Mrs. Claus

by Amanda Lanclos

  Lifting the chipped coffee mug on my desk, I take a sip only to realize that my cup is empty. I growl and glare at it.

  Stupid ass cup!

  Becks laughs from the doorway to my office and my head raises so I can turn my glare from the cup to her. My frown fades as I see the two steaming cups in her hands. She laughs again. “Turn that frown upside down before your face freezes like that or else I’m drinking both of these! Grimacing is not a good look for you, sis.”

  Reaching out with grabby hands, I mutter, “No, you won’t. You aren’t that much of a bitch.”

  She hands me one of the cups and perches in the chair to face me. “True story. I’m sweet as pecan pie.” She bats her baby blues at me and asks, “Why are you so grumbly anyway? What happened last night? You disappeared as soon as y’all got back from dinner and when I got home last night you were locked in your room.”

  Staring at my sister, I take a sip of my coffee and burn the shit out of my tongue. “Owwww!”

  She laughs and says, “Careful. It’s hot.”

  I glare at her. “No shit!”

  Setting her coffee down, she leans on the desk and points at me. “What the hell is wrong with you? You’re acting like me before coffee and you never act like that. You’re always happy and jolly, so what gives?” Her brow arches as she pins me with her gaze. “What happened with Mason?”

  How does she know anything happened with Mason?

  I mutter, “Who says anything happened with Mason?”

  Becks rolls her eyes. “Yeah, ok. I’m stupid. I’m a blonde bombshell so of course I’m all tits and no brain.” She picks her coffee back up and leans back in the chair, cradling the cup between her palms. “I can sit here all damn day. You know I’m not leaving until you tell me.”

  Groaning, I lean back in my own chair and click the pen I’m holding in my hand while I stare at her. “You’re annoying as shit.”

  She grins. “Duh. I’ve been annoying as shit for twenty-four years, sis. This is not new. And you know I’m also stubborn, so you just as soon tell me. I’m seriously not leaving and I’m not the one with the interviews today, so…”

  She’s not going to leave. Ugh.

  “Fine. We had dinner. I told him all about the concert and the expectations. He seemed interested. It was nice and then he told me that the station was paying for dinner because it wasn’t a date.” Her mouth opens and then closes but I shake my head to stop her from talking. “I walked out saying I needed air. He paid the bill and followed me. He kissed me. Some punks saw us since it got heated… like really heated.” I feel myself blush. “They said some stuff and Mason said some stuff back. The cop at the restaurant came out and ran them off. We got into a fight about him kissing me or me kissing him or whatever.” I blush again. “I don’t even know what he makes me feel. He’s so sexy, but he makes me so angry with the stuff he says. And I feel like a stupid adolescent around him. I don’t like it.” I sigh and lean my head back to stare at the stain on the ceiling. “So, I just walked away from him. He caught up and tried to talk to me, but I ignored him and when I got back here, I hid in the back until he left.”

  Now that I’ve said all of it out loud, I realize how stupid it all sounds. I groan and look at Becky. Her eyes are crinkled at the corners and she’s not even attempting to hide her amusement.

  I snap. “What the hell is so amusing?”

  Laughing, she crosses her legs and cocks her head to the side. “You have no idea what to do with him, do you?” I shake my head to deny it, but she chuckles. “Sis, you like him. You can’t lie to me.” She sing songs like a stupid fourteen year old, “You like him!” Then she grins at me. “He apparently likes you, too. Yet neither of you know what the hell to do about it.”

  I sigh. “What am I supposed to do with a sexy as sin reporter who makes my girl parts tingle but I have nothing in common with?”

  She shrugs. “My advice? Roll with it. It’s new. It’s exciting. It’s the holidays. Hell, what a present for you both!” Her brows wiggle and she snaps and dances. “Bow chicka wow wow! Get you some holiday romance… and sex.”

  An embarrassed cough at the door to my office has both of us turning. Joy is standing there with pink cheeks and alongside her is a flabbergasted Mason.

