Page 38 of His Christmas Wife

A basket filled with warm, buttered bread arrived, and he was grateful for the interruption.

“I shouldn’t.” She studied the small loaf for a moment.

“You most certainly should.” He adored her curves, and he had a few ideas of how they could burn some calories later if she was interested.

“In that case, all right. You talked me into it.” She broke off a piece and moved it onto a plate which she extended toward him.

“Always thinking of others.” Which made him doubly happy he’d given her what she wanted last night.

Only after he accepted her offering did she choose a slice for herself.

Though he didn’t normally eat bread, he couldn’t resist, and he sank his teeth into the warm, yeasty deliciousness.

She flashed him a quirky smile that changed something inside him, softening him a little. This was a moment he thought they’d never share.

At that moment, the Zydeco band began to play, striking up “Party This Christmas.”

Not long after, the okra was delivered to the table.

“Isn’t this great? And I’m sorry I deprived you of your three-hundred-dollar lunch, but I bet this has more calories, which means you’ll stay full longer.”

“You could be right about that.”

A few minutes later, the rest of the meal arrived.

“How is it?”

“I’ve eaten a lot of gumbo in my life.” Savory but not too spicy, loaded with shrimp, crab, and oysters. “This is probably the best I’ve ever had.”

“Good.” She smiled again.Fuck.Her happiness was contagious. Her pleasure made the change of plans worthwhile.

As they ate, a large group of people arrived. Between the music and the shouts of people across tables, conversation became even more difficult. They ended up talking about work more than anything in their personal lives, and her insights about people intrigued him. On some levels, she seemed to know more than the HR department did.

“Are the layoffs over?”

He winced, recalling Brigette’s earlier message. “Massive ones are.” The board president could fuck off. If she didn’t like the job he was doing, she could bring in another CEO. That would be happening soon enough at any rate. He was the turnaround executive, not the one interested in creating stability and long-term growth. They were very different jobs. “But the hiring freeze is remaining in place.”

“So anyone who leaves will not be replaced.”

“With some exceptions, perhaps.”

“That people will still have jobs will be a big relief for the rest of the holiday season.”

Even he wasn’t a big enough jackass to fire people on Christmas week, even if that would please Brigette. “Is that really a concern?”

“It is. A lot of your employees are hoping they will be able to pay their credit card bills next month.”

Including her?

For the first time, he saw the situation from her perspective. Maybe he hadn’t communicated well enough, but he’d been focusing on saving the company from insolvency.

When the server returned to the table, Kaylee asked for a container since she’d eaten only half of her meal. Then she ordered a piece of bread pudding with creamy bourbon sauce to go.

His wrist unit vibrated, and when he tapped it, a trumpet blast startled him. A freaking percussion instrument at an ear-splitting decibel? That was a new trick, one he didn’t appreciate. Damn Bonds.

“Chief of staff reporting an urgent message.”

“Don’t do that again. A gentle chime is enough. Or better, just the vibration.”

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