A Christmas Proposal: A Hidden Threat Short Story

by Sherri Hayes

  Cali didn’t quite know how to respond. She agreed with Jessie. It was the only thing that made sense.

  One week ago

  Cali was standing over a tiny cot examining a young boy with deep cuts covering his entire body. He had been unconscious when some villagers brought him into the small makeshift hospital last night. No one knew what had happened. She and one of the nurses managed to clean his wounds and gave him some antibiotics, but they were watching him closely.

  Feeling someone approach her from behind, Cali didn’t turn to look. She guessed it was Rachael Michaels, one of her fellow doctors.

  “How’s he doing?” Rachael asked.

  “Still no fever, which is good, but he’s not out of the woods yet.”

  “I’ll finish up here for you, Cali, you have a call.”

  Only one person who would make an unscheduled call to her in the middle of Africa—her father.

  She stood, handed the wet towel she’d been using to wash the young boy’s wounds to her colleague, and made her way out of the tent and over to the small rundown metal shack that housed the only working phone.

  Chad, one of the locals, handed her the phone as soon as she entered. Placing the grungy handset that looked like it had been around for at least thirty years to her ear, she said, “Hello?”

  “Cali? Cali, honey, is that you?”

  “Yes, Dad, it’s me. Is everything okay?” she asked, worried.

  “No, sweetheart, it’s not. I need you to come home.” Cali sat down in the beat up wooden chair Chad had recently vacated.

  “Come home? Dad, what’s going on? What’s wrong?” She heard him sigh on the other end, followed by a moan. “Dad?”

  “I kind of went and did something stupid.”

  “What did you do?” She felt her body tense as it did so often when getting ready to work on an injury that they were ill equipped for. Cali didn’t like being unprepared for anything. People died that way.

  “I went waterskiing with Henry.”

  “You what!” She yelled, almost falling off her chair.

  “I know, I know. Stupid, right? Not something a man my age should be doing. I’ve already heard it all from Jessie.”

  “What happened? Are you alright?”

  “Well…”

  “Dad?” Why was he stalling?

  Another sigh and another moan, “The doctors say I broke my hip and a couple of ribs. They say I’m going to be out of commission for about three months.”

  “Oh, Dad,” Cali said with disapproval.

  “So I need you to come home, Cali. I need to you run the business while I’m away. Look after things.”

  “Dad…” She hesitated, not really knowing how to respond.

  “Now listen, Cali. I know you’ve told me you don’t want to take over for me when I retire, and although I’m not happy about that, I will respect your wishes. However, at the moment there are some things going on, and I would feel much better with someone I trust watching over my interests.”

  “What about Peter? I thought you trusted him. I thought you were grooming him to take over?”

  “Peter is very good at what he does, and maybe someday I will feel confident turning the business over to him. But he’s not family. You’re the only family I’ve got, Cali, and I need you for this and only you.”

  “I don’t know,” she said, leaning back in the chair, still unsure.

  “Please? Your old man needs you.” Cali giggled.

  “How soon can you get here?”

  “I can get a ride into town tomorrow and catch the bus from there, but it will take me most of the day to reach the airport so…” Cali paused to do the calculations in her head. “I should be able to make it back by Thursday, Friday at the latest.”

  “Good girl. Call me when you have your flight information, and I’ll make sure someone picks you up.”

  “Okay, Dad,” she answered getting up from her seat.

  “Cali?”

  “Yes?”

  “I love you, sweetie.”

  “I love you, too.”

  As Cali stood outside the Stanton Enterprises high rise, she took a deep breath and marched through the large glass doors. A massive reception desk stood front and center with a smaller security station nestled into a corner off to the side. Each desk had an occupant who looked up when she entered.

  It was nine fifteen on a Monday morning, already too late for the average worker to be showing up. As Cali walked forward, the receptionist stood and asked, “Can I help you?” Cali didn’t recognize the woman and figured she must be a new addition.

