Page 49 of Baking it Merry

“I hope this is okay,” she said as she stepped out of the bathroom.“It’s not as over the top as the Mrs.Claus dress, but I thought it was still pretty festive.”

“You look beautiful.Now let’s go mingle,” he said, taking her hand in his.

“I need to check the displays,” she quietly told him.“When I went into your office, everything was pretty much set up, but I know Faye was doing stuff and we have some extra stock in the break room.I’d like to make sure everything’s where it needs to be since you didn’t require servers for this party.”

“This is small and it’s just the office.Next week’s event at my father’s office, though…”

“Four servers,” she said with a nod.“We’re all set there.”

“There are four times the employees…”

“Tristan?”

“Hmm?”

“It’s not a competition.”

The smile she gave him was sweet and reassuring, plus it made him realize he was tensing up.

“I know you’re right.Sorry.”For the next few minutes, he essentially followed her around while she made a few tweaks to the displays, and they chatted with everyone as they moved from table to table.

“Everything looks great,” he told her.“Very festive.”And it was the truth.Somehow, she and Faye had turned the office into a holiday wonderland in a short amount of time.There was music playing, and it seemed like his staff were enjoying themselves.

“Outstanding!”someone called out.“She got more cupcakes!Hopefully she didn’t just scrape the dirt off of the ones she dropped, right?”Laughter followed.

Beside him, he felt Daphne stiffen and knew what he needed to do.

Smiling, he caught Faye’s attention and waved her over.“Daphne, Faye had mentioned us doing a weekly breakfast for the office—you know, muffins and whatnot—and I wasn’t sure what else we could do.Could you talk to her about that?”

“Right now?”she asked.“Seriously?”

He shared a look with Faye before turning back to her.“Definitely.And not just through the end of the month but moving forward into the new year.”Pausing, he smiled.“Now, if you two will excuse me for a moment, I see someone I need to speak to.”

But Daphne wasn’t fooled.“Tristan…don’t.Please.”

Kissing her cheek, he whispered, “I’ll be right back,” before making his way across the room to where Jeff Collins was standing, eating a cupcake.Stepping up beside him, he said, “Jeff?A word?”

“Sure, boss!What’s up?”his face lit up like he was expecting good news.Normally, Tristan gave our bonuses and congratulated everyone on a great year at the holiday party.Jeff was undoubtedly expecting a pat on the back for a job well done.

Well, he’s about to be wildly disappointed.

Tristan wasn’t even going to take him to his office.Instead, he simply pulled him aside and did his best to mimic Daphne’s mom and look intimidating.“Earlier, I heard you knocked into Daphne while she was bringing in the food for the party,” he began.

Shrugging, Jeff said, “She wasn’t looking where she was going.”Then he laughed softly.“It looked like half of them smashed into her sweatshirt—which, between you and me, was an improvement—and the rest fell on the floor.I was dealing with a client and was trying to get back to my desk.Why?She’s not trying to say she’s hurt, is she?Because I barely touched her.”

“No, she’s not saying you hurt her.Actually, she didn’t say anything about you.However, I believe you just explained everything.”

This time, Jeff smiled like he was being complimented.“Just doing my job, boss.Oh, and by the way, the Maxwells want to see other options for their house design.They didn’t approve the one I presented.The wife is a real pain in the ass.Very picky.I know I’m going to end up doing multiple sketches until her husband picks one.”

Nodding, Tristan replied, “That’s fine.I’d like you to hand their file over to Shawn.I think he’ll be a better fit.”

“Wait…why?”

“It’s become quite clear that you have zero respect for people—especially women.I can’t have someone like you representing this firm.You can either get your attitude right or you can look for a new job.”

“Tristan—Mr.Knight—are you serious right now?It was a plate of cupcakes!No one got hurt and it wasn’t a big deal!It wasn’t like I was rude to her…”

“Witnesses say otherwise.”

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