The Christmas Bonus

"Geez Pam, you couldn't have come up with a better excuse to drive me yourself," Belinda moaned.

"You'll be fine," Pam smiled. "He's a nice guy. I don't see what your problem is."

"He's my boss," Belinda rolled her eyes.

"No, today he is your friend," Pam admonished. "Leave work at the office and treat him like the friend he is silly. It's not like he's asked you on a date. Though he's tall and good looking, I wouldn't blame you if you were interested."

"It's not like that," Belinda sighed. "Then stop acting like it is and let him give you a ride home."

"Fine!" Belinda said in frustration. "See you back at my place in a couple of hours then," Belinda grumbled and stood farewelling the group similarly.

She went past the front desk to pay for her part of the meal in the quaint little bistro only to find that Nick had paid the complete bill for not only herself but all her friends. She was stunned. The small bistro that was part of the boutique brewery was not an expensive place to eat but still there had been nine people there. She walked out to the front and waited barely two minutes before Nick pulled up and let her into his car.

"Thanks for this," she said with a smile. "Thanks for lunch too, you really shouldn't have paid the whole check for us."

"My pleasure," he said as he steered back into the traffic. "Your friends are very entertaining. I enjoyed myself."

"I'm glad," Belinda replied. "Were you at a bit of a loose end this weekend?"

"Not exactly but Ben made it sound like it would be a fun diversion and he was right," Nick said. "Though I think Alison might have eaten me alive if she knew I was single."

"But you said... what did you say exactly?" Belinda tried to remember the exact conversation, but it had seemed like he said he had a girlfriend.

"She mentioned that I had no wedding ring so that I could say I had a girlfriend or was single. Rather than answering I moved the focus of the question onto Ben and Angie and that he didn't wear a ring either," he shrugged. "How she interpreted that is not my problem, I did not however lie about my status."

Belinda couldn't help but giggle at the tone in his voice and his reading of her friend. "You're probably right. You would probably be partially devoured as we speak if you hadn't pulled off that sleight of hand."

"I have dealt with women like her before," he nodded. "It's all about the conquest until they hunt a hunter. Then it becomes a battlefield. Not my type of thing thanks anyway." Nick chuckled as Belinda continued to giggle softly. "She not too bad though, she doesn't poach another woman's territory if today is anything to go by."

"No, she wouldn't do that. She is lovely once you get past her vanity. That sounded worse than I meant it," Belinda looked up at him, "I mean she is good looking, and she knows she can get what she wants most of the time with flirting. Not just men but women too, there is this one sales girl that just melts every time Alison pours on the charm and gives her enormous discounts."

"That's a handy skill to have, is she in sales herself?" Nick asked.

"No television, she is a production manager, I think, she changes job titles depending on what show she is working on, so I never get it right," Belinda said thoughtfully.

They continued to talk in general about her friends for the rest of the drive home. Pulling up outside her place, Nick walked her in saying, "I told Pam I would make sure you got tucked in."

"There is no need," Belinda demurred.

"I insist, plus I like your company," he followed her inside her small duplex. "It's been a strange week at work without you there. I didn't realise what a big part of the team you had become until you were absent."

"Nick," she paused seeming to struggle to find the words. "I know I don't need to say this but can we just you know make an agreement that whatever happens outside work stays outside of work. I mean if you are going to show up like this and meet my friends and you know things might happen. Well, I just don't want it to be awkward at work the day after, you know?"

"What sorts of things happen?" Nick was amused and intrigued by where she was going with this, and he wondered not for the first time if she had been thinking about him as much as he had her.

"Well, like if you and Alison had gotten together and inevitably broken up. I wouldn't want that to affect the way we deal with each other at work," she tried to explain. Nick considered her for a long moment silently. He found he felt disappointed that she had spoken of Alison, not herself.

"I see," Nick continued to consider the young woman his mixed emotions making him bolder than he might have otherwise been. "What if it was just you I came to see today? What if I told you I was interested in getting to know you better? What if a group date was an easy way to accomplish that with no harm or foul on either of our behalf? Would that be in the vicinity of what happens outside of work stays outside of work?" He asked as if posing a hypothetical situation but was, in fact, telling her the truth.