  Oh, my God…

  Becky jumps up. “Oops.” She races for the door. As she reaches it she turns back to me and grins before her laughter trails down the hallway.

  Joy’s cheeks are still pink and I can tell she’s trying hard to contain a smile as she says, “Mason is here.”

  I nod. “Obviously…”

  She laughs and shoots Mason a smile before she mutters, “I’ll just get back to the phones then.”

  He heard Becky… But did he hear what I said, too?

  Mason

  I make her girl parts tingle? And I did say that we have nothing in common last night, but that’s not true.

  We have good conversation. We have mutual attraction. And we both push the other’s buttons.

  I know a lot of people who have a lot less than that and it works.

  What are you talking about?

  I was up all night thinking about the woman behind the desk. She makes me crazy. I determined at about 4AM that nothing good would come of me pursuing her. But by 4:30AM, I’d told myself that thinking I wasn’t going to go after her was insane.

  By 6AM, I was ready to find out where she lived and drive to her house. Instead, I went for a run, where I replayed exactly what it felt like to have her in my arms and pressed against my body. Which led to a throbbing erection. Which I then had to take care of in the fucking shower!

  Yeah…

  I’m still standing at the threshold to her office as she sighs. “How much of that did you hear?”

  Do I lie?

  Hell no.

  Stepping into the room, I close the door behind me. Her eyes widen and she inhales but I don’t cross the room. I lean against the door and cross my arms, hoping I’m exuding a calm that I’m definitely not feeling. “I heard you say that I affect you and then I heard Becky.”

  She nods. “Oh…”

  Deciding to just roll with it, I cross the room and lean on the edge of her desk. She watches me warily and I can see the uncertainty and fear in her eyes. “Yeah, oh.” Reaching out, I pick up a paperclip from the center of her desk and twirl it. My eyes watch it spin before I look back at her. “Here’s the thing, Noelle. Full disclosure time. I don’t know what to do with you either. I didn’t expect to be punched in the face when I walked in here yesterday.”

  Her mouth falls open and she squeaks, “Who punched you in the face?”

  I chuckle. “No one. But the effect was the same. From the second I saw you standing at the desk, I’ve felt like I’ve been hit. Noelle, you affect me. A lot. More than any woman in a long time. Maybe ever.” My eyes search her face and I mutter. “I’m not quite sure what to do about that.”

  She swallows. “What do you want to do about it?”

  Smiling, I lean over the desk and line my face up with hers. Her deep eyes draw me in and I feel myself reacting to her. I sigh. “I don’t think what I want to do can be done right this second… Don’t you have an interview in about ten minutes?”

  She blinks. “What?”

  Chuckling again, I lean down and brush my lips against hers. I feel the electricity between us and struggle to keep my need to consume her in.

  Holy hell.

  She moans as her head angles back to allow my lips to close more firmly over hers. Her hands trail up my chest and shoulders before her fingers weave into the hair at the base of my skull. Tingles race down my spine and my mouth opens, allowing my tongue to beg entrance into her mouth.

  She immediately parts her lips and brushes her tongue against mine. Within seconds, raw passion is so thick between us it’s almost oppressive.

  Her mouth clings to mine as my own devours her. I’m practically leaning over the desk to get to her as she raises herself to r
each me. My arms reach for her and pull her onto the desk top. She climbs up without breaking the kiss and slides over my lap. Her knees settle on either side of my hips as my hands travel over her back and ass. My fingers dig into her flesh through the denim covering her. She grinds against me and I thrust up.

  I’m about to blow in my pants from the sensual assault when I remember where we are. Lifting my head, I trail my lips over her chin and down her neck while she continues to whimper and try to drag my head back to her mouth.

  With the last ounce of sanity I possess, I mutter against her skin. “Wait. Noelle… we’re in your office. Anyone could walk in here at any second… You have an interview any minute now.” My words are saying we need to stop, but my lips refuse to relinquish their hold on her delicious skin.

