Red Hot Christmas (2 page)

Back at the office though she didn’t get a chance to think about one thing at a time. The photographer didn’t think he’d be able to coax enough power from their location and had rung the reindeer-keeper direct. The man had taken offense at his reindeer being considered precious and the whole thing was threatening to spiral out of Christmas control.
 

“Oh and the new boss popped in. Said he’d be back before you left for the day.”

Gabby froze. There were hundreds of people at Able’s. He’d honed in on her so quickly? “He was here? What did he want?”

“Said he was having one on one meetings with all heads of department.”

So much for being one of hundreds. Sometimes Gabby forgot that she’d been promoted to the top of the Events team this past year.

As she wrote emails, signed off invite designs and pacified reindeer owners, Gabby’s mind flicked constantly to what she would say when she saw Nicolas again. Like a teenager getting ready for a first date she practiced lines in her head, doodled nonchalant greetings, focused on keeping her face passive and neutral. “Stop it. Everyone will think you’re crazy,” she muttered to her computer screen. She’d managed to disappear for long enough that she’d restarted her life without too many questions. People took breaks from work for all sorts of reasons, her resume didn’t look too bad.
Just do your job. The past is the past.

The afternoon ticked by and as six o’clock approached Gabby had to unclench her hands every five minutes to stop her knuckles whitening.
 

“Anything else you need from me?” Miriam had been lurking and was itching to leave. Her glance at the clock was no subtle hint.

“Do you mind just waiting a couple more minutes in case Mr. Morganti needs a file or something?”
Really? Not because you’re as scared as a kitten in a dog shelter?

“Oh, sure.” The woman patted her hair.

“You look great. Don’t worry, your date will wait.”

“Thanks. You’re rocking that dress too. Red really suits you.”

Gabby glanced down at her dress and hoped Nicolas wouldn’t think she’d worn it especially for him. He’d always liked her in red. Recalling why she’d put the dress on, sitting with Fraser in her shabby studio, discovering it was the last thing she owned that wasn’t at the cleaners or ruined by the damp in her closet, Gabby straightened. She wasn’t going to let Nicolas Morganti intimidate her. This job was hers because she’d worked hard for it. If he couldn’t see that, it was his loss. “I’ll be fine, you go. If he’s not here in five minutes I’m going to have to leave anyway. The babysitter has bingo on Mondays.”
 

“Okay. If you’re sure?”
 

Gabby clenched her jaw. Time to start sticking up for herself or she’d never manage it when she was face to face with her ex-lover. “I’m sure. In fact I’ll come with you. I’m taking my laptop home so he can always email. He probably got busy and had to reschedule.” Gabby picked up her jacket and gratefully walked to the elevator.

“So, have you done all your Christmas shopping?” her assistant asked as she pressed the button.

“Yep.” Not that it made much difference, Fraser’s stocking was going to be very light this year. Gabby sighed.

The elevator door pinged and started opening.

“What are you getting Fraser for Christmas?”
 

As the elevator opened fully it revealed a tall, dark-haired man. Gabby’s answer froze, a hard lump of ice in her throat. His charcoal suit said money in the cut and fabric, and his tie was in a subtle dark green that only accentuated the olive tone of his complexion. Grey eyes glinting like the storm clouds outside, Nicolas Morganti lifted an eyebrow. “Yes, what
are
you getting Fraser for Christmas?”

The silence settled over Gabby like a damp rug, shattered only by an insistent “ping” as the elevator waited.

“You going down?” her assistant asked nonchalantly. Nicolas finally broke eye contact with Gabby but managed to let her know by his tone that it was her he was addressing. “I had a meeting with the head of events. Gabrielle?”

Again the silence settled for just a second too long before her assistant nudged Gabby and gave Nicolas a winning smile. “You’ve just caught her. I’ll leave you to it then.” Diving into the elevator she was gone before Gabby could grab her and drag her into the office for safety.

Safety. To think she’d once felt safe in Nicolas’s arms. Now though, under his dark gaze, her hands clenched, her arteries pumped hard and fast, complete flight or fight mode taking over.
Get it together. You were going to do your job and not let the past interfere remember?

 
“Why did you pretend not to know me?” she managed.

Nicolas stroked his jaw and Gabby could almost feel his skin under her own fingers. It would be warm, and smooth, no hint of the stubble that would appear when he woke tomorrow morning. Nicolas ran his hand down his throat. Was he scratching an itch or giving her the benefit of remembering kissing that throat? Oh man, despite everything, she was ready to touch that throat, she was ready to kiss those lips, to feel his hands on her body.
Stop. It.
 

“I didn’t know what you’d told your staff. Or what you’d said to get this job. Clearly no one here knows about your father. You’d never have got in the door otherwise.” His voice was hard, the icy tone one she’d only ever heard him use on others.

Straightening, Gabby looked Nicolas straight in his storm cloud eyes. “Mr. Able knew everything. I didn’t need to pretend with him. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m late. I’ve been waiting for over an hour for you. Normally it wouldn’t be a problem but…” No way was she going to tell him she had to be home for five year old Fraser.

The clouds rolled in darker and it was like the chill spread out into the room. “I wouldn’t want to hold you up. So we’ll be quick. Your office. Now.” He held out a hand, blocking the elevator door, giving her no choice but to head back to her office. The authority in his voice ran an involuntary shiver down her spine. Dear lord, what sort of unemancipated wet blanket was she turning into?
It’s just shock.
Really?

“I can give you five minutes.” Being rude wasn’t going to help anything.
Except make me feel better. And petty.
Gabby shook herself. “I really do have to go, I’m not making it up.”
Fraser is waiting.
 

Fraser would understand when she explained. Nicolas wouldn’t. And Nicolas was just vindictive enough to try to take the one thing, the one remaining thing, which meant everything to her.
 

