Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

ZANE

Christmas miracles do happen, after all. Dayra and I spent Christmas Eve with her family, who all accepted me with open arms and didn’t ask nearly as many questions as my family did. We showed up to my family’s Christmas when we finished up at her aunt and uncle’s house, with her tiny dog and all.

Mom was thrilled to see her and she and my sister became instant best friends, bonding over bullying me. And I wouldn’t trade it for a damn thing. I made a mental note after the holidays to buy something really nice for Maia as a thank you gift for making this possible. She did the leg work to prove to Dayra that everything she thought she knew was a lie.

I know she didn’t do it for me, but I reap the most benefits from it. I convinced Dayra to let me take her away for the week. We left on Christmas Day and spent an entire week in a secluded cabin in the middle of a hundred acres of nothingness that required absolutely nothing of us. I kept her as naked as I could and it was the most glorious week I’ve had in years. I may just be a fan of Christmas after all.

She and I discussed so much and I learned even more about the woman that I’m madly in love with. Of course, we will have some hoops to jump through at work, but nothing that can’t be figured out as we go.

Now that the new year has come and gone and we are back at the office today, there are so many issues that need handling. Jade being first on the list. Dayra hasn’t seen her since the day she claimed that she and I slept together and I know it’s going to fuck with her emotions.

I arrive early and head into my office, going through two weeks of missed emails. Most are junk but there are a few that need my attention. Dayra passes by my office on her way in, popping her head inside my door and blowing me a kiss.

“Miss you already,” she whispers.

“Ditto, babygirl.”

“If you’re a good boy, maybe you can help me put away some Christmas decorations later,” she says with a smile as she saunters off down the hall.

Damn it. Now I’m hard just thinking about fucking her in that stairwell again.

I filter through the emails that require my attention and come across Dayra’s application. I forward it to Mark with my recommendation. I immediately get a response back from him with shock that I am recommending her but thanking me for my email. They were waiting on me to make a final decision.

It takes everything in me not to forward this email directly to Dayra. I want my girl to know she’s getting the position she wanted but refused to admit. Until that week in the cabin. Orgasm denial will make people do and say some questionable things when they’re on edge.

I walk down to the lounge for a cup of coffee and while I’m pouring my coffee, in walks Jade. Her heels click on the tile floor and even the sound of her walking makes my skin crawl. Nothing about her desperation is cute. It’s pathetic.

“Hey, Zane!” she chimes, standing next to me with her empty cup.

I nod politely at her and take a step to my right to put sugar and creamer in my cup and put distance between us. The sound of someone walking down the hall in our direction gives me a sense of relief. I do not want to be alone with this woman. If she will lie when there are cameras, who knows what she will claim when there aren’t any.

“Good morning, Jade,” Dayra says cheerfully as she enters the lounge.

Uh-oh .

“Good morning! I was just coming in here to talk to Zane about our weekend together.”

“Really? You spent the weekend together?” Dayra asks, looking between the two of us.

Jade glances at me to see if I’m going to call her bluff or not, but I don’t say a word. She nods in response to Dayra.

“Interesting. How many tattoos does he have?” Dayra asks, inquisitively.

Jade stares at her, confusion etched into her features. “Wha-What? None.”

Dayra laughs and shakes her head, stepping past her to fill her own coffee cup.

I bite back the urge to erupt into laughter. Jade is looking back and forth between me and Dayra, but she doesn’t say anything else before she leaves the lounge, disgruntled as she stomps her way down the hall.

“The fucking audacity of that woman,” Dayra says, huffing as she stirs her creamer into her coffee.

I put my hands up. “Look, that’s all her. You know exactly where I was all weekend.”

“Yes, yes I do. You were… right…” she grabs my hand and guides it beneath the skirt she’s donning, “here,” she whispers as my fingers graze her pussy through the soft cotton of her underwear.

“ Ughhh ,” I groan, tilting my head back. “You’re so bad,” I whisper, taking my coffee cup and disappearing back to my office before I catch an actual sexual harassment charge. It would be worth it. But, I’d rather not.

An email comes through in the corner of my screen. It’s from Mark to everyone who applied for the position plus myself and Rob. He’s calling for a meeting in twenty minutes. I’m guessing Rob is attending via video-conference. This is going to be real interesting. I wonder how much of a fit Jade is going to throw when she finds out that she did not get the promotion.

I fix my tie and pat out a small wrinkle in my pants leg before heading to the meeting room. The receptionist has everything set up from coffee carafes to a plethora of sweet and salty snacks in a basket in the center of the large table.

Mark is already seated in his usual spot and I slide into the chair beside him. The receptionist leaves the room quietly and we sit there for a moment, just him and I.

“What made you change your mind?” he asks.

“Her application. She’s not only qualified, she’s over qualified. And that trumps any reservations I may have had about her.”

