Five Days of Holiday Hell
Chapter Ten
Bella would never admit to anyone in the office that she was looking forward to seeing what her Secret Santa gift would be. Edward seemed like the type to take the time to choose something the person would enjoy.
A part of her wished she had chosen him instead of Lauren. She would make the most of it. Most of her colleagues gossiped, but she never took part in it, and since they knew she wasn't the type to blab any of their discussion during lunch, they spoke freely around her. It wasn't hard to find things she could get Lauren without following the answers to the questionnaire. She drew the line at buying a coworker some lingerie, even a gift card to the place.
One thing she overheard was the fact that Lauren loved lists and planners. She needed something more convenient, and Bella had found the perfect one. A laminated one-sheet wonder that was popular online. Along with some markers and highlighters that she could wipe off, making it reusable. She hoped Lauren would appreciate it. The gift she intended hadn't arrived yet and would have to wait until it did.
She left the neatly wrapped gift on Lauren's desk and quickly made her way to her space. There, she found two small packages, both from her Secret Santa, aka Edward. Looking around to see if she was alone, she wondered how he beat her to work.
No one other than two executives had arrived yet, so she settled into her office and opened the largest of the packages. It fit in her palm and felt heavier than she expected. She opened it and gasped at the intricate winged chair, something she'd find in a library or study but small enough to fit in a dollhouse. Sturdy reddish wood paired with hunter-green fabric, it even had tiny tufted buttons.
She placed it beside her computer monitor and rushed to open the next one, impatient enough to growl when it wouldn't open right away.
"Careful there, you might rip something," a low-timbered voice said from the door to her office.
She startled, causing Edward to laugh. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to see the pure pleasure on your face." He folded his arms across his chest, and Bella noted he had his dress shirt sleeves rolled up. The forearm porn was sensational.
Realizing she was staring like a sex-starved manic, she cleared her throat and played dirty. "Oh honey, you haven't seen pure pleasure on my face."
"Fuck me," he grunted, and looked down the hall both ways before stepping toward her. He placed his hands on her desk and glared. "Please stop torturing me at work... Or at least not so much."
She nodded. "Just stating a fact. Anyway, I really like the chair. What's inside this one?" Sitting in her palm was a strange little wooden box.
Edward chuckled. "You mentioned you like puzzles, which is why you like Zelda games so much. It's a puzzle box. Solve it to get what's inside."
The delicious little scowl only made him laugh some more. "I don't have time today."
"Maybe you can try during lunch."
"I planned to work through my lunch, though." She put the puzzle box to the side but looked at it longingly. "Thank you, I love them."
"You need to eat; I'll pick up some subs, and we can work together."
"You work in a completely different department."
"I'll bring in my laptop, text me what you like, and I'll see you later. Richard is having trouble with his PC." He waved bye, not giving her a chance to protest.
She pulled out her cell phone and texted him. I like my men, obedient and sweet.
It didn't take Edward long to respond. Good to know, but switching is good, too. Please send me what kind of sub you'd like.
Bella needed to work and not fantasize about being stuck in a cabin with Edward in the middle of nowhere. Turkey on wheat, light mustard, spinach instead of lettuce. Thank you.
Tapping her fingers for several minutes, she got some work done after a while. Some coffee would do wonders after the long night she had. Though she slept, it wasn't the most restful, with Edward waking her up every two hours.
She found Lauren, Angela, and John in the break room. Lauren was gushing about her outstanding gift from her Secret Santa, and how she was positive it was Edward. "Who else pays enough attention to me to know I needed a new planner system?"
"Everyone in the office knows," Angela muttered, lightly teasing Lauren. "You haven't exactly made it secret. You keep losing track of your tasks."
"Maybe, but I know he was there when I mentioned it during lunch."
Bella wanted to tell her that Edward was her Secret Santa, but decided not to get involved.
"What did you get, Bella?" Angela asked.
"Some miniature furniture and a puzzle box, and a notebook so far." Bella couldn't help but smile.
"Oh, sounds like you're actually enjoying it this year," Lauren gloated. "I knew you'd come around. Who doesn't like presents?"
Bella sighed. "I already told you, I don't mind it so much as we should be able to opt out. Especially since not everyone here celebrates Christmas."
Lauren shrugged. "I let people opt out of this year because you were right. It's not fair. I still feel bad that they're not included in an activity. Is there anything we can do so they don't feel left out?"
Lauren was asking her for advice. Was hell freezing over? "I'll see what I can find out."
Office Satan then squeezed Bella's arm gently and offered a soft thank you, grabbing her coffee and heading out of the break room.
What the hell was happening? Bella's heart warmed, more so when Angela smiled at her in understanding. Was Lauren not actually a bad person?
.
.
.
"What did you do?" Bella screamed as the office plunged into darkness. Lauren held a plug in her hand, looking shocked.
Some others panicked, too.
"Oh my God, I haven't saved yet!"
"What the hell?"
"Everything is down!"
"I've been cold for days now. I just plugged in my space heater, but it smelled like it was burning, so I pulled it out!" Lauren panicked and dropped the plug, stepping away.
Bella sniffed the air. "Everyone stop panicking, she's right. Something smells like it's burning, and I don't think it came from Lauren's space heater. Maybe it's a short somewhere else."
The three executives on their floor had already stepped out for lunch, leaving Bella in charge. She picked up the nearest phone and cursed when it was dead. Her phone had a signal. She texted Edward about what was happening.
Before he could respond, the fire alarm went off. They had less than a minute before the sprinklers went off through the entire floor. She grabbed the nearest fire extinguisher. "Go down the stairs to IT, as they instructed us in case of a fire. I'm going to check the electrical box in the break room really quick!"
"If there's a fire…" the others protested, but Bella was already down the hall.
.
.
.
Edward looked frantically at everyone from Bella's floor coming in through the stairway door. "Where's Bella?"
"She went to check the electrical box," John stated, shaking his head. "We don't even know if the sprinklers went off."
"They didn't," Edward headed toward the stairs, not bothering to wait for the fire department that needed to confirm there was no fire. He had to check on Bella.
AN: Unbetaed, so all mistakes are mine, sorry!