Page 20 of His Christmas Gift

“That is gorgeous,” he said looking it over as she hung it so it wouldn’t wrinkle again. “It’s like a watercolor painting.”

“I love it, I just don’t know if it’s too…summery feeling for Christmas,” she stated making him laugh moving up behind her.

“Not a chance, you’ll be the belle of the ball wearing it, and I’ll be the lucky one next to you,” he mused kissing her neck simply to touch her. He was starting to regret his agreement that they would keep their relationship away from the office because it was hell to not touch her whenever he wanted.

“I was thinking about wearing it for Christmas dinner with your family since you said you all dressed up for it,” she said pulling a deep moan from his lips.

“Yes,” he whispered against her temple seeing his mother’s reaction to her in it quite well in his mind. “That is exactly what you should wear for it.”

“You’re sure?” She turned around to face him, her heart fluttering seeing the look in his eyes. “You don’t think it’s too much for Christmas dinner?”

“No, nothing is too much when it comes to you Missy, nothing princess,” he promised comforting her entirely.

She felt rushed getting the Christmas party pieces picked up that next week, but it didn’t diminish her smile a single bit. Saturday morning, she was at the hotel early, her outfit and extra pieces in a room so she could change for the party without having to go back to Jasper’s house.

She went through the boxes she’d brought as tables and chair were carried in and set up around the room. The table decorations were set out and ready to be put on once the table had cloths over them and she was working on the specialty areas when the tree arrived. Following it was Elaine and a few of the other assistants who’d offered to come to help decorate.

They stared around them in shock and Melissa grinned to herself before having them start on the tables while she tackled the tree. She was almost finished when Jasper came in to see if she needed any help, and she gladly handed over the tree topper, an enormous bow with ribbons trailing down four sides of the tree.

“This place looks amazing Melissa,” he stated seeing the others in the room watching them. “Thank you for agreeing to arrange this. I think this will be our best party yet.”

“Just wait, I’ve barely gotten started,” she warned quietly, letting him move over to thank the others for their help.

Just after three, she shooed the others out, letting them head home to change and get their families for the night. She’d convinced Jasper to make the party open for families, knowing there was plenty of room as they’d reserved the largest ballroom at the hotel. It encompassed nearly the entire floor with only bathrooms, the hall in and out, and a small prep area for food adding to the space.

Without anyone else there, she was able to get things put together and reset far easier. Just before five, she stepped back with a smile at what she’d managed to accomplish.

She headed up to the room and changed, thankful that she was leaving her hair casual, long and mostly loose, with just braids pulling the front back from her face. It wouldn’t take any time to arrange, and she took a little extra care with her makeup, before slipping into her dress and heels to return to the event room.

Jenny was inside setting up the buffet and dessert areas, taking care not to upset her decorations while they reset platter sizes. Jenny looked up as she approached, her jaw dropping as she took in her outfit. “Dang, please tell me he bought that, and you didn’t spend all of your money on it because as gorgeous as it is, I know it had to cost a fortune.”

“Yes, Jasper bought it,” Melissa said softly in case anyone came in early and overheard them. “He’s bought me several outfits for the upcoming parties, one of which I hear you’re catering?”

“Right, Karina and Luke Daniels’ party on the twenty-ninth,” Jenny said, her smile belying the ease of her words.

“I’m glad, it should be a good night,” she stated helping to redo bits here and there to fit their needs better.

Jenny took a moment to look at the room as the first of the food was all in place. “I can’t believe you did all of this. I don’t even feel like I’m in the city and I had to deal with the drive here.”

“That’s what I wanted. It’s a party; the last thing people want is to feel as though they should be doing something else, that they shouldn’t be enjoying themselves. This way, you forget all about whatever is just outside the door and focus on what’s in here. You spend more time with co-workers these days than your family, so in a way they become family, and then this, allows you to encompass them both without that pesky nagging feeling.”

“Beautiful, smart, and incredibly talented, that’s my girl,” Jasper said coming up behind her. He pulled her back into his hold for a moment, giving her a soft kiss as he took in the changes to the room. “The day I met you my whole life changed, princess. Thank you for that and for everything in here. I know everyone’s going to love it.”

“Let’s hope so, because I think we’re about to find out,” she mused putting space between them hearing the ding of the elevator.

Melissa slipped over to the sound system and turned on the soft Christmas instrumental. It added another dimension to the room almost making the lights seem brighter as they twinkled and glittered throughout the decorations. A fake fireplace sat just on the other side of the tree, between two old fashioned, flannel printed chairs, crackling away, and she knew Jasper was curious as to what the space was for since she’d roped it off to ensure people didn’t upset it before time. Everyone would find out soon enough and that put a grin on her lips as the room began to fill.

Chapter 9

“I’d like to thank everyone for coming tonight,” Jasper said as he quieted the room. The looks on everyone’s faces told him precisely just how amazing Melissa was and the pride was nearly his undoing. “None of this would be possible without the woman who arranged it all, so please join in a round of thanks to Melissa for her hard work to make tonight such a success.”

He saw the surprise hit Patrick’s face and smiled knowing his brother hadn’t explained why he’d been fired from the company. Callum likely told the man he was fed up with Jasper always coming down on his work and left. His brother never manned up to accept responsibility for anything he did, and Jasper wouldn’t miss him at all.

He let everyone know his appreciation for all their hard work, telling them about the successes he would be able to share with the investors next month and his goals for the coming year. He always believed that the more they knew and were involved with, the more they were likely to meet their goals.

“Now, Melissa has a special announcement and I’m as curious about it as I’m sure you all are, so I’ll hand things over to her,” he said as he finished, handing over the microphone to let her reveal it.

“Good evening everyone, I hope you don’t mind a couple extra guests here tonight as we celebrate the last year of hard work and success everyone had a hand in providing. Now, if you listen very carefully, you might just be able to guess as to who our guests are,” Melissa said with a grin.

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