Killer Santas

Chapter 1

Elaina leaned back in her chair, stretching her arms back behind her head. She'd been sitting still for too long, hunched over her computer. Staring up at the ceiling, she sighed and then straightened, cracking her neck before glancing back at her monitor, the strings of numbers blurring together.

The yearly report was almost done, the last push to finish the work nearly over with. Elaina couldn't wait. She loved her work as an accountant, but sometimes the pressure of the workload was overwhelming, especially during the end of the year when they were trying to ensure all the clients' information was in order.

"Elaina," Jackie, one of her coworkers called. "We're drawing names for the Secret Santa now."

Elaina glanced over at her, startled. "What? That's today?"

Jackie nodded. "Yep. We get to figure out who to buy a cheap and unwanted gift for, hooray." She waved her hands around mockingly.

"You sure sound excited," Elaina remarked with a laugh, pushing back from her desk and stretching again before joining her coworker. "Perhaps you need to dial it back a little."

Jackie just laughed. "Hoping I get the owner's name, so I can finally have an excuse to do more than just talk about work."

Elaina frowned. "You mean Victor?"

Her coworker nodded. "Of course I mean Victor. Who else fits the description of 'owner' around here? Answer to that is 'nobody,' Laine." She wagged her finger playfully at Elaina. "Whoever pins that Victor Andrisano down, phew!" Jackie shook her head. "I mean, he's very easy on the eyes."

Elaina tilted her head, inwardly agreeing with Jackie. With his thick wavy black hair, dark eyes, and deep skin tone complementing his strong facial features and muscular build, many girls would classify Victor Andrisano as – and Elaina quoted – "hot."

Not that she would. Not at all.

At least, that was what Elaina told herself.

Elaina did not know Victor well, but he was pleasant, from what she could tell. He always said hello, would fill her coffee cup for her if she came for a refill while he was standing there, and would give her a brilliant smile, white teeth against his darker skin. But other than what work required, she didn't interact with him much.

"Hello, Elaina? Are you listening to me?"

Elaina jumped. "Oh? Yes, sorry, Jackie! I'm listening."

Jackie smirked at her. "Yeah, right. No, you weren't. You were thinking about Victor." She sighed. "He's much hotter than his brother."

Elaina frowned. Victor was definitely more handsome than his older brother, Tony, who was quieter and shorter in stature. But Tony always gave Elaina a smile and a greeting whenever he saw her, Elaina always responding with a smile and a "How are you?" It was odd, at first, the owner's older brother greeting her, but now it was just a part of her day. Victor didn't speak much to her, or to anyone, for that fact.

Jackie and Elaina reached the breakroom where everyone else was gathering around the table in the center. A large glass bowl sat on the table, filled with paper slips with the names of all the employees written on them. Tony perched on the edge of the table, hands in his jacket pockets, chatting with one of the other accountants as the girls walked in. His dark brown hair flopped over his forehead, brushing above his dark eyes, and he usually had a pleasant expression, although today there was a strain to the pleasantness on his face.

Tony worked for his father's construction business, which was a client of Victor's firm. He had come in today to review some numbers with the accountants before the end of the year and Elaina was going to be working with him after the Secret Santa drawing.

"Hey, Elaina," he called to her, his normally friendly smile slightly strained. "Looking forward to reviewing the numbers later."

"Hey, Tony," Elaina returned. "How are you?"

Tony shrugged. "Who can answer that question nowadays?"

Elaina frowned playfully. "Normally, you."

"I'm joking," Tony said with a laugh. "I'm fine, Elaina, how are you?"

"Good," Elaina returned as Victor strode into the room and the voices all quieted expectantly. Victor's black hair was slicked back and despite the immense similarity to Tony in his face, he exuded confidence in a way his brother didn't.

"I think that's everyone!" Michael, another coworker, called. "Victor, can we start now so we can get back to pretending to work?"

Tony hopped off the table as Victor laughed. "All right, let's draw the names!" He clapped his hand, catching everyone's attention. "Let's do this!

"And remember, you don't need to get a gift if you can't think of anything," Tony added. "You can take them out! You know, you can take them out to dinner."

Victor glanced at Tony as Elaina frowned. "Doesn't that go against the whole point of Secret Santa?"

"As long as you surprise them with it," Tony said. "It should be fine. It can be a gift card, even."

"Let's get on with it," Victor interjected. "Tony, I think I know how to run my company's Secret Santa."

Tony raised his hands in mock surrender, grinning.

Reaching into the bowl, Victor withdrew a slip of paper and stepped away, allowing Michael to draw next. Elaina waited her turn impatiently, watching as the amount of paper in the bowl lessened with each hand. Tony watched, fiddling with a slip of paper in his hands, most likely one of the leftover pieces from cutting the names out of the printed sheet.

Jackie pulled her own name, scowled, and thrust it back into the bowl before drawing another, stepping away to laughs at her getting her own name. Elaina moved forward, reaching into the bowl of paper and fastening her fingers around one slip before pulling it out and moving aside.

Opening the slip, Elaina read the name printed on the paper. Victor Andrisano.

She had gotten Victor's name.

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All right, first chapter up! Not sure how I'm feeling about this one...it's taking a bit to get into the rhythm of this story.

Let me know what you thought of it!

Skylar Wittenborn