Authors: Cat Johnson
“Thanks. Oh, no. I gotta go, he’s up and on the move again.”
Tessa laughed. “Okay. Good luck.” Not envying Amy one bit she hung up and continued on to the location for the bachelor auction.
Along the way, she glided one hand over a cashmere sweater in a gorgeous shade of rich forest green. She still needed Christmas gifts for just about everyone on her list. The sweater would look great on Amy. Herself too, for that matter.
She ran her hand down the sleeve, where it came to a dead stop at the price tag. Phew. Bryant’s was definitely not the place for her holiday shopping. She shook her head at the thought of paying what was probably a week’s salary for some people for a sweater. With one more wistful backward glance, Tessa stepped onto the escalator.
Ability to shop there or not, Bryant’s was still a festive place to be. The store was all decked out, right down to the giant red bows printed on the white shopping bags the many customers were toting. The holiday spirit was kind of infectious and Tessa found herself humming along with the piped in seasonal music by the time she reached the next floor, which was her destination.
Frowning, she looked around at the white fluffy sea of wedding dresses surrounding her, then riffled through her bag to find the notes she’d taken regarding the charity bachelor auction. This was the place, Bryant’s, third floor. She looked around again and saw the small stage and runway that ran down the center of the department in preparation for the upcoming event. This was definitely the place.
The auction was in a week, so unless some major merchandise reshuffling was going to be implemented and fast, it was more than likely the hunky firemen and the hoards of women bidding on them would be surrounded by wedding dresses. Tessa thought it doubtful that a woman in the market for a man for the night would also be buying a wedding dress.
Okay, there would be one exception to that rule, her brother’s fiancé. But Troy had only agreed to be in the charity calendar. Later, the event planner came up with the idea for the guys to also be sold at auction to promote calendar sales and raise more money for charity. Officially, though engaged, Troy was unmarried and therefore eligible for auction. Amy was planning on buying him herself anyway since the money was for a good cause.
But Tessa would bet money of her own that Amy would be the only one attending interested in buying both a fireman, Troy, and a wedding dress, in which to marry Troy. It seemed like poor planning on the part of Bryant’s management to have a captive audience of young, upwardly mobile women with money to spend stuck smack in the middle of a department full of merchandise they’d have no interest in purchasing.
Oh, well. Not her problem. Tessa pulled out her digital camera and lined up a few shots of the runway from different locations, trying to picture the room packed full of people. Maybe she should bring a ladder for the shoot. She had a feeling that if she wasn’t actually on the stage with the guys, she wasn’t going to manage to get anywhere near it. They were expecting quite a crowd. The sales for the calendar so far had already been huge, and it had only been on sale since the first of November. Less than a month and they’d already done a second print run to meet the demand.
Satisfied she had everything she needed in the way of preliminary photographs, Tessa headed back downstairs. Her life, on the other hand, was missing too many things, a man included, to think about them all now.
She wanted to see how Santa was doing with the kiddies, strictly so she could take some pictures for the paper, of course. She definitely wasn’t hurrying toward the holiday department hoping to catch JB before he got off work for the day. She glanced at her watch. Exactly what time did Santa clock out? Good question.
Tessa found JB right where she’d left him, knee deep in children, literally. She still couldn’t believe she’d sat on his knee. Although from what she could tell, it felt like a nice strong substantial knee. Muscular but not too bulky. As if he were a runner, but not a body builder.
Why was she obsessing over JB’s leg muscles? It was probably leftover from photographing all those half-naked firemen a few months back. Kind of like looking at the menu and then leaving the restaurant without ordering, it’s going to leave you a little hungry, particularly if you haven’t eaten in a really, really long time.
Sighing, Tessa stared at the Santa she wouldn’t mind letting slide down her…um, chimney. Jeez, she better get a hold of herself. She hadn’t even seen him undressed yet. Blushing at her own thoughts, she corrected herself. She hadn’t even seen him out of his Santa suit yet. Hmm. That sounded even cruder. Contemplating sex with Santa was too kinky for a former Catholic schoolgirl to even think about without saying a few Hail Mary’s after.
