Page 37 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 9
Ash came sprinting in a second later and totally wiped out on the wet footprints I’d left. But it didn’t faze her. She just popped right up.
“You heard him? You heard Santa?!”
“No.”
“Oh.” Her face fell. “Then why’d you…”
“I didn’t hear him. But I saw him.” My heart was racing so fast. I turned my phone so she could see the evidence.
Her jaw dropped. She was frozen for a good ten seconds.
I poked her arm to see if she was still alive.
She blinked and came back to life. “Where do you think he was going? Do you think he was leaving? Or on his way here? Wait! The cookie plate!”
We both turned and I shined my phone light on the cookie plate. Theemptycookie plate. All that was left were a few crumbs on the plate and some milk residue in the glass.
“We missed him,” said Ash. She sounded completely devastated.
“But did we? I mean…this feels like proof that he exists.”
“Of coursehe exists. But I wanted to see him up close and personal.”
“Ooooh. I get it. You wanna fuck Santa.”
“No!” she said way too defensively. Her face turned as red as the stripes on my bikini. “I just wanna see him. And maybe say hi.”
“Mhm. Suuuuure.”
“I do!” She shoved my arm. “Damn it.” Now she looked angry that we’d missed him. “I knew we should have left more cookies. If we’d given him ten dozen he’d probably still be here eating them.”
“I’m sorry, Ash,” I said. “I really thought a baker’s dozen was the right amount.” I pulled her into a hug.
“Why is your boob vibrating?” she asked.
“That must be Slavanka.” I pulled my phone out of my bikini top and looked down at the text.
Slavanka: Code9 again! Santa on ski lift.
Ash ran to the window and threw open the curtains.
“There!” she said, pointing at the ski lift halfway up the mountain. There was indeed a man on it dressed head to toe in red and white. He had one arm over what looked like a big bag of presents.
We took one look at each other, and that was all that was necessary to communicate the plan: Get to the ski lift immediately!
We sprinted out of the suite and to the elevators, not even bothering to put on any boots.
“Come on,” said Ash as she jammed the down button. “Come on! We’re gonna miss him!”
“I think we better take the stairs.”
Ash nodded and we both made a run for it. If there was a speed record for going down stairs, I feel like we may have broken it. Because we got to the ski lift in less than a minute. We piled onto a lift and Slavanka jumped on too just as it was leaving the building.
Automatic glass doors slid open as the ski lift took us out into the blizzard. The thought that we might actually catch Santa had so much adrenaline pumping through my body that I barely felt the chill of the wind whipping against my wet, dangling feet.
Ash craned her neck and looked up the mountain ahead of us. I had to grab her arm to make sure she didn’t fall off.
“I don’t see him,” she said. “Wait! No! There he is.”
