Love Me by Christmas

by Silvia Rojas

  Kirk grinned. “Kill me? After I pulled off the best Halloween prank of the century? I’d die a happy man.”

  Allen tightened his grip, nearly choking him. “I asked you to come up with a game for the party… not some stupid prank.”

  Besides us, Ebony started to giggle. She had her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle it. Chris started to chuckle as well. As soon as the two of them looked at each other, they burst out laughing.

  “I don’t think this is very funny…” I remarked, angry that I was the butt of the joke. “I could have gotten hurt.”

  “Hurt?” Kirk got down and grabbed his axe. It was one of those inflatable toys for kids. It couldn’t have hurt a fly.

  “But… it looked so real… and that grinding sound… I thought…”

  “The imagination is a powerful thing.” Kirk winked. “But, really, I shouldn’t be taking all the credit. The real mastermind behind this whole thing was Gretchen.”

  “So, where is she now?” Allen demanded.

  “I’m not sure… she was supposed to be down here but I guess she got caught up doing some other things.” He shrugged. “You overwork that woman, you know.”

  “Well, I hope she’s ready for some free time because she won’t be working for me again.”

  Chris grabbed his brother by the arm before he could storm off. “You can’t fire her. She’s been nothing but a phenomenal worker. You know that. Don’t make any rash decisions just because you’re bitter that she managed to fool you.”

  Allen harshly shrugged him off. “I don’t want to hear it. She has some explaining to do.”

  “It’s Halloween. She wanted to scare you. What more do you want from her?” Ebony chimed in.

  “This has nothing to do with you,” Allen snapped. It was clear to see that his temper was rising. His cheeks were crimson and he could no longer stand still.

  “I’ll go with you. We can talk to her together,” I suggested, hoping that I would be able to calm him down a bit.

  He nodded.

  Together, we made our way out of the basement. I tried the door to the purple room but it was still locked. “Uh…”

  Kirk waltzed up to me, holding a key ring. There were exactly seven keys, each of them color coded.

  “Did you have keys to the doors this whole time?” Allen asked through gritted teeth. “Because so help me… I will find a real axe and –”

  “Off with his head!” Ebony interjected, randomly getting into character. I couldn’t tell if she was enjoying our plight or if she had become tipsy at some point during the night. She had definitely loosened up and somehow, that was way more annoying than her usual manner.

  “Perhaps. Gretchen told me I had to act like I didn’t.”

  Allen ground his teeth together. “I don’t understand why she was so interested in helping out this year. Usually, she keeps her distance…”

  “Now that you mention it…” Chris rubbed his chin in contemplation. “It is rather strange, isn’t it?”

  “See what I mean? I’m not crazy. Something fishy is going on and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

  “Okay, Detective Sherlock,” Ebony snickered.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” I snapped, growing irritated with her remarks.

  “Chris might have liquored me up in the library,” she giggled, leaning on him heavily.

  “What did you do? Give her the whole bottle?” I asked him, narrowing my eyes.

  “She seemed fine,” he shrugged in innocence.

  I shook my head. My sister was one of those people who could hold their alcohol down for the first hour or so but then it would hit her all at once, and she was a horrible drunk. “Just make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid while we find Gretchen.”

  He nodded, guiding her back to his room. Had he been anyone else, I probably would have feared he was going to take advantage of her, but I already knew Chris was too scholarly and polite to do such a thing. He would probably just put her to bed or something.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Allen called out when he saw Kirk tiptoe down the hall. “Don’t think you’re getting out of this unscathed.”

  “Aww, man.” He hung his head and sighed. “Fine, what’s my punishment?”

  “I want you to get everyone out of this house. Don’t worry about clean up. I just want everyone out. Party’s over.”

  Kirk frowned. “Seriously? Are you that mad that I pulled a little prank on you?”

  “Little?” He stepped forward, squaring off the Joker. “I thought you were going to kill my girlfriend and that’s one thing you don’t do. Got it?”

  “Jeez… You’ve only known her for a few hours.”

  “Doesn’t matter,” he mumbled under his breath. “Now scram.”

  Kirk dragged his feet but he eventually disappeared into the elevator, leaving us alone.

  Allen turned, avoiding my gaze.

  “Did you mean that?” I asked, grabbing him by the arm so he couldn’t walk away.

  “What?” He stopped, still refusing to look at me. I noticed that his cheeks were inflamed with blush.

  “That I was your girlfriend…”

  He sighed.

  My heart sunk. So, it had been a mistake after all. I frowned, the weight of rejection heavy on my heart. For a split second, I had been hoping that maybe, just maybe, our relationship would be able to span for more than just a night. I wanted this man to stay with me through Thanksgiving… Christmas… Valentine’s Day. Forever.