  She freezes against me and lays her head in the crook of my neck. She gasps for air and my cock reacts to her breath so close to my ear. It was already raging but it jerks against her. My circulation is cut off from her pressing against me and the tightness that now exists in my slacks.

  She hoarsely mutters, “Oh my God… what are we doing, Mason?”

  My hands leave her hips to cup her nape as I look down at her. Her lips are swollen and glistening while her eyes are wide and luminous. Her cheeks have a gorgeous flush covering them and her chest is heaving. “Affecting each other?!” I smirk. It ends on a groan as Noelle moves hastily and bumps into the part of my body that is ready to kill me for stopping. She blushes and looks down. Her tongue slips out to moisten her bottom lip. I groan again. “Yeah, you should probably get off me. I’m about to react like a youngster who finds his daddy’s Hustler collection and blow in my pants. I don’t think that is acceptable for the camera.” I wink. “At least not the kind of camera work I do.”

  Noelle laughs throatily and shoves my shoulders as she slides off me. “Oh my God, shut up!”

  I laugh, too. “So… I need to find some place to compose myself.” I point down at my obvious erection. “And you need to,” I wave at her, “not look like I just had my way with you on your desk.”

  She blushes and turns away from me. “You didn’t…”

  Before I can stop myself, I respond. “Not yet, but I’d really like to.”

  She looks over her shoulder and gives me a smile that has me immediately responding. “Full disclosure… me, too…”

  Oh, dear God.

  Leave this room. Right now, Mason.

  Chapter Nine

  Noelle

  I haven’t been able to speak to Mason all day. Not that I know what to say anyway. This morning was crazy. I’ve never done anything like that before, especially here. Not that I’ve even dated in the six years since I started this place. The shelter has been my focus and it’s been enough. Sure, sometimes I get lonely, but for the most part, this is my life.

  Mason left my office earlier and I took the few minutes before the newspaper reporter got here to straighten my clothes and try not to look like I’d just been revved like a hot rod engine by Mason. The interview went smoothly and within half an hour of his getting here, the reporter snapped a few photos and left. The rest of the day was spent in my office talking to the city, vendors, sponsors, and doing other things to pull this concert off in a few weeks.

  My stomach is growling and my mug is way past empty when I glance at the clock on my computer.

  Shit! No wonder I’m hungry. It’s like 6PM. Where is everyone? How strange that no one has been in here all day.

  Standing, I stretch and groan as my back pops. I move in all directions and groan again as the kinks are worked out of my tight muscles. It feels so good to move.

  “Damn, you’ve been working hard.”

  I smile as I see Mason standing in my doorway. “Yeah. Sorry, I’ve been glued to the computer and phone all day. You’re still here.”

  He nods and holds out his hands. A brown paper bag eliciting wonderful smells is in one hand and a drink tray with two drinks in Styrofoam cups are accompanying two large coffees in the other. “I am. We shadowed and interviewed one of the families today and I knew you’d been cooped up in here since this morning, so I brought food. You hungry?”

  In answer, my stomach growls. I chuckle. “I’m starving.” I look around him and listen for the sounds from the shelter. “Is it just you?”

  Mason crosses the room and sets the bag and tray on my desk. “Yeah. Becky and Brad left about half an hour ago. I told her I’d let you know. I believe they were going out… together.”

  My brow arches and I laugh. “Of course they are.”

  Mason sits in the chair across from me and opens the bag. The smell of Lebanese spices and meat fill the room. I moan. “Lebanese is my favorite!”

  Mason smirks. “Yeah, Becky mentioned that when I asked. And Joy pushed me to surprise you with dinner tonight. I mean, I was going to ask you anyway, but as she was leaving, she hinted I should just get it and bring it to you. Which I did and I paid for with my own money.”

  My cheeks burn as I remember what Joy and Mason both overheard this morning. Mason seems to follow my train of thought as he chuckles. “Well, thank you, Mason.

  He smirks. “That Joy is something else. She’s so peppy. Nothing seems to bother her and she’s always encouraging.” He hands me a Styrofoam cup and leans back with his own. “I watched her today. Something about her just makes people comfortable and everyone smiles.”

