“Yes, Santa. I’ve been a very good girl,” she whispered.
That sounded way too flirty. She heard Charlie snicker, then turned to face the Damsels, who were watching them like they were actors in a telenovela.
She needed to get a grip before she made a complete fool of herself. Pushing her lewd thoughts to a dark corner of her brain, she showed Drew the whiteboard. “As you can see from the list, we’ve narrowed down our favorite options. All of us chose Santa. You’ll just need to commit to four Saturday afternoons in December.”
He grinned. “No problem. I’ll have to tweak my training schedule, but I’ll make it work.”
“Thanks. I…I mean,wereally appreciate it.”
The door opened abruptly, revealing Preston. As he scanned the room, his gaze landed squarely on Drew. Rosie’s heart rate quickened. Would her boss think it unprofessional that “Santa” was hanging out in their conference room?
Preston examined Drew closely. “Is there a reason you’re dressed up like Santa Claus?”
“He was auditioning for the role,” Rosie said. “For our family Saturdays at the hotel. He works around the corner at Northlife Fitness but does volunteer gigs as Santa on the weekends.”
“He does it for the kids,” Charlie said with a touch of pathos. “Isn’t that inspiring?”
“You do this voluntarily?” Preston asked. “You’re a better man than I am. That suit has to be hot as hell.”
Rosie almost laughed out loud. There was no doubt that Drew was hot in that suit, but not in the way Preston was suggesting.
“I don’t mind wearing it,” Drew said. “Not if it makes kids happy. But right now, I should be getting back to my day job. Please keep me in mind for the role of Santa.”
Rosie was grateful he was playing along. “Thanks for coming by, Mr. Richardson. We’ll be in touch about the Santa gig.”
“Thank you, Miss Gonzalez. I look forward to hearing from you.”
She heard the soft muffle of Charlie’s laughter but ignored it. After Drew left, she turned to Preston with a bright smile on her face. “Would you like me to present our suggestions? Once we have your approval, we can set our plans in motion.”
“Certainly. I like this take-charge attitude of yours.” He sat down and took a brownie from the container. “Go ahead. I’m eager to hear what you ladies have come up with.”
Rosie let out a relieved breath. If they could make this work, they just might be able to save their jobs.
Seven
After leaving the Duchess,Drew sprinted over to Northlife Fitness and ducked into the back entrance of the gym. Once inside the staff locker room, he leaned against the wall, took off his Santa hat, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
What were you thinking?
Being around Rosie had short-circuited his brain. First, he’d offered to be her pretend boyfriend, and now he’d shown up at her workplace dressed as Santa. Which might have been appropriate if it was December, but Christmas was still seven weeks away.
To be fair, when he and Rosie had talked on the phone last night, she’d jokingly suggested Santa pop into today’s lunch meeting. Like an idiot, he’d taken her idea to heart. Her boss’s sudden appearance had thrown him for a loop. Good thing Rosie had been able to handle the situation professionally.
Just as well since her initial reaction to “Santa” hadn’t exactly been professional. Maybe Drew was projecting his own feelings, but the longing in her eyes had made him suspect she harbored some naughty thoughts about Santa. And when she said she’d been a “very good girl” in that soft, sultry manner, he’d struggled to control his reaction. It wouldn’t do for Santa to have a hard-on.
His phone buzzed with a text from his boss, Mario Bonetti—known to everyone as Bones.
Bones: Whenever you’re free, stop by my office.
Drew: Sure. Be there in a few minutes.
Normally his boss wasn’t the type to call anyone in for a casual chat, but maybe he wanted to discuss the December schedule. In anticipation of his Santa gigs, Drew had asked if he could switch to half days on the weekends. He changed into a compression shirt and gray sweatpants, left the locker room, and headed up to Bones’ office, located on the second floor. The door was open, so he poked his head in.
“Hey there. You wanted to talk to me?”
“Come on in.” Bones was at his desk. Though he was nearly sixty, he was still in extraordinary shape and rarely missed his daily workout. In his day, he’d won weight-lifting competitions all over Canada.
Drew plunked down on the chair facing Bones’ desk. “Is this about next month’s schedule? I might have to shift a few clients, but I don’t think it should be a problem.”
