Mitch grins. “VIP booth means girls girls girls. I’m in.”
I nod. He’s right, there will be women. There always are, at these things. It’s part of the job, really. Our brand is what sells advertisements - luxury, excess, riches, women, everything that’s good in the world. Everything that’s good in my life. I see people my age settling down and having kids and all I can think is why?! Why would you want that? Why would you want to be tied to one person for the rest of your life?
“What happened with that model you were seeing? I thought you’d be here with her,” Mitch asks as we get to the table. There are dozens of tiny wine glasses lined up in front of us.
“Didn’t work out,” I reply. It never does. I never let it, women just want to use me for my money and status, so I use them right back.
“Tomorrow is a new night,” Mitch says as he hands me a glass of wine.
“Tonight is a new night,” I correct with a grin. He chuckles and nods before taking a sip. I drink with him but something is off. I don’t quite believe myself when I say these things tonight. Why would I care about models and actresses and all these beautiful women that only want me for what I can buy for them, or who I can introduce them to? Maybe the people settling down have found something I haven’t.
Probably not. I grab a glass of wine off the table.
“Merry Christmas,” I say to Mitch.
“Merry Christmas, buddy. To every night being a new night, and every girl being a new girl!”
I force a chuckle and touch my glass to his. I steal another glance over towards Harper. She’s laughing at something. I can see her cheeks flushing from over here. I can’t quite make out her freckles, but if I get a little bit closer I’m sure I could see them scattered over her cheeks and nose. She’s completely dwarfed standing next to that ridiculous tree. She’s wearing an atrocious red sweater with lights on it, pointing to the decorations with the woman next to her. I have no idea how, but somehow she makes it look sexy.
She’s smiling at her friend and the two of them laugh about something. Her sweater is flashing and I almost let myself grin as I look at her. Just as Mitch and I start walking away from the drinks she turns her head and our eyes meet from across the room.
It only lasts a second before she looks away but something stirs inside me. Those green eyes of hers are like beams of light that pierce right through me. I could see that twinkle in her eye from all the way over here and I can’t help but wonder what she’s laughing about.
I need to get closer to her tonight, to have an actual conversation with her. I’m not going to settle for the same business talk and cold mask that she puts on. I want to know the real Harper Anderson.
Chapter 3 - Harper
He was looking right at me. My heart is practically jumping out of my chest. Get it together! I’ve only had half a glass of wine and I’m already dizzy from one look. Who cares how good looking he is?! He’s a player! And he’s my BOSS.
I glance at Rosie and nod towards the lights. She grabs the strand of wire and we lift it away from the tree together. We move it up a fraction of an inch and then place it back down on the fake green branches. It looks exactly the same.
“There,” I say with exaggerated satisfaction, dusting my hands off in front of me. Rosie laughs. I glance at her and grin before turning back to the tree. At least it got me away from Greg.
“It looks perfect, Harps,” Rosie says. I can tell she means it.
“It better look perfect, it’s costing old Mister Zachary Moneybags a small fortune,” I laugh. “I still can’t believe he approved the expense.”
My eyes drift upwards and I notice that one of the bow-shaped ribbons is caught in a branch and twisted awkwardly. I reach up towards it, trying to wiggle it loose. It’s almost out of reach. I can just touch it with the tips of my fingers as I stand on the tip of my toes.
I take a small step forward and try to reach the bow again. The soft velvet of the bow tickles my fingertips and I stretch my body a tiny bit more until I can grasp it between two fingers.
“Come on,” I breathe, grabbing it and pulling it down to straighten it out. I have the bow in my fingers and pull gently, but something is wrong. It’s not budging as easily as I thought it would. I try yanking it a little bit harder to bring the bow out from the branches. I’m on the tips of my toes, taking a thousand tiny steps forward and back to keep my balance. I grab the bow once more between my fingers and pull just a tiny, tiny bit harder.
