Page 19 of A Grinchmas Delight

“You’re outside of my house?”

“Yes. That’s what I just said. I’ve been knocking on the door for the last five minutes and it’s snowing and I can’t feel my fingers.”

“Jesus, Day. Okay. Let me put some pants on and I’ll be right there.”

I slip into the flannel pants I stripped off in the middle of the night and opt to answer the door shirtless. Might as well see what her reaction is.

I open the door to find a shivering Dayra with snow in her hair and chattering teeth. She doesn’t even look at me as she storms in. I close the door behind her and she looks at me, eyes wide.

“Holy fucking shit, Zane,” she says, her mouth gaped open as she stares at my shirtless body.

“Didn’t think I’d look this good half-naked?” I tease, though I know what she’s gawking at.

“You’re covered in tattoos. H—how… W—wow…” she trails off, stepping closer to me. She traces the large Saint Michael tattoo covering my chest and part of my stomach. I shiver as her cold, small fingers skate across my warm skin.

“I made sure none were visible when I wear a suit,” I say, shrugging.

“I feel so stupid. Wow. They’re so beautiful,” she says, grabbing my arm and twisting it as she looks at the tattoos covering me.

“There isn’t a square inch of your skin left untouched by ink from your waist to your collarbone.”

She sounds astonished and I’m amused by the sheer curiosity in her stare. She looks up at me, her eyes meeting mine for the first time today.

“Sorry. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I have to get back to the office.”

“You never texted me back yesterday.”

“Yeah. I know,” she says, walking out of my front door and closing it behind herself.

I stare blankly at the door. What the fuck just happened? I scratch my head and head to the bathroom to shower before I head into the office. I’ll pull her aside later and try and figure out what’s going on.

While the water heats up, I check my phone. Sure enough, there’s no response from Dayra. But in my emails I see that this afternoon is the potluck Christmas dinner and party at the office. I plant my palm to my forehead. Fuck. How did I forget that was today?

I shower and stand beneath the spray of the hot water a few minutes longer than I should because I’m not ready to face the day. It’s one of those days where my morning is thrown off and now my whole day feels fucked.

I dress in a blue suit, my rebellion against this holiday season. I am so ready for Christmas to be over with. I’m going to have to get through the party while listening to the cringy Christmas songs and I just known everyone is going to be wearing over-the-top Christmas outfits.

The office is just as I expected, humming with Christmas spirit when I arrive. The receptionist is wearing a bright red, shimmery sweater with a reindeer ear headband on top of her head.

“Mr. Moore! Merry Christmas!” she chirps as I stroll past her desk.

I wave her off with a quick wave over my shoulder. I beeline to my office and shut the door. I’m in a mood, I already don’t like this cheerful holiday and all of the Christmas vomit throughout the office is only pissing me off more.

I have a ton of emails backed up that I spend the majority of the day responding to. Somehow, the phone is quiet and there are no zoom meetings, thank fuck. I already barely survived the last one. It’d be even harder to stay focused today.

A knock on my door draws my attention away from the last email I need to address. Mark enters and closes the door behind him.

“I wanted to talk to you about the new position we’re going to be opening.”

I nod. “Yeah, what about it?”

“I have a few names to throw in the hat and I know you hate Dayra, but you should at least consider her. She’s been nothing short of amazing in the two years she’s been here.”

“Okay. Put her name in the hat. I’m not against it. There are other candidates, right?”

“Yeah. None are half as qualified as she is, though.”

“We’ll see. We’ll hold open interviews the week after Christmas, how’s that sound?”

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