Miracle on 34th Floor Page 4

  Everyone shook hands, but before Decker could hightail it back to Joylin, Victoria called him to her side. “Who is here?” She nodded in the direction of Joylin’s booth. Oh boy.

  “No one yet. Remember, they’re only a lead until they sign. Before then, they’re confidential.”

  Her calculating eyes left a trail across his face and shoulders.

  “Keep me informed of any developments.”

  “Of course. You’ll know as soon as they sign.”

  Her eyes narrowed, but she nodded.

  He left as soon as he could. The difference between his calculating boss and Joylin was like comparing a dragon to Mrs. Claus. As he walked closer, watching the two men vie for Joylin’s attention, he admitted she was a totally sexy Mrs. Claus with the most gorgeous hair.

  5

  Joylin enjoyed the two handsome men standing at her booth. But she wondered just how much longer Decker would keep her waiting.

  “This guy of yours doesn’t deserve you. Who keeps a beautiful woman waiting like this?” The blond with sharp blue eyes who totally knew he was eye candy sidled up closer, edging toward the seat across from Joylin.

  “It would serve him right if you had other plans for the night by the time he returned.” The equally hot dark man sipped his drink. His eyes held a dangerous glint some girls might find attractive.

  Joylin eyed them, smiling over the rim of her glass. “You have a point. So you’re saying I should just scoot in here and sit between the two of you?”

  “That would work.” The blond held out his hand. “I’m Jer with Nisco.”

  “And I’m Trent, also with Nisco.”

  Joylin’s stomach jumped when Decker showed up behind them. “And I’m Decker Kringle.”

  Trent turned. “Oh hey, Decker, I’m happy to meet you. Trent Hamblin with Nisco. We’ve exchanged emails.”

  “Yes, we have.” He turned, and it was Jer’s turn to suck up to him. And suddenly the conversation was no longer about winning her over but all about client meetings with Decker. Watching him work his magic, she decided she was okay with that.

  When the guys looked like they were about to step away, Decker shook his head. “Hey, wanna join us for a bit?”

  “Nah.” They eyed Joylin with no small amount of guilt, but Decker held up his hand. “I insist. One round.”

  So Jer slid in next to her, close, with his arm across her back. Decker sat across from them with Trent at his right, his eyes moving from Joylin’s to Jer’s enough that he removed his arm.

  Joylin knew lots of women might be bugged by the whole thing, but she loved it. She’d been waiting for a scrap of attention from Decker for a year now. Anything that indicated he might be interested was like manna to her starving soul.

  They talked just a few minutes more, though it was mostly the men making plans to begin initial talks about a business partnership, until finally they’d exchanged all the information they needed, and she and Decker were alone.

  “Thank you for that.” Decker’s eyes were full of apologies.

  “No, it’s okay. They were amusing.”

  “I think I may have stolen your dates.” He grimaced. “But I can’t say I’m sorry.”

  She laughed. “I think you did, but don’t be. They have my number.” His face turned guarded, and she sucked in a breath. “No. That’s not what I meant,” she corrected. “I mean, they do have my number, but I doubt they’ll call. Or if they did, I wouldn’t care.” She smacked her own forehead then peeked out at him between her fingers. “What I mean to say is I’d much rather be here with you. I’d been putting them off for twenty minutes before you arrived.”

  “And I’m sorry for that. I had to make good with my CEO. She wanted dinner tonight, but I’d already agreed to the Santa gig. It was just supposed to be drinks.” He laughed. “The only reason she’s happy about me leaving early was because I hinted that there would be clients to gain while we were here.”

  “Oh, so I saved your butt?”

  “Quite possibly.” He waved for a drink. “What would you like?”

  “Just a water.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. I might try to work on some stuff tonight.”

  “Wow, you’re busy, then.” He eyed her.

  She knew he wanted to know more about her. But of course, she was still working on how to tell him as little as possible. She hadn’t figured out her story yet. “I am. But this work is for us. I want to figure out how to get some of the kids their wishes.”

  “Before we get to that, tell me about yourself. I admit to watching you an overly large amount tonight, and I’m super impressed with your ability to manage children.”

  She shrugged. “I actually have next to no experience with kids. I’m an only child. But tonight? They’re just little people, right? So you adjust to something they can understand, you speak to their needs and wants, and you’re golden.”

  He leaned back, marveling at her genius. “You sound like you’re in business. What’s your profession?”

  “I am. I work for a large firm in their human resources department. We do studies to help with firm-wide happiness. I plan events and work with organizational behavior kinds of details.”

  “Human resources.” He nodded. “I can see that. But I think you’d rock a marketing team.”

  “Really?” She looked away, more than pleased to hear him, the marketing guru of her world, say such a thing. She knew her face had turned an interesting shade of red.

  “What’s wrong with marketing?”

  “Ha. Nothing at all. No, I love marketing. I’ve always wanted to work in marketing actually.” More than he could know.

  “Well, if you ever decide to jump the HR ship, give me a call. I could use someone like you on my team. “

  She about died at the awesomeness of such a thing. But she was a nobody. He saw her every day—or didn’t see her. That was the problem. “How can you tell?”

