by Zante, Lily
“It’s a quiet day. It’s Christmas Eve and I don’t have much to do today.”
Then why the hell are you here? She wondered.
“Thank you, but I’ll take him with me. He’s been cooped up in here all morning.” She reached for her coat. “Jacob, put your coat on. We’re going out.” The boy made a sad face.
“Bye, Mr. Stone.”
“Bye, Jacob.”
Tobias left the room and when he was out of sight, Savannah scolded her son. “Jacob, you have to stop talking to him like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like he’s your…friend.”
“He is my friend.”
“He’s not your friend.”
“He is, too.”
“He’s my boss, Jacob and you can’t be that friendly, talking to him like he’s one of your friends from school.”
“You always told me to be nice to people. I was being nice.”
She didn’t know how to answer that. “Come on,” she said, taking his hand. “You need to eat something.”
Chapter 19
This was it. Goodbye.
She looked at the office, with the files tidied and rearranged—even though Briony hadn’t specifically asked her to do this—and felt sad to be leaving.
She looked at her watch. “Get your things together, Jacob.” There was only one thing left to do. “Stay here. I’ll be back quickly—I’m just going to see Mr. Stone.”
“Okay,” he said, rearranging Spiderman’s limbs.
She knocked on the door which Tobias opened even though he was on the phone. “We’ve been through this before, Naomi. I don’t want to discuss it.”
She sat down and tried to be discreet, but it was impossible not to listen to the conversation. Instead, she surveyed his tidy desk and her eyes rested on the small blue Tiffany box wrapped in a white satin ribbon.
So, his wife was called Naomi.
“No. Don’t. I’ll call you.” He put down the phone and walked over to his chair, but he didn’t sit down.
“You said you wanted to see me?” She had no idea what this was about. Maybe he was going to have stern words with her now that she was leaving, and he hadn’t done so because Jacob had been in the room.
“How have you found it? Working here?” His question immediately threw her.
“It’s…been…interesting,” she replied slowly, unsure as to what he was after. “Interesting? How?” He folded his hands together. Big, manly and soft hands, and she swallowed, seeing the ring on his finger. A sudden and unexpected bout of envy stabbed her and her gaze rested once more on the gift box on his desk.
His voice was as smooth as melted chocolate and she at once felt shy and vulnerable. “It was…” She struggled for the words. How could she tell him that she was grateful for having a job? Not only a job, but this job. Of being in this huge skyscraper that reeked of success and money and power, and how she felt independent, after leaving Jacob at school and taking a subway to the city, of how she once more felt free, a young woman in a big city, and how wonderful it felt walking around the streets of New York, breezing through the silver revolving doors and coming to work here.
This man could not possibly understand. He had no idea of the difference that three weeks of working here had made to her short term livelihood. She tried not to stare at his smooth face, or his high forehead. Tried not to stare too long at the way he wore his clothes, at his immaculate hands, soft and clean.
She looked away. They might as well have been from different galaxies. “I’ve had a great time working here. Briony has been wonderful and I’ve enjoyed the work.” She hesitated for a moment, then decided to thank him, too. “Thank you for being so accommodating.”
“Accommodating?”
“For letting Jacob remain in the office.”
“I wasn’t going to throw him out.” His gaze pierced right through her. “He was worried that I might throw you out. Why would he think that?” Tobias asked her.
“I don’t know. He has a very active imagination.” She stared at her hands and cleared her throat, avoiding eye contact. “But thank you for your kindness.”
“Anything to help.”
She hated those words. All too often people used those words when they sensed her desperation. No matter how hard she tried to hide it; that she was dirt poor and that she had no savings that she lived from paycheck to paycheck, that she’d had to go to a food bank just to make food for Christmas last that much longer. It had almost made her cry with happiness when she’d paid for the few toys she’d bought him. Those three words ‘Anything to help’ only reminded her that she was in a desperate place and that people could see right through her.
“I was just doing my job, Tobias.”
“Briony spoke very highly of you.”
She smiled at the thought.
“She spoke so highly in fact that she’s extended your contract.”
Savannah gulped. “She did?” Briony hadn’t said a word to her.
“Unless you have a better offer from elsewhere?” He said, scrutinizing her reaction. She didn’t miss the fire that flashed in his eyes as he spoke.
“I don’t,” she replied quickly. “This is wonderful news. It’s—it’s—it’s…” It was the best Christmas gift she could have asked for.
Tobias nodded. “Hasn’t she emailed you?”
Savannah shook her head.
His lips pressed together. “She was supposed to. Apparently no-one’s covering the office next week, between Christmas and New Year.”
This was new.
“If you can’t that’s fine. I know it’s short notice and I’m surprised she didn’t let you know in advance.”
“I can do it.” Savannah insisted. Rosalee would be back by then.
