Christmas Quickie Read online

  Christmas Quickie

  Lark Avery

  Copyright © 2018 by Lark Avery

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Cover by Talina Perkins

  Bookin’ It Designs

  Contents

  1. Jack

  2. Diane

  3. Jack

  4. Diane

  5. Jack

  6. Diane

  7. Jack

  8. Diane

  9. Jack

  10. Diane

  Epilogue: Jack

  Epilogue: Diane

  Sneak Peek: Bossy Surgeon

  Meet Lark

  1

  Jack

  “Morning, Scrooge,” Nathan sang out as he sailed into my office. He placed my coffee in front of me and handed another to Dan who sat in one of the wingback chairs some decorator had chosen to match everything else in the elegant penthouse office suite of Remington Hotels’ headquarters.

  My assistant had taken to using the new nickname for me last week after I questioned the budget he’d presented me for the company Christmas party.

  I took a sip of coffee. Nathan made excellent coffee, one of the reasons I put up with him calling me Scrooge. And unlike my previous assistant, he didn’t leave panties on my desk. His mothering was annoying, but far easier to live with than his predecessor’s clumsy attempts to get access to my bank account by wrapping her mouth around my dick.

  Dan, my business partner and best friend, chuckled as Nathan started tidying up the files on my desk. I sent a withering glance at both of them.

  “Oh, the man has lost his sense of humor,” Nathan said with a pointed look at Dan.

  “I think you need to have a sense of humor first in order to lose it.” Dan rolled his eyes at Nathan.

  I shook my head and yanked a spreadsheet out from the pile Nathan was straightening. “I’ll have a sense of humor after last quarter’s reports are done and show the new marketing campaign did its job.”

  Nathan took the spreadsheet back and swiftly reorganized it into his pile before placing the stack in front of me. “Far be it for me to get personal…”

  I snorted. Nathan hadn’t held back about anything personal since the moment I hired him.

  He arched an eyebrow at me. “You need to get laid. Sir.”

  “He’s not wrong.” Dan leaned forward in his seat.

  I held back a groan. Dan looked like he’d been waiting for an opening on this particular topic, but I had fucking work to do.

  “How long’s it been, Jack? That hot little blonde with the tits?” He held his hands cupped in front of his chest to demonstrate like I might have forgotten what tits were.

  “You know what they say about Jack being all work and no play.” Nathan aimed that comment at Dan.

  “His cock withers and dies,” Dan agreed.

  “Oh, I have an idea.” Nathan pulled his phone from his pocket and tapped the screen a few times before handing it over to Dan. “Have you seen this app yet?”

  Dan checked it out. “Sinder?”

  “It’s another one of those dating apps. Though this one doesn’t even pretend to be about finding the love of your life. This one’s exclusively for hook-ups. No relationships. No strings attached.”

  Dan swiped through for a minute. “This one is fucking stacked! Says she’s looking for regular hook-ups. Wait. Never mind. She’s looking for someone discreet who won’t tell her husband.”

  I raked my fingers through my hair. “I have too much to do to stand here while you two sign me up for Dial-a-Disaster. Both of you out. Now.”

  Instead of scurrying for the nearest exit as the rest of my staff would do, they sank into the chairs in front of me, leaning together as they looked through potential dates for me. Neither one of them seemed in any hurry to get back to work. Or to leave me to mine.

  “Fuck it. Let me see that app,” I growled, reaching across the desk.

  No sooner were the words out of my mouth than Nathan was up on his feet, coming around my desk to snatch up my tablet. In minutes he had the app downloaded and started a profile for me. “We definitely can’t use your real name. It would be in the headlines of every newspaper in the country in ten minutes. What should we call you?”

  Dan stepped around to give his opinion and I realized that these two were seriously going to do this. With the way things were going, I’d definitely find myself the subject of headlines soon. I could see it now—Billionaire Hotelier Arrested for Solicitation.

  There was only one thing to do to get them off my back. I’d fill out the profile myself and make myself completely undesirable.

  “Give me that.” I snatched the tablet from Nathan and started typing: Scrooge seeks virgin. Need someone to help me blow off some steam just through the holidays. Available three evenings per week for fast, dirty fucks. Experienced women need NOT apply. Must be ready and willing to submit to any and all of my commands.

  I pressed enter and handed the tablet back to my assistant, fighting to keep the smug grin off my face. No woman in her right mind would be desperate enough to answer that ad. I’d just bought myself some time to keep these two off my back so I could get to work.

  “Done.” I settled back in my chair and took another deep, satisfying sip of my coffee.

  2

  Diane

  I cupped my coffee mug as I sat at a tiny bistro table in the employee lounge, trying to warm up my near-frozen fingers. My walk from the subway this morning during the latest ice storm chilled me through and through. It was hard to have holiday cheer when you felt like an icicle.

  I ran my gaze over the room and shook my head ruefully. The Remington was the finest hotel in Manhattan, but you couldn’t tell that from the employee lounge. It looked like where bargain basement decorations went to die. Someone had tacked up some tinsel garland and twinkle lights along the windowless walls. Random cardboard Santas and Rudolphs were taped to cupboard doors. It was a long way from the evergreens and holly decking out the rest of the hotel.

