Braxton - A Scrooged Christmas Read online

  Copyright 2017 © BSM Stoneking

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the writer’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales, or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All Rights Reserved. No part of this story may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the permission of Author BSM Stoneking. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the author is illegal and punishable by law. Please do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Cover photo Copyright 2017

  The cover of this book was created by Tracie Douglas and is the copyright ownership of BSM Stoneking.

  All Rights Reserved.

  About the Author

  A resident of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Stoneking has developed a strong fan following and has hit the best sellers list thanks to her BDSM romance novel, Capture’s Temperance. By dabbling in supernatural and erotic romance, Stoneking has received rave reviews, including: "BSM is blessed with an innate ability to weave an imaginative web, capturing readers with her tempting words."

  Arguably, the only thing better than her written stories of love is her own personal love story. Stoneking has been with her husband since they were 16 years old and they remain madly in love to this day. While they were engaged at 16, they did not get married until they were 21. She is known for her: love of glitter and outgoing, bubbly personality with a smile that lights up a room.

  To learn more about BSM Stoneking, including upcoming events, check out her website:

  http://www.bsmstoneking.com/

  Braxton – A Scrooged Christmas is part of a collaborated collection by ten authors themed around a scrooged Christmas. Check out the blurbs at the end of this book for the following correlated authors: CP Smith, FG Adams, Jennifer Domenico, Jessika Klide, Julia Goda, Mayra Statham, Regina Frame, Tracie Douglas, and Winter Travers.

  Other books by BSM Stoneking

  The Vampires Ange De La Mort (book 1)

  The Vampires Ange De La Mort -

  Meet The Parents (book 2)

  Capture’s Temperance

  Lena’s Security

  Lena’s Security – Day 2

  Cumming With Amy

  A Scrooged Christmas

  “Braxton Scrooge, I thought we agreed our time together was going to be our Christmas present to each other.” Gemma giggled, looking around their living room.

  The Christmas tree had been the only festive thing in the house when she’d left for work that morning. Now, there were golden lights dangling from the ceiling like raindrops, a miniature Christmas train chugging around the tree, small glass Christmas trees covered in green glitter on every end table, and a larger one covered in gold glitter on the main coffee table. The display of hand-carved characters from her favorite fairytale, The Nutcracker, was like nothing she had ever seen. Most dazzling of it all was the endless sight of beautifully wrapped gifts. There were so many presents, she could barely see the floor. Wrapped in different Christmas colors, the boxes were stacked on top of each other, from largest to smallest. Each one was held together by a long red, gold, or silver ribbon and topped with a bow to accent the colors of the boxes. The gifts not only covered their floor, but also the furniture. She had no idea if their loveseat was still in the room, or if the presents had just gotten taller; the only thing visible part of their study desk was one wooden leg.

  Pongo pawed hard at one of the boxes until a puppy tumbled out.

  “Perfect timing, Pongo,” Braxton praised the Golden Retriever with a chuckle.

  “Oh my gosh, who is this little guy?” Gemma picked him up, and Pongo began bouncing, eager to give the new puppy kisses.

  “This is Pongo’s little brother and one of your Christmas presents,” Braxton said, scratching Pongo behind the ears and taking him so Gemma could get to know the new family member.

  “He looks just like Pongo when he was a puppy,” she said with a laugh, moving to sit on the floor.

  Pongo instantly began licking the puppy and giving him a little nudge with his nose to play.

  “Not so rough, Pongo. He’s little,” Gemma said, pulling the tiny canine into her lap.

  Tail wagging, Pongo leaned forward and put his butt in the air, waiting for Gemma to let the puppy come play. The little guy pushed his way out of Gemma’s lap to get to Pongo’s nose, giving him a small bark and a bounce.

  Braxton and Gemma laughed at their golden fur babies.

  “We’ll have to come up with the perfect name for him,” she said, tilting her head. “I thought our time together was our Christmas present to each other,” she repeated with a loving smile.

  “This is spending time together. I’m going to enjoy every minute with you as you open each of these gifts.” He stuck his hands in the pockets of his grey dress slacks and gave her a Cheshire grin.

  She jumped to her feet and ran into his arms. “I have nothing to give to you.”

  He hugged her tight to his body, kissed the top of her head, and said, “The way you love me will always be a gift.” He held out a small box he’d pulled from his pocket. “Open this one next.”

  The black box made a small click as she opened it. Inside was a stunning set of emerald and diamond earrings. Each emerald was shaped into a heart and held two dangling diamonds.

  “They’ll match your Christmas necklace,” he pointed out.

  “It will match them perfectly.” She held back a small tear as she said, “Thank you.”

  Two years ago, no one would have believed this would be Braxton Scrooge’s life. In fact, Scrooge wasn’t his real last name.

