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The control wasn’t in keeping what I had. It was relinquishing it so I could get on with my life. If I took this offer, I would be free to make choices that I wouldn’t be able to without this opportunity.

I had plenty to thank Mr. James for.

“Hello.” A lovely woman with an adorable gray bob haircut smiled at me from a desk by the window. Maybe I should cut my hair like hers. Start fresh. Too much, too soon? “You must be Ms. Mason.”

“I am.” I glanced around the pristine office, admiring the sleek, black furniture and shiny, white marble floors. “I’m here to see Mr. James.”

“I’ll let him know you’re here.”

As I gazed out the window, the persistent snow continued to fall, but it hadn’t picked up in intensity.

“Ms. Santos,” the woman who had greeted me said to another woman who blew by her desk. “Can you let Mr. James know Ms. Mason is here?”

“Sure.” The woman quickly disappeared through a door behind the reception area. Is that where Mr. James is? Would he be as intimidating as I thought Sexy Santa had been when we first spoke?

No one could be that scary.

“Can I offer you something to drink?” the soft-spoken woman asked.

“I’m fine, thank you.” I wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. If I thought about selling my house for too long, I might lose my nerve and not go through with it. The more I thought about it, the more I understood that making this deal was the right decision for me. New beginnings…

After a few long, anxious minutes, the door behind the reception area opened and Ms. Santos popped her head out. Why does she look so familiar?

“Crystal,” she said. “Mr. James will see Ms. Mason now.”

Crystal stood from the desk and motioned for me to enter the office.

“Thank you.” I walked past her, feeling more stressed than when I had arrived. Am I making a mistake? Should I stick to my initial plan and not give in?

“Mr. James is waiting for you,” the other woman in the doorway said. “This shouldn’t take too long.”

“Hey.” I remembered who she was once I pictured her with a mask she’d worn at the reception. “Weren’t you at the party last night?”

“Party?” she asked. “The benefit for the shelters?”

“Yeah, you were with, um… I don’t know his name.” To me, he was just the hottie in the red suit. I knew the weight of his touch, the heat of his skin, but I didn’t know his name.

“I remember you.” She arched a brow at me. “The green dress. Before dinner.”

She stepped back, opening the door fully, and my heart stopped. There he was. My supposedly fuck-and-forget, one-night stand. Those intoxicating blue eyes trapped me instantly, turning my confusion into sheer panic.

Silver? My hand flew to the back of my neck, failing miserably to hide my nerves. “You’re Huxley James?”

I didn’t see that coming.

SEVEN

Huxley

The morning came faster than I would have liked. Instead of waking refreshed and ready to complete the final step in acquiring that last property, I found myself agitated. As if I had let an opportunity pass me by. That wasn’t like me.

Forest slipped out of my bed, got dressed, and left before the sun came up. I let her go. We agreed to one night. But that didn’t stop me from reaching out to Brandon. I’d have her real name by the time my meeting was over.

If everything went according to plan today, I could have the new resort property ready for development by January, and I could have my mystery woman back in my bed tonight. This could be a spectacular holiday season.

“Huxley.”

I glanced up from my laptop to find Angelica entering my office.