  She gave the woman a warm smile. “Yes, will you let Lisa Morgan know that Cali Stanton is here?” Her father told her last night on the phone that his assistant would be expecting her.

  It took only a split second for the young woman to make the connection. Her eyes went wide. “Oh. Oh, yes.” She reached for the phone, almost knocking the handset off its base.

  While the woman behind the desk scrambled, Cali looked around the lobby. Most of it was exactly how she remembered with the exception of several security cameras. She wondered if this had anything to do with the information her father had shared with her last night. Her father wouldn’t go into any details, but said his heads of security, Matthew and Jason, would fill her in. That didn’t sound promising.

  Cali turned as the elevator doors opened and saw her dad’s assistant glide elegantly into the lobby, wearing a tailored jacket and fitted skirt. The woman made walking in four-inch heels look easy. Lisa came to a stop and gave her a warm hug.

  “It’s good to see you again, Cali,” she said.

  “Same here,” Cali said, returning the hug.

  Taking a step back, Lisa motioned to the elevators. “Shall we?”

  Cali nodded.

  Matthew sat behind his desk, going through the e-mails that never seemed to stop when Brad called to let him know the boss’s daughter was here. He’d talked to Alvin yesterday. Apparently, his boss had kept his daughter in the dark and had left it to Jason and him to bring her up to speed. She had no idea what was going on, and Matthew just didn’t have time for this.

  He waited fifteen more minutes to allow her time to reach her office before he walked down the hall and knocked on his brother’s door.

  “Come in,” came the gruff voice.

  Matthew opened the door and stepped inside. “Hey.”

  “Hey.” Jason smiled at his brother.

  Matthew adjusted his already perfect tie, “She’s here. Alvin wants her brought up to speed ASAP.”

  “You go on ahead,” Jason said, turning his attention back to the diagrams in front of him.

  “You’re not coming.” It wasn’t a question.

  “Nope.”

  “Why?”

  With a heavy sigh, Jason looked up again at his brother. “Because the last thing I want to do this morning is entertain a pampered princess. Besides,” he said, waving a dismissive hand, “you’re much better at corporate politics than I am.”

  Matthew couldn’t believe his brother. Well he could, but still. He knew Jason didn’t like what he called the “suit and tie” part of the job. Jason was much better with the hands-on aspects where Matthew thrived on the technical and theoretical side. Jason preferred to be out in the action, and Matthew liked to work alone.

  They made a great team, which was why Alvin hired them eighteen months ago when he first started receiving threats. Thus far, they’d already managed to derail or neutralize three theft rings, as well as exposing a man from accounting that had been embezzling for the past seven years.

  He could tell by Jason’s tone that there was no budging him on this. “Fine. I’ll give you the rundown later.”

  “You do that, little brother.” He gave one last wicked smile to Matthew. “Have fun.”

  Have fun. Somehow, Matthew thought that was the last thing he’d be having. He’d never met Alvin’s daughter, although he knew she was twenty-eight and a doctor. All he
could hope for was that she wasn’t the pampered princess Jason thought she’d be. If so, it was going to be a very long three months.

  Cali just sat down behind her father’s desk, her desk—well for the next three months, anyway. When the phone on the desk buzzed, she hit the intercom, “Yes?”

  “Matthew Andersen is here to see you,” Lisa’s voice came through the phone.

  “Who?”

  “Head of Security,” Lisa supplied.

  Oh, Cali thought, Well…there’s nothing like jumping in with both feet. “Send him in.”

  Cali closed the open window on her computer. She heard the door open and close quickly. Taking a deep breath, she stood and looked up. Staring back at her was a man with the most intriguing blue eyes she’d ever seen. His hair was black, and cropped close to his head. His broad shoulders were covered in a chocolate-colored suit that fit him perfectly. Wow was the only word that came to mind.

  Suddenly she realized she’d been quiet for too long. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she took a step toward him and extended her hand. “You must be Mr. Andersen.”

