Shy by Brad Tanner

Christmas is painfully close, he can feel its glitter blurring his vision and its fifty-pound note confetti blocking his windpipe. It sucks to be single this time of the year – according to James Redland, who is a big shot hedge fund manager based in the City of London. He’s got a crush on a guy who works on a different floor of the same building. James loves everything theatrical, and he’s got a big secret.
Christmas is a wonderful blissful time, making you pretend the world around you isn’t just a dull cubicle, but a never-ending kaleidoscope of parties, shopping, mulled wine and gossip – according to Oliver Barnes who loathes his statistician job at a consulting firm with every fibre of his hedonistic soul, a job which is made just about bearable by the sweet Meghan Chen, his boss’s PA. That lady is Oliver’s BFF (best female friend) and essentially his ‘wingman’ in gay bars. Oliver has a big secret too and it’s not the one about him nearly becoming the father of Meghan’s baby.
Christmas is the most romantic time of the year, even if your shitty boyfriend’s idea of romantic is buggering off to Leeds to see his favourite football team being destroyed by total outsiders. It’s also the most appropriate time for falling in love according to Meghan Chen, who won’t cease her matchmaking attempts until her dearest Oliver has his gayest wedding in the whole world. Surely, sooner or later all that fucking around is going to turn into quality dating. Even if it takes years – though the right opportunity might have just presented itself. Or himself.
When Meghan intercepts Mr Redland’s shy glances towards her dearest Oliver, the rusty wheels of her devious mind’s severely underused marriage brokering mechanism start rolling with frantic speed. The office Christmas party deadline is around the corner after all. And a little meddling surely can’t harm when it’s for the good cause, or can it?