AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Remove your jacket, elf-girl-whatever you are,” the photographer huffs. “You can set it on the ground just for a second.”
“I’ll help you.” Nicholas helps me out of my coat before I can process what’s happening. “We’re not putting this anywhere near the ground,” he clicks, like the idea offends him. He folds the garment with great care and places it on his thigh behind my back, out of the camera’s sight.
“Thank you,” I mumble, already feeling overwhelmed from the number of eyes on us. Onmein this outfit. I feel exposed and uncomfortable and like a deer in headlights. The overhead lights are blinding white and the noise from the crowd grows louder the longer I stand here on the platform.
“Breathe, Jules,” Nicholas’s deep voice rumbles soothingly as he presses a palm against my lower back. “Just breathe. It’ll be over in a flash.”
I glance back at him and our eyes meet, his impossible blue to my boring brown, and a wave of calm washes over me. I know this man. I see him almost every single day. I’ve spent dozens of hours with him. I can spend a dozen more with him and still be OK, even if we’re both dressed in these ridiculous outfits.
For that split second, the rest of the world fades away and I’m able to focus only on him.
“Good,” he breathes, a small smile on his lips. “That’s perfect. Just focus on me.”
A few seconds pass and I barely hear the click of the camera or feel the cold breeze whispering against my arms. All I can see, all I can feel, is Nicholas’s body heat next to mine and his eyes on me.
“Got it!” The photographer calls, giving us a thumbs up. “Good job. That look back thing is so authentic. Did you guys rehearse that?”
“Natural talent,” Nicholas muses, removing his hand from my back and taking my arm to help me down the two steps to the ground. “Now, Miss James, do you remember your task for tonight?”
I blink out of my trance and turn to face the mile-long line. A table in front of “Santa’s Station” accepts donations for the company’s chosen charity, and each donation allows one family member time with Santa to make their holiday wish. “Yeah, I read the email a couple of times.” A dozen, actually, but he doesn’t need to know that.
“Okay. I’m going back to my spot. Just make sure that only one child at a time comes up and that no one gets into any fights.”
“Fights?” I ask, my eyes widening. “The email didn’t say anything about—”
His eyes sparkle with mischief, and I scoff aloud. “Right. Fights. Ha-ha.”
“Remember,” he calls from his throne once he’s seated, “if anyone tries to touch you…” His eyes narrow and go cold, causing my breath to hitch at howdangeroushe looks. I’ve seen his calculating cruelty in meetings, but out in the wild it makes him look feral.
Biting my lip, I clench my thighs together. I shouldnotlike the way that looks on him. Nope. Not at all.
“…I’ll make them wish they hadn’t ever laid eyes on you.”
It’s a strange threat, especially when coming from my boss, but I like how it makes me feel.
Treasured. Protected. Important.
The first donation goes through and a child and his mother jog over to us, smiles on the kid’s face but a quizzical look on the parent’s. I give them my biggest and most picturesque grin and follow the email’s instructions for greeting, giving directions for meeting with Santa, and surviving the night.
3
Julie
After two hours, the night comes to an end and donations are closed until the next day. We get through the remaining quarter-mile of line and then shut off the lights, the music, and the biodegradable fake snow.
My back aches as much as my feet, and I’d kill for a massage.
“Good job tonight,” one of the managers says, smiling at me. “You’re a natural. It’s no wonder Mr. Armatti refused to hire anyone else but you.”
“He what?” I miss the top button of my jacket and have to try again. But the manager has already moved on to locking up the display for the night, and I’m left wondering why on earth Nicholas would have done that.
I turn back to ask him, but he’s chatting with Mr. Nolan who showed up for the last twenty minutes. With a sigh, I finish buttoning my jacket and head for the parking deck. The other manager tries to call me over for complimentary hot chocolate, but I wave him off. After staring at and talking to people for two extra hours today, I’m ready for some peace and quiet back at my apartment.
I get to come back and do this all over again tomorrow, too, so there’s always time for hot chocolatetomorrow.
The mall is closing and the stores have dropped their gates already, so I high-tail it out of the courtyard at lightning speed. When I make it up the one flight of stairs at the parking deck to get to my car, a trio of men whistle at me from across the lot.
“Saw you out there tonight, baby,” one of them calls, pushing himself off the hood of their van - a large, black, scary-looking van - and heading in my direction. “You are drop-dead gorgeous. What’s your name?”
