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"I can’t believe it." Crystal's eyes sparkle when she speaks. She looks like a child in a candy store. "And how did it go?"
We made Christmas calendars for women before, and small gift packages for men and for children. But we've never put it all together. To be honest, I thought it would be a failure, but I tried.
Instead of boxes for each product, we made one large package, which allowed us to save an additional three percent. Also, we took the smallest product sizes, which sell the worst, but, as it turned out, people ignore the size when the total discount is over twenty-five percent.
"Your Christmas offer increased that store's sales by almost sixteen percent, Crystal," I tell her proudly. "Next year it's gonna be available in every one of our stores around the world. That's why we're gonna use your marketing strategy for the launch of our new skincare line."
The shock that appears on her face in the next few moments is indescribable. It is mixed with so much joy that she almost yells when she speaks. "Thank you so much, Jack! I won't let you down, I promise!"
Crystal puts her palm on my wrist as she says it, and a light electric current passes between us. She lowers her gaze to our palms, and when she realizes what she has done, she jerks her hand away sharply as if it’s on fire.
"I mean…Mr. Harden," she chatters, correcting herself nervously and looking at me with something akin to terror. "I'm so sorry, I…"
She stops. She doesn't know what to apologize for. Because there's nothing to say. She did nothing wrong; she just touched my hand. She called me by my name, which also isn't a crime.
But what we both felt when our hands brushed, it wasn't just a touch.
It was like gasoline poured into fire.
Our eyes lock, and her lips part.
I feel my heart beat faster, and I know why. I look at her like a lion looks at his prey before the attack. And, just like he does, I also want to eat her. Eat her whole.
And I want it now.
She can feel it too, and that's why she’s holding her breath.
"Your drinks, sir," Emily, the flight attendant, says and puts two glasses on the table.
For the first time in my life, I'm angry that someone has brought me my favorite whisky.
Chapter Five
Crystal
I am sooo tipsy. It's my second glass of rum, and I swear I haven't been this drunk since I was in my early twenties.
I don't know if it's the alcohol or the altitude, but I’ve relaxed utterly, talking to my boss as if we’re old friends from college.
Jack even told me to call him by his first name, which is weird, because even his assistant Chase calls him Mr. Harden.
And he wanted to kiss me…I swear he did. And I would have let him even though I know how wrong it is.
Luckily, the flight attendant came in time.
Because sleeping with my boss is not something I want to do to get a promotion.
Well, I already got it, but still…that would be wrong, so wrong…
I can't believe that he never celebrates Christmas. That’s so unlike me: holidays are my favorite season of the year, when I spend most of my time with Sky.
Last year I was finally able to visit Disneyland with her, like we always dreamt about. I couldn't afford it when I lived in Vermont, but since we moved to LA and I got a bump in salary, I took her to Disneyland the first holiday I could.
"How did you come up with the idea of connecting all the incompatible products in one package for Christmas? Wasn't it kind of a crazy idea?" Jack asks, taking another sip of whisky. It's his third glass, but he seems much more sober than I am.
"It was risky," I agree, taking a deep breath. "I grew up in a family of modest means. My mother always tried to save money if she could, but she never spared money for Christmas or birthday gifts."
I smile. I remember how she bought a new expensive sewing machine on my tenth birthday because I told her I dreamt about being a designer.
