Page 30 of A Little Christmas 4: Teller
I’d been working on it in the mornings before I picked her up for work. Since Daddy had created my design studio, it was hard for him to get me out of it, but I still loved spending time with him—naked when I could.
Briggs and Barrett were busy restructuring the offices of York Properties, LLC, and I did my best to give him an environment to relax in when he came home from the office. Daddy would play with me in my basement playroom when he had time, and I wanted to be in little space, or he’d work down there while I played. It was so satisfying to be able to sit on the floor with my sippy cup of chocolate milk and some action figures while Daddy was busy doing other things. He’d reach over and touch my head or skim the back of his fingers over my neck to let me know I was still there, and it never failed to calm me.
Maizie pulled me from my daydreams of Daddy and me racing cars on the orange track we put together on a special table with green astroturf. “You need to work on the Santa suit. It needs to be ready for the party on the eleventh.”
The Santa suit was an ugly mess. Making it look halfway attractive was a huge ask of Mistress Geraldine, but I had given my word to try.
“Have you seen it?” Mistress Geraldine had it sent over to the white house, and I actually cringed when I saw it.
Maizie shook her head, so I went to the closet in my studio and pulled it out. I hadn’t touched it because I wasn’t sure what to do with the damn thing. The white faux fur trim was dirty, and the red crushed velvet was cheap. The vinyl belt with the foil buckle was trashed, and the red hat with the white snowball at the end was beyond repair. Whoever Santa was the previous year, he’d been a destructive bastard.
“Holy crap! That’s what she sent you?”
I nodded.
“Well, we can’t use that ugly thing. We have until Wednesday night to get the suit done. If I buy you the material to make a new suit, can you pull it off?”
Could I? Could I make a beautiful Santa suit with new fabric in four days? I was definitely up to the challenge. I’d taken a week off from the store, and I was prepared to work twenty-four hours every day to ensure the Santa suit was ready in time. It would have my tag inside, and everyone would know I’d made it.
It had to be perfect for whoever was playing Santa.
Chapter Fourteen
Briggs
“Te prometo que Barrett te tratará con justicia. Tratar con él es como tratar conmigo.”I promise Barrett will treat you fairly. Dealing with him is like dealing with me.
Antonio Torres, my office manager in Madrid, wasn’t easy or fun. Antonio was one of my first hires when I purchased two office buildings in the city and opened the second real estate management office in Europe. I liked Antonio, but Antonio didn’t like me because I didn’t make him a partner in York Properties, as he’d let me know in a scathing email I’d received the day after the holiday parties.
Back when Antonio came on board, I had a very small operation, and the idea of taking on partners never entered my mind. As a matter of fact, I hadn’t taken on any partners until Barrett came back on the scene. He was someone I could trust and someone who would run the business the way I did. It was a match made in heaven.
“I speak English, Briggs. I have for years. What do I know about Barrett Tarry? Nothing. You never mentioned you were taking on partners. I’d have been happy to buy in.”
Yeah, he wasn’t thrilled at all, but if he knew the truth—that I wasn’t going to have a very active part in the business much longer—he’d probably quit. Barrett needed him, so I couldn’t let that happen.
“Antonio, I’m pulling back from being the lead on our holdings. Barrett worked for the company before he became a prosecutor, and when I was able to entice him back, I did it immediately. Barrett will be picking up the slack while I back away for a while, and he’ll do a fantastic job. Now, if you want to buy up my holdings in Madrid, make me an offer. I’m in the mood to deal.”
A two-beat knock echoed in my office as I glanced up to see Barrett at the door. I motioned him inside and held my finger to my lips. Thankfully, I was on a phone call, not a video call.
“You know I don’t have that kind of cash, Briggs. Don’t cut me out yet, okay? Let me see what I can do,” Antonio said.
“You’ve got until the first of the year, Antonio. Then, I put the properties on the block. Do your best.” I ended the call.
“Who was that?” Barrett asked.
“Antonio Torres in Madrid. He’s pissed because I didn’t make him a partner. He’s an asshole, but he’s well-connected. I’d say reach out to him after the first of the year. You ready to go?” I asked. We were going to Leather & Lollipops for the littles’ party that night.
“I am. Do we need to worry about Antonio Torres?” Barrett asked.
“We don’t need to worry about anything until January second. Let me drop this off.” I motioned toward the stack on my desk.
“Yep. Maizie said Teller is picking her up and they’ll meet us at the club.”
I packed up my shit and turned off the lights in my office, following Barrett out to Madeline’s desk. Madeline came into the office on Tuesdays and Fridays during the break to ensure the continuity of the business, so I left the files from my outbox on her desk since I wouldn’t be in the next day.
“You got the ring?” I asked my friend as we walked to the elevator.
Barrett flashed me the box from the pocket of his topcoat, and we were off, hoping that at the end of the night, our Christmas wishes would come true.