  “I liked watching how you work with a team, how you sold your idea of limiting the Santa days at Gimbels, which by the way, along with the fact that you agreed to help, is the only reason I agreed to such a thing. Anyone who can convince all of us the way you did belongs in marketing.”

  She laughed. “Is that true? The part about you only doing it because I would be there?”

  “Absolutely. There’s no way I would have done it without you.”

  Her stomach clenched in happiness. “Well, I admit that the reason I jumped on so quickly was because I hoped you’d do it too. It wouldn’t be nearly as fun without you there.”

  He twirled his glass. “So is it safe to ask if you would see me again?”

  Wah! She wanted to stand up and dance on the table, give a real show for Trent and Jer, but she tried to act cool, professional, nonchalant. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

  “Great. How about tomorrow night?”

  She nodded. “Okay. We don’t have Gimbels.”

  “So, maybe that fancy club on Ninth?”

  Her eyes widened for a second, and then her smile grew to fill her face. That was just the most exclusive club in all of NYC. “I’d love to go there.”

  “You know, you have a fabulous smile. I could sit here and try to be clever enough to see it again all night long.”

  “Well, with you, it’s easy. I’ve never smiled so much in one night.”

  “Tomorrow, I’m beating my record. I’ll pick you up at eight.”

  “Perfect.” She sipped her water. This was all too perfect, wasn’t it? No. She refused to accept things were anything less than amazing. “Now, tell me more about you.”

  “Born and raised in New York.”

  “I love that.”

  “Me too. We started out on Coney Island, actually.”

  “I used to go there every summer and sometimes after school.”

  “I wonder if we met as kids, running up and down the beach.”

  “Or playing with those arcade games.”

  “Or the pe
nny ice cream.”

  “Snow cones.”

  They grinned for a moment. Joylin asked, “Then where?”

  “I went to NYU. Got my marketing degree at Harvard, started working at Synergy Systems on my dad’s marketing team. And now I run the department.”

  “That’s impressive.”

  “After watching you today, I’m convinced that if you don’t run your department, you are an underutilized talent. Where did you say you worked?”

  She started and then jumped up, a touch of panic setting in. “Hold that thought. I’ll be right back.”

  “What? Are you all right?”

  “Yeah, I am. I just need to, you know, visit the ladies’ room.” As she hurried away, she panicked. What am I gonna tell him? I can’t lie. I don’t want to ever lie to him. But I can’t just tell him the truth either. “Yeah, actually, I work with you. I’ve been crushing on you for a full year now and went to Gimbels looking for you in the first place.” No. That would not go over well.

  When Joylin came back, Decker stood. “Let’s get out of here. How about a walk out on the bridge?”

  “Brooklyn?”

  “Yeah, it’s warm enough. Probably.”

  “I’d love that. We can bundle up.”

  He texted his driver then threw down some cash for a tip. But as soon as they stepped out on the street, the wind picked up. Decker stood closer and put his arm around her. “Maybe we’ll do the bridge another night?”

  “Yeah.” She scrambled. There were a million things to do in NYC at any hour of the night, but right then, her mind went totally blank.

  “I got it. Let’s go up to the top of my office building. There’s something I want to show you.”

  She choked. “Awesome.” Seriously? They were gonna go into work? She would have laughed if the whole thing didn’t make her sick to her stomach.

  She hoped he wouldn’t be able to tell she was hiding something. He opened the car door for her, and they climbed in. A few minutes later, he was using his key card to let them both back into work.

  The security guy from the thirteenth floor sat at the desk, and his eyes bored into hers. He nodded, and Joylin hid her face.

  Once they got in the elevator, Decker laughed. “Did you know that guy?”

  “What? Who?”

  “The security guard. You looked like you were trying to avoid him.”

  “Oh, ha. No, I don’t know what I was doing.”

  He shrugged. “The view up top is incredible. It’s taller than the Empire State, and we have a better angle from here anyway.”

  “This is amazing. Thank you.”

  “I’m happy you want to. I haven’t wanted to bring anyone up here before, though I come up by myself all the time.” She stepped closer, and he reached for her hand. “Is this all right?”

  “Hmm. Yeah.”

  She was sure their grins were the ultimate in cheeseball expressions, but she didn’t even care. It was a gift this holiday season, to find someone to share things with.

  He swung their hands. “I guess, from our schedule at Gimbels, that you’re around for the holidays?”

  “Yep. I’m not going anywhere. And no one’s coming here, either.”

  “I’m in the same boat. Would you mind being my date for a few things I have to go to?”

  “Sure. Just throw the dates by me so I can make sure I’m free.”

  “Great. I’ll send you some calendar links later.”

  The elevator dinged, indicating they’d reached the thirty-fourth floor. “Is this the top?”

  “Almost. Follow me.” The excitement in his voice was contagious.

  She squeezed his hand, and they both walked faster. “What is this?”

  “I’ll show you. Just wait.” He led her to a stairwell at the end of the hall.

  “What?” She had no idea this secret staircase was even here.

  “I know. I discovered this when I first started working here. And now I have a place to come when I just need to breathe.”