I say the words matter-of-factly because that’s exactly what they are. Even before I ever touched her, I knew she was the best candidate for the job, and now that I’ve spent a lot more time with her, I’m certain she’s overqualified and will be the best person for the job.

I don’t get a chance to say anything else because Jade, Xena, and Dayra all three enter the meeting room one after the other. Jade takes the seat across from me while Xena sits beside her and Dayra sits one chair away from the pair.

Mark presses his glasses up his nose and sits straight up in his chair, flipping through the paperwork in front of him. He flips through each stapled packet and hands each of the women their respective packets.

“I just want to say that you are all very qualified for this new position, but we were only able to select one of you. Inside, you will find the information as to why you were or were not selected. If you would like, I can tell you now who got this position, or you can discover it on your own when you leave this room and open your packets individually.”

Jade is the first to pipe up. “You can tell us.”

Xena nods in agreement. Dayra shrugs and says, “Fine by me.”

“Okay. Dayra, you’re the new Assistant Director over our marketing division!”

Jade’s jaw drops and Xena smiles at Dayra cheerfully, congratulating her.

“Thank you,” she says, smiling warmly at Mark.

Jade slowly rises and shoves her chair back with a little more force than is necessary. She doesn’t say a word as she leaves the room. Mark stares at the two women at the table then at me.

“I think I’ll go have a sit down with her. This is not high school and that behavior will not be tolerated.”

Xena slowly rises and gives Dayra a hug before the two of them exit the meeting room.

“Hey, Mark,” I say as he’s about to leave the room.

“Yeah?” He walks back toward the other side of the table.

“I need to tell you something about Jade.”

“Dear God, don’t tell me you slept with her.”

“No, no! She and I were at the same bar a few weeks ago and she hit on me. I shut it down immediately , but she went around telling a few of the women in the office that we slept together. We didn’t.”

“If she’s saying so, then how can you defend that? Damn it,” he slams one hand on the table and presses two fingers from his other hand to the bridge of his nose.

“I can prove it.”

“How?”

“Call her in here. I’ll show you.”

Mark gives me a curious stare before he leaves the room and returns a few minutes later with Jade.

“I hear you’re claiming that you and Zane had sexual relations?”

Jade’s mouth drops and she stares at the two of us with a wide-eyed, doe in the headlights look. “Y-Yes, we did.”

“How many tattoos do I have?” I ask, leaning forward and resting my elbows on the dark cherry oak of the table.

“None. I mean, that doesn’t prove anything. You could have one hidden that I didn’t see. It was kind of dark.”

I stand up and remove my khaki suit jacket, laying it on the table in front of me. I loosen my tie and begin unbuttoning my button up shirt. As I begin opening my shirt, Jade gasps.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Mark chuckles. “Case closed. There’s no mistaking that. You hide it well, I’ll give you that.”

“Thanks, I think?”

“You’re welcome.”

He turns to Jade. “You’re fired.”

“What?”

“You’re fired. Now, go get your things and get off the premises before I call and have security remove you.”

“Mark! You can’t do this. I didn’t even do anything wrong.”

“I do not tolerate sexual harassment in the workplace. From anyone, regardless of their gender. I’ll have your pink slip ready when you’re done gathering your things.”

She throws the same fit she’s been throwing all day and storms out with an exaggerated, ” ughhh !” on the way to her office.

I smile to myself as I button my shirt back up and fix my tie. I grab my jacket and excuse myself as I head straight to Dayra’s office. I need to tell her right away. I rap two knuckles on her door before pushing it open and inviting myself in.

“Hey,” she smiles when she sees me. I close her door behind me.

“Jade just got fired.”

Her eyes widen. “Really?”

I nod. “Yep. She doubled down and tried to tell Mark that we slept together…so I asked her the same question you did earlier and when she said none, I took off my shirt and that pretty well debunked her story.”

“Oh my God, you took off your shirt for Mark and Jade? Eww . What were you trying to do, have some funky threesome?” She scrunches her nose in feigned disgust.

I gag, over-exaggeratedly, earning me a hearty laugh. One that I love listening to. I can’t believe I spent so much time making her angry when I could’ve been making her come. I tsk myself.

“What?”

“I was just thinking about all of the time I spent making you mad at me when I could’ve been making you come around my dick.”

“Zane Warren Moore!” she whisper shouts and glances at her door, making sure it’s shut.

“It’s shut. No one is going to be bothering you for a while, either. Jade’s leaving and everyone else probably thinks you’re preparing for your new role.” I press the lock in the center of the doorknob and walk around her desk. I drop to my knees in front of her and press her legs open, her skirt giving me easy access.

“Now spread your legs for me, babygirl.”

This is the best Christmas gift I’ve ever received and I can’t wait to receive it every year, forever. I guess this old Grinch’s heart of snow and ice has melted to a puddle at the feet of the one woman I least expected. The woman I love to hate. My perfect Christmas miracle, wrapped up in a bow and sitting with her legs spread open. Just. For. Me.

THE END