  He had owned his business for less than a year when two weeks before Christmas, he’d arrived at work to find a rectangular box, giftwrapped in red and green, sitting on his desk. He opened the present to discover it was a new nameplate for his desk. BRAXTON SCROOGE was carved in big bold letters. The gift should have upset him, perhaps even given him a bit of a wakeup call, but instead it only made him worse. He pushed his old nameplate into the garbage can beside his desk and embraced the new name with a malevolent grin. I’ll show them a scrooge, he thought to himself. Mr. Scrooge would like to wish you all a Merry Christmas by laying off, hmmm, I’d say about a dozen people. Yes, I’d like to see them pay off all those credit card bills without an income.

  Braxton’s hate for Christmas permeated a room so strongly, his employees called him a scrooge to his face. His brown eyes flickered green every time his stock numbers increased, and his narcissistic personality intensified each time he flexed his power as a boss.

  Braxton had thrived on living up to his new last name, until one man sent him on a whirlwind of a wakeup call.

  Will

  William Pierce had met Gemma in the common cafeteria their sophomore year in college. For him, it was love at first sight. Her positive energy was so vibrant, it made everything around them disappear. All the students chattering about nonsense at the surrounding tables and those juggling their textbooks while shuffling to their next class no longer existed. The sounds faded into the distance, and the smell of cafeteria food vanished. All he could smell was peaches, and the only thing he saw was her.

  Gemma’s long, golden-blonde hair hung in loose curls around her shoulders, and her yellow sundress made her look like an angel stepping out of a ray of sunshine. Her smile instantly warmed his heart and gave him butterflies. He could actually feel his hear
t skip a beat the first time he held her hand.

  He knew Gemma felt the same connection that day their eyes locked. The cafeteria slowly cleared, and there they remained, staring at each other as though they had just found their missing piece. Will had the key to her heart, and she happily opened it for him.

  Locked in love, the two of them were inseparable. They expressed their love through wedding vows less than a year after graduating, and shortly after had found their dream home, complete with a wraparound porch and a white picket fence.

  One month later, Will began his first day working for Braxton Scrooge.

  Will versus Mr. Scrooge

  “Pierce! Do you know what today is?”

  “The eve before Christmas Eve, Mr. Scrooge.”

  “Don’t be cute! Today is the last day to finalize that trade with Japan. If you don’t have that contract with them signed by the end of the day, I’m personally booking you a ticket to arrive at their door and start kissing their asses. We can’t lose this deal!”

  Will’s heart dropped to his feet. The likelihood of him finalizing the trade within the next hour was beyond slim, and he had no doubt Braxton Scrooge meant it when he said he would send him to kiss ass. “No worries, sir, everything will be fine.” He attempted to sound confident and failed epically.

  A vengeful chuckle came from deep in Braxton’s belly. “I’ll book the ticket. You better inform your wife that you won’t be home for Christmas.” His horrible chuckle continued as he turned on his heel and left Will with his jaw dropped.

  It would be the second year in a row he wouldn’t be home for Christmas. In fact, it wasn’t just Christmas Mr. Scrooge had forced him to miss. He’d lost the joy of spending time with the love of his life on her birthday, the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving. Gemma was never going to forgive him for missing another Christmas. For them, it was more than the biggest holiday of the year. Christmas was the day they’d said, “I do.”

  Will thought back to the most beautiful day of their life. The largest Christmas tree in town had been set up at the church’s entrance and was covered in handmade ornaments from the local orphanage. All year long, the children spent time in art class making ornaments and Christmas decorations. It was what raised the majority of the money that fed and clothed them. People would travel long distances just to purchase the beautiful creations, and best of all, the kids were so proud of their one-of-a-kind pieces that they always signed them.

  He remembered Gemma walking down the aisle. She had been a vision, the same beautiful angel he’d met back in college. Her white wedding gown flowed so wide it touched the pews on each side, and the train of her veil was so long, it looked like part of the aisle runner. The tiara on her head was surrounded by flawless curls and sparkled with little red rhinestones to match her bouquet of red roses. Each rose was tipped with silver glitter, completing a bouquet fit only for a gem like her.

  “Pierce! Get back to work!” Scrooge shouted from his office.

  Daydreaming about Gemma had him frozen in place, or perhaps it was the thought of telling her the bad news.

  He returned to his desk heavyhearted. With everything else happening in Will’s life, he was torn between telling Mr. Scrooge to shove this job where the sun don’t shine and letting his wife down. Unfortunately, as it is for most people in life, it was about the money. It wasn’t the typical need of paying off credit cards from purchasing unnecessary items above their means; it was from the struggle the other half of society battled ensuring a good life for their loved ones after they’re gone.

  Braxton arrived at his desk moments later with a piece of paper and a large folder in his hand. “Here’s your flight itinerary, your hotel information, and the contract. If you don’t get this signed, don’t bother returning to work you’ll be terminated.”

  If Will was terminated, all his benefits would be, too, and there was no way he was letting that happen. “This contract will be signed the day I arrive, sir.” He’d found his confident voice again and had no doubt he could complete the task. The prosperity of his wife’s future lay in that contract.