  For a moment, Cali didn’t think he was going to respond, but then he nodded and shook her hand. “And you must be Ms. Stanton.”

  Cali could feel the blush moving up her cheekbones. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to release his hand and take a step back.

  Stop it! she mentally berated herself. He works for you, remember? Brushing a loose tendril behind her ear, she rushed back to the desk, bumping into the corner in passing. “Um…why don’t you take a seat Mr. Andersen?”

  He sat his tall frame into the offered seat.

  She nodded after taking her seat again. Placing her hands in her lap and out of his sight, she rubbed the skin that was still tingling from his touch.

  They sat in silence for a few minutes, and he appeared to be assessing her.

  She wasn’t sure she liked that. Clearing her throat, she said, “My father said there were some things you needed to talk to me about.” She forced her voice to sound business like.

  “Yes,” he said in a clipped tone. “What has Alvin told you?”

  “Just that he needed someone he could trust right now.” She paused. “What’s going on?”

  Matthew had seen pictures of Alvin’s daughter—pictures of her when she was little and even one from when she’d graduated from medical school—but nothing had prepared him for the woman in front of him. As soon as he opened the door to Alvin’s office and saw her, he lost his equilibrium.

  Cali Stanton wore a black pants suit that showed off every curve she had. The jacket hugged her waist and had a v-neck that plunged just low enough to give a hint at the skin beneath. The red hair he remembered from the pictures was pulled up into some fancy hairdo with just a few stray curls caressing her face. Then there were her eyes. He could get lost in them. They were brown with a hint of copper and anything but ordinary. It had taken him more time to respond than it should’ve when she extended her hand to him.

  With introductions out of the way, they both took their seats, and he tried to focus on business, the reason he was here, and the reason he had a job. Apparently, Alvin had told her nothing of what was going on. She was blind. Perfect.

  After failing at several attempts to concentrate and explain the threats to the company and her father, Matthew decided it was easier if he wasn’t actually looking at her. All he wanted to do was ask her out, which was not an option. Your boss, remember? he reminded himself. So instead, he concentrated on a location behind her in the Chicago skyline as he talked.

  She took it better than he thought she would. It wasn’t every day you found out people were threatening violence to you and your company. Matthew understood why Alvin wanted his daughter to run things in his absence, but he was a little aggravated with the old man as well. This was no place for her. Once word got out she was running the company, the threats to Alvin would transfer to her.

  As Matthew left Alvin’s office to return to his office downstairs, the danger that threatened Cali Stanton seemed to bother him more and more. By the time he reached his destination, his frustration had bubbled over. He slammed the door and fell into his chair. Unfortunately, his outburst attracted his brother’s attention, and he heard two knocks on his door. Knowing Jason would come in eventually, wanted or not, he closed his eyes and sighed.

  “Come in.”

  Jason walked through the door and found his little brother sitting behind his desk, face muscles tense, eyes closed, and head back. Closing the door behind him, he took a seat across from Matthew and waited. Finally, his brother opened one eye. “I’m fine, Jason.”

  “Meeting with the princess didn’t go well?”

  Matthew ran his hand over his head. “Don’t call her that.”

  Okay, Jason thought. I’ll rephrase. “Did the meeting with Ms. Stanton not go well?”

  Matthew looked like he was going to say something but didn’t. After a minute, he shrugged his shoulders and leaned forward. “She didn’t know anything about what’s been happening. I can’t believe her father didn’t warn her.”

  The agitation in Matthew’s voice was obvious, but Jason figured it was just because that meant extra work trying to get her up to speed. “Well, at least now she knows.”

  “Yeah.” Matthew glanced down at a note on his desk and then back to Jason. “How are things looking for Friday?”

  “Good so far. Everyone’s keeping their ears to the ground. I’ll be notified if they hear something.”

