Page 20 of My Secret Santa Dallas

Hey, Jared, have you heard anything about the job? Is it going to fold or what?

Dropping the phone, I rubbed my face and did something I’d put off doing for days: thinking about what I’d do if my job went under. Do I go back to Cali or look somewhereelse? I still had to figure out what to do with my old apartment, although I had so little in there: a couch, a bed, and a coffee maker.

I could throw them in a U-Haul and drop them off at the nearest Salvation Army, or if I did choose to go back to Cali, find another apartment.

I should have told Warrick that I was only up here for a short time… but I didn’t even know if that was what was going to happen. My life and my future were up in the air, so if I did leave this place— where would I go?

Uneasy, I exited the room, seeking another distraction. I brewed a cup of coffee in the kitchen and went to the main room, where Mom and Dad had watched the nightly news before going to bed. I wondered if Warrick had maintained it as it was, removed it, or renovated it, just like the rest of the house.

The room that originally had one of those large box TVs and a jerky antenna, which offered us half a screen of the local news and the other half speckled with white noise, now had a forty-inch flat screen connected to a modem, possibly the Wi-Fi and cable all in one.

I switched on the TV and flipped the channels to find an old replay of Die Hard, which started close enough for me to follow without losing the storyline. After grabbing my coffee from the kitchen, I slid into the middle of the couch and started to watch, occasionally checking my phone for any response from Jared.

Sipping the contents of my cup, I felt a movement behind me as McClane killed more terrorists and seized their bag of C-4 and detonators. I kept my head straight as Blair approached and curled herself against the arm of the couch.

She was wearing a short robe and probably some shorts underneath, with her long, toned, and smooth-as-silk legs tucked by her side. Her toes were as dainty as the rest of her, painted with nude pink.

She had a cup, too, but it didn’t smell like coffee.

We watched in silence until I set my cup aside. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“Not a wink,” she replied.

My phone went off, and I grabbed it, shocked that Jared had responded.

Hey Dallas, the higher-ups are tight-lipped about what is happening, but I don’t think we’re going to go under. You know we only used the Drayton name for marketing, but other than that, we’re independent. Maybe after all the hullabaloo is over and done with, and the FEDS find out we had no direct contact or exchange with those grifters, we’ll be okay.

I took a moment to think over what I’d just read, then replied.I hope so. Thanks for the heads up. Thanks for replying, even though it’s late. Please keep me updated when you can; I’m out of state.

Now, what do I do? Do I go back to a diminished company or move on?

“Bad news?” Blair asked.

“Not as bad as I thought,” I said, reaching for the cup. “My old company is still up in the air for now.”

“As in leaning towards collapse or back on solid ground?” she asked.

“I still don’t know,” I said.

Five minutes later, she asked, “Are you going back?”

I watched John McClain bash someone’s head in and absorbed the wrath he gave off as I still felt rubbedraw by the deal in Cali. A part of me wanted to blame Warrick and his girl Zoe for upending my life— but could I? They hadn’t known what I was involved in, and I certainly hadn’t had a clue about what was going on in their lives.

“I don’t know,” I finally replied. “I don’t even know if there is anything to go back to.”

“Do you have anything keeping you there?” She asked again, leaving the question open.

I knew what she meant; I knew she was asking if there was anyone important there, not anything. It felt… goddamn pathetic to admit that the only thing that mattered to me was my job, and I didn’t even know if I had that anymore.

Did I want to stay in a profession that, while I liked it, required more of me than I wanted to admit? So, what else was there? What else did I know?

“…No,” I said, circling the rim of the cup with a finger. “No girlfriend, no fiancée, hell, I don’t even have a dog to look after. Nothing but an empty apartment, a cupboard of coffee, and oats cups.”

She sipped her tea, and I took a long look at her; her hair was messy, tossed about, tendrils flying here and there, and held together with one of those claw clips with a name I didn’t know. It was the first time I’d ever seen her so disheveled, a very far look from her daytime appearance, and I— I kind of liked it. She looked human.

“I know that feeling,” Blair said. “It’s mostly me and my Ficus at home.”

I quirked a brow, “You’ve got a green thumb?”

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