The Christmas Arrangement Read online

  The Christmas Arrangement

  By A.J. Morrow

  Published by JMS Books LLC

  Visit jms-books.com for more information.

  Copyright 2020 A.J. Morrow

  ISBN: 9781646566488

  Cover Design: Written Ink Designs | written-ink.com

  Image(s) used under a Standard Royalty-Free License.

  All rights reserved.

  WARNING: This book is not transferable. It is for your own personal use. If it is sold, shared, or given away, it is an infringement of the copyright of this work and violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

  No portion of this book may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, with the exception of brief excerpts used for the purposes of review.

  This book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It contains substantial sexually explicit scenes and graphic language which may be considered offensive by some readers. Please store your files where they cannot be accessed by minors.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are solely the product of the author’s imagination and/or are used fictitiously, though reference may be made to actual historical events or existing locations. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Published in the United States of America.

  * * * *

  To Chel, for encouraging me to finish this and for being a Very Good Human, as well.

  * * * *

  The Christmas Arrangement

  By A.J. Morrow

  Chapter 1: The Arrangement

  Chapter 2: The Journey Down

  Chapter 3: The Gala

  Chapter 4: Colette

  Chapter 5: Tinsel and Truth

  Chapter 6: Christmas Day

  Chapter 1: The Arrangement

  Tess brushed the sleep from her eyes and leaned back in her chair. Outside, the sky was dark and cold; the sun hadn’t yet risen and even the space heater beneath Tess’s desk didn’t do much to lessen the winter chill. A few sad paper chains littered the walls, but besides that it was a normal day at the office. You wouldn’t have guessed it was three days until Christmas.

  The room was empty, at least. There was just Tess, separated from the rest of the open plan room by her desk, which was sat right next to the door of her boss’s office. One of the perks of an early start—according to Tess, at least—was the quiet. It gave her time to think.

  The automatic doors whirred open and Tess jumped. Before her stood Colette Sylvestre, her boss—tall and slim, with pale porcelain features and dark, chocolate colored hair. That morning she was wearing a brilliant green pant suit with a plunging neckline and red lipstick, and her face was drawn into a formidable expression. Tess gulped. However, much she might admired her boss, Colette was a scary woman to work for.

  “Good morning, Ms. Sylvestre,” said Tess. She stood up from her chair to take Colette’s coat.

  “Is it? I hadn’t noticed,” said Colette. She didn’t look up from her phone. “Run me through my schedule.”

  “Oh, well, first you have a conference call with the board, and then a meeting with Mr. Rowing—he’s not happy with the marketing around his novel, and I did try to explain that it’s industry standard but—”

  Colette sighed. “What else, Tessa?”

  “Uh, you’ve got to look over the minutes from the meeting you missed last week, and then there’s a few people scheduled in after lunch. I made sure to keep an hour because your mother called earlier and she says she wants to speak to you.”

  Colette’s head snapped toward Tess. Her eyes were wide and her lips pursed. “My mother?”

  “Yeah, she called at, like, six-thirty, right after I’d gotten in, and she said it was urgent.”

  “Did you ask what exactly she wanted?”

  “No, but she did say it was private. Something about a family matter? I didn’t want to pry,” said Tess. She reached for the door to Colette’s office and held it open for her. When Colette was inside, Tess began to close the door.

  “Call if you need anything. I’m just out here.” Tess tried to make her smile as reassuring as possible. After two years of being Colette’s personal assistant, she liked to think she had a pretty good handle on her boss’s facial expression—she knew the tiny crease between Colette’s eyebrows and the flinch of her lip all added up to some big catastrophe, some big family drama that would no doubt be stressing her out. It was important to Tess that Colette knew she was happy to help.

  “Yes, yes, just like you’re paid to be.”

  The door slammed shut.

  Tess sighed. Objectively, she knew that Colette was a hard woman to work for—Colette was rude, dismissive, and worked far too hard for her own good, but Tess wasn’t exactly an objective person. Where Colette was all ice and business, Tess was warmth and butterscotch cookies. She believed in everyone and everything, she forgave immediately, and there was no limit to what she was willing to do for those she loved. The two were complete opposites, which was why Tess’s crush on her boss was so embarrassing.

  The day passed slowly, full of phone calls and boring emails. It wasn’t that Tess didn’t like her job, exactly, it was just that her passion was elsewhere. Working in the publishing industry was a dream come true for a bookworm like herself, but she was only technically in the publishing industry—scheduling appointments for Colette wasn’t the same as running them herself, after all.

  At lunchtime, when the few colleagues not on holiday had drifted into the office and then back out to eat, Tess felt safe to take a break and work on her true passion project—her novel. She sat straight in her chair, her fingers tapping away like crazy, as the words spilled out of her. Since starting as Colette’s assistant, Tess hadn’t suffered from an ounce of writer’s block—she simply didn’t have the time. Her lunch break was short and the hours were long, so she had to fit all the writing she could into twenty-minute writing sprees.

  Tess took a sip of coffee. Her stomach rumbled. With a final flourish of her hand against the keyboard, she finished the scene. A thousand words in half an hour—not bad, she thought, not bad at all. She’d even have time to nip down the street to get a bagel before her break was over.