“If you can come in, and if you still don’t have childcare—”
“I have childcare, or I will have,” she said quickly. “It’ll be fine.”
He scratched the back of his neck. “I guess it’s better for Jacob not to be cooped up in the office.”
“Yes,” replied Savannah. Thank goodness for Rosalee.
“It’s double pay, too.”
Even better.
“I’ve signed off the necessary paperwork.” He coughed lightly. “You’ll also find that your wages will be paid into your account before Christmas.”
She wrinkled her brow. “But I thought…” She hadn’t expected to see that money until January. Tobias looked away with cool nonchalance, and flicked through his diary. “She mentioned something about the agency not paying until next month, but…well. It is Christmas.”
The money in her account today? She couldn’t help but smile. “That was so thoughtful of her.”
“Isn’t it?” Tobias commented.
“It’s the best news…” She closed her mouth before she said too much.
“I’m happy to hear it. Hopefully you and Jacob can enjoy the holidays.”
“Thank you. You too.” She sat in her chair, waiting for him to say something.
“That will be all.” He dismissed her, and she got up slowly, feeling a lightness seep into her body as she almost floated to the door.
“One more thing,” Tobias said, just as she reached for the door handle. “You weren’t at the Christmas party.”
She gave him a puzzled look. It seemed so far away, and her thoughts were still on her recent contract.
“No.” She replied. Why was he asking?
“Was it because of what happened with the Dalton file?”
“I didn’t attend that night because I had no childcare. It wasn’t because of your accusation.”
“How naive of me to assume otherwise.”
“Merry Christmas, Tobias.”
“Merry Christmas.”
She rushed out and as she walked down the hallway to Briony’s office, Savannah felt as though she was floating on air. She walked into the office smiling from ear to ear. Her son stared up at her.
“You look h
appy, Mommy.”
She felt overwhelmed with happiness because her contract had been extended and it had suddenly changed her outlook on life. All because Briony had given her the perfect Christmas gift.
“I am, honey. I’m very happy. Let’s go home.”
A man like Tobias Stone had women dropping at his feet like flies. This woman, not particularly glamorous, nor sophisticated, nor worldly wise still had him thinking about her. He would bet good money that if he put her in a five thousand dollar Dior dress, with that attitude, she’d own the dress and the room. His interest in Savannah Stone had suddenly tripled.
He had lost interest in women years ago and he considered himself in no danger of falling for any woman, much less an employee, but the mere idea that he had been thinking of Savannah Page intrigued him.
That he’d had any interest in anyone at all was cause for speculation in itself and he found himself thinking about her long after she had left his office.
She was a temp, and even though she wasn’t directly an employee of his, it still made her off limits. He never ever dated women who worked for him, permanent or temporary.
He had Naomi. But still.
The thrill was in the chase.
Savannah Page tickled his interest in a way that no woman had, not since Ivy. And that fact alone made him curious. And whenever Tobias Stone was curious about something, he went after it.
The Gift, Book 2 will be available in January 2016.
Booklist
Other books by Lily Zante: http://www.lilyzante.com/books
Standalone books:
Love, Inc
An Unexpected Gift
Unexpected Love (Bundle: An Unexpected Gift & Love, Inc)
Honeymoon Series:
Honeymoon For One
Honeymoon For Three
Honeymoon Blues
Honeymoon Bliss
Honeymoon Series Boxed Set (Books 2 & 3)
Perfect Match Series:
The Proposal
Lost In Solo
Heart Sync
Perfect Match Boxed Set (Books 1, 2 & 3)
A Leap of Faith
Tainted Love Series: (A spin-off from the Perfect Match Series)
Misplaced Love
Reclaiming Love
Embracing Love
Tainted Love Boxed Set (Books 1, 2 & 3)
Italian Summer Series: (A spin-off from the Honeymoon Series)
It Takes Two
All That Glitters
The Billionaire’s Love Story:
The Gift, Book 1
Acknowledgements
As always, I would like to say a big ‘Thank You’ to the following ladies for making it easier for me to hit ‘PUBLISH’ with each new book. They find the errors and typos that I have completely missed:
Marcia Chamberlain
April Lowe
Dena Pugh
Charlotte Rebelein
Carole Tunstall
A big thank you to Renata Lechner for her brilliant creativity and for creating such awesome covers for my books:
Website: http://thelemadreamsart.deviantart.com
About The Author
Lily Zante is the pseudonym for an author who writes contemporary romance.
She lives with her husband and three children somewhere near London, England.
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PUBLISHED BY:
Lily Zante
The Gift, Book 1
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No part of this publication may be copied, reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.
The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book through the internet or any other means without the prior written consent of the author is illegal and is punishable by law.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously and do not bear any resemblance to any real person, alive or dead.
Copyright © 2015
Lily Zante
