Candy Cane Kisses - A Christmas Collection

Anastasia

 by BrandonWong048

"Hey, Sunshine. How's the weather in New York?"

Marie's groan came over the line. Baker had to keep himself from laughing to hear her response.

"As it always is during these winter months. Cold. Snowy. Miserable."

Baker chuckled quietly at his girlfriend's gloomy take on her surroundings. He knew that it wasn't the weather that had her down in the dumps. He had called to combat the real reason for Marie's unhappiness.

"Cheer up, love. There's only two days left until your favorite holiday," he reminded her.

"I'm not looking forward to it."

Baker smirked on the other end of the line. The more she sulked, the better. An unsuspecting Marie was the key to success for Baker's elaborate surprise.

"Why not?" Baker asked innocently, prodding for the answer that he already knew.

"You won't be home for Christmas."

Even though Baker couldn't see her, he could tell that the blonde was pouting by the sound of her voice. He couldn't wait to replace it with a smile. All in due time.

For now, he just had to play along.

As the taxi driver unloaded his luggage from the trunk, Baker offered up a sincere apology. "I'm sorry, Marie. I really wish I could be home for Christmas, but I have to take care of business first. Mr. Bendtner dispatched me to Hong Kong to secure this contract, and I can't come home until the deal is done."

That was a true statement. What Baker purposely omitted, though, was the fact that the business client had signed along the dotted line over the weekend. His employers estimated it would take at least six weeks for Baker to seal the deal. He did it in three.

There was a reason why Baker was the top performing employee at his company. He had an inherent ability to understand people and position himself accordingly. It worked well for business clients. It worked well for his girlfriend too.

He tipped the taxi driver for his work, and the Asian man smiled at the act of generosity. Tipping culture wasn't prevalent in the port city, in part because salaries were build to cover for the absence of gratuities. Nonetheless, it was second nature for Baker to do so.

"I know it's not your fault, Baker, but I can't help but miss you," Marie lamented as Baker wheeled his suitcase down the ramp to the check-in desk.

That struck a chord with the homesick salesman. Baker couldn't wait to be back in New York City, where his beautiful girlfriend was waiting for him at home.

"I miss you too, Sunshine."

Marie's tone suddenly shifted from sadness to curiosity. "What's with the commotion in the background? I can hear a lot of clacking noises."

Baker grinned to himself. Although being dispatched to Hong Kong for work had been a major inconvenience, the city did end up doing him a huge favor to conclude the trip.

The noises that Marie had been referring to was the sound of suitcase wheels clacking along the tiled ground. In any other city, the suitcase would give away Baker's location at the airport. In Hong Kong, however, the multitude of suitcase toting tourist on the street provided a smokescreen to mislead Marie.

"It's lunch time, Sunshine. The streets are hectic here during the noon hour."

Baker didn't want to lie to Marie. He certainly wasn't going to make a habit out of it. For this particular occasion, though, he had to make an exception.