Secret Santa

4: Whoops

Elliot's view

I finally finish wrapping Brooklyn's present. I'm really pleased with how it came out. I gave her two boxes of chocolate that I got from my brother, a cute merry Christmas mug with Santa and his reindeer and a fifteen dollar gift card to Starbucks.

I take a quick picture of the wrapped present and send it to Ella.

Ella: Wow, you exceeded my expectations. I really thought you were going to get a shitty last minute gift.

Me: wow, thanks so much for the support.

Ella: 👍 You're welcome. Have fun! Flirt with Brooklyn!

Me: That I certainly will not do.

I put my phone in my purse and say goodbye to my brother, but he's still asleep. I guess he's catching up on sleep that he lost doing all nights in college.

I exit my apartment and walk to my car to get to work.

At work, everyone does their job for about four hrs until the boss arrives. He calls everyone to the secret Santa meeting. I excitedly walk into the conference room with my present in one hand.

"Welcome, ladies, gentlemen and people in between or not in between. We shall begin our first annual secret Santa game!!!!!," yells the boss.

"Everyone give your present to the person whose name you pulled out of the hat," adds the boss.

Just before I can walk over to Brooklyn, a guy stops me. "You're Elliot, right?" Michael asks.

"Yes, Michael. We have worked in the same department for the last three years, dude," I say to him.

"Yeah, I knew that. Of course, duh. Anyway, here's your gift," he says handing me a clear plastic bag with a bottle of Vodka.

"Gee, thanks, Michael," I say annoyed.

He walks away and I spot Brooklyn who is about to leave the room.

I jog over to her and follow her out into the hall.

"Brooklyn, for the love of god, wait! I'm not a gym junkie like you," I yell out. She turns around and looks at me in amusement.

"Yes?" She asks towering above me.

"Uhhh....," I'm at a lost for words, she looks so beautiful.

"You okay there?" She asks narrowing her eyebrows in concern.

"Yes! I mean, here. Here's your gift. Sorry it took me a while, Michael was giving me his gift," I explain handing her the present.

She grabs it from my hand and gives me a dashing smile. "Thank you, Elliot."

She glances over at the bag in my hand, "Did Michael really give you liquor. For fucks sake, that man is a mess."

"Eh, it was better than what I expected from him. At least now I can drink," I reply.

Brooklyn chuckles, "One, no drinking on the job and two, take a shot for me."

"Better yet, take a shot with me," I blurt out stupidly.

Brooklyn laughs, "I might take you up on that offer one day."

Then suddenly everyone starts exiting the conference room and moving into the hallway to get back to work.

"Well, it's time to go back to work. Have a great holiday, if I don't see you at the office Christmas party," Brooklyn says walking away.

I head back to my desk to continue working.

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Max's view

I'm casually watching tv and eating some chocolate while I get a call from my roommate.

I put the phone on speaker and answer, "Yo, Dylan. What's dude?"

"Max, you piece of shit. You stole chocolate from my car again!!," yells Dylan.

"Ummmm, maybe," I reply taking another bite of the chocolate bar.

"Damn you, Max. Those chocolates are not edible! They are expired. I was supposed to throw all the boxes in a dumpster!" Dylan explains.

I squint my eyes and stare at the chocolate I'm eating. "But it still taste fine," I reply.

"Oh my god, you're eating it! Spit it out. It's milk chocolate, you can't eat it. It's been sitting in the factory for five years, you idiot!" Dylan continues yelling.

I sniff the chocolate and take another bite, I mean it doesn't taste great, but it's not horrible either.

"Are you listening, Max? Are you still eating the fucking chocolate? Stop it! Throw all the chocolate away!" Dylan advises.

"Fine, fine," I say getting up to throw away all the chocolate.

"You didn't give any away, right? You were the only one to eat the chocolate, right?" Dylam asks.

I stopped dead in my tracks, "SHIT!"

"What do you mean shit!" Dylas asks.

"Dylan I need to call you back later," I say before hanging up.

I quickly call my sister and the moment she answers the phone I yell, "Don't give away the chocolate! It's expired milk chocolate!"

"WHAT!" Elliot yells.

Then my stomach starts growling and I get a sharp pain. I start feeling like I need to hurl. Damn I shouldn't have been eating chocolate all day.

"I need to go throw up, Elliot. Just don't give anyone the chocolate, it's five years old," i say before hanging up and running to the bathroom.