  First, though, she’d email Adrian with the new chapter. Adrian was her best friend and the sole person trusted with Tess’s writing; he was gentle and honest, and she’d known him for so long he was practically a part of her. Tess wrote a short introduction (which was mostly a rant about the insane amount of time it’d taken her to choose a name for one of her characters) and attached the document.

  As she leaned idly back in her chair, Tess thought about her future bagel toppings and nothing else. Once Adrian had emailed back, she would run down to the store and spread so many toppings on the bagel that she’d never feel hungry again.

  Tess smiled as she scanned her emails again, waiting for a response. Her eye caught on something and she froze. Oh no.

  She hadn’t sent her writing to Adrian. She’d sent it to Colette.

  This was terrible. This was embarrassing and stupid and made worse by the fact Colette had made it very clear when Tess started that she was never to submit anything to her. It would make their professional relationship difficult when (not if) Colette refused.

  If Tess was the sort of person to swear, she would have. As it was, she had a limited time to fix it, since she knew Colette checked her emails after every meeting, and there were three minutes left until her meeting with Mr. Jacobs ended. Three minutes to delete the email.

  Tess fiddled around with the setting of her inbox, but to no avail. While she could delete the copy on her end, it would s
till come up on Colette’s computer. Tess might not have been a tech genius, but she knew enough to know she’d need Adrian’s help.

  She shot him a quick email, careful to check the address before sending it.

  Adrian,

  S.O.S! I accidentally sent an email for you to the boss-lady! I need your help, and, if she sees it, a necromancer, because I will actually die of embarrassment.

  Not even a minute passed before Adrian replied. Luckily, he worked in the I.T. department of the firm, so he had the exact expertise necessary to fix the problem.

  Don’t worry, I’ll be over in a jiff—right after I finish laughing. Seriously, though, you need to take a computer class.

  Tess slumped back in her chair, her head in her hands. Through the window into Colette’s office, she could see Mr. Jacobs packing up his briefcase and preparing to leave. Colette shook hands with him, a tight smile on her face, and he walked toward the door. Tess stared as Mr. Jacobs pressed down the handle and left.

  There was still time, barely. Maybe Colette would take a lunch break, or go do something else—maybe there was still time for Adrian, who only worked on the floor below, for Pete’s sake, to get there. Unfortunately, Tess had no such luck. Colette sat back down and turned to her computer with an expression of boredom.

  Tess watched her anxiously as she scrolled down the page. Something flickered across her face—surprise, anger, confusion, it was hard to tell—and Colette stood up again. She poked her head gracefully around the door, lips pursed, and focused all her icy attention on Tess.

  “Tessa,” said Colette, “are you free a moment?”

  Somehow, despite knowing what was going to happen, Tess jumped. “Uh, yes, Ms. Sylvestre,” she stammered. Colette gestured to the door and Tess entered.

  The office was sleek and well designed; very minimalist, with clean black furniture and white walls. A floor to ceiling window covered the back wall, giving them a view of the entire snow-covered city, and a balcony wider than Tess’s desk area made that view accessible. She’d only been invited in once, for her final interview for the job, and the room was no less impressive than it had been back then.

  Colette asked her to take a seat and Tess obliged. She was stiff and awkward, her ears already red and her forehead already coated in a light sheen of sweat, but Tess was already planning her explanation. She was sure that, as long as she made it convincing, Colette would understand.

  “So, you’re probably wondering why I called you in today,” said Colette. Tess nodded, though she’d thought they were both on the same page about the email. “Well, I was wondering…have you got any plans for the holidays?”

  Tess started. “I’m sorry?”

  “Have you got any plans for the holidays?”

  “No, I heard you alright, I’m just confused.”

  Colette made what might have passed for a smile among snakes and leaned forward, her hands clasped neatly in front of her. “I have an…opportunity for you. A proposition, if you will.”

  “I mean, in theory, yes,” said Tess. For all her lack of tech skills, she wasn’t stupid. Whatever Colette was talking about, it had nothing to do with the email—this was something else entirely. “Whatever you need, I’m here. I mean, that’s kind of my job, isn’t it?” Tess laughed nervously.

  “Quite. What I have in mind, though, isn’t part of your job description.”

  “Oh?”

  Colette sighed. The crease between her eyebrows grew more pronounced. “As I’m sure you’re well aware, Sylvestre Publishing is a family business, and my grandfather owns the majority of it. He wishes to retire soon and let someone else take over, but, since it is a family business, he also wants assurance that there will be a new generation to pass the business down to.”

  “I’m not sure I understand,” said Tess.

  “In order for me to take over the company, and not one of my dim-witted cousins, I need to prove both that I’m capable of managing it and that I’ll be able to pass on the company when the time comes. In other words, my family wants me to ‘get a move on’ in the dating department.”

  “Oh.”

  “Quite.” Colette stared at Tess. Her eyes, wide and somehow more expressive than the rest of her icy exterior, focused on her assistant. “This Christmas, all of my cousins will be on their best behavior, trying to persuade Grandfather. He’s nearly made his mind up on me, but to be certain, I need to bring along someone—a date, essentially.”

