Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
It’s Christmas Eve.
Thousands of people are all rushing to get to their destination, the jovial energy swirling around and around is a confused mess.
I feel lost. Like a stranger from the outside, looking in. I’ve been walking around in a detached daze since I got back from Alaska.
Something inside of me has changed, and I don’t know what it is.
I’m heartsick.
I’m pining for him like a love-struck teenager.
“What’s wrong with you?” Gabriel asks.
My eyes flick back to my boss, Gabriel Ferrara. He’s always been so good to me and we are close friends.
I shrug. “I met someone.”
“This is good.” He smiles excitedly.
Gabriel was there for me when I went through my divorce. More than anyone, he knows what I went through.
“In Alaska,” I sigh sadly.
His face falls. “Oh.”
“And he wanted me to stay and saying no…,” I inhale. I can’t even say it out loud.
“Was hard…,” he finishes my sentence.
I nod. “He’s …incredible.”
“Then go back.”
My eyes search his.
“Holly, you can do your job from anywhere.”
I frown.
“You don’t need to be here full-time. You can work from wherever you want in the world.”
“What?”
“I think you and me both know what a sad existence it is to live your life around work. We’ve both suffered the consequences of such an existence.”
“It’s Alaska, Gabriel.”
“You’ll never know if you don’t try,” he says.
I frown as a million thoughts run through my mind. “What if it doesn’t work out?”
He takes my hand across the table. “Then you come back and move on with your life with no regrets.”
I feel hope for the first time in a week. “When can I leave?”
“You’re not leaving me, Holly, you are working remotely. Remember that. Ferrara needs you.”
I smile.
“You can transfer whenever you want to.”
I bite my lip to hide my smile, “I’ll finish up in two weeks.” We eat our lunch and lunch and make our way back to the office and as we walk through the Ferrara building foyer a security guard approaches us. “Holly, you have a visitor.”
“Oh, who is it?”
He points to the corner and I look over to see Jack standing there.
He’s wearing a grey t-shirt and blue jeans. He has a small duffel bag slung over his shoulder. He looks so out of place and he looks up and smiles softly as he sees me.
My heart somersaults in my chest and I nearly run to him. “Jack,” I whisper. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to bring you home.”
He came for me.
“It won’t be Christmas without you.”
Tears well in my eyes. “I was already on my way, baby.” I lean up and kiss his big, beautiful lips. “I was already on my way.”
THE END
Christmas Letter by Natasha Madison
Writing my boss a Christmas letter declaring my love for him was not my finest moment. Neither was accidentally mixing it with his files before handing it to him.
Now I have to sneak back into his office at night to get it back. What can go wrong?
Chloe
’Tis the Season to be Jolly
“Are you sure you really want to do this?” my best friend, Tiff, asks while I pull on my black pants.
“I have no choice,” I say as a black turtleneck joins the ensemble. “I have to get in there and get the letter back!”
She shakes her head. “Why did you think it was a good idea to declare your love for your boss in a flipping letter?”
I glare at her. “You know I didn’t want to give it to him.” I shove on a pair of black boots with a grunt. “It was all about this Christmas wish thing I read about online, and well …” She folds her arms over her chest. “I thought if I wrote down my feelings and put it out there in the universe, I would see how stupid it was and be over it.”
Standing, I tie my hair on top of my head. “Like how can I possibly be in love with my boss?” I look at her, waiting for her to say something.
“And how is that plan working out for you?” she asks me sarcastically.
“It was an accident!” I shriek, tossing my hands up in the air. “When I printed it out, I was about to unceremoniously shred it. But then he walked out of his office, and I got flustered, okay? I thought if I put it under the files, he wouldn’t notice it.”
“So now we are going to break into his office and steal it back,” she states, glaring back at me in her identical black outfit.
“Basically,” I tell her. “Now, let’s get this over with!”
We walk out of our apartment and make our way over to my office at dusk. Being able to walk to work is only one of the many reasons this is my dream job. As we get to the door, I have a thought. “Shoot. We have to get through security.”