  It didn’t make sense, of course. I didn’t know a thing about him. He didn’t know a thing about me. And yet, there was this feeling in my chest that yearned for him – that told me that my life just wouldn’t be complete without him.

  “I shouldn’t have said that… I’m sorry.”

  My heart sunk even deeper, pooling by my feet.

  “But…”

  I looked up, tilting my head in question.

  “But?” I prompted, my voice a breathless whisper, tinged with hope. It was foolish for me to cling onto it but I just couldn’t help myself.

  “But… I meant what I said. If it was up to me, you’d be my girlfriend…”

  I blushed deeply, my heart soaring up to the sky with glee. Before I knew what I was doing, I pushed him against the wall and kissed him.

  Our lips danced together, like two lovers reuniting after a long departure. They shared everything we could not express in words.

  Allen held me tight, his arms wrapping around my body, pulling me closer. Our torsos locked together like magnets as the kiss intensified.

  I had come to this party expecting to go home alone, as I always did, but now, I never wanted to leave.

  Finally, he pulled away, allowing us both a moment to breathe. We smiled like idiots as we stood there, forehead to forehead.

  I giggled.

  “What is it?” he asked, pinning a strand of my hair behind my ear. His fingers lingered on my cheek, making me shiver. His touch was just as electric as ever. I melted into him.

  “It’s just, this night has been absolutely crazy.”

  “Tell me about it,” he chuckled as well. “If I knew it would end like this, I’d go through a thousand rooms just to be with you.”

  “Yeah… next Halloween Party maybe you should orchestrate your own game.”

  “Good idea,” he agreed. “Maybe you could help me?”

  “Do you really think we will still be together a year from now?”

  “I hope so.” He kissed the top of my head and smiled. “If it was up to me, we’d be together forever.”

  “But, what if I turn out to be some annoying girl you learn to hate?”

  “I hate my brother and I still live with him.”

  I laughed. “You know it’s not the same.”

  “That’s true. I don’t want to fuck my brother.” He winked. “But, I’m not going to find you annoying. You’re the
most interesting girl I’ve ever met in my life. There’s just something about you… I can’t quite explain it… but…” he seemed lost for words.

  I shook my head and kissed him. “Don’t bother trying to explain, I know exactly what you mean. I feel it too,” I said, bringing his hand to my heart.

  He smiled, our eyes locking. For a moment, it felt like we were the only two people left on Earth. I leaned forward, about to kiss him once more when he stepped back. “Well, we should really find Gretchen.”

  I was a little disappointed that he wanted to find his employee when his bedroom was only a few feet away, but I supposed we needed to get to the bottom of this. “Okay. Do you have any idea where she might be?”

  “Not a clue.” He started for the stairs. Before I could stop him, he took me in his arms and jumped on the railing, sliding down it with ease. We landed effortlessly on the first floor. Allen steadied us both so we wouldn’t fall before he bent me back and kissed me hard.

  My heart thumped in reaction as my cheeks burned with desire.

  When he pulled away, there was a wild smirk etched onto his face. “You know, I found that planner… so, does that mean that your offer still stands?”

  “What offer?”

  “That, if I found something, I would get to do whatever I’d like with you.”

  “Hmm,” I elongated my syllable, teasing him. “I don’t know…”

  He pulled away, walking into the kitchen. Everyone had been corralled out of the house, leaving a tornado-like mess in their wake. I sniffed the punch but at this point, it smelled potent. It was best to stay away.

  “Oh, come on. I was willing to risk my life for you.”

  “That is true,” I nodded, grabbing a piece of candy and popping it into my mouth, sucking on it sensually, knowing it would just drive him crazy.

  He groaned. “You can’t do that… it isn’t fair.”

  “Do what?” I asked, keeping my voice innocent and sweet. “I’m just eating candy.”

  “Yeah… but you’re… you know what, never mind. When I find Gretchen and everything gets sorted out, I’m going to make you beg for it.”

  “Oh, are you now?”

  He just smirked knowingly.

  “I can’t wait…” I whispered into his ear before I walked forward, swaying my hips with every step. I could feel his eyes locked on my body and it gave me a rush. Why was it so amusing to tease a horny guy? I chuckled to myself as we reached the living room. “Shouldn’t you be the one leading this search?” I asked, grabbing a lollipop next.

  He looked at me a moment, unable to utter a word.

  I crossed the room and fixed his bow tie. “Come on, handsome, it’ll be daybreak soon and by then all my magic might fade away…” I whispered, dropping my voice to a husky whisper. “And we wouldn’t want that now, would we?”

