4

MARIAH

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It’s snowing outside by the time my husband returns to the office from his meeting. It’s a meeting that clearly overran, given it’s now mid-afternoon and he left hours ago.

‘What happened? You were out for ages,’ I say to him as he closes our office door and begins the process of removing his coat, scarf and gloves. His hair is a little wet, so I guess he didn’t make it back before the snowdrops began to fall, though they have quickly melted after coming into contact with his body heat.

‘Sorry. The meeting went on and on,’ Michael says as he hangs his coat up. ‘But it went well. I think we have a new client.’

‘That’s good,’ I say, relaxing as he approaches my desk, and I catch a scent of his aftershave, the same one I bought him for his forty-fifth birthday a few months ago.

I’m hoping he’s not going to lean over my desk and try to give me a kiss because I’ve told him about doing that here in full view of our employees. They could see us through the glass panels of this office, so I’d prefer to keep any unprofessional affection at home, away from prying eyes. But Michael has not always been one to follow the rules, and he demonstrates that again by leaning in for a kiss, and while I turn my face away, he still plants his lips on my cheek. Then he starts humming a Christmas tune as he makes his way to his desk.

‘Somebody’s in a good mood,’ I comment as I see him take his seat and lean back, his hands on the back of his head and a satisfied smile on his face. ‘It really must have been a good meeting.’

‘I guess I’m just full of Christmas cheer,’ Michael wistfully replies.

‘Well, that’s good because you need to go and buy a Secret Santa gift,’ I remind him then. ‘You and Nat are the only two who haven’t drawn a name out of the bowl, so come on, time to pick yours.’

I carry the bowl to his desk then and hold it out for him to select one of the two remaining pieces of paper inside. But his smile has faded, and he doesn’t seem quite so festive now.

‘We’re not playing this, are we? I thought I told you it was a silly game.’

‘It’s good for office morale,’ I say, not for the first time since I discussed playing Secret Santa here. He didn’t like the idea then, and he obviously still doesn’t like it now, but it’s too late.

‘Come on, pick,’ I urge him, and he reluctantly takes a piece before unfolding the paper and reading the name written on it. Then he rolls his eyes, but I don’t ask him who he got because that’s the rule.

‘I guess this last one is for Nat,’ I say. ‘I’ll go and let her pick it now.’

‘I can take it to her if you like,’ Michael suggests.

‘No, you stay there. You’ve spent enough time away from your desk today. Get on with some work,’ I say teasingly before leaving him behind and heading in search of the last colleague to participate in this game.

I find Nat at her desk applying some lipstick, but she quickly stops what she is doing when she sees me approaching and tries to pretend like she is busy working. But I smile to let her know that she’s not in trouble.

‘We’re playing Secret Santa and did the draw while you were out,’ I tell her as I show her the bowl. ‘But there’s one name left for you. Happy to pick it?’

‘Err, yeah, sure,’ Nat says, still looking a little nervous, but she takes the paper, and with that, all the players are now in the game.

‘Buy a present and put it under the tree in reception, and we’ll all open them on Friday lunchtime,’ I tell her cheerfully. ‘Sound good?’

‘Er, okay.’

I’m about to leave it there but decide to give her praise where it is due.

‘Michael said the meeting went well. Congratulations.’

‘Thank you,’ Nat replies, still appearing a little on edge, but she always has been like that around me, and I guess some people are just a little nervous around their boss.

I smile at her before walking away, the empty bowl in my hand and feeling like I have done a good job of injecting a little fun into this workplace with my suggestion of the game. But just before I get back to my desk, I notice I’m being watched.

The person looking at me is Brenda, and it’s strange, but she seems to be staring.

‘Everything okay?’ I ask her with a smile as I stop by her desk.

‘Erm, yeah, fine,’ she replies, before quickly averting her gaze, and I shrug before heading on. But when I get back to my desk and take a seat, I glance back in her direction and see she is watching me again.

‘Everything okay?’ Michael asks, noticing my apparent unease.

‘I think so,’ I say, but I’m not so sure.

‘Cheer up, it’s Christmas,’ Michael says with a chuckle, and I guess he’s right, so I get back to work.

I hope Brenda does the same.