  “Hey, Diane.” My boss’s assistant dropped into a seat at the table behind me. Dan, another of the head honchos, joined him, giving me a polite smile as he settled into the chair across from Nathan.

  Dan had no idea who I was even though we crossed paths often enough. I had that effect on people. I was the invisible woman. I held in a sigh as my heart gave a tight squeeze in my chest. Nothing like being alone and totally forgettable to the people around you, especially this time of year.

  I wiggled my toes in my boots. They were made to keep my feet warm and dry, not make a fashion statement, but somehow the boots failed their purpose. I needed dry socks.

  This time I allowed a slight sigh to escape me. Not like anyone would be paying attention. How sad was it that I spent my days in the most exciting city in the world, and the most I had to look forward to was toasty warm toes?

  “Have you checked Sinder? Did Jack get any takers?” Dan asked.

  “Hold on, I’m signing into his account now.” Nathan lowered his voice. “Why’d he have to specify a virgin? He’d be swamped with responses otherwise.”

  Dan snorted. “That’s not his only problem. Using the screen name Scrooge isn’t going to help his cock’s cause either.”

  I sat up a bit straighter in my chair.

  “Keep your voice down, man,” Nathan said.

  “Relax. Nobody’s going to hear us.”

  “Diane is sitting right behind you.”

  Dan finally lowered his voice. “I hardly think she’s on Sinde
r.”

  “Good point,” Nathan agreed.

  I brought my cup to my lips, barely tasting the now-cooled coffee. My brain buzzed and it had nothing to do with the caffeine.

  Not only was Jack on Sinder, he was using Scrooge as a screen name. And he was looking for a virgin.

  My vision blurred. I’d been in love with Jack forever. He was tall, dark and handsome with a great mind for business. My panties got damp every time he walked through the accounting department where I worked.

  Not surprisingly, he didn’t know I existed. My employment in the lower levels of the hotel kept me from crossing his path too often. Most of his time was spent upstairs in his penthouse suite where he lived and worked.

  It was mid-December. Another year was about to slide by. I was twenty-two, long past the age where most women had given up their virginity. No backseat groping or picking up a guy at the bar for me. I just couldn’t seem to bring myself to engage in a casual hook-up. The idea of letting some strange guy inside my body left me cold.

  That didn’t mean I wasn’t panting at the thought of finally getting beneath the sheets with someone a little hotter and more experienced than my vibrator. I mean, it wasn’t like I was saving myself for Mr. Right or anything ridiculous like that.

  Even as I had that thought, I knew it was a lie. Early on, I hadn’t been holding off on having sex until I got married. In high school and college, it just hadn’t happened. I didn’t date a ton, and I guess the guys I did end up dating weren’t too tempting. So I hadn’t really been consciously saving myself.

  At least until I met Jack. The minute I saw him, I knew exactly who I’d been saving myself for—Jack Thorson.

  But let’s face it. Jack was waaaay out of my league. And even if by some miracle he noticed me, he had a strict policy about upper management not dating employees. What were the chances he’d be willing to bend those rules for someone like me?

  My thoughts soon had my mood matching my wet feet—cold and miserable. A tiny tear escaped the corner of one eye and slid down my cheek. I swiped it away with the back of my hand hoping no one noticed.

  They didn’t. Naturally.

  Dan and Nathan still snickered like horny schoolboys behind me over Sinder ads.

  My phone vibrated with a message from Poppy, my BFF, who ran the hotel salon.

  My next two appointments canceled. Gotta love December. They were too hung over to get out of bed. I can trim your split ends unless you’ll let me give you a makeover. XOXO

  As I stared at her message through eyes still blurred by a few tears, an idea started to take root inside me. It was crazy, and I wasn’t sure if I’d have the courage to go through with it, but what did I have to lose?

  Fuck it. I was done sitting around waiting for my life to begin. It was time I made my own damn Christmas miracle. And if that miracle included finally getting laid, even better.

  “Fuck me!” Poppy’s jaw dropped, exposing the giant wad of pink bubblegum in her mouth. Poppy was from Staten Island. We’d met trekking in from the subway to the hotel. True to her Staten Island roots, Poppy embraced big hair, fluorescent nails and a flamboyant wardrobe. But for her position as the head stylist at the Remington, she adopted a posh east coast accent, nude nails, and tamed her black curls into a sleek knot at the base of her neck.

  We were alone in the salon. Its marble floors along with the black and white photos of supermodels covering the walls made me question my plan. Everything in this place oozed glamour. Just like everything else in the hotel. Luckily this morning’s sleet was keeping the customers snuggled down in their beds so nobody was there to witness little mousy me try to transform myself into someone who looked like she fit in here.

  “I’d ask what brought on this change of attitude, but I know you. If you think about this for three more minutes, you’ll chicken out.” She glared at me in the mirror.

  I was wrapped in a heated terrycloth robe with thick fleece socks. My long brown hair was freshly shampooed and combed out. It was pin straight and hit my lower back. A black cape was draped over me.