  “Did you turn into Cinderella just now?”

  “No, but the luck I had at impressing you tonight and making you fall for me, I might as well have a fairy godmother.”

  He chuckled, “I’m the lucky one here.” He was just about to kiss me when we both heard a soft rustling coming from the second floor.

  “What was that?” I asked.

  “Rats, probably.”

  “Rats?” I repeated with disgust. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Of course I’m kidding. I’m a billionaire, don’t you think if we had a rat problem, I’d hire an exterminator, ASAP?”

  “I guess so…”

  Crash!

  Chapter 22

  ALLEN

  My eyes widened as I heard a loud crash above our heads. “That’s my father’s study…”

  “Do you think it’s Gretchen?” Essie asked, following me up the stairs, hiking up her dress so she wouldn’t trip on it.

  “Who else would it be?” I barged into the room but there was no one there. I looked around carefully, seeing if anything had been disturbed.

  “Are you sure the crash came from this room?”

  “I mean, I could be wrong, but I was pretty sure…” I rounded the desk, shifting through some paperwork I had left there the last time I was here. “But, I don’t see anything broken, do you?”

  “Nope.”

  “Strange.” I studied the desk, feeling like something was off – like something was missing. But, what?

  “Is there a secret room in here too? Maybe she’s hiding in there.”

  “Actually…” I nodded my head. “But, that would mean…” I suddenly popped my head under the desk where I kept the key to the safe room. “No…”

  “What is it?”

  “Son of a bitch,” I growled. “It’s gone.”

  “What’s gone?”

  “The keys.”

  “What keys?”

  “To the safe room.”

  Her eyes widened. “You mean…?”

  I didn’t bother answering her. Instead, I flew to the left-hand wall. I tore off an expensive painting and threw it to the floor. Behind it was a handle. I tugged on it with all my might but of course, it was locked.

  “What are we supposed to do now?” Essie asked, looking concerned. “We can’t just let her rob you.”

  I pressed my ear to the wall, listening very carefully. Ever so softly, I could hear the floorboards creaking. She was definitely in there. “Well, she might have devised this whole game as a distraction, but she isn’t as smart as she seems. This is the only way in or out of this room, so she has just trapped herself inside.” Suddenly, I banged on the wall. “You hear that Gretchen, there’s no way you can win!”

  Nothing happened for a moment but then the latch clicked and the door slowly started to slide open.

  I took a step back, my features pressed into a permanent grimace. I had trusted this woman. She was one of my best employees and now to find out that she was a crook… it was almost too much for me to take. Part of me didn’t want to believe that this was happening. It just didn’t make sense.

  “Oh, I was just cleaning sir…” she said, staring at the floor between my feet.

  “Cleaning? Really? You couldn’t come up with a better excuse?” I ripped her hands out of her pockets. A stash of 100 dollar bills dropped to the ground. “Did you really think you could get away with this?” I held her wrist tightly, my anger causing me to hold on a smidge too tight. “Tell me, why did you do it? If you needed more money, you know I would have happily given you a raise.”

  “It’s not fair,” she snapped. “You two get to live like princes while I live like a goddamn slave. Do you think I like being your little maid-girl?” Her eyes narrowed. “For years, I’ve been trying to get you to notice me... but you never did. Hell, I don’t even think you saw me as a person.”

  Her words came as a shock to me. I had never seen her act this way around me. “Gretchen…”

  “And this tramp comes along and you fall head over heels with her. It happens every year. You find some pretty girl, tell her that you love her, and then kick her out the following morning.”

  “That’s not true,” I said quickly. “You know that’s not true.”

  “Don’t believe him.” Gretchen stepped past me. “If you were smart, you’d leave now while you still have your dignity.”

  “At least I didn’t try to steal,” Essie retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “You think they deserve all the money they have?”

  “Well, the next time you build a billion-dollar enterprise, let me know.” Essie was right in her face. I was actually quite surprised by the way she was defending me.

  “As if I ever had the chance to do such a thing.”

  “And they did?” Essie’s lips pressed into a hard line. She looked at Gretchen with an expression of pure disgust. “People like you make me sick. The only reason that Allen and Chris are successful is because they pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. They didn’t steal anyone’s money because life wasn’t fair.”
>
  Gretchen was about to say something when I placed my hand on her shoulder. “I think it would be best if you just left.”

  “Fine. Don’t expect to hear from me again!” Without another word, she stormed out of the room.

  “Why are you letting her leave? You should press charges!” Essie exclaimed. “She was going to steal all that money.”