Wynter

I tiptoed down my flight of stairs, praying Nick would be gone by the time I finished dressing for the day. A heavy curse escapes my lips as I saw him leaning against the center island of my kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee. 

"Of course you're still here" I muttered, going to the fridge to make my own breakfast. He drank his coffee in silence, staring me down as I pulled out a carton of eggs.

"What?" I frowned, wondering for his prolonged gaze. A lazy smirk painted his full lips until he pushed himself up and grabbed his keys to go. 

"You're having a moment so I'm gonna head out."

"Goodbye!" I smiled, lifting my hand to wave him adieu. Just before he bent to grab his keys my phone vibrated. It was my mechanic.

"Hey Bob, what's up?"

"Hey, Wynter. So we are looking at your car. Everything is good except the engine. We have to keep it for a closer inspection so sadly, your car is going to take longer than expected. It has to stay in the shop for another day or two. Maybe a week"

"Great" I cursed, thinking of yet another inconvenience I was subjected to. Bob continued on for a few more minutes about car vocabulary I did not care to understand before I told him I had to go. Right before Nick opened the door to leave, I cleared my throat to stop him. He turned back around, questioning the reason for the interruption.

"So....that was my mechanic. Apparently, my car has to stay in the shop for three more days."

"Oh, bummer" Nick shrugged, turning again to leave. He didn't care to understand the gravity of my situation; I mean, I didn't expect him to anyways. 

"Well.. I mean... since you're leaving... do you mind taking me to work? Please?"

He rolled his eyes, throwing his keys into the air but remained silent. 

"I had my car in the shop but again, it won't be ready till the end of the week. I just need one ride today." I continued my sentiments, praying he would say yes. Trying to get a taxi would be impossible at this hour.

He looked me up and down, inspecting my figure as if he was assessing my judgment, and sighed. "Fine" he muttered, opening the door to leave.

—-

"Okay, the rental should be ready right as we finish work. I'll have the intern pick it up and have it parked and ready in the office lot"

"Thanks, Liz. I will see you soon." I said before ending the call. Nick and I drove in silence, his car revving along the empty highway; the sun had barely peaked out yet. The silence of the morning was a peaceful backdrop as I typed away, urgently answering all of my missed emails and texts.

"So this is what you do all day? Typing and texting?"

"Yep, but that should be no surprise to you, Nick. You seem to know every aspect of my life" I smirked, throwing a bit of shade at how he ran his empire.

"How can you enjoy life behind that screen?"

"The internet is a wonderful thing Santa. You should try it sometime." I chimed refusing to take my eyes off my screen.

Nicholas

The sun was just peaking from the white clouds of the sky. Specks of pink and red were bursting through the darkened sky, illuminating the road we were driving along.

"Look" I pointed, encouraging her to take in the beauty of the sky but she ignored me, still focused on her screen. I knew she wasn't listening to me; she was too engrossed in her business. I could say I murdered a child and she wouldn't even care.

 "Thanks for letting me stay over again tonight" I lied seeing if that would grab her attention.

"Mhmm" she nodded, still maintaining the gaze on her screen.

"Also, I went through your drawers and took your underwear" I lied again, smirking as she nodded. 

"Yeah... cool" she smiled, completely oblivious to my lies. I reached over and closed her laptop, before snapping my fingers to make it disappear.

"Nick are you crazy! Give it back now!" she pouted, searching the floors and seats of my car to retrieve it.

"Not until you take a moment to look at the sky." I frowned, signaling her to look at the view.

"No Nick, give me back my laptop!" she fumed, unbuckling her seatbelt to search beneath the seats. 

Wynter

He grabbed my jaw before I could lift myself to the backseat and forced my gaze onto his. My breath hitched before my heart raced with emotion. I wasn't expecting his warm touch.

"Would you just look?" He ordered, looking down at my lips before turning my head. I finally looked out the windows and up at the sky as we forge past a beautiful sunset. The sky was pink with specks of red clouds, the vibrant tones ornamenting the road. I couldn't help but smile as I took in its natural beauty.

"Wow" I gasped, bending forward to chase the sun as we passed it. I looked at him as he looked at me and smirked, focusing his attention back on the road. 

"We don't get the sun in the North Pole so seeing the sunrise on earth is a wonder." he smiled leaning against his wheel. I held my arms against each other, taking in its beauty. "Sometimes the things you take for granted can be another person's marvel." He reminded me. 

"I suppose it can be" I whispered as I sat in a state of bliss. My head would be buried behind work emails and texts from vendors as my driver drove me to work. I never really gave myself the time to sit back and relax, taking in minuscule wonders like these. Just before he said something more, my phone buzzed. I look over at him but answer it.

 "Hey Liz, what's up?"

"Wynter, change of plans, I need you to meet us at the warehouse. Bryce found a location for the Christmas shoot but he insists you come to see it"

"Okay send me the address for the warehouse" 

My phone pinged with a text and I typed in the address on Nick's GPS screen.

"I am 20 minutes away. I'll be there soon"

---------

"Wynter good! You're here!" Liz sighed, waving for me to come over. She and Bryce were bent over her iPad, going over some numbers and things. She was impatient and pulled me out of the car then led me to the warehouse.

