Chapter 1 Bad planning

Who on earth would voluntarily work on Christmas Day? Melissa knew the answer without even looking at the empty office area outside her glass-framed office. No one, except her. She wouldn’t be here either if only she’d thought more clearly. She would have wrapped up this task a week ago, instead of working through the holidays. It was another example of bad planning on her part. Definitely.

She turned to the next spreadsheet on her computer. There was really no point complaining about her lack of foresight. It was better to just get it over with so she could leave. Still, there was one major benefit to having the entire place to herself. She could play her music as loud as she wanted. She turned up the volume. Familiar Christmas tunes filled her office. She sang along at the ones she knew.

Copy-pasting numbers from one spreadsheet to another was more than boring. No wonder people enjoyed listening to music when they exercised. The music helped her ignore the boredom of the task. And it gave her a sense of calm.

For a while, she’d even considered grabbing her laptop and completing the task sitting on her soft couch. She could have snuggled beneath a warm wool blanket while binge-watching all the Christmas movies she’d seen at least ten times before. Tradition was a strange thing. There were always a few things she just had to do to get into the Christmas spirit.

Oh well, another hour or so and she could do what she planned. It was more efficient sitting at the office where she had two large monitors instead of just the tiny laptop screen. Sure, the idea of lounging on her sofa sounded good. But it would give her an aching neck and take twice as long.

In the meantime, she could enjoy the deep, masculine voice of Michael Bublé as he sang her favourite Christmas song. It was nice to hear a male voice for a change she thought with a sigh.

She wondered what it would be like to live with someone whose voice sounded like dark chocolate. To have that voice caress her ears and simultaneously massage her soul. Someone with a warm, strong hand to gently support her when she faced an unpleasant task. For example, negotiating the purchase of a new car or asking the bank for a loan.

The fantasy was probably better than the reality. But since Melissa had been single for a long while, she wouldn’t mind giving it another try. Especially during the holidays. She missed having someone to hang out with. Someone besides her family.

All her friends were busy with their own families. Whenever Melissa visited her parents, her mother nagged her about finding a man and settling down. Last time she’d even invested in baby clothing and started knitting tiny socks. Melissa had sighed before she had reminded her mother about the proper sequence of the events.

“Mom. I need to find the future father of my babies before I’ll even consider getting pregnant. Besides, contraception is designed to be used, right?”

Her father had laughed heartily, but her mother had given her the usual speech.

“You’re not getting any younger, Melissa. You’re 25, remember? I had two kids by that age.”

Leave it to her mother to ruin the Christmas spirit, Melissa had thought. After her siblings began producing grandkids, the nagging got worse. Luckily her father managed to divert her mother’s attention by claiming he’d ruined the sauce.

Melissa chuckled and mouthed ‘Thank you‘ to her father. She loved her family dearly, but sometimes they could be a little too much. Still, her mother was right on one thing. It would be nice to have a man in her life. Someone to snuggle against during the long mornings. Someone to share her meals with at the end of a long day. Not to mention she could talk to someone other than herself. Maybe she really needed a cat?

“You know that all I want for Christmas Is you,” Melissa sang along with the music.

At the same time, she heard a shuffling sound over at the door to her office. What was that? She jumped in her chair and looked up.

“Geez, you scared me,” she blurted out, her heart beating so hard it almost jumped out of her chest.

She looked at the dark-haired young man in front of from. It took her a few seconds to recognise her handsome task manager, Devlin Matthews. Locally referred to as ‘The Devil’, mostly behind his back after he’d dished out a load of new tasks when they started new projects. Everyone knew that if Devlin gave you a task, he never forgot it. The general consensus was it was better to complete it before he started nagging.

Still, a few of the women decided that they preferred to have him nag since it meant they could have him around. After her initial shock of being hired to his team, Melissa could finally see past his good looks. She could even make her tongue produce words instead of moans while she was speaking to him. In a few more years, she might even be able to think at the same time. But she wasn’t sure that was guaranteed.

Devlin chuckled softly and gave her a smile. “Having fun while working?”

Melissa turned off the music, feeling a bit sheepish. She wasn’t the best singer around.

“Yes. I forgot to update the monthly reports last week. But the music makes tedious work feel so much easier.”

“It does.”

“But what are you doing here? I thought you had the week off?” Melissa asked.

“I forgot my laptop. I figured I could get a head start on the schedules for next year.”

“So you’re just dropping by before you head back to the missus?”

Devlin laughed. “Not likely. I’m not married.”

“Oh, come on. The girlfriend then. You know what I mean.”

“Yes, I know. I’m single, so I can do what I want during the holidays. You should take your own advice instead.”

“Nah, it’s just me and my goldfish. He’ll survive.”

“Goldfish?”

“Saves me from taking all those walks in all kinds of weather. And I’m not a cat woman.”

“How long are you staying?”

“Another hour. Hopefully less.”

“Too bad. I was hoping to have some company for a late lunch.”

“You might if you keep distracting me.”

He laughed. “All right. I’ll let you get on with it.”

Melissa felt terrible. She didn’t mean to brush the guy off. He was one of the good ones even if he worked like a devil sometimes. “Hey, Devlin?”

“Yes?”

