Romancing Rudolph - Chapter 3

(If you’re just joining us, the story began on December 15th–click here to start at the beginning.)

Chapter 3

Rudolph waited until Santa had trundled off back toward the Toy Shop before he displayed his true colors. Then, he rounded on the efficiency expert with a snort. “Let’s be clear. This is an exercise in futility. No way can the magic of flying be whittled down into a column of bland, boring numbers.”

The slim little reindeer, who looked decidedly out of place amid the icy brilliance of the Airfield, lifted her gaze. But only as far as his chest. “That’s what everyone says,” she muttered.

“I don’t care what everyone else says. This team has been pulling Santa’s sleigh every Christmas since eternity. You can’t mess with perfection.”

Her gaze lifted a little higher. “Actually, that’s not true.”

“What’s not true?” He glared at her. And was annoyed that he noticed the wealth of thick lashes that set off her huge, honey-colored eyes to perfection. Damn it. Enemies were not supposed to have bewitching eyes.

She waved to the group around them. “This is not the original team.”

Vixen frowned.

Rudolph jumped in before his team member had a chance to open her sometimes inappropriate mouth. “Of course it is.”

The efficiency expert smiled and shook her head. Then she pointed to Rudolph. “No, actually. You are a late addition. The Flying Team did just fine without you for ages.”

Vixen sniggered.

Rudolph’s stomach clenched. “Except in poor weather.” He pitched a pointed look at Vixen. “When the team couldn’t spot the famous shopping landmarks of the world, they got lost.”

The smile dropped from Vixen’s face.

Rudolph turned back to the efficiency expert. Was her name Mindy or Mandy? “Together, we make a perfect team. Now nothing gets in the way of our deliveries Christmas Eve.”

“Except the growing number of gifts that need to be dropped off each year.”

He swallowed hard. Yeah, the weight of the sleigh was a problem. On the big night they had time to make two trips back to the Toy Shop for refills, and that was it. With the numbers of human children increasing in leaps and bounds every year, getting that puppy off the ground was getting harder and harder.

“We lifted the sleigh last year,” he responded silkily, “And we’ll lift it again this year. Take my word for it.”

His big-eyed nemesis shook her head. “I can’t do that. Santa has asked me to ensure there won’t be a problem on Christmas Eve, and that’s what I’m going to do. You’ve changed the structure of the team once to accommodate poor weather. It might be time to change it again.”

“You can’t assess magic with a bunch of damned numbers,” he growled, returning to his original argument. Mandy, he thought. She looked more like a Mandy.

Mandy’s gorgeous eyes narrowed. “We’ll just have to see, won’t we?”

***
Whoa. This was going to be a lot tougher than she’d thought.

Mandy sucked back her drink so fast she almost inhaled the tiny umbrella. Unfair. Totally unfair. Normally she had to work with Bernard, the Head Elf, who was at best a rather homely fellow with a crooked nose and over-large feet.

Rudolph was...

Well, Rudolph was quite plain and simply ... a hunk.

Rippling muscles, an impossibly broad chest, and a huge, majestic set of antlers. Add to that a pair of intense golden eyes, a coat of thick, toffee brown fur, and his trademark red nose...and you got yum. Bigtime yum. The guy absolutely radiated sex appeal. In person, he was at least ten times more attractive than he appeared on that hottie calendar Tess had hanging in her office.

Of course, what he looked like didn’t really matter. He hated her.

Mandy frowned.

There was a stigma to being an efficiency expert. She loved the work, but every time she had to work with someone new it was the same story. They all feared losing their jobs, or being made to feel worthless, a cog in a wheel.

It was Friday night, and the Watering Hole was packed. She was jostled by a wobbly-kneed reindeer on the way to the men’s room, and in the process of cursing at the dolt, she almost missed the hails of greeting offered to a newcomer.

“Rudolph!”

Instinctively she ducked her head, and peered around the group next to her. Sure enough, there was Mr. Nasty himself, striding into the bar like he owned the joint. Jeez, even his walk was cocky and arrogant. Much to her chagrin, despite all the wishing she did, he never once slipped on the peanut shells that littered the bar floor.

She had no trouble spotting him in the crowd. At least half the guys in the bar had already dropped their antlers for the winter, so an impressive set like Rudolph’s stood out all the more. If the stories were true, Mr. Nasty wouldn’t drop his at all. None of the Flying Team dropped their antlers...it was one of the qualifications for team membership. Affected the aerodynamics, or somesuchthing.

A big set of antlers shouldn’t have impressed her, but Rudolph’s did. They gave him a dangerous, bad-boy air that set her heart to fluttering. Wretch. He likely held the damned things to his head through sheer intimidation.

Mandy tugged her gaze away and focused once more on her drink, sucking the last of it through her straw, and then chewing on a wedge of lemon.

All drooling aside, she had her work cut out for her. Over the next few days, she’d have to put the entire Flying Team through its paces, and test every aspect of their ability to lift the sleigh. Mr. Nasty was going to fight her every step of the way, so she’d better get over this schoolgirl crush. Pronto. Before he tripped her up and made her look like a complete and utter--

“Well, well. If it isn’t Mandy the Mole.”

She glanced up into a pair of intense golden eyes.

--idiot.

Rudolph smiled slyly, as if he knew the effect he had on her. “Can I buy you a drink, Mandy?”

When he purred her name, Mandy felt a delicious shiver run down her spine. She opened her mouth to say yes, but fortunately her body was much wiser and her head shook from side to side.

“No?” He nodded to the cup on the bar. “Your glass is empty.”

“Because I was just leaving,” she responded quickly, jumping up from her seat. Glancing at her watch, she cast around for a believable lie. “I have to check into the Holiday Inn before seven.”

With a quick nod, she brushed by him and made a desperate bid for the door. She was almost out of earshot when he responded, and she wasn’t a hundred percent sure she heard him right. But it sounded a lot like...

“Chicken.”

(To go to Chapter 4, click here)