The Santa Claus (Men Of The World) Read online

  The Santa Claus

  A Men of the World Series Novella

  J.O Mantel

  Copyright 2020 J.O Mantel

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to real events, real people, and real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, organizations or places is entirely coincidental.

  All rights are reserved. This book is intended for the purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system, without the express written permission of the author. All songs, song titles, and lyrics contained in this book are the property of the respective songwriters and copyright holders.

  Disclaimer: The material in this book contains graphic language and sexual content and is intended for mature audiences, ages 18 and older.

  Book design by Mantelpiece Creations

  Cover design by Dana from Designs by Dana

  Cover Image Copyright 2020

  All Rights Reserved

  This book is dedicated my dear friend, Bianca.

  Thank you for all your support.

  Dedication

  Table Of Contents

  A Note From The Author

  Prologue

  One

  Two

  Three

  Four

  Five

  Six

  Seven

  Eight

  Nine

  Ten

  Eleven

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgements

  Stay Connected

  About The Author

  More By J.O Mantel

  When I first came up with the idea to write this series, the first thing I thought was

  ‘how am I going to keep readers engaged for so long?’ I wanted to make sure that people weren’t going to get bored of the same characters, and stay invested in such a long series, especially twelve books. 2020 has been a challenging year, which meant many of us turned to our fictional characters for an escape from reality.

  A close friend of mine, and a fellow author, told me that the best way to keep your readers interested in your work, is to release a series of short novellas every month. During the month of January, Australia was going through its longest and most dangerous bushfire season and millions of hectares were lost. That’s when the idea hit me.

  I’ve never been a fan of reality television, but I watched a lot of daytime soap operas as a teenager, and that’s where my inspiration, and the name of my lead character, came for this series.

  The best way for me to stop readers getting ‘bored’ of the same character for such a long period of time, was to create a unique story where the premise changed every month and our MC met a new character. What better way to do that than travel the world to twelve countries where our lead character has the opportunity to interact with a new character in each country.

  With the devastating bushfire crisis evolving in Australia, I thought it would be a great premise for my MC to start the first leg of his journey, and I decided to donate proceeds from the sales of the books to the Australian Red Cross Bushfire Appeal.

  And so it began … the first of a twelve book series over the course of twelve months, in twelve different countries. Had I known then how tough this journey was going to be, I would have changed my mind, but I don’t regret the decision, not one bit!

  Now here we are, twelve months later and almost at the end of the journey. However, I’ve had readers message me and say that they are really interested to know about a certain character’s background, which isn’t really explored much throughout the series. The best way for me to do that, is to take you back to how it all began … the very beginning.

  Merry Christmas, sending much love and light from my heart to all of yours.

  Love,

  J.O

  The Santa Claus is a stand-alone novella in the Men of the World Series of books. The events in this book occur before the events of book one – The Australian, and serves as a prequel to the series. This book can be read first as an introduction to gain a better background of the series, however, the books in the series can be read without prior reading of this book. Please commence the series with book one – The Australian.

  Reading Order:

  The Australian – Book One

  The Frenchman – Book Two

  The Italian – Book Three

  The Englishman – Book Four

  The Scotsman – Book Five

  The Grecian – Book Six

  When the crash of Wall Street and my asshole of an ex-boyfriend claimed my entire fortune, I was sure it was the end of my life. Pretty soon I’ll have no money, no boyfriend, no house, and nowhere to go. I am a man in my forties on the brink of moving back in with my parents, just so I can try to get my life back on track.

  Now all I own are my awards. Sitting in Mom’s favorite love seat beside the crackling fireplace is not exactly how I planned on spending this part of my life, yet here I am, watching one of those sappy romance movies on the Hallmark channel, drinking eggnog and feeling sorry for myself on this cold New York evening.

  It’s almost Christmas, and soon, my sister, Kate, her husband, Thomas, and my twin nieces, Bianca and Sophie, will fly in from Chicago to spend Christmas with us. This is my favorite time of year, when I get to hang out with Kate and my girls, and the four of us spend hours at the mall and Walmart fighting over which one of us has the biggest Santa Claus. Normally I’d be preparing for our annual Mind Crimes Christmas party by now, which is usually held in Beverley Hills, and the perfect opportunity for the entire cast to get totally shit-faced at Lloyd’s expense. But not this year. Not since I was fired from the show due to budget cuts, deemed too expensive to stay on as leading character, Levi Beckett. I take another sip of my eggnog as I hear my mother’s voice call from the kitchen.

  “In the living room, Mom.”

  I hear her footsteps get closer and look up to see her poke her head into the living room. She steps inside and wipes her hands on her favorite Christmas apron.

  “What are you doing in here all by yourself?”

  “You know it’s where I do my best thinking.”

  I turn my eyes back to the crackling fireplace, feeling the seat dip when my mother takes a seat beside me. I know exactly what’s about to come—we’re about to have one of those talks.