  I nod. “Yeah, I’ve noticed, too. She’s only been here a couple of days, but something about her is just familiar and comforting. It’s something that a lot of the people here need… a sense of familiarity.”

  He watches me. “You provide that for them, Noelle.”

  I smile at him. “I try.”

  As he spreads the containers of food out on the desk and we dig in, we talk. Conversation just flows with us. He tells me about how he got into broadcast journalism and his college days. He went to LSU but then was hired in Houston where he worked for a few years before accepting a position back here.

  As we finish the meal, he asks me a question. “Why a shelter, Noelle?”

  I sigh and lean back in my chair so I can organize my thoughts. Finally, I answer him. “Because sometimes people find themselves in situations they can’t control and they need help. It’s so easy to take advantage of people when they’re already down… I wanted to give those who want to give up a chance.”

  I can see that he’s weighing my words. He seems to think long and hard before he speaks again. “Yeah, but you don’t look like someone who was down on their luck so why does it matter to you so much?”

  I shrug. “It has to matter to someone. Why not me?”

  He stares at me and then he smiles. “You’re really special, Noelle. Most people would just look the other way if a situation doesn’t directly affect them. But not you.”

  I laugh uncomfortably. “It affects me… just not like you would think.”

  Nick buzzes me from the front. “Noelle, someone is here to see you.”

  Who would be here to see me? Most visitors show up during the day here.

  Does someone need help?

  No one has called with a transfer today.

  Maybe it’s a sponsor?

  Smiling at Mason, I stand. “Let me see who that is. Someone may just want information about the concert or a sponsorship. I shouldn’t be long. I’ll clean all of this up in a few minutes.”

  He nods at me. “I’ll get it. It’s just trash.”

  I smile. “Thank you.” I’m in good spirits as I walk down the hall from my office to the front of the shelter.

  The smile leaves my face as I see who’s standing there.

  What the hell does he want?

  The man I got my looks and eyes from smiles at me. It fades as he sees my cold expression.

  “What do you want?”

  My father frowns and looks around at the few people still in the front before they head back to the private sector of the shelter for the night. “Is that any way to
speak to your father, Noelle?”

  My arms cross as I defiantly stare at him, refusing to be intimidated. “You’re in my shelter. You weren’t invited here, so I can speak to you however I please. Now, I repeat, what is it that you want?”

  Mason

  That sounds like Noelle and she’s obviously upset with whomever was here to see her.

  Hastily tossing the bag into one of the chairs, I stroll out of her office and down the hall to see what the commotion is about.

  I hope that those punks from yesterday aren’t in here.

  Nick can handle them if that’s what the issue is.

  When I clear the hallway and see Noelle’s aggressive stance, I immediately look to the man inspiring it. The resemblance is unmistakable. He has to be her father. His words confirm my observation. “I’m your father, Noelle. I won’t be spoken to this way. Your mother would be appalled.”

  Noelle laughs harshly. “Momma isn’t here and no, I doubt that the fact that I don’t want you in my shelter would shock her.” Her voice hardens. “What do you want?”

  He leans back on his heels and they stare at each other. “Your mother showed me the segment on the news about this concert you’re throwing to raise money.” He raises his hands. “I can give you the money you need, Noelle.”

  She laughs out loud and slaps her thighs. “Are you kidding me? You want to give me the money you took from people like the ones here to help them? You want me to take the money you made from ruining their lives to help them?” She waves her hands around to encompass the room. “You have got to be kidding me. You are such a hypocrite.”

  He sighs. “Noelle, I know you think I’m the bad guy, but I’m not. I’m just a business man. I own a bank, baby. If people borrow money from me and then they can’t pay it back, I can’t just allow them to stop making payments and absorb the hit.”

  She glares at him. “No, you give desperate people money and then charge them even more money when you know they can’t pay it back. I understand that you can’t just give money away, but you choose to make loans that you know they can never pay back. Some of these people have families and you just put them out on the streets. That’s on you.”