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Well-Hung by the Chimney: An All-M/M Christmas Novella Collection
by EM Lynley, Ryan Field, Chloe Stowe
Category: Erotica/Gay-Lesbian Erotica/Romance
Description: Three delicious tales of male/male romance for the holidays! Meet Aaron and Brant, who escape to a tropical island for the holidays, under the pretense of doing a big business deal, but end up doing each other, in EM Lynley's CHRISTMAS BONUS. Best-selling author Ryan Field brings back Lance and Nathan, two high school lovers who reunited on Christmas Eve, as they now explore their new relationship a year later and find the true meaning of Christmas in THE CHRISTMAS GIFT. And finally join Alec and John, the military pilot and doctor from Chloe Stowe's FOREVER BOUND, as they dance through another holiday of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," in FOREVER BOUND WITH TINSEL. Don't miss this twinkling collection of holiday lust!
eBook Publisher: Ravenous Romance/Ravenous Romance, 2010
eBookwise Release Date: January 2011
 
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Available eBook Formats: OEBFF Format (IMP) [299 KB]
Words: 67601
Reading time: 193-270 min.
The Christmas Bonus
by EM Lynley
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Chapter One
Monday, December 20
New York City
Alec glanced at his watch and tried to swallow but his throat was dry. Nearly Christmas, his favorite time of year: bonus time at Whitman, Whitman, and Walker, the Wall Street investment firm where he was a whisper away from making full partner. They wouldn't give out checks until January but at the obligatory pre-Christmas meeting with the firm's founding partners, he'd get a taste of what was in store.
He'd had a stellar year, his best yet, and he expected not only a healthy bonus but a promotion as well. Generally, the mood of the whole office would be loud and light, but this year had been tough given the state of the economy and markets, so nearly everyone was in a sour mood. The firm as a whole hadn't done well and some people wouldn't be back after Christmas; a few people had already been let go.
Alec couldn't delay any longer so he got up, pulled on his suit jacket, shot his cuffs, and headed for his boss's office. He moved down the hall, and his colleagues nodded greetings as he passed open-door offices. The hallway was strung here and there with tinsel, random Christmas decorations, and anemic sprigs of mistletoe hanging from a couple of doorways.
At the end of the hall, he entered Ben Whitman's outer office. Gina, Whitman's secretary, greeted him with a silent thumbs-up and a nod in the direction of the dark walnut door, slightly ajar. Alec took a deep breath and pushed it open.
Inside, Ben Whitman sat at a conference table at one end of the richly appointed office. Flanking him were his two partners: his younger brother Will Whitman and Rob Walker. Alec padded across the thick oriental carpets and greeted the men with a weak smile as he took a seat across the table from them.
Ben Whitman was known as "Big Ben" to Wall Street and the firm's employees, but never to his face. Alec and Ben had never really clicked. Despite Alec being considered the up-and-coming star of the firm, Ben had never been more than cool and distant toward him. Without so much as a greeting, Big Ben slid a yellow craft-paper envelope across the smooth, wide table, and left it sitting in the vast expanse halfway between himself and Alec.
Alec stared at the envelope for a moment, then at Big Ben's face. Mr. Whitman's pale watery blue eyes betrayed no emotion, so he waited for instructions.
"Open it up, Alec."
Alec turned the envelope over. His name was scrawled in spidery ink. The envelope felt light, giving Alec a little surge of relief. If they were cutting him loose, they'd have a thick sheaf of paperwork for him to sign, giving up his right to just about everything and anything he'd known or enjoyed while here at Three Dub. It must be his bonus check, which even with the firm's bad year, wouldn't be too light. He resisted the urge to hold the envelope up to the light.
With a dry mouth, Alec slipped a finger under the flap and eased it open. It was empty. He blinked a couple of times and looked inside again.
"Nothing in there but air. A little bit like some of our staff this past year," Big Ben glanced over at his brother and the two of them chuckled.
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