The bow wrenches loose and I finally get a grip on it, and then everything happens at once. I try to fix the ribbon but something is wrong. I’m still on the tips of my toes and I feel like the ground is shifting under my feet and I can’t regain my balance. My feet shuffle forward and back again a million times. My stomach drops and time slows down.
No, no, no, no, no!
“Harper!” I hear Rosie’s voice as if it’s coming at me from underwater. I hear her scream as I feel myself falling backwards, still grabbing on to that pesky velvet ribbon between my fingers. My heart leaps into my throat as I feel the ground falling away from me, sending me flying backwards. I’m spinning, falling through the air in slow motion. Finally I let go of that stupid bow and my arms fly up towards my head to protect my fall.
I hit the ground with a thud and the air gets knocked out of my lungs. My eyes are closed and the pain of the landing jolts through my body.
I land a second before the tree does. Before I know what’s happening, there’s a deafening series of smashes and crunches and shattering of ornaments all around me as the plastic branches collapse on top of me. All sixteen feet of the massive, expensive, unnecessary Christmas tree that I insisted on ordering falls down on top of me with an earth-shattering crash.
It takes a second for me to realise what’s happened. Miraculously I haven’t been impaled, but all I can see are green branches and shattered ornaments all around me. I’m pinned under the tree. I can’t move. When the ringing in my ears quiets down I hear shouting and screaming from my coworkers and I close my eyes, sighing deeply.
Oh. My. God.
The reality of what’s just happened slowly dawns on me as I lay there, trapped by my own decorations. There’s a plastic pine branch rubbing against my cheek and a hard ornament digging into my leg. I try to move my leg but all I can do is wiggle my foot back and forth. I’m well and truly stuck. I close my eyes and try to catch my breath.
I’ve just tipped over the sixteen-foot tree on top of myself at the annual Christmas party, in front of every single employee and all my bosses. In front of him - in front of Zach freaking Lockwood! The embarrassment is almost too much to bear. I lay my head down on the hard floor and close my eyes, trying to ignore the thumping of my heart and the burning in my cheeks.
Rosie’s voice calls out. “Harper! Are you okay?!” She sounds panicked. I try to answer but nothing comes out, so I clear my throat and try again.
“Yep, yeah. Yeah, I’m fine.” I answer, trying to keep my voice steady. I’m fine. I’m great, even. Fantastic. Never better.
Chapter 4 - Zach
I lift my head just as the tree is tipping past the point of no return and I watch in stunned horror as Harper falls backwards, pulling the tree down on top of her. It crashes down within seconds, sending ornaments and lights flying across the room. The top of it lands on top of the food table, knocking it over and sending snacks and drinks crashing to the ground.
Within seconds I’m beside the tree, trying to lift it off her.
“You,” I point to a man next to me. “Grab that branch. You,” I point to a woman near the tip of the tree, “grab the trunk. On three. One, two, three!”
A dozen of us grunt as we lift the tree back up. This thing weighs about a thousand pounds. It takes half a dozen of us to get it upright again as broken ornaments and tinsel rain down on top of us.
Once it’s lifted back upright I glance down and see Harper on the floor. She looks stunned, lay
ing on her back as she watches us get the tree upright again. An ornament bounces off the tree and rolls over beside her. She picks it up and looks at it blankly. I walk over and crouch down, balancing on my heels as I squat next to her. Her eyes are hazy and her cheeks are flushed. Her auburn hair is a bird’s nest and she has tinsel and broken Christmas ornaments littered all over her. The lights on her sweater are still blinking.
“You alright, Harper?”
She nods.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she responds. As soon as I hear her speak I feel a desperate urge to laugh but I keep my best poker face on. She tries to sit up and groans, pausing to balance herself on her elbows. I reach down and grab her arm, helping her to her feet. The second my hand touches her arm I feel something like a spark go off inside me. My cock twitches but I ignore it, brushing broken glass off Harper’s shoulder.
I watch as she glances around the room at the circle of coworkers that has formed around us. Harper stands up a bit straighter and raises her arms slowly, as if to acknowledge the crowd. An embarrassed grin creeps over her face and I can’t help but notice how it makes her eyes sparkle that little bit brighter.