And speaking of… Between the good little boys and girls, Santa had noticed her and smiled, his blue eyes twinkling as brightly as Clement Moore described in his poem about the big guy. JB turned his attention back to little whoever, listening to her as if she were the most important person in the world at that moment, and Tessa felt her heart do a little flip.
Camera armed and ready, she captured the moment. Santa’s arrival at Bryant’s was an annual tradition, and the local newspaper she sold photos to on a freelance basis would definitely use these shots in tomorrow’s edition.
Tessa was still happily snapping away when an older woman in a green pantsuit with shoe-polish black hair and eyebrows not found in nature stepped into the shot. A small argument ensued, involving lots of head shaking on JB’s part and much finger waving on hers. Tessa watched the woman stalk to the “Feeding the Reindeer-Back in 15 minutes” sign and plant it firmly in front of the next mother and child, which caused more animated debate amid those waiting in line.
Smiling, Tessa made her way over to JB. “What’s she? The union rep?”
He glanced up and looked embarrassed. “Close. I seem to be taking a break. Would you like to join me in the restaurant for a quick bite?”
Tessa raised an eyebrow. Oh, boy. Was he asking her out? Too bad she’d have to burst his bubble with a slice of reality. “Have you been in the restaurant here during the holidays? Even if we could get a table, we wouldn’t get served in under an hour. According to the sign, you have only fifteen minutes.”
JB looked surprised. “An hour? Really? Has that been your experience?”
“Yeah.”
He frowned. “Hmm. Well, I…uh…work here. So I usually get served a bit faster. But still, something needs to be done about the wait for customers. I’ll have to remember to…uh, tell my superiors.”
Tessa made a derisive noise. “Well, I got a whole list of things you can tell them, but I doubt they’ll listen to you. No offense.” She hadn’t meant to insult him, but really, how high up the corporate ladder could he be if he was playing Santa? He probably sold shoes or something.
Hmm, a hottie with a discount on shoes...
He raised a brow. “None taken. It sounds like you have a lot to say, more than I’ll have time to absorb in just fifteen minutes. Maybe instead of lunch we should have dinner after I get off Santa duty tonight.”
Santa Claus was hitting on her. And naughty girl that she was, she liked it. Sure that talking about how to improve the store was just an excuse to ask her out for dinner, she agreed. “I would love to discuss the store with you. What time do you finish here?”
He frowned slightly. “I’m not really sure. I’ll have to ask somebody. Can I call you?”
She smiled. Now he’d asked for her phone number. Things were getting better all the time. She dug a business card out of her purse and handed it to him. “That has both of my phone numbers and my email address.”
He grinned. “Great.” Then eyebrow lady came toward them and his face showed something close to fear. This woman must be somebody important the way he acted around her.
Tessa decided to let him off the hook for now so he could deal with his boss. “Look. I see you’re busy. I’m gonna go. I’ll talk to you later?”
He looked relieved. “Definitely.” Then he turned and intercepted dragon lady before she got any nearer to them.
Tessa smiled. It was good to see a woman in management respected by a male underling. It was about damn time. Feeling good for all womankind everywhere, she headed home to send off the Santa shots to her contact at the paper for tomorrow morning’s edition and more importantly, find something to wear for her date tonight.
Chapter Three
“Were you flirting with that woman?” Peggy stood before him, hands on her hips, looking demanding.
He suddenly felt like his mother was interrogating him instead of just his administrative assistant. “I wasn’t flirting. She’s the photographer who shot your beloved firemen calendar that you drool over at every opportunity. She’s also Mr. December’s sister.” He let that last bit of information drop casually.
Peggy’s eyes flew open wide. “Really. Well, I wish you’d told me sooner. I would have asked her how he was feeling.”
