Page 90 of Fake it For Good
People were laughing and drinking and having a good time. “Do you want to mingle?” I asked her.
“Yes, please,” she said. “I want to check out the other houses.”
We had only been at the party for five minutes before we were approached. The CEO of a rival toy company that specialized in lifelike dolls approached me. “Cane,” he said and shook my hand. He looked at my tie and laughed. “My wife got me one with trees that lit up.”
“You’re not wearing it,” I said.
“I’m saving it for Christmas,” he replied. He turned his attention to Noelle. “Ah, Mrs. Claus.”
“Hello, I’m Noelle,” she said and shook his hand.
“I’ve heard a lot about you, Noelle,” he said. “I’m guessing you’re the one that orchestrated that stunt at the orphanage.”
“Stunt?” she repeated with a hint of venom. “It wasn’t a stunt. I go there all the time. Cane was kind enough to accompany me and donated a lot of gifts for children that would have otherwise gone without.”
“It was a very good move,” he said smoothly. “I think I’d like to get in on that free publicity. Do you work with an organization?”
Noelle jumped right in to tell him all about the nonprofit. I caught a couple of champagne glasses on a passing tray and handed one to her. She barely looked my way as she talked. I scanned the room and caught a glimpse of red. I didn’t need the woman to turn around to know who it was. Kelly had shown up in red—again. She was laughing and resting her hand on a man’s shoulder. I knew the laugh. I knew the touch. She was flirting. I felt like I should warn the man. He was about to have her very long talons sunk into him.
When she turned, I inwardly groaned. She’d gone and worn her version of Mrs. Claus. Of course, she added the sleezy touch. The skirt was short. The little white apron she had over the dress was dumb. The neckline was fur-lined and very deep. Her cleavage was on full display. She knew sex sold. She was on the prowl.
She caught me looking at her and flashed an evil smile when she saw Noelle chatting it up with what was clearly a future donator.
“If you’ll excuse me, I see someone I need to say hello to,” I said, interrupting their conversation.
“Do you need me to go with you?” Noelle asked.
“No. Stay. I’ll catch up with you.”
I didn’t want her using me to make more introductions. I was pouting a little, I supposed. Denton was involved in a conversation with a young woman. When he saw me, he excused himself and made his way to me.
“Where’s Mrs. Claus?” he asked.
“Chatting it up with someone about getting more donations,” I said.
“Do I detect a hint of jealousy?” he teased.
“Not at all. I need something a little stiffer than champagne. Is there an adult bar around here? All I see is candy.”
“Someone is pretty grumpy after being way too happy all week,” he said. “Follow me. You better believe the bar is the first thing I spotted. That and your ex. What the hell is she wearing?”
“I would guess it’s the outfit she plans on wearing to catch a new husband,” I said. I saw the bar directly ahead. It was decked out in red and white swirls. A few drinks in and looking directly at the bar would be dangerous. It was already on the verge of hypnotizing me. I got a stiff drink and turned to survey the party. There was a dance floor set up. It looked like an ice rink, which was actually pretty cool.
“Did you ride the train yet?” he asked.
“The train?”
He grinned. “I think after one more drink, I’m going on the choo-choo.”
“You’re an idiot.”
“You know you want to go for a ride on the choo-choo train,” he teased. “This place is like a psychedelic dream. I’m going to have some pretty wild nightmares about a giant lollipop trying to kill me. I was walking by, and it fell over. I thought I was going to die until I figured out it was Styrofoam.”
I was barely listening to him. My eyes were on Noelle. She was holding court near my company’s house. I wondered if she was talking about my toys or her charity. She had started out shy and a little nervous. Now, she was like the queen of the ball. Her hands were moving through the air and there was a lot of laughter.
“She’s good,” Denton said. “I’ve already had a couple of people ask me what you were doing at the orphanage. You’ve upped the game. I told them Mrs. Claus would be here and they could talk to her about what she was putting you up to.”
“Oh great,” I muttered.