Chapter Two

Pushing his hands deep into his pockets, Nicolas kept his face calm and made himself breathe out slowly. Being next to Gabrielle Philips again kick-started a thrum in his blood as if she’d opened up the throttle on his Ducati.
It’s just anticipation.
 

The instant he’d seen her name on the staff list he’d known it had been her. He’d laughed it off, but his fingers had kept clicking on the list and scanning down to her name. There was just something that made him sure it was
the
Gabrielle Phillips. Something in his bones. Something that had made the hairs on his neck try and crawl right off his skin. So he’d come to check.
No such thing as coincidences.
He looked at the woman in the flesh and made himself exhale slowly. His heart calmed and his breathing regulated, even if it didn’t quite return to normal. Mindfulness meditation classes weren’t just for hippy types. “Gabrielle Phillips. It’s really you then.”

She nodded.

“I looked for you, even had an investigator do a search, but you disappeared. Vanished. So imagine my surprise when I discovered your name on my staff sheet.” Nicolas cocked his head to the side, luxuriating in a frank observation of the woman in front of him. To think that he’d once thought he wanted to protect her. To wrap her in his arms and keep the world at bay. What a fool she’d turned him into.
 

“Imagine mine when I saw who had bought Able’s.” She jutted out her jaw, resolute.

“That’s it? All you’ve got?” He kept his voice light. That was the trouble with opening yourself up, it left you liable to being exploited, emotionally and financially. The one time he’d opened the hatches, pulled up the curtains, let down the drawbridge of clichés you were supposed to rock when love came knocking, he’d been burned. Gabrielle Phillips and her thief of a father had done him over for half a million. The crook and his secretary were in jail and his lying daughter had run out on Nicolas with only a sorry excuse for a note.

“What? You want an apology for leaving you? You were able to leave me, don’t deny it. You leave everyone you’re ever with,” she snapped, perhaps a little too quickly.

      The red dress she wore was almost the exact same shade as the one she’d worn the last time he’d seen her all those years ago but was muted by a coat over her arm that had seen much better days. Staring him dead in the eye, Gabrielle seemed taller than her tiny five foot nothing, but there was no hiding the fragility of her frame, almost birdlike next to Nicolas’s. Wings of raven hair framed her face perfectly, and the dark hair highlighted the startling indigo of her eyes and the warm glow of her skin. Even in this bitter winter, she looked like the sun had shone on her face only days ago.
 

He chuckled, dryly. “If you say so. But don’t worry, I know exactly why you left. You and your father had my money.”

“That’s–”

He held up a hand and ushered her into her office. “–let’s move on shall we? It seems I’m your boss. You don’t want to say anything you might regret…later.”

      Nicolas shut the door of Gabriel’s office behind him out of habit; the place was empty. But when he turned to her he could see emotions fighting hard to take precedence on her face. There was nervousness there certainly, and maybe fear, but there was something else too. If he didn’t know her better, he would say he saw an ache in her eyes.
 

He let the silence drag out, having her on edge didn’t hurt him any.
 

“Will I still have a job tomorrow?”

It
had
been fear etched around her eyes. “Are you implying that I would let my personal life interfere with Morganti Enterprises?”

She shrugged, white lipped.

“I guess it would be hard for you to draw a moral line, business is such a tricky minefield. How
is
your father doing by the way?” At least she had the courtesy to blush.
 

“You didn’t answer my question.”

He frowned. “You will be treated just like every other employee Morganti’s has inherited from Able’s. I won’t be making any cuts in staff straight away. I bought a business, not a shop. Do your job properly and you won’t have to worry. Anything less and I can’t promise you the special treatment you might have been given before.”

Gabrielle bristled, her eyes narrowing, her muscles visibly tensing. “I didn’t get any special treatment. I earned this job. Earned it with hard work.”

“Well then, you won’t have anything to worry about will you?” He looked at his watch. “Didn’t you say you had somewhere to be? Early closing hours on a Monday I guess?”

“It’s not early. Everyone else has gone.”

“Everyone else in
your
department.”

“We all work hard and the last few weeks have been frantic. This is the last chance my team have to get home at a reasonable hour before we finalize the Christmas displays. It’s only fair everyone finishes on time when they can. It’s not like the work stops when I leave anyway.” She gestured at her laptop bag.

“Sure.” He kept his face flat, but could tell she didn’t believe his nonchalance by her tight expression. “Well then. I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Full heads of department meeting.” He reached for the door handle and paused. “I suggest you turn up on time.” Without giving her a second look, he swiveled on his leather soled shoes and stalked out of her office.
 

Gabrielle might have been done for the night, but Nicolas was not. He arrived back at the Morganti Enterprises building to find one of his accountants pacing his office, his hands fisted and lips pressed hard together. Not a good sign. “I haven’t had my evening coffee yet. Do you want to wait?” Nicolas said.

      The older man, hair already thinned to almost nothing, paled as he turned to look at Nicolas. “I’ll wait I think.” He appeared to gulp. “Yes, perhaps you should have your coffee first.”

      Definitely not a good sign. His executive assistant Mrs. Tollero brought in the coffee and nodded to the accountant. Even her hands seemed hesitant as she placed the cup down. After working with Nicolas for more than ten years, she knew him better than almost anyone.
This is not going to be good
. Nicolas took a few fast sips of his coffee then placed it on his desk.

      “Alright. Enough already. What’s going on?”

      “Wha, what do you mean? Has someone said something?” The accountant almost choked on the words.

      “No. But perhaps they should have. Watching you standing there with your nerves all hanging out is like waiting to going to the dentist. Out with it.”

      “Perhaps you should finish your coffee?”