Wrapped Up for Christmas. Katlyn Duncan

She seemed a little desperate and sad. I don’t want this to be a conflict of interest. Since I know her.’

      ‘That was years ago. To me, it doesn’t seem like a conflict of interest.’

      Maya raised a questioning eyebrow. ‘At least, I’m assuming, from what you said,’ he said quickly. ‘You have to trust your judgment.’

      Maya swiveled in her chair. ‘I’ll think about it a little more.’

      Nick placed the resume on her desk. ‘I know you’ll make the right choice, Maya.’ He walked into his office, not wanting to interfere with the hiring process. It wasn’t his place, but he hoped Maya would give Angie the job, he wanted to get to know her a little better. As he sat down, he woke up his computer. His eyes strained to stay on the screen instead of checking in on Maya.

      The front of his office was all glass, giving him a view of Maya’s desk. He left his door open to hear her making phone calls to the applicants. After some time, his ears perked up when Maya said Angie’s name. She was on the phone, the top of her head barely visible over the cubicle wall.

      Nick hadn’t expected to hear anything from that distance, but he crossed his fingers that Angie would accept. His water bottle stood empty at the edge of the desk, offering the perfect opportunity to fill it at the water cooler out front.

      Nick slipped by Maya’s desk, but she wasn’t on the phone anymore.

      With each desk he passed, his smile widened. A few of the other employees blinked away their surprise. Nick wasn’t the grinning type at work, especially with his father around.

      With a full bottle, he made his way back to Maya’s desk. ‘How goes it?’

      ‘Fine.’ She lifted a piece of paper in front of her. It wasn’t Angie’s resume.

      ‘Good. Did everyone accept?’

      ‘I’m still making phone calls, Nick.’ She wheeled her chair around. ‘What gives? Are you checking up on me?’

      ‘No, not at all.’

      ‘Why don’t I believe you?’

      ‘You should because it’s the truth.’

      ‘All right,’ she said, eyeing him.

      When he returned to his desk, Nick let out a sigh. He couldn’t let Maya know why he wanted Angie to get the job. But it was the least he could do to help a new acquaintance for the holidays.

      ***

      That night, Nick returned to his apartment much later than usual. When he walked through the door, Charlie popped her head up from the other side of the couch. Her eyes were bleary with sleep.

      ‘Hey, girl.’

      She rolled over, exposing her chest for a rub. Charlie’s slobbery kiss met his hand. He settled into the couch, running over the day in his head.

      Tomorrow, he’d find out if Angie had accepted the job. It seemed an inevitability, unless she had a better offer.

      He had wanted to tell her he was the manager for the corporation that ran the mall, but most women only saw dollar signs and a free pass to new clothes when he talked about work. However, there was something in Angie’s expression that made him think that she was different to the rest. She had a spark of determination in her eyes that drew him in, and it made him eager to get to know her better.

      She had wanted the job so badly, but he knew any favoritism would put him in a bad light. Besides, he didn’t know her that well. The opportunity would come if it were meant to be.

      A text pinged from his phone on the table by the door, lighting up the wall behind it. He had finished with work for the day, the message could wait until tomorrow.

      Nick grabbed the remote and flipped the television on. He needed to distract his mind for a little while and spend time with his girl.

      ***

      The next morning, Nick woke with buzzing energy throughout his body despite sleeping less than usual. He searched for his phone, realizing it hadn’t moved from the night before. Nick mentally prepared himself for his dad asking about work or telling Nick he needed to redo something.

       Southside Villa, Saturday at 7

      Nick couldn’t help the flitting excitement moving through him at the prospect of a new venture with his father. It wasn’t an option he was given before, but David had had numerous opportunities. Maybe Nick was in his dad’s good graces after all.

      He mulled it over while running with Charlie. Quinn hadn’t prepped him for the meeting at all, but Nick’s enthusiasm to push further in his career would have to shine through. He debated asking his father for more information but wasn’t sure if this was a test for him to think on his feet.

      The plummeting temperatures outside were enough to put him in a sweatshirt and jogging pants, but Nick needed to figure things out in his head before going into work.

      Angie’s smiling face appeared in his mind. He wanted to help her get a temporary job until she got back on her feet. There was nothing wrong with helping out a new friend. Other than the fact that he hadn’t told her his job.

      Most of the mall workers only knew him by name, so no one would call him out as one of the corporate bosses. Though, at what point would his omission come out? He wanted Angie to get to know him properly, without his job and position casting a shadow over any relationship they might have, but it wasn’t fair that he kept the information to himself.

      When he reached his apartment building again, he wasn’t any closer to figuring out the questions in his mind surrounding Angie and him.

       Chapter 7

      The call for the job came quicker than Angie would have thought. Her phone rang before she’d entered her house after coming home from the mall, and Maya wanted her to start Friday morning at ten-thirty.

      As she was getting ready for her first day of work, Angie recalled the conversation with Nick from the day before. Who was she kidding? He was all she thought of on the way home yesterday, and he filled her thoughts the moment she had woken up. His confidence in her getting the job was overwhelming, maybe she was too used to conversations with Brett only revolving around himself.

      The familiar tingles of interest floated through her, but she tried to crush them before they could take hold. Nick seemed interested, even after their disastrous first meeting but she had only just come out of a relationship and she no longer wanted to be that girl, moving from one disastrous relationship straight to the next. Maybe a phone call to Reese would stop her from thinking of Nick in that way.

      She took a deep breath and walked into the hallway. Her family was already up and moving around the kitchen. Her mom was going to ask her if she was excited about going to work again. If Angie was truly honest with herself, her heart felt heavy as though she had backpedaled ten steps from where she wanted to be. But without anyone from the hotels returning her calls, she couldn’t turn down a company who wanted her.

      Maria was already in the living room, digging through another box of decorations. They were multiplying like snow bunnies. Christmas-themed knick-knacks and houses that her mom had painted in her ceramic classes years ago already covered every surface.