  Tess fidgeted in her seat. There was no way Colette would ask what Tess thought she was asking, was there?

  “What I mean, Tessa, is that I need you to pretend to be my significant other when I go home for the holidays.”

  Tess choked. “Are you being serious?”

  “Deadly.”

  “Oh right, well, um, I don’t know—”

  Colette bit her lip and her eyes softened almost imperceptibly. “I’ve already told them I have a girlfriend, and you’re the only person I trust not to blab to the press.”

  “Oh,” said Tess. Her thoughts were racing at a thousand miles an hour.

  “And of course, there’d be benefits for you.” Colette stiffened, business persona back on. “A week extra leave, and a substantial raise. And your job will be secure even if you decline, so feel no pressure to accept. I’m not going to fire you if you say no.”

  Tess stared. How could she say no, when it was asked so nicely, and meant a raise? She was paid well for the job, but living in the city was expensive and she had student loans to think of, not to mention the money she sent back home to her family—Tess was barely making ends meet, so she had to take every opportunity that came her way. Especially if it was offered by her intelligent, scarily good-looking boss.

  “Uh, yeah, I’ll do it,” said Tess.

  Colette raised an eyebrow. She seemed surprised at the answer. “Excellent. I’ll email you the details—will you be able to leave this evening?”

  “This evening? How on Earth will I have time to pack?”

  Colette glanced at her watch. “Take the afternoon off to arrange whatever you need to, and then meet me here at four o’clock. Pack warm clothes.”

  “Right, okay, that’s wonderful—can I ask for something else as well?”

  “What is it?”

  Tess rubbed the back of her neck and winced. “It’s just that I accidentally sent you an email earlier that was meant for someone else—I was in a hurry, you know? Anyway, could you please delete the last email I sent you? I was super embarrassed when I realized what happened.”

  A smile flickered across Colette’s face and Tess relaxed. “I’d be more than happy to.”

  “Brilliant.” Tess stood up. “I’ll see you later, then. Hopefully you can manage for a few hours without me!”

  “Whatever shall I do?”

  Tess turned back to stare at Colette. If she hadn’t known better, she would have said Colette just made a joke. When Colette saw the look on Tess’s face, she made a shooing motion.

  “Alright, be gone with you.”

  “Bye, Ms. Sylvestre,” Tess called. She stepped out of the office and hurried back to her desk to fetch her coat.

  Adrian was waiting for her, his eyes out on stalks. He was a large man—tall, with a heavy-set figure—and he had a big red beard and matching eyebrows; his clothes were formal, but still a little scruffy, and one arm was covered in tattoos. Adrian’s eyes were kind, and he wore a set of rainbow cuff-links gifted to him by his boyfriend.

  “Okay, what happened in there?” he demanded.

  “You’ll never believe me.”

  “Did she read your story?”

  “Oh, no, it wasn’t that.” Tess laughed and picked up her coat. “She asked me to pretend to be her girlfriend so her family stops bugging her about it.”

  “What? No way.”

  “Yes way—offered me a raise and everything.”

  Adrian leaned against the wall. “Are you sure this isn’t just boss-lady’s weird way of asking you
out? I mean, she’s not great talking to normal people—I wouldn’t be surprised if this is how she thinks regular people date.”

  Tess swatted at his arm. “She’s not that bad, and I’m sure she doesn’t have an ulterior motive; I mean, I don’t think Colette even likes me that much. She ignores basically everything I say.”

  “True.” Adrian laughed.

  “Right, well, I’ve got to go sort some stuff out,” she said, “and there’s no need for you to delete the email. I’ll speak to you later, okay?”

  “Sure.”

  Tess hurried out the building, her mind racing. She couldn’t believe what had happened, and, despite how calm she’d tried to be, she was so nervous she wanted to puke. There wasn’t time for that, though—Tess had to prepare for what was sure to be one hell of a holiday.

  Chapter 2: The Journey Down

  Two hours later Tess stood in front of the mirror, dressed in only her underwear and with her lip caught awkwardly between her teeth. Clothes littered the floor of her bedroom, each part of some outfit combination she’d tried on and then discarded. Her suitcase, an ancient brown leather hand-me-down from Tess’s dad, was open on her bed, and, sans a collection of books to read over the holiday, it was completely empty.

  Tess groaned. She had absolutely no idea what she should wear. Usually, she was excellent at meeting her partner’s parents; Tess was naturally sweet, with a warm smile and good manners, but the fact that Colette’s family owned the business she worked for meant she couldn’t just rely on what she knew. There was also the fake relationship aspect, of course. She couldn’t forget about that.

  A muffled buzz came from her phone, which lay on top of the heap that’d been Tess’s original outfit. She scooped up the phone and turned it on to see a text from her sister, asking her to call. With a smile, Tess obliged.

  “Hi, Elsie,” she said, “What’s up?”

  “Please tell me your last text was a joke.”

  Tess laughed. “You know that’s not my sense of humor. Colette really does want me to fake date her. Weird, huh?”