  “I get those days.”

  “Do you? You seem like the kind of person that can take all the garbage and turn it into something special.”

  She shook her head. “Maybe for the people in line to see Santa. But not everything can be solved by the promise of being on Santa’s nice list.”

  He chuckled. “True. And I hear what you’re saying, but your skills run deeper than that.”

  She didn’t answer. She loved hearing him say such things, but she didn’t believe him, not really. Or else why was she still stuck in HR when she’d applied countless times for other positions in the firm?

  He approached a dark-green metal door and used his key card to open it. They pushed their way out onto the roof.

  “This is incredible!” She hurried over to the edge.

  “Ah! Watch the edge.”

  “Are you afraid of heights?”

  “A little. But also, the railings aren’t to code or anything, and it’s a long way down.”

  “We’ll be okay.” She turned in a circle. “I am so happy you showed this to me! I wonder if everyone’s key cards let them out here.” She sucked in a breath. And then she turned away, moving to the opposite side, hoping he wouldn’t notice her slip. “Look at this view.”

  “That’s my favorite side.” He joined her and linked their hands again. “You can see even the lights in the bay from here.”

  “And the tree at Rockefeller Center.” She peered down.

  “And pretty much every light in all of downtown.”

  She laughed. “True.” Then she pointed. “I live over there in SoHo.”

  “I love those neighborhoods. It’s hard to find a place there.”

  “My grandma gave it to me. Been in the family since the first Merrymeads arrived off the boat.”

  “I love that. A couple of true New Yorkers.” He pulled out his phone and queued a soft playlist. He turned it as loud as it would go and slipped it in his jacket’s chest pocket. “So, there’s something I’ve been wanting to do up here for years.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Want to dance?” He held out his arms.

  “Yes.” She stepped close, and he reached for one hand while he cradled her hip with the other. She tingled wherever he touched. The magic of the night grew the longer they were together.

  “We gotta practice if I’m taking you dancing tomorrow.”

  She smiled. “And this is just nice.”

  “Yes, it is.” He pulled her closer and rested his chin on her head. “I like your height. You fit.”

  “I do, don’t I?” Everything about him seemed to fit. She hoped she could keep his interest, that they could keep finding ways they connect. She had waited for so long that none of her interactions with him seemed real.

  But they were, and she was going to make the most of whatever time she had with him. Nothing lasted forever, but until this forever ended, she’d make the most of it.

  6

  Decker’s driver pulled up in front of a beautiful and quaint-looking SoHo townhome.

  Decker smiled as he escorted Joylin to her door. “This whole neighborhood suits you.”

  “Thank you. I bet you live in a penthouse with floor-to-ceiling windows.”

  He nodded, impressed. “Exactly. I’ll invite you up next time.” He wanted as much time as he could get with this woman. He didn’t think he’d ever tire of her. Even now, he knew he needed to leave her at her doorstep, but his feet wouldn’t move. “Thank you for a wonderful night.”

  “You too. I had a great time.”

  He stepped closer and pulled her hands into his own. “Rather quickly, you’ve become important to me.” His hands longed to explore her curls. They hummed with energy. He felt like one of the kids who’d sat on his lap today, hoping to tug on the curl of the girl in front of him. But maybe if he ran his hand up the back of her neck and into the back of her soft curls, they could fall through his fingers.

  “I just can’t believe we met
the way we did. This whole situation is surreal.”

  “I know. I’m kind of hoping it doesn’t end.” He shifted her hair off the back of her neck, loving the curls that cascaded off his fingers. “It won’t end, will it?”

  She shook her head, and her hair bounced. “Not if I have anything to say about it. You’re important to me now, too.” She stepped into his arms and pressed her face to his chest.

  He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. “Meeting you might make playing Santa all season worth it.”

  She laughed. “Of course, it will be worth it. We’re gonna start doing present deliveries too, right?”

  “Oh right. We didn’t talk about that yet. Let’s figure something out on the way to the club tomorrow.”

  “I’ll think about it tonight, too.” She pulled back but stayed close. “Thank you for a wonderful evening.” Her chin lifted as she searched his face. Her lips parted, and that’s all the invitation he needed.

  He dipped his head, finding her mouth soft and inviting. She hummed and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

  Surprised but pleased, he responded with a rising urgency, covering her lips with his own. They were open and ready for him, matching his insistence with a yearning that did things to him. She pulled and asked and nibbled on his mouth, raising his need for her higher until their kiss became something way more than a simple goodnight.

  He backed her up against her door and fumbled for the keys in her hand. He tried keys in her lock, one at a time, still kissing her, until he found one that fit. Then he turned the lock and pushed them back into her home.

  He kicked the door shut and held her close, his body responding to her insistence. But he paused, choked on his desire, and breathed. “Joylin.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “No.” He laughed. “No, please don’t apologize. You’re…wow. You’re fantastic. But you’re important. Way more than a first-night kind of thing.” He breathed out, not believing his words even as they left his mouth. “Right?”

  She nodded. “Yeah?” Then she shook her head and laughed. “Do you want a drink of water?”