15. Max
CHAPTER 15
MAX
M ax sat in his car outside Billie’s apartment and tried not to feel nervous.
He was rarely nervous about anything. Even corporate mergers and changing stock prices were rarely cause for anxiety. Yet today, as he waited for Billie to come downstairs, he did feel nervous. He worried that Billie wouldn’t enjoy the party and that it had been a mistake to invite her. He worried that he’d forget himself and kiss her, even though he knew that this wasn’t a date. He worried that he’d let himself get too close to Billie and that it would be hard to back away after the holidays ended.
He worried that he no longer wanted to back away from Billie.
In a heartbeat, though, all his worries faded away as Billie stepped through the door of her apartment building. She wore a dark green dress made of what looked like velvet that hugged her curves before flaring into a wide skirt ending at her knees. She’d paired the dress with heels and a half-up, half-down hairstyle that left strands of curly brown hair framing her face and grazing her shoulders. She wore a little more makeup than usual, which perfectly brought out her luminous chocolate-brown eyes. As a final touch, a pair of snowflake earrings completed the ensemble.
As she hurried down the steps to the car, Max gave himself a stern reminder that this wasn’t a date. He wanted to thank Billie for all she’d done for him over the last month when she’d allowed him to volunteer, even though he hadn’t been very good at it in the beginning. That was all. There were no romantic feelings here. He couldn’t let there be.
“Hi, Max.” Billie slid into the passenger seat and turned to him with a smile. Her cheeks were pink from the cold.
“Hi, Billie. You look lovely today.”
“Oh, this?” Billie smoothed the skirt of her dress over her legs. “It’s nothing special. So, where’s the Christmas party?”
“At the offices,” Max told her. He put the car into drive and merged with the traffic on Billie’s street. It was another icy cold December evening, but the skies were clear and there was no sign of Christmas snow in sight. Stars twinkled high above in the inky blackness of the night. “The venue may not be the most exciting, but we always have great food.”
“From the diner?” Billie asked.
“Some of it. We actually have a mix of catered and diner food — some people expect fancier fare at the holidays.”
“I’ll be happy with the diner food. I can’t get over the breakfast for dinner I had in Colorado Springs. It was so good.”
“I told you.” Max grinned at her. “Food is important. You can’t just grab a sandwich between meetings.”
Billie chuckled. “First, I can’t believe that you really never grabbed a sandwich between meetings. You’re so busy that you must have. And second, the last few times I’ve had a quick sandwich, I couldn’t help thinking of you saying that exact thing.”
“Good. I’m having a positive influence on you.”
“Ha. Right. I’m pretty sure we can agree that the positive influence is from me to you.”
“Right, because you’re so wonderful.” Max meant to use a joking tone, but it came out more serious than he’d intended. Billie glanced at him with those big brown eyes, then looked away. Quickly, Max searched for another, safer topic. “What are your plans for the holidays?”
“Well, Christmas Eve is my big delivery window, so I’ll spend most of the day driving around, delivering gifts and food to the families on the list. Christmas Day is usually quieter. My family has our big Christmas celebration on the twenty-third, so that all my siblings can celebrate in their small families, but I usually go over to my sister’s house on Christmas Day for a little while. What are your plans? Don’t tell me you’ll be working.”
“I’ll probably be working.” Max grinned sheepishly. “If you think I’m not into the holidays, you should meet my father. My parents aren’t exactly the type that’ll suggest a big family gathering.”
“Right. You told me your parents went somewhere in the Caribbean for Thanksgiving. Are they planning another overseas vacation?”
“No, I think they’ll be around here. I might meet them for dinner or something on Christmas, but it won’t be any big celebration.”
“Oh, that reminds me.” Billie reached into her purse and withdrew a small, wrapped gift. Max glanced at it with interest.
“What’s that?”
“I know it’s silly, but I kind of got you a small Christmas present. I brought it along tonight because I wasn’t sure if I’d see you again before Christmas.”
“Really?” Max’s heart sank. “I didn’t get you anything.”
“That’s fine. It’s not like we planned to exchange gifts. And anyway, gift-giving isn’t about receiving something back.”
Max pulled into the office’s parking lot and found his reserved spot. Once they were stopped, Billie handed over the present. It was wrapped in reindeer wrapping paper and topped with a bright red bow.
“I definitely saw you wrap gifts for the kids in this.”
“I wasn’t going to go out and buy wrapping paper just for you.” Billie rolled her eyes. “Come on. Open it.”
Max didn’t want to. Whatever Billie said, gifts created expectations and obligations. He’d feel like he needed to give her a gift, too, especially if she’d spent money that she didn’t have on a present for him. But it would be rude not to open the gift, so he threaded his finger under the wrapping paper and pulled it off.
As soon as he saw what was inside, he burst into laughter.
The gift was a small remote-controlled plane, just like the one Max had admired at the store. It didn’t look particularly fancy or expensive, but it was exactly the kind Max would have fallen head-over-heels for as a child.
“I know it isn’t much,” Billie said. Max looked up to see that she wore an anxious expression. “I just thought, since you always wanted one?—”
“I love it. Thank you so much, Billie. It’s just the kind I would have liked as a child.” He felt a sudden need to kiss her, but settled for a quick, awkward hug across their seats.
“I’m glad you like it.” Billie’s voice was soft in his ear. He smelled that beautiful pepperminty scent again and inhaled.
“I’m definitely going to fly it after the party.” Max sat back, releasing Billie.
“You don’t have to. I know it’s a little silly.”
“No way. I absolutely am.” Max set the plane on the back seat. “Maybe we can even fly it together.”
