Page 19 of The Santa Swap

Olivia’s eyes twinkled brighter. “It’s from all my years bossing my siblings around.” She turned to Susan. “That really was a great idea. Thanks for suggesting it.”

Susan nodded. “I can’t wait to see how it turns out.” As the conversation drifted to other topics, Luke watched Olivia out of the corner of his eye. It wasn’t until they were leaving the restaurant that he got a chance to pull her to the side.

“Thanks again for letting me help you last night,” Luke said.

“What are you talking about? You were the one who saved me with that tree.” Olivia bumped her hip into his.

“Either way, I had a lot of fun being with you. I think this friendship thing is going to work out okay.” Luke draped an arm across Olivia’s shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. Then he dropped his arm and busied himself with picking up his notebook and pen.

The energy from the meeting continued on the car ride home, with everyone talking excitedly. Ideas were thrown around like Santa suits, presents, candy canes, and more. Luke leaned his head back against the seat to soak it all in.

By the time Luke was back in his office, the reports from earlier in the day didn’t look so bad. He had a company full of employees who were there because of the hard work he and his team were doing. It didn’t matter if some of that work was boring. In the end, they were able to help a lot of people.

Luke ignored his phone the first time it chimed. He was almost finished transcribing a report and didn’t want to be disturbed. The second time his phone chimed, he picked it up to silence it. That was when he saw the screen.

The text was from another unknown number. This time there were the wordsAren’t you cute?Attached was a picture of Luke helping lift the Christmas tree. He was smiling at Olivia with an expression that clearly showed his desire for her. She was holding her end of the tree, her face obscured by the branches.

Who is this?Luke sent the text, his stomach tying into knots. If the mysterious photo taker let the photos leak, Olivia was going to be so mad. She’d probably never speak to him again.

After a brief pause, the phone chimed again.Tell us her name and we’ll tell you who we are.

There was no way that was happening.I’m calling the police.

The text messages paused and Luke went back to work. He was finishing up an expense report when the next text came through. This time it was a collage of photos, from Luke kissing the top of Olivia’s head to a blurry shot of him standing with his arm around her at the Frisky Cow Cafe.Go ahead. The only person who will regret it is you.

Luke shoved his phone to the side. Clearly, he had given the paparazzi a reason to be following him again. He picked up his phone to dial his security detail but he hung up before it could ring. All he had received were a few blurry photos and some veiled threats. There was one sure way to make them lose interest. Luke reached for his cell phone and dialed Susan’s number instead.

CHAPTER9

Olivia finally understood the expression walking on clouds. She had run her first major meeting and the team had actually decided on an activity that would help hundreds of kids. The high she felt from that lunch was incredible.

She stopped by the finance department to ask just how much money they had in their budget to spend on charitable giving. When she was told the amount, her eyes grew wide. “That’s our budget for the year?” she asked.

“No. That’s how much we usually donate to charities in December.”

Olivia walked towards the elevator, the numbers swirling in her head. If she spent even a fraction of the budget on renting out an elaborate background for the Santa shoot, she’d be able to spend the rest of the budget on toys.

With those kinds of funds, they didn’t really even need to do the Santa booth. It was tempting to take the money and go on a shopping spree, but Olivia knew the charity event would bring the company together.

According to the finance department, she should get Luke or Tara to sign off on any spending she did so it was tax deductible. Olivia liked that idea a lot. If she spread out her shopping expenses, she’d have a lot of excuses to wander into Luke’s office.

Olivia’s mind ran through the themes she could use to decorate. When she got off the elevator she glanced over at Luke’s door. It was closed. That wasn’t unusual for this time of day, but Olivia still felt a small pang. She didn’t realize how much she enjoyed casually glancing into his office on her way to her own and seeing him hard at work.

The door flung open as she was watching and Susan walked out. Susan stopped short when she saw Olivia. There was a frown creasing her perfectly put together face.

“Are you okay?” Olivia asked.

“I’m fine.” Susan walked into the elevator, repeatedly jabbing a button on the wall until the doors closed.

A feeling of discomfort settled on Olivia’s shoulders. Something was off. She headed to Luke’s office, quietly knocking on the door frame.

Luke’s eyes brightened when he saw her, but then he glanced at his phone and they turned dark. “What’s up, Olivia?”

“Is everything okay here? I saw Susan leaving and she didn’t look too happy.”

Luke leaned back in his chair and locked his hands behind his head. “We were finalizing details for our date tonight. I wanted French cuisine and she wanted to try the new Mexican food stand on 14th street.”

“Your date?” Olivia sucked in her breath like she had been punched in the stomach. “I didn’t know you guys were going out.”

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