All She Wants For Christmas Read Free Page A

of a shoe
store, and though he went to a nearby university, she thought he seemed so much
more mature than the other college guys she knew. Which was
why she wanted to impress him. But every time he got near her, she
turned into a complete ditz. She didn't know why, but if she weren't knocking
things over, then she was ringing up the cash register wrong, and instead of
making a good impression on him, she ended up making a fool of herself. In
fact, just that morning she'd knocked over a rack of shoes right in front of
him! Though he had helped her pick them up, she couldn't help but notice the
frown he gave her.
    For the twentieth time, Lyndsay looked out the front window. There was absolutely no one in sight, which meant
that no one would be coming into the store any time soon. With a sigh, she put
down the fashion magazine she'd been looking at and decided to go into the
backroom. Since her boss was at lunch, she knew she should probably stay in the
main part of the store, but seeing as she wasn't likely to have any customers,
she might as well do something useful. Like start unpacking the latest shipment
of shoes that had come in that morning. Maybe there would be some cute ones to
try on, she thought. Besides, she'd hear the little bell above the door ring if
anyone came in.
    Picking up the utility knife from the table, she cut
the packing tape on one of the boxes and opened the flaps. It was stacked high
with shoe boxes. Eagerly reaching for one of them, she took off the lid and let
out a soft gasp of delight. Inside was the sexiest pair of sling-back sandals
she'd ever seen. And they were imported from Italy, too! Unable to resist, she kicked off her shoes
and tried them on. They were perfect, she thought as she extended her leg to
admire them.
    Excited to see what other shoes had come in the
shipment, Lyndsay cut open all the cases, and started
pulling out box after box. Tossing aside those shoes that weren't her size, she
eagerly ripped off the lid of every box that was. Each pair was cuter than the
last, and she couldn't refrain from trying on every one of them. Before she
knew it, she had shoes, boxes, and paper strewn everywhere, and she had tried
on more than twenty-five pairs. She'd have no paycheck left after she bought
all of these, she thought as she admired yet another pair of high-heeled
sandals in the mirror.
    "What the hell are you doing?"
    Startled, Lyndsay whirled
around to find the assistant manager standing in the doorway. Dressed in khaki
pants and a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, he looked as gorgeous
as ever, she thought. His gaze went from her to the complete mess littering the
floor, and then back to her. His brows drew together angrily.
    "You aren't being paid to try on shoes!" he told her
sharply. "Why aren't you out front waiting on customers?"
    Her face coloring, Lyndsay chewed on her lower lip, unable to find her voice. Why the heck couldn't she
seem to do anything right around him? "There weren't any customers," she said
softly.
    He folded his arms across his chest. "Oh really?" he
said, coming into the room to stand in front of her. "Then what would you call
the half-dozen people that were leaving as I came in? Your playing dress-up back here has probably cost the store hundreds of dollars in
sales, Lyndsay ."
    She swallowed hard, her color deepening. She had
really screwed up this time. "Are you
going to fire me?" she asked in a small voice. She wondered if he would still
let her buy all of these shoes with her employee discount before he canned her.
    He regarded her in silence for a moment, his jaw
tight. "I really should," he finally said. "But I have something better in
mind. A lesson that will teach you to stay focused at work much better than
firing you ever could."
    Before she could ask what he meant by that, he
grabbed hold of her arm and dragged her over to one of the straight-backed
chairs by the table in the corner where everyone usually ate lunch.
    "What are you...?"