  “You know there’s going to be other jobs, right? And your father and I will support you, no matter what choices you make. We’re here for you. If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t be sitting in this house enjoying this beautiful fire and eggnog.”

  I’d paid off my parents’ house quite some time ago. With both of them getting older, I wanted to make sure they were in a safe and secure residence and not have to worry about a mortgage in case anything happened to either of them. I’m thankful now for that choice because God only knows what may have been if I hadn’t paid off this place and then lost everything. There’s still plenty of money left in the trust fund I opened for them, so I know they’re going to have a healthy and long retirement.

  “I know. And I thank God every day that you and Dad are going to be all right. I just wish I’d made the same choices for myself.”

  She places her hand on top of mine and brushes her thumb across my knuckles before lifting my hand to her lips where she places a soft kiss.

  “Oh, sweetheart. You’ve got to
stop beating yourself up about this, it’s not healthy. Think about what you have achieved. That counts for a lot of things.”

  “Oh yeah, like why?” I ask.

  “You have your Golden Globes and Emmy Awards, and not to mention this.” She gets to her feet and I look over my shoulder as she opens the top drawer of the table resting in the corner of the room. She pulls out a magazine, then wanders back over and sits down beside me again. When the magazine lands in my lap, my eyes widen as I take in the image on the cover. It’s a photo of me when I was voted People magazine’s sexiest man alive.

  “Oh my God, Mom. I can’t believe you have this.”

  “Why not? You know how proud your father and I are of your success, and it’s not every day your youngest makes the cover of one of the world’s biggest magazines. You need to remember that the next time you feel like giving up.”

  They’re exactly the words I need to hear, and although it doesn’t change the fact that I’m still unemployed, broke, and struggling to find a way to make ends meet, I feel somewhat at ease knowing I’ve made my parents proud. Coming out of the closet was never an issue. Mom and Dad have been supportive of me my entire life and they didn’t care about my sexual preferences; all they cared about was my happiness. When they met Brodie for the first time, they were thrilled, and over the moon that I’d finally met someone who made me happy.

  “How about I pour us some more eggnog?” she suggests.

  I nod, and she reaches over, grabbing the glass from my hand as she gets off the seat and wanders back to the kitchen. I get up and place another log on the fire before sitting down again. As I stare at the bright flames, my mind wanders back to that cold Valentine’s night, when my parents met Brodie for the first time.

  “What if they don’t like me?” Brodie asks as he squeezes my hand a little tighter.

  “They’re going to love you. And besides, I don’t need their approval.”

  We step out of the Uber and head inside La Grenouille, one of New York’s most exquisite and romantic restaurants. I keep a tight hold of Brodie’s hand as we approach the hostess at the counter.

  “Hi, I have a reservation under the name Brady.”

  The hostess lowers her eyes and scans through the list of names on the book in front of her.

  “Oh yes, Mr. Brady, here you are, table for four. The other half of your party has already arrived and have been seated. I’ll have Bill take you to your seats.

  “Thank you.”

  She hands the tall man standing beside her two menus and he signals for the two of us to follow him. It’s typical of my parents to arrive early for dinner; they’re never late for any occasion, unlike me. Hand in hand, Brodie and I follow Bill as we walk through the restaurant, and just ahead of us, I spot my mother and father seated at the table closest to the window. Bill places the menus on the table and then leaves. Mom’s the first to turn and look at me, then she stands, showing off her elegant red evening dress, and stretches out her arms.

  “Hello, sweetheart,” she says, as I let go of Brodie’s hand and lean in toward her, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

  She wraps her arms around me and pulls me in for a tight hug. I untangle myself and turn to face Brodie.

  “Mom, this is my boyfriend, Brodie.”

  She turns to the man standing beside me, and her mouth curves into a smile that reaches her ears. She leans forward and presses a kiss to Brodie’s cheek and gives him a hug.

  “Good evening, Mrs. Brady,” Brodie says with a wide smile.

  “Please, there’s no need to be so formal, call me Sylvia.”

  “Sylvia, it’s a delight to meet you,” Brodie tells her.

  Mom returns to the table and takes her seat, so I turn my attention to my father, who stands to greet us.

  “Brodie, I’m Luke, it’s wonderful to meet you.”

  Brodie shakes his outstretched hand. Dad’s wearing a wide smile as he sits back down next to Mom, and Brodie and I take our seats.

  It was the perfect evening. Brodie was the sweet, sensitive man I’d fallen in love with, who not only won my heart, but also my parents’. But that was then, back when I believed him. He played me for the biggest fool and left me with absolutely nothing. I lost everything because of him, and I was stupid to think he loved me. He was just the perfect example of how I was thinking with my dick and not my head. When Mom comes back into the living room, she hands me a fresh glass of eggnog and takes her seat beside me once again.

  “You know you have nothing to be ashamed of, right?” she tells me.

