A Billionaire Boyfriend For Christmas - Holly Rayner Page 0,7
thank you. I’m fine.” She cleared her throat delicately. “Mr. Montoya—”
He cut in, “Please. Ken.”
There was a brief pause as if she were considering how to respond, and then she smiled. “Ken. I wanted to come down here today and get to know you personally.”
He crossed his legs, several questions flitting through his mind. All of which he kept checked.
Typically, if companies were capable of donating something to the Montoya Foundation, they did so with little hesitation. Not only was Ken’s organization well-known for its work in multiple areas, but a donation to the Montoya Foundation upped any company’s reputation.
Of course, he didn’t say any of that. He didn’t want it to look like he had a big head or expected Thea to immediately give him all the temperature scanners and prescription dispensers he had asked for.
“I appreciate that.” He spread his hands. “I’m an open book. Ask me anything you like.”
Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I am wondering about something, and perhaps it seems rather arbitrary, but…”
“Shoot.” He leaned forward.
“There are no holiday decorations up in the Montoya Foundation.”
He blinked, startled into silence. It was about the last comment that he had expected, and yet it was also ironic, considering he had been thinking about the same thing only a few minutes ago.
Ken cleared his throat, trying to decide best how to proceed. Before he got the chance, though, Thea spoke up.
“Quite honestly,” she said, “the lack of decorations probably wouldn’t have occurred to me if it weren’t for the one cubicle that had things on it.”
He knew the exact cubicle she spoke of: Adison’s.
“That’s Adison Hale,” Ken said. “Our newest employee. As you saw, I don’t discourage my employees from decorating. Everyone is free to adorn their working spaces as they choose, assuming nothing goes against company policy.”
“Of course.”
She probably noticed that he’d said he didn’t discourage decorating, not that he encouraged it. He didn’t get why it was such a big deal, though. Plenty of companies didn’t decorate.
He imagined.
Now that he thought of it, every office he’d ever visited in the November and December months had had some kind of decorations up. When his office manager had mentioned their doing the same the year before, after he’d moved the Montoya Foundation from Manhattan to Buffalo, he’d automatically said no. Let other people go crazy about Christmas. It simply wasn’t for him.
He’d never expected that to come back and bite him in the butt.
“It’s not that I completely hate the holidays,” he said. “We do other things at the Montoya Foundation to celebrate them rather than decorate.”
Her eyebrows rose from pleasant surprise. “Really?”
Shoot. Why had he said that? It wasn’t true at all, and Ken abhorred lying unless it was for a good cause.
Was this for a good cause? He needed that donation, and if the talks with Woolridge Medical Supplies fell through, it would be weeks before he could get any other supplier to even talk with him. He knew how little people wanted to do around the holidays.
Thea was testing him. When she’d walked into his office, she’d said she wanted to get to know him personally. Clearly, she had high expectations. If he didn’t mean them, he was back to square one.
And so he lied. For the greater good.
“Yes. As a matter of fact, we’re having a big Christmas party this year. I would love for you to attend.”
She cocked her head, her eyes softening. “Oh really? What day is it?”
Despite his always keeping his office on the cooler side, Ken was sweating bullets. “That hasn’t been nailed down yet,” he said. “I will have one of my assistants send you an invitation as soon as we know, though.”
“Great. Do let me know as soon as you can, as I would very much like to be there.”
“Of course,” he said. “Consider it done.”
An alarm went off on her phone, and she reached into her purse to silence it. “I’m sorry, but I do need to run. I have another meeting to get to.”
“Of course.” He stood and offered his hand for a shake. “Thank you for coming by.”
He kept the pleasant demeanor going until Thea left his office. Once the door closed behind her, he bit back a curse and rubbed his face.
Okay. A Christmas party. Last minute. He could do this.
Not on his own, though. He’d require some serious help.
Chapter 5
Adison
“What do you think, girl? You like it?” Adison plopped the pink cat bed down in a sunny spot on the living room