“I’d like that.” They smiled at each other until Max caught sight of the time on the car’s clock.
“Oh, we’d better get going. People will be wondering where I am.”
“Of course — the CEO is too important to go missing.” Billie winked. “Let’s go.”
They got out of the car, and Max led the way to the elevators that would bring them up to the top floor, where the party was taking place. Billie looked a little nervous, but she was still smiling.
When the elevator doors opened, they stepped out into a room full of Christmas decorations, excited chatter, and the delicious smell of food. A string quartet played “White Christmas” in the far corner, a Christmas tree covered in hundreds of tiny white lights sparkling beside them. A few bows of mistletoe hung from the ceiling, which Billie did her best to ignore — along with any thoughts of kissing they sparked.
“Oh, you must hate this,” Billie whispered to Max as they made their way into the room. “This is so Christmassy.”
“It’s terrible, but people like it,” Max replied in a joking whisper. In truth, he didn’t hate the Christmas party as much as he had in past years. He could understand why people enjoyed the lights and the music and being with people they cared about. Max could even understand why gift-giving might be fun.
“Max, there you are.” Stephanie hurried over, then froze as she caught sight of Billie. “You’ve brought a guest.”
“I thought it was only fair to invite Billie after she’s been such a gracious host this month,” Max replied smoothly.
“Wonderful. That will make for some great photos. Billie, nice to see you again.”
“Nice to see you, too.” Billie smiled politely.
“I just wanted to remind you to visit the photo booth,” Stephanie said, gesturing to a small photo booth that had been set up in the corner. “A few silly photos would be great publicity.”
“Will do.”
Job done, Stephanie departed. Max turned to Billie. “Silly photos?”
“Yes, please.”
Max led the way to the photo booth, where they waited in line for a few minutes before stepping inside. Assorted Christmas-themed props, from Santa hats to giant candy canes to headbands with Christmas trees on them, lined shelves behind the camera. Billie immediately grabbed a reindeer antler headband for herself, then tossed Max a giant gift. Smiling for the camera, they posed.
“A little closer,” the photographer suggested. Max took a step towards Billie, their shoulders brushing, and lifted the gift again. The camera flashed. “Now a silly one.”
Billie stuck out her tongue, and Max pulled a face. When the camera flashed, they both began to laugh, which the photographer captured with another flash. Billie and Max thanked him on the way out.
“That was great.” Billie was beaming. “What’s next?”
“Max!” A tall, tuxedo-clad man threaded through the crowd towards them. “I heard you brought a date, so I had to come over and see for myself.”
“Not a date,” Max said quickly. “Billie, this is Bradley Anderson, my head of sales. Bradley, this is Billie Stone. She runs a charity for underprivileged children here in Denver, and she’s allowed me to volunteer with her this holiday season.”
“Volunteer?” Bradley’s eyes widened. “That’s almost more surprising than a date.” He held out a hand to Billie. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you, too.”
“Tell me, what was it like having Max here volunteer for you?” Bradley leaned forward. “I can’t imagine he was very excited to take time away from work.”
“Maybe not, but he did a wonderful job.” Billie smiled. “It was a pleasure to work with him.”
“Really?” Bradley looked as surprised as Max felt. He’d half-expected Billie to complain, at least jokingly, about him, but she’d praised him instead.
“Really.” Billie nodded. “He worked hard, he was great with the kids, and he really helped my organization. Maybe you’d like to try volunteering with us next.”
Bradley chuckled. “Volunteering isn’t for me, but thanks. Max, it was great to see you.”
“You too, Bradley.” They shook hands before Bradley melted back into the crowd. Max turned to Billie.
“You didn’t have to be so complimentary.”
“I meant it. You really did do a wonderful job.” She leaned closer. “Except for the whole tree fiasco.”
“Right. Except for that. Can I interest you in something to eat?”
“Please.”
They wove towards the food, which was laid out on a buffet table. Nearby, several tables had been set up where people could sit and eat. Max and Billie each loaded a plate before finding a pair of free seats. Max was pleased to see that Billie chose mostly food from the diner.
“Billie?”
They both turned to see Janet, now wearing a flattering black dress and sparkly earrings, sitting across the table from them.
“Janet!” Billie smiled. “How are you doing? How are the kids?”
“They’re great. The things you brought over have been an absolute lifesaver. I got to spend the first few days bonding with the kids instead of running around trying to cook and buy clothes and supplies.”
“That’s wonderful.” Billie exchanged a grin with Max. “I’m so glad we could help.”
“You really did. I’m glad I ran into you. I can’t stay long tonight — my husband is at home looking after the kids and I’m excited to get back to them, but I wanted to drop by.”
“I’m glad we ran into each other, too.”
Another woman from the programming team leaned over. “What’s this you’re talking about?”
“Well, Max here had the idea to help Janet get a few supplies for her foster kids,” Billie told her.
“More than a few supplies,” Janet put in.
“Really?” The woman looked surprised. “Wow. I’m impressed.”
For the next half an hour or so, Max sat back in awe as Billie sang his praises. Whenever anyone asked about his work with her, she told them that he’d done a wonderful job, just as she’d told Bradley. Max was touched. Whether he’d done a good job or not, it was sweet that Billie wanted him to look good in front of his employees. Whenever possible, he put in a comment about how it was Billie’s organization that did the hard work, and that Billie was the one who’d been truly wonderful.
It was the best Christmas party Max had been to, perhaps in his life.
Until, towards the end of the evening, Jim Grayson, Max’s father and the former CEO, showed up.