virtually beamed with flashes of red and green light emulating the wattage of an alien spaceship trapped in a tunnel.

Could that be her window?

The only thing left now was to scoot over, ledge by ledge, until he reached that one. Briefly, he wondered if Santa had a fear of heights.

He slipped twice, caught himself and began to sweat, despite the chill factor. Glancing down, he swore beneath his breath and continued, placing one foot on the ledge outside where he thought he needed to go.

The light in that window was blinding, so it couldn’t be hers. If it was, she’d had a major turnaround, and he was going to need sunglasses.

He got his second foot on the ledge and reached the window unscathed. Maintaining a fairly tight hold on the brick, he craned his neck and peeked around the corner.

The light came from a tree, lit up and glowing. There had to be twenty strings of lights on that tree. Tinsel dangled like silver icicles. Gold and silver baubles gleamed.

But that wasn’t all.

Candles lit other surfaces, one of them on the sill not twelve inches away from where he clung. The wonderful scent of cinnamon wafted to him through the closed window.

This can’t be hers.

All this?

Yet somehow he knew it was, and that if she had progressed to this degree on the serious issues, where did that leave him?

The truth hit him like a blow to the gut as he looked inside that window. He loved Kim McKinley for this.

He loved her for showing up at the party, and for that room full of lights. He loved her beautiful face, the graceful slope of her shoulders, her bare feet, berry-colored toenails, and her slightly haughty attitude when she got angry. He loved the big eyes that held the power to make a grown man, a confirmed bachelor, climb a fire escape in the middle of winter.

Come to think of it, he didn’t need a tally of all the things he loved about her. There were just too many things to list.

His heart ached to be inside of that apartment with her, and to know everything else about her, down to the smallest detail—all the stuff, bad and good, sickness and health.

He put a hand to his head to make sure it was still screwed on tight, sure he’d never felt like this, or considered the
M
word before. Yet he was seeing a future with Kim McKinley that included a ring.

He grinned. Rory was going to have a heart attack.

The only thing now was to convince Kim to take him back, and to remain by his side.
Forever
seemed like a good place to start.

Though elated over this decision, Chaz did not raise a victory fist to the moon, which would have been a dangerous move for a man stuck to a ledge six floors above pavement, wearing entirely unacceptable clothes for the weather. And it was time to go before someone called the cops. He’d bribe Sam to plead on his behalf for Kim to let him in. He would take Sam with him to her front door if necessary. Just one more look in this window, then, he swore to God, he’d go.

He pressed his face close to the pane...

And nearly fell backward when Kim peered back.

* * *

Kim stepped away, stifling the urge to scream. There was a man outside her window, and she had to call the cops.

But the face looking in was familiar.

“Monroe?” she said in disbelief.

He grinned. “Just trying this fire escape out to see if it will hold Santa, and wondering why cops never go after him.”

The sight of Monroe on the other side of her window made her blink slowly. “What do you want?”

“You left the party without saying hello.”

“I made a mistake thinking I could handle the party.”

“The mistake was to flee before I could stop you.”

Kim shook her head. “Why are you out there?”

“Why did you give Sam orders to shoot me on sight?”

“I wanted to suffer alone.”

He took a beat to reply to that. “Suffer?”

“Go away, Chaz.”

“I have a better idea. Why don’t you let me in?”

“For one thing, I haven’t been able to open this window since I moved in.”

He stared at her thoughtfully. “How about if I knock on your door?”

“You haven’t answered my first question about what you want,” Kim said. Her heart was leaping frantically. Monroe was on the fire escape. He had left the party and come here to see her. This had to mean he wanted to see her pretty badly.

When he didn’t answer, she repeated the question. “What do you want, Chaz?”

He shrugged without losing his balance and said, “You. I want you. And you just called me Chaz.”

And then he was gone, and Kim didn’t think she could move from the spot. He hadn’t given up. If this was some particularly nasty joke, and the business needed her for something...

Would he do that?

She couldn’t have read his expression incorrectly—that look of longing in his eyes that probably looked exactly like her own.

She’d been halfway out of her dress, and yanked it back over her shoulders. She pressed the hair back from her face and looked at the tree and the trimmings that had set her bank account back more than the dress and shoes combined.

What would Chaz do now that he had seen how she embraced Christmas? That the tree he brought her had made her happy, despite the thought of losing him.

The call came. Her hand shook when she told Sam to let Chaz come up. She waited by the door, planning what to say first. Maybe she’d start by asking him to repeat what he said about wanting her, just to be sure he meant it.

