Page 8 of The Santa Swap

Luke cast a final glance towards the door. The woman of his dreams was walking away, and there was nothing he could do to stop her. He took a cleansing breath, trying to lift the weights anchoring his feet to the floor and turned back to the table. “Let me see what I can do.”

CHAPTER4

Olivia felt like someone told her the answer to a riddle that had been plaguing her mind. No wonder she couldn’t find Jake on any of her web searches. The name Jake Tanner yielded a few hits on social media, but none of them were her Jake. She thought it was strange at the time, but more and more people had been leaving social media platforms. She figured Jake was probably too busy to keep up with any of them.

Tara was talking about the company filing system, but Olivia’s mind was worlds away. Why would Luke lie? It wasn’t like running a company was anything to be embarrassed about. She must have been staring into space because Tara tapped Olivia’s arm, causing her to jump.

“Did you hear me? I asked if you had any questions.”

She sure did, but not about the job. “Sorry. I was distracted for a second.” Olivia did a quick glance around the room, her eyes landing on the printer. “It’s the printer. Is that the Packard 937X model?”

Thankfully Tara took the bait. “Yep. We just got it set up last week. I’m surprised you recognized it.”

“My dad is a bit of an office supply junkie. He keeps telling us he wants this printer for Christmas, but even if all of my siblings pooled our money together, we couldn't afford it.”

Tara’s smile was wide. “It certainly came with a hefty price tag. Does your dad run a large company?”

“No,” Olivia said. She laughed. “He just likes the latest and greatest of everything computer related. If it goes in or talks to a computer in any way, he wants it.”

“I’ve known some people like that. Luke is one of them.”

There was that name again. How was Olivia supposed to concentrate on work when her boss was the mysterious stranger from the night before?

Tara pulled out her phone. “Do you want a picture with it? It’s not the same as owning one, but maybe it will make your dad smile.”

Olivia ran to the printer, grateful for the distraction. “I knew I was going to like working here.” She leaned against the printer, crossing one foot in front of the other. Then she grinned with her thumbs up while Tara took the picture.

“Cute!” Tara said. She held the phone screen out for Olivia to see.

“I love it. Do you mind if we do one more?” Olivia waited for Tara’s nod, and then she walked over to the printer. She reached around the back of the machine, wrapping it in a giant hug with her cheek pressed to the side. Then she turned her face to the copier, pretending to give it a kiss.

It was at that moment that Luke walked into the room. “Do I want to know?” he asked, turning to look at Tara. “This seems like a rather odd part of your training routine.”

Olivia dropped her arms and straightened up, her cheeks flaming with heat.

Tara nudged him in the ribs. “You know I always deliver the best employees. Don’t make fun of my methods.”

Luke turned towards Olivia. “When you’re done, uh, bonding with the printer, I’d like a word.”

There wasn’t a fire extinguisher nearby to cool the heat from Olivia’s face. She stepped away from the printer. “It was an inside joke,” she said, but Luke was already walking towards a small office.

Tara tucked her phone back into her pocket. “I guess you get to meet with the boss a bit sooner than we expected. He likes to get to know all the new hires.”

Olivia’s stomach sank. Luke already knew her, but she wasn’t going to tell Tara that. It was really going to stink if he tanked her first day before she even got started. From the small parts she had seen of the office, this was her dream job.

“I’ll see you soon,” Tara said.

Olivia followed Luke into the office, the events of the previous evening playing on a loop in her mind. Laughter. Snowballs. Sliding on ice. And the kiss. The soul melting, heart thumping, dreamy, first-date kiss. The heat in her cheeks came back with a vengeance.

Olivia watched the door swing shut, the pit in her stomach growing. She waited for Luke to start the conversation, fidgeting from side to side as the silence stretched on. Finally, he spoke.

“How are you doing?” he asked.

She snorted. “That’s the icebreaker you’re going with? How am I doing?” Olivia was trying to keep it together, and Luke was acting like nothing had happened. Had she been a fluke to him? A convenient woman to kiss while he was on his way home? She didn’t usually do things like impromptu dates with handsome strangers, and she never kissed on the first date. Ever. That was way too fast. But apparently Luke did.

She headed to an armchair on one side of a very large wooden desk, pulling it out to sit down so her shaking was less obvious. “I guess I don’t know where to begin. Shall we start with the obvious,Luke?” The name came out like a sneer.

“I can explain that,” Luke began.

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