“There’s nothing to let go.I don’t care about Antonio.”
“Bullshit.Ever since he transferred to our store, you have been hopelessly crushing on him.And I do mean hopeless, because he has a boyfriend.”
“I know that.”Although there were moments when Tom thought that maybejust maybethings weren’t so great with Milo, those moments when Antonio was a bit friendlier than usual, like the extra second his hand stayed on his shoulder today.
“I don’t think you do.Tom, there are plenty of available men out there.Why do you always fixate on the ones you can’t have?”
“The thrill of the chase.”
“There’s no chase, though.”She flipped through stacks of placemats like they were a deck of cards.“And to be QH.”That stood forquite honest.“He’s a d-bag.”
“No, he’s not!He’s smart, caring, and kind!”Tom instantly hung his head.So maybe he did have a crush.
“Yeah, kind of a d-bag.Why hasn’t he made you assistant manager yet?You’re ridiculously overqualified.”
“Maybe I’m not.I’m still learning.”
“You’ve been here for three years.You know merchandise SKUs like they’re your social security number.You actually care about these abominations of humanity we call customers.Hell, you should be running this store.”
“I spoke to him about it.He said he’s going to put my name in for the next assistant manager position that comes up in the region.”
“He said that six months ago.He’s stringing you along.I don’t know why he wouldn’t want to make you his ass man.”
“What?”
“Assistant Manager.”Kirsten chuckled.“I just thought of that.”
“Clever,” Tom deadpanned.
“But seriously…what gives?”
Frankly, Tom didn’t know.He knew he had the right stuff to be management.Regional directors and most corporate leadership started as sales associates.The Décor Store prided itself on promoting from within, which is one reason why he applied to work there.But whenever he tried to talk about it with Antonio, he was blinded by those chestnut eyes.A part of Tom thought that Antonio was afraid to let him go.Assistant managers were assigned to stores that needed them.Maybe he couldn’t bear the thought of Tom leaving his store and them not working together.It was a selfish reason, but one that would be motivated by romantic feelings for Tom, which Tom couldn’t fault him on.
“Forget about Antonio.Maybe you can have some fun with Hot Mall Santa.”
“Hot Mall Santa is probably straight, statistically speaking.”
“Excellent.”Kirsten rubbed her hands together.“You have to check him out when you go on your lunch break.”
“I will.”Tom finished fixing up the placemats, despite Kirsten’s destructiveness.
“Oh, I see one for me!”Kirsten and Tom made a pact that whenever a straight male customer came into the store, he would be hers.It happened so infrequently.These men were like deer in the headlights at a store like this, and Kirsten loved to be their guide.“And he’s a cute one!”She pulled her top down so her cleavage was on full display.
“Go get ‘em.”
“Let me know if Hot Mall Santa jingles your bells.”
CHAPTER2
The Oakville Mall had four wings that all connected at the center, where the food court was.Santa’s Workshop was set up in the South Wing, where few people ventured.It was like the old section of a town that was booming in the fifties but had gone into decay since.The anchor store was an empty Borders that had yet to be replaced, and other storefronts remained vacant, save for the occasional Halloween pop-up store.
Unlike most patrons, Tom liked coming to the South Wing.He could remember every store that occupied every space over the past decade.It was a time capsule of his childhood, when the South Wing wasthesection of the mall.Back then, he couldn’t wait until he was old enough to work at the mall.He felt like the coolest fourth grader when he got to go with his mom on shopping trips.Oh, youth.When working retail seemed like a glamorous career.He applied at every store he could and wound up getting hired part-time at a Talbot’s as a sophomore in high school.It seemed he’d always had a knack for serving a clientele of older women.Tom continued working at the mall through college, getting the job at The Décor Store his senior year.He enjoyed being on his feet, having a flexible schedule, and coming into contact with a colorful array of characters.
Santa’s Workshop consisted of a snowy path lit by glowing candy canes that led to Santa’s throne and behind that, a holiday hut, where he assumed Santa and the elves drank out of flasks.There were no guests in line yet.This time of year was reserved mostly for holiday die-hards and moms who wanted to crosstaking kids to meet Santaoff their list before the crush of the season.
Santa emerged from the hut, and holy holiday hard-on, Kirsten was not lying.The Santa costume could not hide such a specimen of male beauty.Those cheekbones could not be obscured by the fake beard.He slouched in his Santa chair, legs spread, and perhaps Kirsten was right about his dick.
Tom kept walking, keeping it casual, pretending that he totally wasn’t checking out Santa Claus.Tom was not a fan of the holiday season.He didn’t hate it like others, but the holidays were synonymous with crazy Christmas shoppers, so it wasn’t a time of year he looked forward to.
