Page 40 of Stranded for Christmas with my Boss

My mind drifts to last night, painting a picture with strokes of ecstasy, honesty, and vulnerability. It was a night I wouldn’t soon forget.

I wonder…does she feel the same way?

Alyssa joins her hands in front of her and nods. “It’s great. Thank you again.”

“Anytime.”

Something sparks in her eyes, the air between us growing a degree warmer. We both clearly remember what started in her kitchen and ended in her bedroom. A heated kiss. A joining of bodies. Skin against skin.

She knows what’s on my mind, and I know what’s on hers.

What I don’t know is how she feels about last night. As much as I want to regret our intimate moments, I can’t find it within myself to wish they never happened. Plus, if I went back in time, I would still succumb to every little desire I have for her.

When have I truly been able to resist them? And what the hell do I do about that?

What we have sizzling between us is going to explode at some point, and I don’t expect the aftermath to be pretty.

After a few moments of tension, Alyssa merely smiles and crooks her finger, motioning for me to follow her out of my office.

A light smirk crosses my face, but I adjust my tie and trail her, putting my mind back on business. There isn’t much free time to sit around and tease each other when the first of January looms just around the corner. Given how close she is to her parents, I suspect that she would rather spend time with them than with me at the office.

She would probably be great company on Christmas. She seems like the type who embraces all the little traditions: baking cookies, decorating the tree, playing Santa, and handing out gifts.

The person who radiates Christmas spirit.

I haven’t ever really been around someone like that, but I can’t think of anyone else who would light up the holidays like her.

Once I enter the large lounge area where there is plenty of standing room and a few sofas and chairs to sit in, I make my way to the back where everyone can see me. I give my employees polite nods as I weave through all of them packed inside the room, noticing some sluggishness from a decent amount of them.

Now that we’re approaching the homestretch, burnout is becoming an issue. I understand their tiredness. I’m staying behind at the office most nights to wrap up work or to get a head start on the next day’s workload. We’re in this tough period together.

But we’re getting so damn close to the finish line. We just have to dig in.

“Good morning, everyone,” I say, projecting my voice so that everyone can hear me, even if they’re out in the hallway.

A chorus of responses echoes throughout the room.

My eyes sweep over them, glancing over the faces of department managers to assistants. Rank doesn’t matter at times like these. We’re all busting our asses, and we all started out at the bottom.

“First off, I want to thank all of you for your hard work. I see every single one of you putting your all into your jobs,” I tell them, my eyes eventually seeking out Alyssa through the crowd as she stands near Josh, the CMO.

Given the enormous amount of marketing work that Josh’s department has had to do lately, I sent Alyssa to help out with a few tasks every other day just to lessen some of the load. Plus, she has a knack for marketing and promotion work, so it benefits everyone. Josh has been more than happy to have her help out.

“We’re approaching our last week of work before Christmas break. As I’ve told you before, I want everyone to have a few days off for the holidays, but that means we need everything ready to go by the end of the day on the twenty-third,” I remindeveryone, seeing a few nods. The department heads and I have been very clear when it comes to the schedule and what we need to get done by what day. “This last week has to count. This is the biggest update to Soul Flames yet, so we’re making company history.You’remaking company history.”

Alyssa smiles at me, giving me a subtle nod.

Just that look makes my heart rate kick up a notch. The corner of my mouth turns up a little, but I keep going through my speech, having to tear my eyes away from her. “When the update drops smoothly, everyone will be generously rewarded. This coming year will be the best one yet. We just have to keep working together and moving forward.”

My speech energizes the room—one last push before we reach the finish line. We’ve come too far to stop now.

Promotions. Pay raises. More vacation days.

If they’re happy, the company thrives, which makes me happy. It’s a circle.

“Let’s get to work,” I say as I place my hands on my waist.

A ripple of agreement passes through the crowd before people start pouring out of the lounge room to get back to work. I exhale slowly, my shoulders loosening up a little. Hopefully, we can get through the last work week in one piece.

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