She opened the door before he knocked, unable to wait or keep calm. Chaz stood there with his hand raised. He reached for her instead.

He held her tightly for several seconds before pushing her back through the door. The momentum carried them to her kitchen, where he paused long enough to look at her and smile.

“This isn’t what you think it is,” he said.

“Damn.” Heat flooded Kim’s face as she smiled back.

“You want it to be what you think it is?” he asked.

“Yes,” she answered breathlessly.

He closed his eyes briefly. Then he kissed her, long, deep and thoroughly, with his body tight to hers. After that, he kissed her again and again, as if he had saved up longing and had to get it out.

When he drew back to allow her a breath, he said, “You have a tree.”

“Yes.”

“You came to the party.”

“I did.”

“You were looking for me?”

“Yes.”

“Because you wanted to be with me? Had to be with me? Could no longer picture a life without me in it?”

“Yes. Yes. And yes.”

When Chaz smiled again, his eyes lit up with emotion. She saw relief, joy and the finality of having found something he was sure he’d lost. Genuine feelings. Very personal stuff.

“What do you think of the word
love?
”
he asked quietly.

“Highly overrated,” she said with a voice that quavered.

“Unless it covers us?” he suggested.

“Does it cover us?”

“I believe so.”

“When will you know for sure?”

“As soon as you take me to that bedroom. The one all lit up like the North Pole.”

“That’s sex, not love.”

“To my way of thinking, the two are mutually beneficial. Am I wrong?”

She shook her head. “Isn’t there some kind of law against naked bodies under a Christmas tree?”

“Oh, I don’t think so. Definitely not. So let’s make love, Kim, beside that tree and under the lights. Let’s slow down and create a path to the future that will suit us both.”

It was the defining moment, and Kim knew it. The future Chaz spoke of had to be built on trust and understanding. She must believe he would make good on those things. In return, she’d have to do the same. She’d have to believe him, and believe in a future with him.

He pressed a kiss on her forehead and another on her cheek. His hands wrapped around her, warm through her dress, as he pulled her to him possessively.

Her world spun off into blissful chaos. Goose bumps trickled down her spine. A rush of delight closed her eyes tight.

Each glorious inch his lips traveled over hers left a trail of fire, the same raging flames she’d felt before, though this time, he also ran a hand down her bare arm, to her wrist. He clasped her fingers in his and held her hand.

Something so simple. So defining and rich. Better than anything. Two promises in one. She wasn’t alone. Together, they would get through this, and be better for it.

Kim’s shoulders twitched. Her hips ground to his hips as she kissed him back, matching his hunger with hers and forgetting everything else but the desire to have this man inside her, and with her always.

She was going to take this chance. She was going to trust Chaz Monroe because she loved him.

She moaned into his waiting mouth. With a tight hold on her hand, he turned and led her toward the lights.

“The best Christmas ever,” he said over his shoulder.

Eighteen

“K
im?” Brenda called out from her cubicle, standing up quickly. “What happened? I haven’t seen you for days. I haven’t heard from you.”

“I didn’t get fired,” Kim said with a straight face.

“He left a message on your desk about wanting to see you the minute you came in.”

“Yes. I have to sign a new contract.”

“He convinced you?”

“He’s one hell of a negotiator, Bren.”

“You’ll fill me in, won’t you? There’s something strange in your expression. Not at all like a woman having lost a battle of wills. It’s going to be okay, isn’t it? You’re going to stay?”

Kim nodded. “I’m staying.”

“I knew you could work it out,” Brenda said, showing major relief.

Kim took the longest strides her tight skirt allowed, stopping in her cubicle just long enough to open a drawer and retrieve something she had stored there, before heading down the corridor to Chaz’s office.

Alice didn’t stop her or offer up a protest. Instead, Alice smiled, and nodded her head.

Kim didn’t bother to make a pretense of knocking or waiting to be asked to come in. This was her déjà-vu moment, and she intended to experience it to the fullest. Things had changed. She had changed, and felt downright hopeful about the future.

Her heart beat thunderously, tellingly, as she opened the door. The anticipation of seeing Chaz was always like that, and had grown worse over the last few days of spending nearly every waking minute with him. She’d been wearing a smile since his daring use of her fire escape.

He wasn’t at his desk. She waited, pulse soaring, body anticipating the onslaught of sensation.

She didn’t have to wait long.

All of a sudden he grabbed her by the wrist and swung her around. The door closed. The lock clicked.