  “Head home now. Your flight leaves tomorrow at four a.m. sharp.” Braxton gave the same vengeful chuckle, which was quickly beginning to give Will the creeps. Why did that man hate him so much? Every time someone needed to stay late to finish a task, it was William Pierce Mr. Scrooge forced to miss family dinners. Whenever traveling was required, Will was sent to finish the job, and only Will was forced to miss major holidays and special occasions. There were plenty of people equally qualified to accomplish the same assignments, but it was always Will who had to carry the burden.

  On numerous occasions, Will thought about asking Braxton why he felt so much hate for him, but he always bit his tongue and got the job done.

  Driving home with the contract and the flight information riding in his passenger seat, a thought occurred to him: they weren’t going to miss another year of celebrating their anniversary together. This time, he was dragging Gemma with him. Even if they wouldn’t have time to enjoy sightseeing, they could at least be together.

  He had already bought her a Christmas gift that was sure to make her giddy. It was one of the rare Christmas bears she was missing in her collection. Although he knew she would be excited for her Christmas present, the anniversary gift was what he was most excited to give her. It was a necklace wrapped so thick in diamonds, you couldn’t see the chain. Dangling from the center was a large emerald heart, surrounded by two more rows of diamonds. The main stone made him think of an emerald version of the necklace from the movie Titanic. Every Christmas, she wore her favorite V-neck red sweater, which would display her new necklace perfectly.

  Without a doubt, she was going to love the necklace, but he knew that alone wouldn’t keep him out of the doghouse, so he decided to take a detour to the local flower shop. Will planned to pay them to contact a flower shop near the hotel he was booked at in Japan. When they arrived, she would open the door to a sea of red roses tipped with silver glitter, just like the ones from her wedding bouquet. Even though Braxton hated Will, he was fortunate that the company always put him in the hotel’s nicest suite whenever he had to travel, and the company always placed him in first class. He would also have it arranged to have one red rose tipped with the same glitter placed in her seat on the plane. He was short on time, but for the rest of his idea, he would have to call the airlines to get help.

  If everything went according to plan, they would be drinking pink champagne on the flight to their first stop. The nicest restaurant at the airport would have a special candlelit meal ready for them during the layover. Then their final plane would have another rose waiting for her, more champagne, and best of all, two pieces of wedding cake, made to taste just like the one they’d shared on their special day. After that, they would cuddle while watching a couple of their favorite movies, and lastly, just before they landed, he would surprise her with the necklace. It seemed pretty basic, but he knew Gemma would be very impressed by what he pulled together in so little time.

  Mr. Scrooge wasn’t ruining Christmas for them this year.

  Braxton

  “It’s finally Christmas Eve,” Braxton said out loud to himself. He dropped his oversized robe to the floor and slid into bed, letting out a long sigh of relief. “One more day of this wretched holiday, then I can look forward to a holiday I do like New Year’s Day.”

  Braxton Scrooge didn’t like January first for the same reason most people do; he liked that it was the end of a fiscal year. He could finally look at his companies’ fiscal report as a whole, and he always looked forward to the new investors his businesses would attract. Sure, he spent the entire day in front of his computer looking at what areas needed to be budgeted better and where to make cuts, but looking at what investments made him the most money throughout the year and seeing how much more he’d profited that year compared to the last always made him feel real joy or was it greed that made him so jolly after Christmas?

&
nbsp; His breathing settled into slow, calming breaths, and his head relaxed deeper into his pillow as he began to drift off to sleep.

  Before he could fully fall into a dream state, there was a huge crash as something busted through his bedroom window. Broken glass shattered, splattering the room, then falling to the floor like a bucket of diamonds being tipped over.

  The sheets and pillows went flying as he tried to fling himself out of the bed to get to the light switch beside the bedroom door. His silk boxers had him sliding around the bed, causing one of the sheets to wrap around his ankle, tripping him. As he hit the floor, he could feel the winter wind whipping around his room, instantly dropping the temperature and making him shiver. With chattering teeth and trembling fingers, he finally found the light switch.

  Temporary blindness induced by the sudden light caused his racing heart to pound harder against his chest. He wrapped his arms around his cold body, worried he was on the verge of a heart attack. After a few moments, his vision cleared and he felt a wave of warmth cover him.

  He quickly turned his head toward the window. “What the hell!”

  The was nothing there. No broken glass or freezing wind scraping his skin. He slowly approached the window, still holding his chest. There wasn’t a single crack.

  “What the hell?” he repeated. He stared out through the big picture window, looking out over the city. The snow was flying hard, and there was an unusually large amount of traffic for Christmas Eve.

  He could see a fire flickering, reflecting in one corner of the window. When he turned his head to his fireplace, he gasped, sure it hadn’t been lit when her got in bed. The heat of the fire continued to warm his body back to normal, but nothing about the situation felt right.