  Poppy rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “What are we doing?”

  “Cut it all off.”

  “Fuck me!” Poppy’s gum dropped out of her mouth this time, landing on her pristine white lab coat. She plucked it off her boob and popped it back in her mouth. “Really?” She reached for her scissors.

  “No!” I stared at her in the mirror. “I want to look stylish, not like I’m shipping off to basic training.”

  Poppy crossed herself. “Thank you, Sweet Jesus.”

  As she set to work, the other stylist, Lenora, arrived. Her clients had canceled, too, so Lenora set to work on my manicure and pedicure.

  I closed my eyes, enjoying the citrus scents of the salon and the pampering. It was pretty hard not to feel like a queen with all this attention. I’d told my office I wasn’t feeling well and heading home to work. Normally even thinking of doing something like that would wrack me with guilt, but the idea of Jack placing an ad on Sinder gave me some new motivation. Was it possible he was feeling the same disconnect from the world as I was? Just the thought that he might be lonely meant I was a woman on a mission: rock Scrooge’s world! And my own.

  “What do you think?” Poppy swung me around to face the mirror after she spent a very long session with the blow dryer. Lenora stood behind her whispering.

  My face was framed with bangs and my long hair just hit my nipples. Lenora had waxed my brows so they drew attention to my hazel eyes.

  I blinked at myself in the mirror.

  “Wow,” I managed.

  Poppy and Lenora smiled, both of them looking a little smug. “I know right? You’re gorgeous. Inside and out.”

  Leaping out of my chair, I gave them each a hug. “You two are the best, seriously.”

  “Why the sudden change of heart?” Poppy asked. Lenora stopped sweeping up my hair to catch my response.

  “Oh, no reason. Just the holidays coming up.” I felt heat hit my cheeks. I was a seriously shitty liar. That made me a good accountant but not so helpful in other areas of life.

  “Oooh, girl! You’re ready to pop your cherry!” Poppy grabbed me in another embrace.

  Now my face felt like it was on fire. I hadn’t been thinking Lenora needed to know that much about me.

  “Who’s the lucky guy?” Lenora asked.

  “No one,” I managed. “He’s not from around here.” Oh God, why couldn’t I tell even a decent white lie?

  “It’s Diane’s business. She’ll tell us when she’s ready.” Poppy arched an eyebrow my way.

  That meant she wanted all the deets when we were alone.

  “Thanks again for everything. I really mean it.”

  Poppy and Lenora exchanged a look.

  “Oh girl, you aren’t done yet with waxing.” Lenora set aside the broom and left the main salon.

  Poppy put her arm around my shoulders, marching me back to the private treatment rooms. The lighting was dim back there with soothing mood music piped in. Maybe I could just lie down and take a nap. It sounded tempting now that I’d managed to thaw my feet a little.

  “We have a whole new makeup line in, so I’m going to pick out some colors for you, and Lenora is going take care of one last wax,” Poppy said.

  “It’s not necessary,” I protested. Poppy had wanted to update my makeup scheme ever since we first met. “You both have done so much already. I promise I’ll shave my legs before the date.”

  We stopped before the treatment room door. “You go right ahead and do that because Lenora isn’t waxing your legs,” Poppy said meaningfully.

  I gaped as I finally caught her meaning. “Oh no.” I grabbed my robe tighter.

  Poppy opened the door, gently pushing me inside. “Trust me, you’ll thank us later. Besides, that miser who runs this place can afford a little employee appreciation.”

  I stumbled into the treatment room and over to the table covered with a long strip of paper.
The looks I was getting told me I wasn’t leaving here until they’d tidied me up everywhere.

  I sighed as I stretched out and Lenora spread my robe open. I squeezed my eyes tightly as warm wax was slathered in my most sensitive spot. To distract myself, I kept my eyes closed and mentally composed the message I’d send in response to Jack’s ad.

  Dear Scrooge, I have the perfect present for you to unwrap this holiday season—ME! Untouched, inexperienced, and ready and willing to submit to your control. XOXO, Your Christmas Angel

  3

  Jack

  I must be out of my ever-loving mind. I still couldn’t believe I’d allowed myself to be talked into something so asinine. Or that someone had actually responded to that ridiculous profile I’d put on Sinder.

  The profile of the woman who messaged me said she was twenty-two. Was I really supposed to believe that a woman that age would still be a virgin?

  Untouched. That was the word that jumped out at me when I saw her message. It had made my cock jump a bit, too. I’d only added the virgin shit so nobody would be interested. I’d never fantasized about finding some perfect virgin I could claim. It was about as likely as finding a unicorn in Times Square. Mythical creatures were not something a man building a hotel empire spent his time thinking about.

  Except...Except that from the moment I’d read the response from “Angel” three days ago, my thoughts were consumed with just that. She’d had a photo in her profile. It had been taken in shadows so I only got a glimpse of a petite, but curvy silhouette and silky, dark hair that framed her face and made her big, hazel eyes seem like they were looking straight into me.