Page 7 of His Off-Limits Christmas Gift

“If introductions aren’t necessary…” Julie gestured for me to leave his office. “We can carry on with the tours.”

I nodded, lifting a hand in a slight wave of farewell for Nate. Turning back to the older woman who was upfront that she would be the supervisor I reported to, I did my best to shut off my thoughts about the redhead in the big office. We walked down the hall, and Julie resumed her explanations of who was who and what was what.

“Anyway.” She glanced at me. “You won’t need to deal with Nate directly.”

Are you… warning me to stay away from him?

“Unless you wanted to.”

Oh.

“No assistants have ever stayed here long enough to really deal with him. He’s too busy, doing so many things at once.”

“Even at this time of the year?” I asked.

“Oh, sure. If anything, he’s busier than ever in the last couple of months of the year.”

“Huh.”

“Why?” She smiled, rolling her eyes at me as we walked back toward the office I’d be using, just outside hers. “Because his office looks like a Christmas décor store exploded in there? Because he’s all smiles and charm?”

I huffed a laugh. “Thatwasa heck of a lot of tinsel and garland in there.”

Waving at me, she brushed the comment away. “It’s not enough, if you ask me. I do it every year to one-up the previous year’s display. It’s an inside joke of ours. He’s one of those people who justlovethe holidays.” She stopped short, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned against the doorframe. “Right? If you knew him from before…” She lowered her arms and shrugged. “I assume he’s always been like that.”

“All Christmassy?” I sat and held my hands up to show cluelessness. “I don’t know.”I’ve always been too swamped with my mother’s excessive holiday cheer to notice anyone else’s.“I’m twelve years younger than Nate and Brandon, so I can’t say I know too much about him.” I set my elbows on the desk and propped my chin in my hands. “But I do remember seeing him come home every Christmas after some big party in the city. And then he goes to his family’s cabin. I guess I figured he wouldn’t want to work too much if he’s got those holiday plans.”

“He does. You’ve got that part right. He just…” She sighed, looking away. “He just likes to stay busy this time of the year.”

“Fine by me.”

She nodded, smiling slyly. “I think you’re the Christmas miracle I’ve been waiting for.Finally, an assistant who doesn’t seem like—if I can say this politely—a moron.”

I laughed once, surprised but not offended by her mannerisms. From the moment I met her, just a half hour ago downstairs, I could tell she was a no-nonsense, sassy, efficient woman used to getting things done, preferably right the first time so she could move on to do the next several things on her never-ending list of tasks.

“I’ll do my best.”

And I did. It wasn’t so hard to tune out that instant awareness that seeing Nate filled me with. I was busy. As was he. Julie planned to take the whole week showing me the ropes, but within the first couple of days, I figured out the gist of it. Really, how hard was it to send emails, check forms, and revise simple spreadsheets? This was basic computer and intrapersonal stuff that felt like busywork rather than a real job.

The longer I stayed at the office under Julie’s tutelage, the better I moved on from obsessing about how to keep Kyle’s secret. The more I chatted with the almost grandmotherly office manager, the faster time flew.

According to her, I fit right in. Maybe it was because I knew I wouldn’t be here for long that I felt confident in correcting staff members when they assumed wrong. And how easily I put people in their places when they tried to intimidate me. Most of all, though, I felt no compunction when I stopped the countless workers, solicitors, and other visitors from bothering Nate. Julie said that she often felt like a gatekeeper on the floor, and I assisted her with that task.

All too quickly, whenever we crossed paths, I realized how much of a softie Nate was. How much people were used to getting their way with him.

On Wednesday, I shook my head while I waited for the copier to finish. In the latest example of Nate being too nice, I lingered to overhear a supervisor cajoling him. He was asking for an adjustment with his department’s budget even though he’d abused his budget several times before.

“The best I can tell you is we’ll discuss it in January,” Nate said.

Why can’t you just say no?

“So that’s a yes?” the man asked, smiling and patting his back. “Thanks, Nate. You’re the best.”

“I said we’ll discuss it later,” Nate said. He could stick to his guns. I’d give him that.

But haven’t you ever heard of just sayingno?

I drew a deep breath and stepped closer with the papers I intended to hand over. “Mr. McIntosh, here are your papers. And Mr. Rollings,” I said, “I have yet to receive your signatures on the forms for your outstanding budget from last year.” It was a dismissal, yet not.

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