Jason smothered a smile. He had been flirting, but he knew the mention of her favorite calendar man would serve to distract Peggy from the subject. She may know him well, but he knew her better.
A busboy from the store’s restaurant walked up and handed Peggy a to-go container. She thrust it at Jason. “Go up to your office and eat this before you fall over. I know you haven’t eaten all day.”
He took the container. “I did so eat.”
“Stale donuts and cold coffee in the break room don’t count.”
He groaned at being caught. “Come with me to my office. I have some things I want you to take care of while I’m finishing the day out as Claus.”
“Stupidest idea I’ve ever heard of. COO and playing Santa Claus.” Shaking her head, she followed him to his office, grumbling.
“No, it wasn’t. I’ve been enlightened to a number of issues today while out on the floor.” He resisted the urge to call the holiday department what it really felt like, a war zone. He loved the customers, he reminded himself, each and every grumpy one of them.
“Eat while you talk and I’ll take notes.” Peggy was probably the only assistant left in the country who still took steno—little brown flip notebook, indecipherable shorthand and all.
As he sat behind the desk in his office, Jason pulled down the fake beard and opened the container. Tuna on whole grain toast with lettuce and tomato, his absolute favorite. Good old Peggy.
He took a nibble, chewed, swallowed and began to list his ideas for her. “First. I want someone to move in a display of impulse purchase items within reach of the Santa line immediately. The customers will be less bored in line if they can select their holiday cards or pick out their wrapping paper while waiting.”
Peggy nodded approvingly. “Good idea. Get them while they’re trapped and take their money.”
He smiled at Peggy’s raw honesty, but thanked God she rarely spoke with the customers directly. “Next—”
“Nah, uh. Take another bite first.”
He rolled his eyes, took a bite of sandwich, chewed and swallowed again before he continued. “I want you to speak with the restaurant manager about improving service for the busy season. Maybe we can get those beepers so the customers can shop until we beep them when their table is ready. Bring in extra help for the kitchen and wait staff to speed service. Customers aren’t spending money if they are sitting in the restaurant waiting an hour for their food to be delivered. Turning the tables faster will give the customers more time to shop and increase the amount of food sold.”
Peggy nodded and continued to scribble. She didn’t yell at him about eating again so he went on. “Also, see if the restaurant manager can come up with an idea for a reservation system to use for the Santa visits. Maybe people can sign up for a specific hour when they arrive at the store, go shopping, and then come back for their appointment.”
He took another unsolicited bite and swallowed as his stomach started to feel less achy. Then he tackled the sticky subject. “Peggy. Is Bryant’s out of style? As far as clothing, I mean.”
She shrugged. “I don’t think so. I like the clothes.”
Hmm. That may be the problem. Peggy always looked professional in the attire she purchased at Bryant’s, but she was a seventy-year-old secretary. She wasn’t exactly wearing clothing from Bryant’s to go out clubbing after work. Or even to a playdate with other moms and kids.
“I can see what you’re thinking. What does an old lady know? But let me tell you something. I see what my son let’s my granddaughter wear, ripped jeans with her thong underwear and ass crack showing, and I’d be embarrassed if Bryant’s sold stuff like that. I don’t care if it is supposedly in style. You have to draw the line somewhere. Doesn’t class count for anything anymore nowadays?”
Jason sighed. “You’re right. I can’t picture us selling that kind of image either. But there has to be a middle ground somewhere. As soon as I can, maybe tonight, I’m going to start shopping some of the competition and see what ideas I can find.”
“What about your date?”
He raised a brow. “How do you know about my date?”
“Good ears. And for your information, you get off at five tonight. That’s when the next Santa comes in for the night shift. Antonio Sanchez. Mr. October and one hunk of a burning Latin lover from what I can see, and there was a lot to see, let me tell you. There was nothing between him and the camera but a happy looking pumpkin.”