He’d forgotten about that.
The holiday party was an unforgettable one. Brian and Declan really went all out with the Christmas stuff. They lived for that crap. Christopher could take it or leave it. He didn’t date often. At least, he hadn’t since Monique. She’d really ruined relationships for him on every level, but she’d also ruined Christmas.
Last year, during the worst part of their relationship, she’d actually taken the gift he’d carefully chosen for her, and she’d thrown it across Declan’s treehouse. They’d all been there together celebrating the holiday, and she’d not only insulted him, but completely humiliated him in front of his brothers.
So, did Christopher have a date for the office party?
No.
Was he going to get one?
Also no.
To be fair, taking someone like Allison might not be so bad. She was sweet and funny and cute. Maybe spending an evening wrapped in her arms would be fun and enjoyable. They could dance and drink and eat cookies.
“No, I don’t have a date.” Even as Christopher said the words, he was disappointed with himself. He was wimping out. He knew that. He should have asked if she wanted to go with him. He should have asked if she was planning to attend. He didn’t, though, because he was her boss, and he knew it would be wrong.
“Oh,” Allison nodded knowingly. “Is it because your girlfriend will be out of town?”
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Christopher looked at Allison, curiously. She knew that he wasn’t dating anyone. Everyone knew it.
“Oh, okay.”
“Allison?”
“Yes, boss man?” Allison looked up at Christopher with desire in her eyes, with heat. She looked at him like she had definitely thought about him naked before. What the hell? How had he never noticed that before? While he himself was quite taken with the little human, he had never considered that she might like him, too. At least, not in a serious way.
She was looking at him differently now, though. She was looking at him like she wanted to jump his bones, and he had no complaints about that. Being the object of Allison’s desire was perfectly fine with him.
“Why are you asking me about the holiday party?”
“Because I want to go.”
“And are you bringing a date?” Christopher finally asked.
It was none of his business. He knew that. He wasn’t supposed to ask employees about their love lives. He especially wasn’t supposed to ask someone like Allison. It wasn’t his place to find out whether she was bringing someone, yet he found he couldn’t resist.
Allison and Christopher had worked together for a long time. She’d been around when Christopher and Monique had started dating, and she’d hated Monique. Christopher didn’t blame her. Monique hadn’t been a very kind person, but she’d been interested in Christopher, and she’d been playful in bed, and she hadn’t demanded anything from him. She’d been easy enough to get along with, at least until the end of their relationship. After things ended, Allison had been there for Christopher.
He’d called her up once. He’d been drinking, and he’d called Allison. He’d poured his heart out to her in one of the worst moments of his life, and Allison hadn’t judged him. She’d just listened, and she’d told him to go to bed, and she’d been kind. They’d never spoken of that night, and Allison had been so very normal and ordinary since then. Sometimes Christopher wondered if she even remembered he’d called her. He thought she probably had. She was just an angel.
“Maybe,” Allison shrugged.
“Maybe?”
“It depends on whether I finally work up the nerve to ask the person I want to ask,” she explained. “Not everyone is as brave as you, Christopher.”
“Is that so?” Christopher hadn’t really thought of himself as brave. He considered himself to be normal and ordinary, for the most part. Sometimes, he thought of himself as strong or clever. Mostly, though, he just thought he was a guy who had a company and who worked hard.
“That’s so.”
“Allison, any guy who turns you down is a fool.”
“Maybe I’m not even going with a guy,” she shrugged. “Maybe the person I want to ask is a woman. What then, Chris?”
Nobody ever called him Chris except for his mom, and sometimes his brothers. Hearing Allison use a nickname didn’t feel bad, though. He was a little surprised she felt so comfortable with him, but then again, they’d known each other forever.
“I wouldn’t judge you if you went with a woman.”