Belinda stared at him. Her jaw was working, but no sound came out. She sat heavily on the couch and looked between him and the floor. "Hypothetically, yes," she finally said her voice quiet showing she was unsure how to respond to his questions. "Is that what just happened?" She felt a heady mix of pleasure and apprehension at the thought of a work romance. If it went badly, she would be the one to pay the price.

"Possibly," Nick said uncertain of her response. "Let's face it I am hardly in a position to ask you out to dinner while we are in the office without it seeming like I was taking advantage of my position over you there."

"I'm not sure this is a good idea. I mean I am just getting to be known there as a woman who can compete on an equal footing. If anyone finds out I am dating a senior executive then all that hard work and any chance for a bonus go out the window," she said refusing to look at him.

"I know it's not a good idea. It's quite possibly the worst idea I have ever had, but I want to get to know you better and what better way than in a group situation like at lunch. Ben invited me, not you, so who would think twice about it," he spoke quickly as if trying to convince himself rather than her. It was feasible that they could start to see each other socially even if it were through surreptitious means.

"I guess," Belinda said, "Just friends hanging out getting to know one another." She finally looked up at him. Although quite a bit older than her; she thought Nick was a good looking man and way out of her league, until now. She could see the relief in his features as she seemed to accept what he said.

"What if you don't like what you find in getting to know me. Will the rule still apply or will I find myself transferred," she let him hear the concern in her voice.

"Somehow I doubt that there are any skeletons in your closet that will make me think badly of you," Nick came to sit beside her on the couch.

"So I probably shouldn't mention the body of my last boyfriend that I have buried in the backyard," she gave a sly smile, and Nick burst out laughing.

"Probably not," Nick chuckled.

"Okay, forget I said anything then," she leaned back in the couch cushion. "What happens now?" she asked.

"Now you invite me to stay for the photo shoot tonight like your friends all did. I told them I didn't want to intrude, but they all insisted, even Ben," Nick chuckled. "He's a nice guy. I like his girlfriend too."

"You can come on the same conditions as Ben, and the other guys are coming," Belinda said seriously.

"What's that?" Nick was suspicious.

"Do you own a tux?" she grinned at him.

"I think it's best I stay out of the photo's considering the reasons behind them," Nick made a quick excuse not to have to leave straight away to change.

"That's disappointing," Belinda said making his arch his eyebrow questioningly. "I was hoping you would take me along for the drive, and I could get to know you better by seeing your place."

"Nothing much to see," he shrugged, "It's just a box I live in. Besides you're supposed to be resting."

"You expect me to rest after dropping that bomb on me," her eyes went wide.

"No one is more surprised than me. It wasn't until you were away from work that I realised just how much I admired you. I always thought you were beautiful, smart and stylish as well as an asset to our team, but there is more to you, and I want to get to know it all.

"You think I'm beautiful?" she asked in a whispered surprise and immediately blushed.

"You are," he said with certainty, "I don't think it, I know it."

"Most people would call me interesting, and my style eccentric or quirky," she looked at him dubiously.

"I'm not most people," he said seriously turning to face her. "I didn't plan this. I have never once considered a relationship with someone from work, but you have found a way into my thoughts, and I need to see where this goes." He realised she would need a lot of convincing before she let herself fully relax with him.

Belinda rested laying along the couch with her feet in his lap. Nick was happy to be talking about family and growing up in similar places. The age gap between them came up more than once but more from his side than hers, and she seemed unperturbed by it. Checking his watch after some time, he finally pushed her feet from his lap.

"I better go meet the other men folk. The girls will be back soon, and I think I will let you all go through your shopping in privacy," Nick stood and stretched as Belinda sat up.

"Men folk?" Belinda had a confused expression.

"Ben's roped in a few friends to help out with your photo shoot. I said I would meet him for a few quiet drinks before we came back here. I would have just dropped him off if things had gone differently between us," he said so as to not seem so cocky about her agreement to get to know each other better outside of work conditions. "Don't get up keep resting, they'll be back soon and you'll need all your energy."

