Mr. Naughty And Mrs. Nice

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Quinn

I groan when I hear Christmas bells ringing seconds before Cassie walks into my office. My perky assistant is obsessed with Christmas. It’s so annoying.

She’s wearing oversized elf ears and a matching glittery green hat.

“Don’t we have a dress code?” I grumble.

“Christmas spirit trumps office policy,” she says as she places a steaming mug on my desk. “Here’s your coffee.”

I frown when I see a candy cane sticking out of it.

“I bought presents for everyone,” Cassie says as she arranges the files on my desk. “Your executives got plush bathrobes along with a weekend away at a spa.”

I’m barely listening as she goes off, telling me about each present she bought, wrapped, and sent for me from my employees down to the doorman at my building.

She’s interrupted when Michael Bublé starts singing out of her phone about the magic of Christmas.

“Let me get rid of that,” she says as she sends the call to voicemail.

Cassie can be a bit much with her Christmas obsession, but she does come in handy this time of year, handling everything I don’t want to. I’d rather fast-forward through the Holidays and get straight into January.

I pay this lady multiple six figures a year and she still works as an elf at the mall on weekends with her dorky husband for fun. They love it. I can’t imagine why. Getting paid minimum wage to stand in fake snow in the most embarrassing outfits imaginable in a crowded mall surrounded by greedy children and stressed-out adults… I’ll never understand.

“I printed out the best route for your drive home tomorrow,” she says, pulling out a paper and putting it on my desk. “You’ll be on the I-91 North most of the time. If you leave early there won’t be too much traffic.”

I sigh as I glance at the instructions.

I’m in the middle of negotiating a significant deal and I can’t get away right now. It’s going to put fifteen million dollars in my pocket if I get it done before next week. Granted, I’m already a billionaire, but every million counts.

“I’ve decided not to go,” I say as I type up an email.

Cassie purses her lips and narrows her eyes on me like she’s trying to use her power of Christmas to soften my cold, dead heart.

“What?” I say, exasperated. “I’m in the middle of a deal.”

“You’re always in the middle of a deal.”

I just shake my head. “What do you want from me? It’s not a good time to get away.”

“Does your mom know about this?” she asks, crossing her arms.

I feel a little nauseous all of a sudden.

“I was hoping you could let her know,” I say, cringing.

She shakes her head. “I don’t get paid enough for that.”

“She loves you!”

“She won’t after that call.”

I sigh heavily as I loosen my tie. “Want a raise?”

“Yes, but I’m still not calling her.”

I lean back in my chair and swivel around toward the huge, floor-to-ceiling windows, sighing as I look out at Manhattan all decked up in festive Christmas lights. So many smiling faces in the walking crowds. Almost everyone is holding at least one fancy bag, some holding a dozen or more as light, fluffy snowflakes drift down from the night sky.

Cassie would say it looks magical out there. All I see are bodies clogging up the sidewalks, which makes it hard to move, and annoying snow that will inevitably turn to slush just waiting to get my socks soaking wet.

“I’m desperate here,” I say as I swivel back around. “I’m in the thick of work. I don’t want to go back to Vermont and sleep in my old single bed with the wires jabbing into my back. Can you just call her? Please?”

Cassie rolls her eyes as she sits on my desk and hits the speaker button on my phone. “We’ll call her together. Best I can do. You tell her. I’ll be here for support.”

She dials the number off by heart.

“How often do you talk to my mom?” I ask, looking at her with a sinking feeling in my stomach.

“ Shhhhh ,” she says, blowing me off. “It’s ringing.”

“How often?” I ask a little louder.

“ Hello? ” my mom answers, saving her.

“Hey, Linda, it’s Cassie.”

“ Hi, Cassie! ” Mom says, her voice lighting up. “ Did you show Quinn those Tinder profiles I sent you? What did he think of the redhead? ”

“Mom!” I shout, nearly leaping out of my chair.

“Busted,” Cassie says with a nervous laugh. “Quinn is here too.”

“Are you guys trying to find me a girl behind my back?”

“ No, honey, ” Mom says in a soothing tone. “ We’re trying to find you a wife behind your back. ”

“I don’t want a wife,” I say, feeling like this call is already unraveling. See, this is why I don’t want to go home right now. I’d rather just get lost in my work. That I can control.

“ Did you put up the Christmas decorations I sent you? ” she asks.

“Yes,” I lie. I shoved the boxes under the stairs at my penthouse. My place is pristine and professionally decorated, and I don’t need a bunch of cheap glittery crap cluttering everything up. I peeked into one box and it was a carving of a big ugly Santa. Why would I want a carving of an old man staring at me in my home? No, thank you.

“ Put them up ,” Mom says. “ Christmas spirit is important. Cassie, will you make sure he does? ”

“On it,” Cassie says with a grin.

“ Now, why are you calling me at ten o’clock? ” Mom asks in a pointed tone. “ I hope it’s not for the reason I think it is because that would break my heart. I mean, how many Christmases do I have left? Five? Three? Less? ”

“Mom, you’re fifty-nine and perfectly healthy.”

“ You never know what’s around the corner.”

I look up at Cassie for help. She just shrugs.

I guess I just have to rip off this bandaid fast.

“Mom, I’m closing on a big deal?—”

“ Let me stop you right there ,” she says abruptly. “ You’re not canceling .”

My stomach drops.

“ You’re getting into your car tomorrow morning and you’re driving back home. Got it? ”

I stare at the phone in panic, trying to come up with something to say.

“ Your sister is coming all the way from Hawaii to be here,” Mom says sharply. “You can drive from New York City. It’s only a six hour drive. ”

A six hour drive to rural Vermont. If there’s a snowstorm it can take six days.

“ And remember, you got your sister in the Secret Santa gift exchange, ” she says. “ So, bring something nice. ”

I quickly hit the mute button. “What did you get my sister?”

“I didn’t get her anything,” Cassie says, shaking her head. “It’s Secret Santa rules that you have to buy it yourself.”

“What? Who cares?”

“ I care,” she says, affronted. “I’m not breaking the Secret Santa rules!”

“ And don’t try to get Cassie to buy it for you either ,” Mom says like she’s reading my mind. “ I already told her she’s not allowed .”

These two need to stop talking. Maybe I can write it into Cassie’s contract…

“ Christmas is about giving, ” Mom says. “ It’s about love. ”

Yeah, right. It’s about workers scamming their employers out of ten days of free vacation. It’s bullshit.

“ You better leave now, the malls are going to close soon. ”

“But, I…”

“ I’ll see you tomorrow evening ,” Mom says like it’s final. “ In person .”

I drop my head and sigh. I guess I’m going to Vermont.

“ And Cassie, ” Mom says before hanging up. “ Send him the profile of that redhead. I want grandchildren before I die. ”

I drop my head onto the desk with a thunk as Cassie hangs up.

“I suggest you go to Angelica’s in the mall,” Cassie says as she hops off my desk. “They have everything there and they’re open until midnight.”

“Can you?—?”

“Secret Santa rules,” she says, cutting me off. “They’re sacred.”

I stare at the cursor on my screen, wondering how all of this went so wrong. I can start two multi-billion dollar businesses from scratch, but I can’t get out of going to my parents’ house for a week. How does that make any sense?

“Better leave now,” Cassie says with a grin as she walks to the door. “Oh, and I’ll let Angie in accounting know about my very generous raise.”

I grumble as she leaves.

Christmas is the worst.