“Anything I can help you with so you can get home early?”

“Not unless you’d like to estimate our schedules for the next three months.”

“It’s probably quicker if I don’t help you,” she admitted. “Unless it’s my own projects.”

“Perfect. Everything helps. Just put the numbers in an email and send them to me.”

He smiled and walked further down the corridor to his office.

* * *

Two hours later, Melissa was making the last adjustments on her spreadsheets. There was still a small annoying error that she couldn’t quite figure out. What wasn’t she seeing?

“Have you seen the weather outside?” Devlin asked from the doorway. He leaned casually against it, looking ready for his next photo shoot.

“No? What about it?” Melissa asked, half distracted by him and by the numbers that didn’t make sense.

“Have a look,” he said and pointed with the coffee cup he was holding in his hand.

Melissa looked out the window and saw a wall of white snowflakes and fog.

“Oh my god! When did that start?”

“Didn’t you check the forecast?”

“Too busy,” Melissa said sheepishly.

It hadn’t even entered her mind that the sunny weather would change while she worked. She walked over to the window to see how thick the layer the snow was. To her dismay, it looked as if it was 10 centimetres thick already. And judging by the amount of snow coming down, it was piling up fast.

What a mess. How was she going to get home now? She was still driving around on summer tires, thinking that it would be safe enough since the ground was dry.

“I hope you’ve snow tires. There’s complete chaos on the roads according to the news,” Devlin said.

“I’ll have to get a cab. I’m still using summer tires.”

“What the fuck? You can’t drive with those in this weather.” Devlin sounded concerned.

“I know, I know. I just never got around to do anything about it.”

“I’ll take you. I’ve got a four-wheel-drive SUV parked outside. You shouldn’t take any chances with the cabs. Half of them have probably the same tires as you have.”

She sighed. That was probably a better idea. The first snow always created chaos, so there was little chance she could get a cab. And she didn’t want to ask her parents or siblings.

“Thanks, Devlin. I think I’ll accept your offer. Are you sure it’s not terribly inconvenient for you?”

“None at all. Just let me know when you’re ready to leave. I can do the rest from home.”

“Ten more minutes, would that work?”

“Perfect.”

* * *

Half an hour later, they were sitting in Devlin’s car. He manoeuvred effortlessly through the snow. There weren’t many cars on the road with the snow still coming down hard. There was a distinct Christmas feeling about the white snowflakes against the windows, illuminated by the lampposts along the road.

Melissa was relieved she didn’t have to risk getting stuck on one of the hills on the road to her house. It would be difficult enough with winter tires. She could still remember that time when she had to stop halfway up the steepest hill. Her car had started to slide sideways on the icy road. The slide ended against a bank of snow. But the experience was not something she wanted to repeat.

Thankfully, Devlin’s car seemed to be equipped with metal studs. She could hear them dig into the road as he kept a steady pace up the hill. Maybe she just needed a different car. Or a more powerful engine, like this one had. Melissa felt safe and calm. It was so much more relaxing to be a passenger instead of the driver. She could even see the beauty in the snow.

“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas,” Melissa sang, feeling totally in the mood for sappy Christmas songs.

“Don’t stop. I like that song,” Devlin said.

“Me too. But I didn’t dream of this much snow though.” Melissa laughed.

“It’s not a problem if you have proper tires on your car,” Devlin reminded her.

“True.”

“I can help you change tires tomorrow,” he offered.

“Really?”

“Sure. It’s not like I’ve got a full schedule these days.”

“You don’t have a bunch of Christmas parties to attend?”

“Some. But those are closer to New Year’s Eve. I try to skip all the unnecessary ones.”

“Why?”

“My parents always try to find single women to match me up with.”

“Oh, boy. I know all about that problem. Mine does the same.”

“What? Your mother tries to fix you up with single women, too?”

Melissa laughed. “Single men, mostly. But she might try women also if she becomes really desperate.”

“It’s almost like it’s a crime to be single. Especially around Christmas.”

“It’s easier to only deal with one family and not two.”

“Exactly.”

“So how do you avoid the parties?”

“I pretend I’m too busy,” Devlin admitted.

“Sneaky, but I guess that works.” Melissa looked out the window. “Right over there. That’s my place,” she said and pointed to one of the attached houses.

“Nice place. A little big for one person, isn’t it?”

“Absolutely. Long-term planning. I bought what I could afford, so I’ve plenty of room when my family wants to visit.”

Devlin parked in front of her driveway. He looked at the amount of snow that had gathered in front of the house.

“You want some help with the snow shovel?” he asked.

“Feeling helpful today?”

“Always,” he grinned.

“Then I accept. A warm cup of coffee, is that payment enough?”

“Saves me the trouble of inviting myself in.”

“Come along then, good Samaritan, before you change your mind. Uhm, but are you sure you’re dressed for the job?”

“Sure. I never wear a suit and leather shoes on my day off.”

“True. I had a hard time recognising you without your clothes on,” Melissa blurted out, feeling herself blush when she realised just what she’d just said.

Devlin laughed heartily.

“Uhm, I didn’t mean it quite like that.”

“You sure about that?”

“I’ll just fix that coffee and try not to say anything else stupid.”

“I liked it. And I know what you meant to say.”