Banner By: solerdani

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Chapter 1

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"Miranda, my keyboard won't work again!" I yell over the dull grey cubicle wall that separates me from my friend, typing away at my keyboard slamming my finger down repeatedly on the 't' button.

Frustrated, I push myself away from the computer. Miranda peeps her head around the corner, her dark brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. She removes herself from her chair and enters my cubicle. Reaching for the keyboard, she picks it up swiftly and violently begins to bash it against the counter. I can't help but laugh as I watched her act like a psycho pulling away at the tangled plugs.

"Well crap, Amber... I just do not know." Sarcastically placing her hands on her hips, flawlessly mocking the I.T. workers in our building. She leans forward to look at the computer, pretending to push her imaginary glasses up her nose.

"I see Miranda, well did you try shutting it off and turning it back on?" I mocked in a my manliest man voice, throwing my hands on my hips as well. I always enjoyed our little back and forth banter at other people's expense. It was nice having someone I could joke with during stressful times at the office.

"Ya'know, I never really thought about that... maybe I'll just go shut my keyboard off right now sir. It couldn't be that it just died because it's older than dirt!" She turned on her heel as if to leave the cubicle. We both burst into a fit of laughter while the rest of our co-workers stared at us in contempt.

"Seriously though, maybe you should just go buy yourself a new one for Christmas." She disappeared for a moment to grab her swivel chair and planted herself in it , moving it next to mine. I rolled my eyes just thinking how useless our I.T. workers were. If you needed something fixed around here you might as well go buy a new one yourself.

"Christmas is twelve days away, all of the good keyboards are probably gone by now." I say in a whiny little girl voice.

An irritating "SHHH!" was suddenly heard from around the corner. Miranda perked up above the cubicles, as this was one of her biggest pet peeves.

"Keep it down Barbra... I'm trying to work." Miranda put way too much emphasis on Barbra. I wanted to smack her for being so rude but I have to admit, Barbra was a scrooge. She was always trying to kill our fun. I chuckled a bit, quietly and to myself, thinking about Miranda and Barbara's pointless feud.

I turned my attention back to my computer, looking at the pile of cords left there by Miranda. My desk was in shambles. I began plugging the pieces back together and testing the machine after everything was back in. The 't' button still didn't work! I shook my head.

"Alright I'm over this, I'm going downstairs for a smoke, you coming?" Miranda asks.

I didn't realize how frustrated I was with my keyboard until I had the option to leave. I nodded my head before getting out of my seat and followed her to the lobby. I tried my best to keep up with her but following Miranda was like a race between a Bugatti and a Mini Cooper. Unfortunately, I was the Mini Cooper.

The snow was falling gracefully outside as the winter air kissed my skin. Miranda and I took our usual spot against the brick wall next to the front door of our office building. I leaned against the black brick that decorated the exterior of the building. She quickly pulled out a smoke and placed it between her lips. I never agreed with her habits but didn't mind sneaking out with her to get away whenever chaos broke out at work.

People rushed through the busy New York streets as taxi drivers lay on their horns in vain. Seasoned pedestrians didn't even flinch at the deafening noise in sharp contrast to the tourists that would freak out. It was easy to single them out. I smirked as a man threw his hand in the air as he shouted cuss words at the yellow cab.

"December is always the worst time of the year," I mumbled rhetorically . I watched as parents left the toy store across the street. Bags piled on more bags. They splurged on whatever sale was going on to make their children happy. I, on the other hand, had no one to shop for other than this year's Secret Santa. I shuffled uncomfortably against the brick. Just the thought of Secret Santa made me weary. I didn't like the thought of a stranger searching through stores to find a gift for me.

"You said it." Miranda took a long drag of her cigarette,releasing the malignant smoke into the air. She flicked the cigarette butt away,letting the ashes fall into the fluffy white snow and stomped on it. She coughed a few times before we began our emotionless trek back inside the office.

"Do you know when they are doing the drawing for Secret Santa this year?" I asked gasping up the long stairwell. Damn the elevator for always being broken... especially around this time of year.

We entered the office and noticed everyone gathered around the table near the entrance. Jonathan, by far the tallest person in the office, was easy to spot above the rest of our co-workers. His dark sun kissed skin was tempting. His hands held a small green elf hat filled with a bunch of tiny ripped up papers. Miranda and I shot each other looks.

"I'm a mind reader I tell you." Miranda teased taking the last few steps toward Jonathan. Bumping others out of the way, she stuck her hand in the hat and picked out a piece of paper and quickly glanced at the name.With a smile, she nodded her head and went back to her cubicle. It was my turn. I closed the distance before swiping my very own piece of paper. There were only a few left, so my choices couldn't be good. Taking the first one my fingers touched, I read the name. It was Eric.

I searched the room for the blonde haired gentleman. He was quiet and shy and hardly spoke a word. I had absolutely no idea what I was going to get him. At least I didn't have to buy a present for the boss. I didn't need that additional stress in my life.

I took my seat next to Miranda and peeped inside her cubicle. "Pst... who did you get?" I tried to say in my sneakiest voice. Miranda rolled her eyes before showing me her slip of paper.

"Girl, you are screwed," I mumbled as I read our bosses name written in green ink. I showed her mine and she shrugged her shoulders.

"We will get this figured out." I nodded,returning to my desk.

That's when I noticed a tiny piece of paper folded up neatly under the corner of my broken keyboard. I quickly swiped it to open it up. Inside was a note, written in beautiful lettering.

Your eyes are a green as a beautiful as a Christmas tree

Your hair as breathtaking as a fresh layer of snow on Christmas morning.

Your smile reminds me of warm hot chocolate on the coldest day

Your presence is like the cheer of the perfect present,

My smile may never fade away.

-Your Secret Admirer

P.s. Let's say Santa, that sounds better this time of year.

I searched around the office trying to figure out who had left the note on my desk. There were beautiful drawings of mistletoe on each corner of the paper, the embroidery looked like it took hours to draw. I couldn't help but smile as my hand gracefully twisted a strand of my hair.

It had to be someone in this office. Miranda and I worked in a small law firm with a handful of employees. Only eight of us to be exact. I looked around the room once more searching for clues. I was pretty sure the note hadn't been left by one of the girls. As far as I knew, they were either in a heterosexual relationship or boy crazy.That left only 3 suspects, Kyle, Jonathan, and Eric. One of them had to be responsible for this.

"Amber, I just sent you an email from a new client of ours." Miranda pulled me from my thoughts, drawing me back to my work. I nodded my head and attempted to get into work mode. I scrolled through my emails but couldn't stop thinking about the note, glancing at it ever so often.

'Who could it be?'