  “Except for the fact that my dick of an ex-boyfriend is an absolute—”

  “Don’t finish that sentence, Deacon Francis!” Mom cuts in.

  “I just can’t believe I was so damn stupid. The guy played me for god knows how long.”

  “He was a master manipulator, and he was good at it. You were at the peak of your career; you weren’t to know that he was robbing you behind your back.”

  That’s certainly the truth. Brodie was taking my money right under my nose, and I didn’t even see it. Now, he’s living the high-life in New York City, in a priceless four-story mansion, that I fucking paid for.

  “I’m sorry, Mom.”

  “What in the world are you apologizing for?”

  “I thought at this point in my life I’d be in a better place.”

  “Honey, life throws us curveballs from time to time. It’s how we play the game of life that will either help us win or lose. Pick your lip up, or you’ll trip over it when you take off running. Enjoy this downtime to figure out what your next step will be. Think of all the people you’ve helped with your charity work and donations.”

  Mom spent a lot of time watching daytime television, and if it isn’t obvious now, this is the reason my name is what it is. Although, I’m not going to complain, Sean Kansan and Eric Martsolf, were probably the two actors who inspired my mother to give me my name, and they were both great looking men.

  “Has anyone ever told you, you watch way too much daytime television?”

  “Your father may have mentioned it once or twice,” she says with a chuckle.

  I take another sip of the eggnog and give my mother a smile. She always says the right words, always puts a smile on my face, and without a doubt, can make me feel so much better, even after a shitty day.

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She leans forward and presses a kiss to my temple and then gets to her feet.

  “Well, I better get dinner finished; your father will be home shortly.”

  With that, she turns on her heel and leaves the room. I curl my fingers around the glass and tap it gently with my nails. As I bring it to my lips and take another sip, I have to wonder, how would my life have turned out if I’d never met Brodie Carson?

  One month earlier …

  “Do you really have to leave?” Deacon pouts with those puppy dog eyes of his as he slides his cock out of my ass.

  I collapse on the bed beside him and throw the sheet over my throbbing erection and snuggle in alongside him.

  “You know how hard it is for me to leave this gorgeous body of yours, not to mention the hot sex whenever I come home to you, but I have to work. That was one of the reasons you bought the house in the first place, remember?”

  “I do. I also recall we agreed it was a convenient location for us to have sex whenever I come to visit. Do you recall that?”

  “How could I forget?”

  I lean forward and crush my mouth to his, my dick still throbbing beneath the sheets. Deacon and I have been together ten years this Christmas, and he agreed to buy a place in New York so he could come and spend time with me whenever he wasn’t filming the show. Deacon spends every Christmas with his family, so it’s a great opportunity for the two of us to have some alone time together without having to worry about accommodation. I’ve lived in New York my entire life, but until this house,
I’ve always had a roommate, so there was never any privacy for the two of us.

  “You know if I could have it any other way, I would, but at least we still have a couple more days before I leave. Besides, don’t you have that children’s charity gig tonight?”

  “Jesus, is that tonight?” He pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes.

  “We’ve only been talking about it for the last two weeks, remember? We went shopping the other day for a new suit. How could you forget about something so important?” I ask.

  “I had a long day of filming and I guess it completely slipped my mind. And for the record, we spent three hours trying to find you an outfit, and yet, you didn’t buy anything.”

  To be exact, it was two hours shopping for a suit and then we spent the last hour having hot-as-fuck sex in the shopping mall toilet. I wish I had a designer to choose my clothes for me, then I wouldn’t have to worry about going shopping.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t say I walked away totally empty handed,” I smirk.

  “Either way, we really need to get you into a suit. You’re going to be on my arm the entire evening.”

  I’ve been there for most of his Emmy and Golden Globe wins—hand in hand, we’ve walked the red carpets, been interviewed by Ellen, Mark Steins and Mary Hart of Entertainment Tonight, and even SNL with Alec Baldwin. I’m the man who won Deacon Brady’s heart and made every woman and man in the world absolutely loathe me. Tonight is going to be no different. I’m going to get out of bed, shower, and then go out and let Deacon buy me the best, and most expensive outfit to wear alongside him while we walk the red carpet. Of course, if I have any hope of getting out of this bed, I first have to get my dick to cooperate.

  “Who are you wearing tonight?” I ask.

  Deacon throws the sheet off and I notice his still stiff cock as he turns his back to me. He gets off the bed and wanders over to the closet, erection bobbing, and slides the door open. Deacon searches through several suits and other clothing as I focus on his firm, muscular ass. When he finishes sorting through the clothes, he pulls out a garment bag and walks back over to the bed. He places it on the bed, lowers the zipper, and then carefully removes the suit. Deacon then returns to the closet and grabs a shoebox, bringing that to the bed too. When the lid is lifted, I see a pair of shiny, black, pointed-toe shoes.