Chapter 4 - Zach

I lift my head just as the tree is tipping past the point of no return and I watch in stunned horror as Harper falls backwards, pulling the tree down on top of her. It crashes down within seconds, sending ornaments and lights flying across the room. The top of it lands on top of the food table, knocking it over and sending snacks and drinks crashing to the ground.

Within seconds I’m beside the tree, trying to lift it off her.

“You,” I point to a man next to me. “Grab that branch. You,” I point to a woman near the tip of the tree, “grab the trunk. On three. One, two, three!”

A dozen of us grunt as we lift the tree back up. This thing weighs about a thousand pounds. It takes half a dozen of us to get it upright again as broken ornaments and tinsel rain down on top of us.

Once it’s lifted back upright I glance down and see Harper on the floor. She looks stunned, laying on her back as she watches us get the tree upright again. An ornament bounces off the tree and rolls over beside her. She picks it up and looks at it blankly. I walk over and crouch down, balancing on my heels as I squat next to her. Her eyes are hazy and her cheeks are flushed. Her auburn hair is a bird’s nest and she has tinsel and broken Christmas ornaments littered all over her. The lights on her sweater are still blinking.

“You alright, Harper?”

She nods.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she responds. As soon as I hear her speak I feel a desperate urge to laugh but I keep my best poker face on. She tries to sit up and groans, pausing to balance herself on her elbows. I reach down and grab her arm, helping her to her feet. The second my hand touches her arm I feel something like a spark go off inside me. My cock twitches but I ignore it, brushing broken glass off Harper’s shoulder.

I watch as she glances around the room at the circle of coworkers that has formed around us. Harper stands up a bit straighter and raises her arms slowly, as if to acknowledge the crowd. An embarrassed grin creeps over her face and I can’t help but notice how it makes her eyes sparkle that little bit brighter.

A cheer and a laugh starts rippling through the crowd and suddenly everyone is clapping. Harper takes a small bow and I see her stumble a little. I grab her arm a bit tighter and help her up. I can feel her shaking and I keep my hand on her arm to hold her steady. I’ve never been this close to her.

I glance around the office. It’s absolute carnage. There’s decorations, food, spilled juice and wine and eggnog all over the place. The food table is knocked over onto its side and all the refreshments are soaking into the thin office carpet. Harper is still shaking and people are starting to come closer to us. I wave to my assistant who rushes over.

“Becca, here’s my credit card.” I turn to the crowd. Almost every single person employed by the company is here, watching Harper and I, still laughing and cheering. I hold up my hand and the place quiets down. “Alright everyone, the venue has changed. Open bar at the regular spot downstairs, compliments of the company. Harper and I will be down in a few minutes. Happy Holidays!”

There’s a cheer and clapping.

“Nice one, Harper! Best Christmas party yet!” Another wave of laughter ripples through the crowd and people start filing out. One woman, I forget her name, steps forward. She goes to Harper.

“You ok, Harps?” Harper smiles again. I’m still holding her upright and I can feel how weak she is.

“I’m fine, just a bit shaken up. Thanks, Zach,” she says as she pulls her arm away. I reluctantly let go and take a step back. It feels like a chasm between us. Harper turns to the woman. “I’ll be down in a bit, Rosie. You go enjoy yourself.” Rosie, that’s it. One of our junior editors.

“I’ll stay here and help you!”

“No, no, it’s fine, really. I’ll be down in a few minutes.” I watch as Rosie nods slowly and then glances at me before nodding and turning around.

“Come on, sit down,” I say gently, guiding Harper to a chair nearby. She sits down heavily and puts her forehead in her hand, slouching down. Her sweater crumples slightly at the front. The lights are still twinkling in the shape of a tree all over her torso. It truly is one of the ugliest sweaters I’ve ever seen.

“I can’t believe I just did that,” she says. I can sense the embarrassment radiating off her. A smile starts creeping across my face.

“I can’t believe you did that either,” I respond. She glances at me through her fingers and I can’t help it. I start laughing, a deep, booming belly laugh. It starts in my stomach and consumes my entire body until my shoulders are shaking and my cheeks hurt. I haven’t laughed like this in a long time. After a few moments I watch as Harper’s shoulders relax and she starts smiling and finally laughing with me.

She sighs deeply and then glances beside her. There’s an abandoned half glass of wine. I watch as she takes it between her delicate fingers and shrugs as if to say, ‘why not!’ before pouring the whole thing into her mouth. This is definitely a side of her I haven’t seen before. I glance over and see the bottles of wine near the upturned table. I walk over and grab one of them and another glass then head back to Harper and pull up a chair.

“Merry Christmas,” I say as I fill both our glasses. “This might be our most expensive Christmas party yet. Hope this was in your budget,” I tease, sweeping my arm towards the wreckage.

“Zach… I…”

I hold up my hand. “Don’t. It’s ok. At least people will be talking about you this year and not me. Last year I think I heard every rumour in the book about my love life.” I pause and glance at Harper. “Or lack thereof.”

She grins and sighs again, shaking her head. “Well don’t worry, I’ve got the gossip covered this year.” She glances at the tree, which is now upright and more than a little crooked. There’s a few snapped branches littered on the floor. “I just had to get the biggest tree I could find, didn’t I.”

“Sixteen feet tall!” I breathe in mock amazement. I glance over and see that smile spread across her face. She chuckles silently and then takes a sip of wine, looking at me over the edge of her glass.

Something stirs inside me as her eyes flick to mine. I never noticed the light in them before. I clear my throat and glance back at my wine, filling up both our glasses up and clinking mine against hers.

Somehow the air seems thicker than before. I can sense every move that Harper is making and the way her eyes are burning into me is making my cock stir in my pants. I shift in my seat and clear my throat again before taking another sip of wine.