A cheer and a laugh starts rippling through the crowd and suddenly everyone is clapping. Harper takes a small bow and I see her stumble a little. I grab her arm a bit tighter and help her up. I can feel her shaking and I keep my hand on her arm to hold her steady. I’ve never been this close to her.
I glance around the office. It’s absolute carnage. There’s decorations, food, spilled juice and wine and eggnog all over the place. The food table is knocked over onto its side and all the refreshments are soaking into the thin office carpet. Harper is still shaking and people are starting to come closer to us. I wave to my assistant who rushes over.
“Becca, here’s my credit card.” I turn to the crowd. Almost every single person employed by the company is here, watching Harper and I, still laughing and cheering. I hold up my hand and the place quiets down. “Alright everyone, the venue has changed. Open bar at the regular spot downstairs, compliments of the company. Harper and I will be down in a few minutes. Happy Holidays!”
There’s a cheer and clapping.
“Nice one, Harper! Best Christmas party yet!” Another wave of laughter ripples through the crowd and people start filing out. One woman, I forget her name, steps forward. She goes to Harper.
“You okay, Harps?” Harper smiles again. I’m still holding her upright and I can feel how weak she is.
“I’m fine, just a bit shaken up. Thanks, Zach,” she says as she pulls her arm away. I reluctantly let go and take a step back. It feels like a chasm between us. Harper turns to the woman. “I’ll be down in a bit, Rosie. You go enjoy yourself.” Rosie, that’s it. One of our junior editors.
“I’ll stay here and help you!”
“No, no, it’s fine, really. I’ll be down in a few minutes.” I watch as Rosie nods slowly and then glances at me before nodding and turning around.
“Come on, sit down,” I say gently, guiding Harper to a chair nearby. She sits down heavily and puts her forehead in her hand, slouching down. Her sweater crumples slightly at the front. The lights are still twinkling in the shape of a tree all over her torso. It truly is one of the ugliest sweaters I’ve ever seen.
“I can’t believe I just did that,” she says. I can sense the embarrassment radiating off her. A smile starts creeping across my face.
“I can’t believe you did that either,” I respond. She glances at me through her fingers and I can’t help it. I start laughing, a deep, booming belly laugh. It starts in my stomach and consumes my entire body until my shoulders are shaking and my cheeks hurt. I haven’t laughed like this in a long time. After a few moments I watch as Harper’s shoulders relax and she starts smiling and finally laughing with me.
She sighs deeply and then glances beside her. There’s an abandoned half glass of wine. I watch as she takes it between her delicate fingers and shrugs as if to say, ‘why not!’ before pouring the whole thing into her mouth. This is definitely a side of her I haven’t seen before. I glance over and see the bottles of wine near the upturned table. I walk over and grab one of them and another glass then head back to Harper and pull up a chair.
“Merry Christmas,” I say as I fill both our glasses. “This might be our most expensive Christmas party yet. Hope this was in your budget,” I tease, sweeping my arm towards the wreckage.
“Zach… I…”
I hold up my hand. “Don’t. It’s okay. At least people will be talking about you this year and not me. Last year I think I heard every rumour in the book about my love life.” I pause and glance at Harper. “Or lack thereof.”
She grins and sighs again, shaking her head. “Well don’t worry, I’ve got the gossip covered this year.” She glances at the tree, which is now upright and more than a little crooked. There’s a few snapped branches littered on the floor. “I just had to get the biggest tree I could find, didn’t I.”
“Sixteen feet tall!” I breathe in mock amazement. I glance over and see that smile spread across her face. She chuckles silently and then takes a sip of wine, looking at me over the edge of her glass.
Something stirs inside me as her eyes flick to mine. I never noticed the light in them before. I clear my throat and glance back at my wine, filling up both our glasses up and clinking mine against hers.
Somehow the air seems thicker than before. I can sense every move that Harper is making and the way her eyes are burning into me is making my cock stir in my pants. I shift in my seat and clear my throat again before taking another sip of wine.
