Read Online Jingle Spells by Vicki Lewis Thompson - Free Book Online Page B

protected.”
    That, too, was a telling statement. She was the woman who knew too much. He’d hired her to barricade him against future invasions, both business-related and emotional, and then leave.
    The elevator came to a smooth stop on the twelfth floor. It hadn’t stopped once since they’d left the lobby. Other people had to be working in this large building, and yet she’d never know it. Jolie S. Garland was the only employee she’d met. That was spooky.
    â€œI gave the rest of the IT staff the day off to go Christmas shopping,” he said. “I wanted you to be able to work undisturbed.”
    That meant he didn’t want her talking to anyone. He’d done his best to isolate her from the rest of the workers at Evergreen. After they’d gotten so close at MIT, he should have realized the more he tried to deny her access to information, the more determined she’d become. If she hadn’t believed her investigative plan was for his own good, she’d feel disloyal. But he’d refused to give her all the facts, and without those facts, she couldn’t make an informed decision. Maybe, once she knew what the issues were, she’d agree with him that they had no future.
    She seriously doubted that, though. Every problem had a solution. He’d been conditioned to believe this particular problem couldn’t be solved. That wasn’t a failing. Everyone had blind spots. Because she loved him, she would help him to overcome his.
    After they left the elevator, he led her past several offices, but the hallway was ghost-town silent.
    At the end of the hall, Cole opened a door into a larger office. An L-shaped dark walnut desk held multiple monitors, a top-of-the-line keyboard and a mouse pad in the shape of a round Christmas ornament. A Santa mug sat to the right of the keyboard, but that was it. No framed pictures, no flowering plant, no cluttered in-basket.
    She glanced around. “Is this your office?”
    â€œUsed to be. I still work down here when I need to.”
    â€œWhere’s your regular office?”
    â€œFifteenth floor.” He seemed reluctant to share that information. “Let me take your coat so you can have a seat and get started.”
    â€œFine.” She put her messenger bag on his desk and instantly the work space looked more welcoming. As she started to shrug out of her parka, her hands bumped his. He was helping her take off her coat. She froze. “I can do it.”
    â€œRight.” He backed away. “Sorry. Habit.”
    Slipping off her coat, she turned to him. He looked positively miserable. “You can leave,” she said. “I know how to turn on a computer.” She smiled. “And I already know your password.”
    He laughed at that, although it wasn’t a happy laugh. “So you do. Then maybe I will leave you to work for a while and I’ll check on you later. I...uh...didn’t realize that giving the IT staff the day off would have an unintended consequence.”
    â€œThat we’re all alone up here?”
    His green gaze burned with frustration. “Exactly.”
    â€œThen go, before one of your siblings shows up and catches us in a compromising position.”
    Heat flared in his eyes. “I’ll come back and check on you. Is there anything you need?”
    â€œBesides the obvious?”
    â€œStop.”
    â€œOkay. I would love a good cup of coffee sometime in the middle of the morning. Is that possible?”
    â€œI’ll make it happen.”
    â€œThanks. See ya.” She made a shooing motion with both hands. She hoped his siblings did pop in to see her. She’d figure out a way to make that work to her advantage.

Chapter 7
    C ole barreled down the hall and waited impatiently for the elevator. When it came, he was glad it was empty. He used his card and punched the number for the fifteenth floor. How could this have become so complicated? He