"I feel like I should hug you or something," Belinda tilted her head, "But I don't want to give you any of my lingering germs."

"I'll take my chances," Nick bent and cupped her chin kissing her lightly on the lips and smiling. "I've have wanted to do that all day."

*****

The evening went fabulously with everyone laughing and joining in the fun. It seemed that Nick was comfortable among her friends and was enjoying himself as much as she was. Ben's friends became the life of the party. They got into character as stars of the silver screen, one of them even had a great voice and began crooning old songs as they listened to soundtracks from the era.

Belinda had fallen asleep watching the shenanigans and trying to force her eyes to stay open as she sat leaning on the arm of a lounge chair that had been covered with fake fur. She woke in her bed however to find her place immaculately clean and thanked her stars for such good friends.

Padding around the small apartment, she grabbed some juice and the camera they had used the night before. Loading the photo's onto her laptop, she smiled as she browsed the formal shots they had begun with and laughed out loud at some of the informal shots that had been taken inbetween poses and costume changes.

Alison, of course, loomed large wrapping herself around one or other of the men in attendance. There were a few casual shots of Nick, but he had stayed out of the posed pictures they had planned for their proposal. He had laughed that she had too much time on her hands and had better come back to work if she went to this much trouble for a simple proposal that didn't even involve a paying client.

Her phone jingled with an incoming text, and she smiled seeing it was from Nick. She read, "Good morning beautiful, how did the photo's turn out? Here is one I took that you should use in the proposal."

The picture was of her, asleep in the old armchair on the porch. She laughed and sent back, "Good morning. Thank you, but I think I will go with the scripted shots they turned out very well."

"Alison's not the only one who knows how to get their own way" He sent back.

"Sorry to burst your bubble but you are not as skilled at flirting as she is" Belinda hit send and laughed.

"You'll see. I'll call you tonight." She shook her head and sent back a smiley face. She wasn't sure what he meant, but it made her smile that he thought he could get what he wanted by being charming.

Late that afternoon Ben and Angie arrived to look over the final proposal. "You did an amazing job," Ben congratulated her. I don't feel like I have contributed much," Ben said looking over the digital presentation.

"Of course you have. I couldn't have pulled this off on my own. I was so unwell, and you have been so supportive keeping me in the loop with work and working on this project with me. Letting me get overly-creative when there is no paying client to impress," she gave Ben a wide smile.

"Would you let me make a few changes? Just so, I feel like I did something for it. Nothing drastic just an extra photo or two and maybe pull that one out," he pointed at the screen where a shot of Angie and Allison fought over him in a tug of war.

"I love that picture," Belinda gasped.

"Okay, you can keep that one in if you let me add this one," he pulled a picture from the email he had logged into, and Belinda burst out laughing.

"No way!" Belinda said continuing to laugh.

"Come on Bindy, it's gorgeous! I wish I looked that perfect when I slept," Angie cajoled.

"Where did you get that?" Belinda knew very well but wasn't about to let on.

"Nick sent me a whole heap this morning. He took quite a few on his phone last night some of them are pretty good," he opened up a few others from the email and let her see. Belinda was relieved to find that he had taken shots of some of the other girls too even if she did seem to feature heavily in the shots.

"Just let him change a few things and then look at the proposal again," Angie smiled. "Let's decide what we're having for dinner." She saw the look of concern on Belinda's face. "If you don't like what he does to it you can always change it back."

Once they moved far enough away Angie confided, "It's a guy thing, he thinks if his name is on it he shouldn't have let you do most of the work. Let him have his couple of pictures that one of you is awesome, I kid you not."

Belinda understood where Ben was coming from and had no doubt that if he had have just done his own thing while she was away from work she wouldn't have felt right about it either. He was good to include her and let her run with her idea the way he had.

When she re-joined him after ordering pizza, she agreed to his changes and knew that Nick had gotten his way in a rather devious manner. She might not like what he did, but she had to give him credit for how he went about it after she had said no. After the final changes, three photos of herself and four of Ben made it into the proposal along with those of her friends.