"Wynter! You're laptop!" Nick announced, waving it in the air. Liza stopped in her tracks and turned to the voice, smiling once she saw his features. She looked over to him then at me. "Wynter! who is this"

"Just a crazy Lyft driver. This is why I prefer Uber" I sighed, trying to lead her back in the direction of the warehouse. 

"Wynter! He looks like a model? Is he one of your models?"

"No way Liz! I do not know him!"

"Is he a boyfriend? Is that why you were so busy this weekend?" she smiled knowingly. 

"Fine Liz...he is a friend. You know what? Even calling him a friend is a stretch. He is a forced acquaintance"

"Ayo!!! Am I getting a new MacBook or what?" Nick shouts, still holding my laptop into the air. Liza eyes him curiously and smiled.

 "Wynter? I think we found our Santa Clause" she claps.

"What!! SANTA? Who said anything about Santa!!" I laughed nervously. How did she know? She couldn't? I didn't tell a soul!

Liza pushed a palm onto my face and felt my forehead. "Are you drunk or under the weather?"

"No Liz! I'm just..." I trail off, unsure of how to excuse my actions.

"I meant, he could be our Santa for the makeup campaign. Wesley has been scouring all of Los Angeles and San Fran for models but couldn't find one that fit the part. But him? He's perfect! Perfect eyes and straight teeth. He has some sort of ...Yuletide charm that I can't quite put my finger on" she smiled warmly.

"Nick? No!!! Him?" I shake my head adamantly. "Besides, he would never do it"

"Do what?" he asks, coming behind me. We both turn around to face him. He had my purse and bags in his hands. "Wynter I gotta go. The North Pole calls" he grumbles.

"Yea. Goodbye"

"Goodbye doesn't sound a whole lot like thank you?" he frowns, reminding me of my manners.

 "Thanks for the ride Nick" I mutter before shooing him off.

"Wait Wynter! Ask him" Liz interjects, grabbing the sleeve of my arm excitedly.

"Ask me what?" He narrows his eyes, looking over at me but I shrugged and led him back to his car.

"Nothing. Goodbye"

"To be the model for our Christmas makeup campaign! It would pay well and you would get a ton of exposure." Liz interjected.

"Pay well? And exposure?" he asks. I knew he was being sarcastic but Liz didn't know this.

"Come on Nick! You've got way more important things to do, remember?" I mutter, pushing him away. "Don't you?"

"I do...but I do love seeing you squirm" he shows off a handsome smile. I roll my eyes and open the door to his sports car. "Thanks for the ride Santa. Goodbye" I smile, opening the door for him but he only lifted one foot into the car. He loved watching me unravel.

"Oh come on Wynter! Look at him he's perfect." Liz says, leaning against the hood of his car. She was stopping him from driving away. 

He smiles and shakes his head no. "Thanks but no thanks." He nodded, twirling the keys to his car on his ring finger.

"We will pay you double the model rate"

"Liza!" I shouted. How could she offer him such a tempting offer?

"Double?" he smiled. Again, I knew he was being sarcastic. Earth money was useless to him; he was basically the king of the North Pole. "Maybe I should"

"Nick... don't," I begged, staring daggers into his eyes.

"Come to The North Pole again" he demanded.

"Forget it" I fumed, turning away to meet Bryce at the warehouse.

"Fine, then I'll do it..." he announces, looking over at Liz with pride.

"Liz, pleasure doing business with you" she paces over and introduces herself.

"Nick. I'll do it Liz." he brags again, looking over at me in satisfaction. 

"Awesome! I'll have Wesley send over the paper work and contracts"

"Sorry to burst your bubble Liz but we will not be employing Nick. I don't approve." I announced, crossing my arms over my chest. My word was final.

"With all due respect Wynter; you put me in charge of the winter campaign. You said I had all rights to art and photography. You basically gave me all artistic freedom." she defended her stance. I sent him a death glare before snatching my bag from the hood of his car. 

"Fine. Have the paperwork sent ASAP" I grumbled, strutting over to Bryce to see the interior of the warehouse. Nick shrugged and waved, hopping into the car before revving up his engine.

"I'll see you soon Wynter" he bragged.

"No, you won't," I shouted, refusing to turn around to face him. He had ruined my day and it had barely started. 

Liz comes back into the empty warehouse, smiling with achievement as she came to where Byrce and I stood. "Wynter! Now I know why you said Santa existed! Remember you told me you thought he was real?"

"Sadly" I groaned.

"I think you did see Santa but in a vision! Maybe you were so stressed with the success of the campaign that you materialized an out of body experience with him."

Liz was into this new age astrology and earth signs so I wasn't surprised by her more than inaccurate explanation.

"Yea, yea" I grumbled before packing my bags to leave to the warehouse. "I like it Bryce. We will do the shoot here. Have the vendors and payments in order so we can start the shoot" I say before opening my phone to call for an uber. I needed to go to my office to sign some contracts.

Author Note:

Wow! It's been a while but we are back!

I update at 100 reads! I won't lie and commit to readmas (like I did last year). I know I can't commit to updating everyday :(

Would you guys be interested in an audiobook file for each chapter? It would be those robotic voices (one voice would be from the UK). I would upload it on youtube for free :) I use the read aloud feature on Microsoft word and it sounded okay...(not the best but just okay)

Let me know!