Fallon continued to watch me. I squared my shoulders and went back to my desk.
“Like I said, Santa encourages creative thinking.” I saw him still standing by the whiteboard and waved my hand. “You can take a seat again. I only have a few more questions.”
He set the marker on the board’s ledge and hurried back to the chair. His thick sweater rose up over his black slacks revealing slim hips and a nice shape.
I quickly chastised myself. I didn’t look at workers like that. I noticed—or my alpha did—but I didn’t objectify. Employeeswere off-limits not because Santa decreed it, or even because of the fraternization rules, but because it was my own personal decision not to get involved with anyone at work. In my position, responsible for all of Santa’s Sleigh, it couldn’t happen.
I asked a few more mundane questions, which Fallon answered succinctly.
When it was finished, I said, “Thank you for coming in.”
“Are we already done?” he asked.
I nodded, typing in a few notes.
“Um, okay. Thank you.” He started to stand, then sat again. “I want to say that I can work on that hobby thing.”
The way he squirmed. He really wanted this. Stringing him along was not nice of me. But in my defense, he’d spurred my alpha side. He’d out-mathed me, and my alpha was a bit jealous. And enchanted.
“You sound worried.”
Fallon tilted his head. “I want this job.”
“Oh that.” Stringing him along. Why was I being so bad? “You already have the job.”
His mouth fell open. “What?” His eyes got huge. “I do?”
All the tension in my chest melted to witness his joy. I stood and reached into my jar of candy canes. I came out from behind my desk and held it out. “Here. It’s official. This candy isn’t given to everyone.”
He took it as if it was a fragile bubble about to pop.
I added, “Can you start on Monday?”
He jumped up. “Yes, sir. I’ll be here.”
“Before you leave, go to HR and fill out all their forms.”
I watched him go down the hall, shoulders back, head high. I liked that I had done that. Made him happy. But I was happy, too. Last year’s close calls on Christmas Eve had left me rattled. I had a great team, but I already knew deep inside. Fallon was going to make it greater. I needed him for Santa’s Sleigh.
3
FALLON
My family would be proud. I had no doubts there. But it was Mom I was most scared of approaching with my good news.
The dollmaking room was huge. One of the biggest in the entire factory workshop. Dolls never went out of style, always trending, always big on wish lists.
Mom ran up and down the aisles, her energy boundless, praising and giving orders. She hadn’t seen me yet.
The autumn light fell through the upper windows, sharp rays brightening the already well-lit room. Dust particles swam on currents of air. When I looked at them, I predicted their turns and curves, my mind constantly making little equations to fit ever-changing patterns.
On top of that, the Santa’s Sleigh meeting played over and over in my mind. I had no idea, walking into that building, that the head of Santa’s Sleigh would be the one to interview me, nor did I know he was an elf. The gentle curving points of his ears was the first thing I saw. Then the blond hair, the blue eyes, the utter tall slimness of him.
Keir, the leader of Santa’s Sleigh, second only to Santa himself, was going to be the one who questioned and judged me right then and there.
I hadn’t been sure I’d be able to speak. I was sure I’d blanked out for a few seconds, something that had never happened to me before.
When Keir said, “You already have the job,” I had to double check myself that I wasn’t dreaming.