They finished the proposal along with the last of their pizza as Angie watch Big brother on TV. "This has been fun," Ben said. "We're going to hang out even though its done now right?"

"Of course you big goofball," Belinda laughed. "We're friends aren't we?"

"We were always friends, but I am glad I have got to know you better," he gave her a quick awkward hug.

"Angie your boy is hitting on me," she called out and laughed loudly as Ben began to protest.

"He can be a bit handsy, just ignore that. I wouldn't worry unless he sticks his tongue down your throat," Angie waved away the incident like she would an annoying fly.

"And on that note, we're leaving," Ben announced and hugged Belinda properly. "Thanks for all your hard work, I appreciate it."

"You did enough of your own hard work, roping in your friends and getting the boss on side, you still have to explain that one to me."

"Tomorrow," Ben laughed.

Belinda went back in and tidied up the pizza boxes and glasses. Then she went to get ready for bed. Her phone rang just as she was about to crawl between the sheets and she smiled, "Hello."

"Hey, how'd the proposal go?" there was amusement in his voice.

"That was playing dirty," she tried to sound angry and failed.

"Well, I don't have Allison's great tits to work with now do I?" he chuckled.

"So you do think she is gorgeous, or at least her tits are," Belinda once again tried to sound angry.

"Sure she is beautiful, I'd have to be blind not to see that but she isn't my type," his voice still held amusement. "I like a woman who looks just as beautiful asleep as she does awake."

"I disagree but I should be grateful I am not drooling from the corner of my mouth in that photo or something equally horrendous I guess. You got what you wanted, it's in the proposal," she sighed dramatically into the phone.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Nick chuckled. "How are you feeling though, you'll be right to come into work tomorrow, won't you?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just need an early night. You're in bed with me as we speak," she grinned into the phone.

"I'm not that easy. You can't just kiss me once and expect to take me to bed!" Nick protested.

"Me thinks you protest too much," she laughed.

"Yeah, who am I kidding, I'd get in the car right now and drive over if I thought that's what you wanted," he admitted.

"Not tonight, I have a headache," she giggled.

"Sleep well, Bindy," he murmured.

"Thanks you too, see you tomorrow," Belinda put her phone beside her bed after setting the alarm and turned off the light. Visions of Nick swam in her mind as she allowed herself the freedom to think about what he had proposed yesterday and indulge in fantasies she had always shooed from her mind as being implausible.

*****

Belinda stood nervously to the side of the meeting room as the short multimedia presentation played. When it was done, she looked out at the rest of the team to try and gage their reaction but the group stayed silent waiting for Nick to speak.

"Three good, solid presentations, thank you all for the work you put into them. You all stuck to the brief and your costs come in under budget though some pushed that upper edge a bit harder than others. Now comes the opportunity to speak your thoughts, to give a critique and or a rebuttal. Stacey you can open, you always have something lively to get us going." Nick opened the table to discussion. He knew which he preferred but as always he wanted it to be fair.

"Mark and I wrote a few notes during the presentations," Stacey began and at this point I think we would like to withdraw our proposal and throw our weight behind the Silver Screen idea. Combining with the company awards would be a bonus, and I have a few idea's around that if we get that far and Belinda does mind a few tweaks."

"I think with a few tweaks that the proposal could be made into the invitation and could be emailed out to staff within a week to give them plenty of notice," Mark agreed.

"Slow down, I still have to take it to the senior partners and it's good to have a couple of good solid back-ups in case they don't like it. What's your thoughts, Phil?"

"The Silver Screen proposal is great. I have to admit I like the idea. I am not sure we could pull it off given the time constraints though. I guess I am game as long as everyone realises it will mean putting in some long days around this. Particularly with our current event schedule," he seemed to be checking his calendar on his iPad as he spoke.

"Looking through the packet they gave us as well as the digital display, seems like a fairly reasonable timeline and Belinda's done most of the working checking availability along with the costs. I imagine if you got the go ahead for this today, most of the work could be done with little disruption to the other events," Dom spoke in his usual measured tone having heard what the others said.