Page 23 of The Santa Swap

Luke finally decided it didn’t matter. He didn’t want Olivia to be harassed by the paparazzi because he had been reckless when he was younger. No one deserved that treatment. He pushed his thoughts aside and pulled up the latest numbers.

* * *

By the endof the day, Luke was determined to make both worlds work. He headed to Olivia’s office to ask her about an item on her list for the Santa booth, but she wasn’t there. Tara poked her head out the door. “She left a few minutes ago. She asked if she could leave early, saying something about a date?”

Luke’s stomach hit the floor. “I guess that’s good,” he said. “It’ll throw the press if she’s seen with someone else.” He walked to the elevator and pushed the down arrow. When the doors opened, he stepped in, belatedly realizing that someone was actually exiting.

Olivia crashed into his chest. Luke took in her bright eyes and flushed cheeks as he held out his hands to steady her. “I’m so sorry,” he said. “I didn’t expect to see anyone coming up at this time of the day. We’re all trying to get out of here.”

She straightened out her jacket. “No worries. I forgot my scarf. It’s cold out there!”

Luke watched her leave, debating if he should wait for her to come back. He put his foot out to stop the elevator doors from closing. If Olivia was quick, he’d be able to ride down with her. Ten floors were better than nothing.

Sure enough, moments later she was running back towards the elevator. “Thanks,” she said. She jabbed the button for the main level, even though it was already lit up.

“Are you in a hurry?” Luke asked.

Her cheeks turned a brighter shade of pink. “I’ve got a date.”

The words punched him right in the gut. “That’s nice,” he said, not meaning a word of it.

“I hope so. I’m meeting the guy for the first time so I hope it goes well.”

The elevator was moving towards the ground floor at a faster speed than Luke liked. He needed to steer the conversation away from Olivia’s date. “Susan and I are hitting the town later tonight. Maybe we’ll see you around.”

Luke kicked himself when Olivia’s face fell. He wanted to take it back, but it was too late. At least it meant she was a little bothered that he and Susan were dating. Then her face lifted.

“Alright. But if we happen to run into you, please pretend like you don’t know me. The last thing I need is my potential boyfriend grilling two of my bosses for information. I want to keep things casual.”

As she spoke, Luke realized that Olivia didn’t care if he was dating Susan. She just didn’t want to look bad. There was no threat of that.

Luke reached his hand forward and then pulled it back before he could squeeze her arm. “I hear you,” he said. He moved closer to the side of the elevator and tucked his hands in his pockets. When the doors dinged open, he let Olivia leave first.

“See you tomorrow,” Luke said.

“See you!” Olivia walked into the foyer, walking to the side of a muscular man wearing a brown t-shirt. The man was way underdressed to be hanging around with someone of Olivia’s caliber, but it wasn’t Luke’s place to judge. Maybe they were going somewhere casual like bowling, and Olivia was the one who was overdressed. Either way, they made a strange couple.

He fought back the urge to throttle the guy when he held his arm out for Olivia. It was painful to watch her walk away, her hand draped over the guy’s arm. Luke was tempted to follow, but then he'd look like a stalker. Instead, he turned away, letting out a slow breath.

When Susan found him minutes later, he was leaning against the wall. “I don’t know if I can do this,” he said.

Susan bumped against his hip. “It’s only for a few weeks. Am I honestly that bad to hang around with?”

Luke felt his first genuine smile of the day. “You are an awesome friend and I owe you. Thank you.”

They walked outside together. When Luke saw the flash of a camera off to the side, he forced himself to relax. It was a reminder that everything he and Susan were doing would be worth it. He couldn’t wait for the first article to hit the newsstands.

CHAPTER11

If the first fifteen minutes were any indication of how Olivia’s date was going to go, she was in trouble. Paul had offered to take her to his favorite place to eat, and then they were going to do a surprise activity.

Olivia was pretty much game for anything that would take her mind off Luke. She didn’t realize that she should have been far pickier with her opinions.

Her first indication that things were going sideways was when Paul drove her into a run-down part of town. The closer they got to their destination, the heavier the graffiti got on the sides of the street. By the time Olivia was climbing out of the car, she was on high alert. This wasn’t the sort of place she’d choose on her own.

Paul walked a few steps ahead of her, not bothering to check if she was following behind. Olivia was tempted to duck behind a trash can and see how long it would take him to realize he was talking to himself. Instead, she sped up so she was practically running so she could keep up with his long legs.

They reached a nondescript doorway that Paul proudly opened. Inside, the room opened up into a diner that looked like it came out of the 1920’s. Olivia’s spirits lifted. Maybe this was one of the hidden gems of the city.

---