  Matthew just nodded and then stood, clearly wanting Jason to leave. “I’ll see you later. I need to get the security clearance finished for Ms. Stanton.”

  Before Jason could say another word, Matthew was gone.

  The rest of the day went easy for Cali although she knew that had a lot to do with her assistant. That woman was amazing. She’d have to tell her dad to give her a raise. Lisa had been in her dad’s office, her office, more times than she could count.

  Having spent so much of her teenage years here helping her dad, she knew the business, at least the basics of it. The problem was she was rusty. Thankfully, she had her medical knowledge. Without that, she would have been lost.

  After lunch, Peter Carson, the CFO, came into see her. He didn’t want to talk business. She still needed to go over the financial statements.

  Cali had known Peter for a while. He’d started here right out of college and had been with her father for about ten years now. He’d offered her his assistance with anything she would need, for which she was grateful.

  The next time Cali looked up at the clock, it was already five fifteen. She knew there would be days she’d have to work late, but that wasn’t a habit she wanted to get in on her first day. Picking out two of the reports still in the pile she’d been working through, she stuck them in the briefcase she’d brought with her and walked out into the hall.

  Lisa was still sitting at her desk and looked up when the door open. “Leaving for the night, Ms. Stanton?”

  “Please call me Cali. After all I couldn’t have made it through today without you,” she admitted with a smile.

  Lisa smiled back. “You’re doing fine, Cali.”

  “Thanks.”

  Cali started for the elevators but paused and looked back. “Are you heading home soon?”

  She felt bad. Lisa was probably behind on her own work because she’d been helping her so much today.

  “Yeah. I just have this to finish up, and then I’m heading home.” Seeing the concerned look on Cali’s face, she added, “Really. I should only be another twenty minutes or so.”

  “You’re sure?” Cali asked. “I mean, I could help you if you wanted. You helped me enough today.”

  Lisa just gave a little laugh. “Thank you, but I’m good. Go enjoy your evening. And relax. You have a whole new day tomorrow.”

  Cali gave a little grimace. “Don’t remind me.” Then she smiled once again at her assistant. “Goodnight.”

 
; “Goodnight.”

  At six o’clock, Lisa’s cell buzzed. Looking down at her phone, she saw she had a text message. “Five minutes.”

  After shutting everything down, she grabbed her purse and hurried to the elevator. When it reached the ground floor, she stepped over to the stairwell that led to the parking garage. Almost everyone had gone home already, and each step she took with her heels echoed around her.

  She walked down the single flight of stairs and stepped out into the garage when hands grabbed her upper arms and turned her, pushing her back against the cement wall.

  “You took too long.”

  “You’re just impatient,” she said softly as she ran her eyes down his face, lingering on his lips.

  Jason just grunted before crashing his mouth to hers. His hands moved to her waist as he roughly pressed his body into hers, his tongue taking possession of her mouth. Lisa wrapped her leg around his and pressed against him to create as much friction as she could.

  By the time they came up for air, they were both panting. Jason’s hands moved to cup her breast as his mouth shifted to her neck. “I’ve missed you.”

  “You saw me this morning,” she panted.

  “Too long,” he moaned.

  Lisa bit her bottom lip and gave him a little shove before slipping out of his grasp. Backing away, she looked at him through hooded lashes. “See you at my place.”

  Jason watched her get into her car and drive away before walking to his own vehicle and following her.

  Cali turned the water off, let her robe fall to the floor, and stepped into the bath. As she sank down into the warm water full of bubbles, she tilted her head back, closed her eyes, and sighed. It’d been too long since she’d taken a bubble bath. One didn’t get much opportunity for a comfortable soak in Africa.

  The bubbles swirled around her, and she let her mind drift over her day, specifically, to her meeting with Matthew Andersen. It was shocking to her to find out that Stanton Enterprises, a company that manufactured medical equipment and shipped it all over the world, including foreign countries—like the one she’d just spent two years of her life in—that couldn’t afford it, was under attack. Literally.