Page 9 of Her Secret Santa

Still, though, this list isn’t anything but a fantasy either. It’s not like any harm can come from writing it down, even if it is embarrassing.

I quickly add one last line about buying my grandma presents for Christmas, just to make myself feel better, and then push the paper away from myself.

“Alright, your turn,” I say, pointing at the empty paper in front of her. “You don’t get to torture me and not make one yourself.”

“Oh, I already havesomany ideas,” she says, laughing brightly.

It’s nice to be able to focus on her wants, but I think I’ll keep my list with me. It can be a perfect reminder that maybe being selfish, just once in a while, wouldn’t be the worst thing.

Chapter Four

ZADE

“How much time are we going to waste on this?” I slam the folder in my hand down on the glossy table, causing several of my department heads to jump in their seats. “We have actual items on the agenda to discuss.”

The room goes quiet as my executives turn to look at me. The surprise on some of their faces only makes my frustration flare brighter. I’ve kept no secrets about what budgets are going to be used for, so I don’t understand why most of them have brought proposals for holiday parties and charity donations to this meeting.

“These items are also on the agenda, Zade,” Pax reminds me firmly, arching a brow at me.

At the head of the table, I can look down at the line of my employees while I lean back in my chair. These people are supposed to be top of their departments, but they apparently can’t read the emails I sent out regarding all of this. You’d think that people who work for a company in mergers and investmentswould know how to organize their priorities, but it seems like that’s asking a lot.

“Let’s cross them all off at once,” I say, ignoring the snarky looks that are sent my way. “I’ve already agreed to one holiday party. Company wide. Cash bar, live music, speeches from our investors. I’m not going to allow every department to have theirownholiday party. It’s absurd.”

Plenty of complaints sit in my inbox about scheduling this meeting the day before Thanksgiving, but now everyone’s displeasure is written clearly across their faces.

I don’t get what the big deal is, really. I’ve spent every holiday I can remember either working or at school, unless they fell on a weekend. Holidays are just days, they’re only given any importance so someone can sell something. In fact, they makemea lot of money, so why the hell would I let the company grind to a halt just so that people can spend time with their families? They have plenty of time to do that as is.

I’ve kept my mouth shut about the time they spend on the clock putting up a fucking tree in the staff room and decorating their desks with lights and trinkets. They should be grateful for what they’re already getting.

Every sour face and pursed lip grates my nerves, but no one is brave enough to speak up.

“Your father always hosted a company party and a party for each department. Everyone always got a Christmas bonus,” Pax argues. “It’s been tradition for over two decades.”

Except one, apparently. I usually travel around this time of year and leave all the holiday bullshit to my uncle to handle. I’m starting to regret sticking around this time.

“That’s changing,” I say sharply, daring him to disagree. “I’m in charge now, and I’m instilling new traditions. We’re doing one party, and the money we save is reinvested in the business.I’m not even cutting management bonuses entirely. You’re still getting half of what you usually would.”

I glance around the table—purposefully skipping over Landon—making eye contact with each of my department heads. Landon’s smugness radiates off him, and I have no interest in seeing his smarmy face right now. He’s probably thrilled that I’m pissing everyone off. It’ll make for great break room talk, I’m sure.

“Zaiden,” the devil himself says.

“Yes, Landon?” I grind out.

“I understand that you’re worried about profit margins, but don’t you think this is a bit extreme?” he challenges, blue eyes glinting with triumph. “We should give back to the employees who worked hard to help keep things stable during your transition into CEO.”

Oh, this slimy bastard, trying to get on everyone’s good sides. He couldn’t care less about Christmas, and his shitty acting has never fooled me. If it was up to him, he’d cancel the holidays altogether and triple his own salary. Greedy fuck.

A collective murmur passes through the room, everyone nodding as if in agreement. They’re not even trying to be subtle about it.

“I understand thatyoudon’t see the big picture,Landon.My employees don’t need anymore useless potlucks or elephant gifts to do their jobs, and I don’t need to listen to you whine.”

Landon doesn’t flinch, even though several of the other executives shift uneasily in their seats.

“All I’m saying is that getting rid of holiday partiesandChristmas bonuses isn’t a good look,” he says, shrugging casually. “You completely stripped the budget of charity donations, too. Those are some pretty big tax write offs you’re throwing out.”

He smirks, his lip curling just enough for me to see. He can try to make me look like a fool all he wants, but I won’t waste my time explaining my business decisions to him. If he can’t understand my reasoning, maybe he should stop gunning for my position.

“Thank you for your concern,” I bite out. “I can assure you, I’ve taken that into account and redistributed funds to make up for that. And as I already said, everyone here is still getting half of their usual bonus. I assure you, I could find other uses for the money, if you’d like to continue pushing your own agenda.”

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