Rooting for his rival wasn’t a part of his plans.
9
Sofiya had been beaming at Mackenzie for the last ten minutes. Six hundred seconds of Jeremy watching whatever lead he thought he’d had over Mackenzie getting smaller and smaller in the distance.
But he wasn’t out of the race yet. Mackenzie might beat him at a sprint, but he had a marathon of Christmas cheer in his back pocket. In fact, he’d already ordered an assortment of Christmas cookies to be delivered around lunchtime from the little bakery on the corner.
Sofiya gave Mackenzie a hug before heading back to her office. Jeremy should take his cue from his boss and start the workday as well, but he couldn’t seem to get his feet to move to his desk. Instead, he stayed rooted to his spot lounging against the break area granite counter, staring at Mackenzie over the rim of his coffee mug.
She had all her gloriously long hair piled on top of her head. He had no idea how the thick mass stayed up there—he didn’t see an elastic band in sight. What he did notice, however, was the slope of her slender neck. The creamy white skin usually hidden by her luscious mane, exposed. She began to shrug out of her dark greywool coat. She turned, her profile to him, the delicate outline of her jaw showing off the graceful lines of her soft features.
He really should look away. If Mackenzie or any of his other female coworkers caught him practically ogling her, they’d lump him into the same unflattering category as Frank.
Just as Jeremy began to lower his gaze, Mackenzie turned once more, this time facing him fully. Her outfit caused his eyes to stop their downward track.
Was she really wearing...?
No, it couldn’t be.
He looked closer. What in the United Federation of Planets?
It wasn’t the real deal, but close. She had on a red knee-length dress with a thick strip of black around the collar. Pinned over her heart lay a gold Christmas tree brooch that looked like the Starfleet insignia from a distance. While her dress resembled the uniform of theEnterprise, Mackenzie Graham hadn’t shown up to work in cosplay. Her outfit had to be coincidental. Even if she were a hardcore Trekkie, he’d never noticed her wearing anything but everyday professional clothing. Nothing out of the ordinary or even anything with too much style. In fact, he wasn’t sure he’d ever have noticed what she wore except that she always hung out with Keri. And Keri Stratham never dressed like anyone else in the room.
Maybe Mackenzie wasn’t a Trekkie. Maybe the opposite was true. Maybe she knew nothing about the show and therefore didn’t realize she looked like one of Captain Kirk’s Starfleet officers. Maybe he should walk over to her and flash the Vulcan salute. Nothing like a littlelive long and prosperbetween friendly rivals.
Grinning, he pushed off the counter and drained the last of his lukewarm coffee, then rinsed the mug out in the sink.
Mackenzie had dragged a plastic bin over to the tree and was kneeling beside it, pushing Christmas decorations aside as if she were looking for something specific when he approached.
“I come in peace.”
Her chin tilted, her round eyes meeting his. A slight V pattern formed between her brows. Did she really not know the famous quote?
Her hand left the side of the bin, her fingers rubbing the gold Christmas tree brooch.
Beam me up, Scotty.
But if Mackenzie hadn’t known the words of Spock, maybe she wasn’t touching her insignia-looking jewelry as a way to transport herself out of his presence. Although the look of discomfort about her made him think she’d rather be someplace else.
What had seemed like a fun way to let her know there weren’t any hard feelings on his side but also to warn her he wasn’t giving up hadn’t gone the way he’d thought it would.
He let out a puff of breath. “What I meant to say was, good idea with the tree. I’d scheduled decorating the office for tomorrow, so I hope you don’t mind if I bring in some stuff to spruce up the place.”
She blinked up at him. While she maintained eye contact better than she had in the past, words still hadn’t made it past her lips. He felt the need to fill the silence. Maybe if he kept talking, she’d get comfortable enough to say something back.
“You know, spruce it up with actual spruce. My parents have a tree in their backyard. I thought I’d cut some branches and deck the halls, so to speak. Not exactly boughs of holly, but it’ll still look good, don’t you think?”
Mackenzie’s cheek twitched. Was there a hint of a smile?
Jeremy pressed, hoping if he kept rambling, his inane words would push past the last of her restraints and she’d release whatever was holding her back. Although why he cared, he didn’t know. His actions were counterproductive, yet he continued anyway.
“Unless you think that would be cheating? I’d never want to be accused of stealing your ideas or winning by unscrupulousmeans.” He rocked back on his heels. Perhaps a little trash talk. Just a hint. Maybe the offense would be enough to send her on the defense. To verbally fight back. “Because Iamgoing to win, Mackenzie. Fair warning.”
She rose slowly, both in stature and to the bait. He bit the inside of his cheek to keep his grin from stretching across his face. Anticipation thrummed just under his skin. He had a feeling that wit and intelligence were bottled up inside her compact figure, waiting to be unleashed.
“Jeremy, can I see you in my office, please?” Sofiya’s voice interrupted whatever Mackenzie was going to say, her yet-to-be-formed words dying on her pert mouth.
Disappointment stole the lightness from Jeremy’s center. Mackenzie turned fully away from him and focused once more on the bin of decorations.