His warm mouth covered hers immediately, and her lips opened in a ravenous response. Warm tongues danced. His hands explored possessively, already knowing what they would find. She had lost count of the number of times they had made love lately, but the vast number was a dizzying indication of shared feelings. They had talked, too, and laughed. Together, they had banished the dark and let in the light.

His incredibly steamy kiss was indicative of his new need for her. She wanted to protest when the treacherous bastard peeled his lips from hers way too soon and began to hum a tune that turned out to be a slightly off-key rendition of “Jingle Bells.”

Several seconds passed before Kim said, “See? I’m cured. And that’s behind us now.” Then she began to laugh. All the emotion of the past had just melted away. They had made Christmas wonderful; a time never to forget.

Chaz laughed with her as he began to raise her skirt. She loved that he never had enough of her. That’s the way she liked it. She loved everything about him, too. This was love at its most exhilarating.

But she placed her hands on his hands to stop his progress.

“We won’t do this kind of thing in my future office,” she said.

“Luckily, it’s still mine,” he countered. “And I have no such rules.”

“We already did it this morning.”

“Are you tired of me already?”

“What if they still say I slept my way to the top?”

“I’ll agree.”

Kim cuffed his shoulder then ran her hand along the seam of his perfectly ironed shirt, looking for a way inside. There was something hard in his shirt pocket. A tiny box.

She glanced up at him.

“I’m pretty sure I can’t show this to you yet,” he said, his grin firmly in place. “Seems too pushy. Too desperate. And after all, as the owner of this agency, I have a reputation to maintain.”

Kim waited this out, anticipating a punch line.

“But I have another present for you today, one that you might not have noticed.”

She raised an eyebrow, nervous and excited about the contents of the box in his pocket.

“To see the other surprise, you’ll have to open that door again,” Chaz said. “The one you just waltzed through.”

“I’m kind of content right here,” she protested.

“Well, then... Have you ever made love on a desk?” he asked teasingly.

Faking a fluster, Kim smoothed her skirt down and turned to open the door. She saw right away what she had missed on her way in, and her heart again began to thump. In black paint, outlined in gold, was her name, printed on the glass.
Kim McKinley, Vice President.

It took her a full minute to realize this was going to be true.

“I’ve decided to hang on to the place for a while,” Chaz said. “So I’ll need someone I can trust in this office while I pursue other interests.”

Kim stared at the name on the door. After that, she looked to Alice, who was smiling. She looked to Chaz, also smiling. Heat began to drift over her. Way down deep in her body, in a place reserved for his touch, a drum beat started up.

Chaz Monroe was going to trust her with this promotion in a company he had decided to keep, at least for now, and hopefully long enough for her to prove herself. Waves of happiness washed over her. She squeezed her eyes shut to contain her joy.

“I won’t be around much, so rumors about us won’t matter,” he said.

Kim didn’t open her eyes. This Christmas, her wishes had come true. She had the job, and a relationship with the man beside her. That was all she needed. She could do this. Mutual trust was a beautiful thing.

“Will you say yes?” Chaz asked.

Her eyes again met his.

“About the office,” he clarified, his voice dropping to a whisper that told her he meant something else entirely.

She nodded.

He smiled.

“You’re an asset to the company, Kim Monroe,” he said. “Come on, let’s take a good look at your future desk, and see if there might be anything else you’ll need to put on it.”

It wasn’t until he pressed her across that desk with his arms around her that Kim dropped her stranglehold on the golden plaque she’d fished from her drawer. She’d soon be able to use the plaque that announced her new position in the agency.

Vice President.

She didn’t have to toss it away or wave it in his face.

Only then did she realize what he’d said. The name he had spoken.
Kim Monroe?

He placed a finger over her lips to stop her from commenting. His eyes shone a merry, vivid blue. “Good. Great. Terrific,” he said. “More on that later, and plenty of time for that conversation. Just now, I find that I can’t let you waste another good, overheated breath.”

The kiss, probably the hundredth like it since she had met Chaz, each of them better than the first, told her all she needed to know. He was not only going to trust her with the business, he was going to trust that she’d stay with him forever, too.

And the desk she had coveted for so long was as fitting a place as any to seal that new bargain.

“Happy New Year, my love,” Chaz said in a scintillating whisper before he proceeded to make good on the meaning of the sentiment.

* * * * *

Keep reading for a special excerpt from THE SECRET AFFAIR by Brenda Jackson.