Chapter 5 - Harper
I’ve never spent this much time with him. Usually Zach is in and out of the office and it’s all business with him. He spends his time doing who knows what with clients - networking, I guess - and leaves the actual operation of the business to us. I watch the way he’s reclining on the chair, bringing the plastic wine glass to his red lips. I wonder what his lips would taste like?
I glance away and try to shake the thought from my head. This wine must be getting to me, or maybe it was the adrenaline of the fall. This is my boss! Not only that, this is the CEO of the whole company!! It’s probably inappropriate for me to be here alone drinking with him. It’s definitely inappropriate for me to be thinking about kissing him.
Still, there’s something exciting about it. My eyes dart back to him and a thrill rushes down my spine when I see he’s looking at me. Why did I have to wear this stupid sweatshirt?? As if reading my mind, Zach asks me:
“Where’d you get your sweater? It’s very… unique.” He grins and raises an eyebrow. I look down and gently touch the twinkling LEDs on my torso.
“I got it at a Goodwill. It was three dollars.”
“Wow, what a bargain,” he responds. I nod, grinning proudly.
“Didn’t even have to buy any batteries for it!” This time he laughs, a deep belly laugh that makes his shoulders shake. I notice the way his smile lights his whole face up and his eyes close as he tilts his head back to laugh. He has perfect teeth. His laugh sends a wave of heat through me and I can’t help but giggle along. It feels good to be here with him, like this.
Zach’s laugh dies down and he grins at me. “I never knew this side of you.” He’s staring at me intently, as if he’s looking through me or into me, trying to figure me out. “You always seem so serious and professional.” I resist the urge to squirm. Instead, I turn to the fallen tree.
“What, this side of me?” I ask, sweeping my arm towards the mess of snacks and drinks and upturned furniture. “Now that you see it, are you impressed? Personally I think clumsiness is irresistible.”
I bring the the wine glass up to my lips and raise my eyebrow, watching his face as I take a sip. My heart is thumping as he watches me, a subtle smile playing on his lips.
“Irresistible is one word for it,” he responds in a low voice. I can feel the rumble of his voice in my bones, like it
traveled straight through me. It doesn’t sound like he’s joking. A warmth starts spreading in my centre and I desperately want to reach over and touch him, grab him, feel his hand or his arm or anything. I want to feel his arms around me and breathe in his smell.
Instead I stay rooted to my chair. We watch each other without moving. The tension is palpable, and I can hardly breathe for fear of breaking the spell that’s cast over us. Zach looks towards the fallen table and slowly gets up. He rolls up the sleeves of his shirt to reveal his sinewy forearms. I lick my lips. I watch as he walks towards the mess, his crisp white shirt tucked into his pinstriped trousers. His back looks wide and strong, and I can see the outline of his shoulders through the thin white fabric. I watch him crouch down and pick up the table, setting it back upright.
I get up and follow him over. I start a few feet away from him, picking up boxes and cookies and cakes that have fallen on the floor. We work in silence for a few minutes. I stand up after picking up the millionth item off the floor, wiping a bead of sweat from my forehead. I grab my heavy sweater and pull it off over my head, letting out a sigh.
“It’s hot in here!” I exclaim, and then I see Zach’s eyes on me. His eyes are roaming over me and suddenly I feel like I’m wearing nothing at all. I pull down the hem of my thin camisole. I wasn’t intending on taking off my sweater. I blush and turn back to the mess on the floor to hide my embarrassment. I bend over to pick up a stack of plastic plates and when I stand up he’s right beside me, his arm brushing against mine. He turns towards me so that his chest is inches from mine.
I place the plates down gently on the table and try to slow down the thumping in my chest. Zach is so close to me I can feel the heat radiating off his skin. He smells sweet and spicy at the same time and I breathe deeply, trying to calm myself down. As soon as his scent hits my nostrils it has the opposite effect. My body goes into overdrive and all I can think of is putting my hands on his body.
Swear to Me_A Second Chance Mountain Man Romance Page 18
