The Billionaire's First Christmas - Contemporary Romance (2 page)

“Volunteering for what?” I asked
her.

“To be sold at the auction?” My face
must have been blank because she said, “For the children’s
Charity?”

“I’m sorry Mary. I’ve been a little
bit overwhelmed with my new management duties so if I did hear
about that, I didn’t process it. I got my invitation for the
Christmas party yesterday. I’m super-excited about that.” I loved
Christmas. It was literally my favorite time of year and I savored
every part of it. My last job had been at a bank and the
administration there had been so concerned that they may offend
someone they had cancelled the “Holiday” party all-together. That
was the reason they gave us anyways. I’d always been suspicious
that it was just about saving the money it cost them. From what I
heard about this party, Mr. Winter’s spared no expense. The expense
wasn’t what I looked forward to though; it was just that festive
spirit of sharing the holidays with other people that was
irreplaceable.

“Yes, the party is a lot of fun,” Mary
said. “I look forward to it every year. The auction though is kind
of a company tradition too. That will be held on the fourteenth,
it’s a Thursday evening. Two members of management from each
department are auctioned off to the highest bidder and in doing
that they agree to be “ordered around” by their purchaser for an
entire day. We do that the next day on Friday since most of the
managers normally have that day off anyways. The money from that
goes to a children’s charity Mr. Winter’s supports.”

“What sorts of things do they order
you to do?” I asked her.

“It’s all in fun. Last year I had to
sit by the fire, drink hot chocolate and eat homemade cookies while
watching a marathon of old black and white Christmas movies with
Lance in the production department.”

I laughed, “That actually sounds like
my kind of day.”

“Right? Me too. It’s fun, you should
volunteer. It’s for a good cause too. Mr. Winter’s not only gives
all the money earned to the Children’s foundation but he matches it
as well.”

“I’d love to do it,” I told her. It
really did sound like a lot of fun. My boss sounded like a really
generous man too. I liked that. I came from a family where
generosity was looked upon fondly. “I’m looking forward to finally
meeting Mr. Winters at the Christmas party,” I told her.

“Oh, you haven’t met him
yet?”

“No, the day that I was hired, it was
one of your girls who interviewed me…Lucy? I think that was her
name. Then the promotion was just inter-departmental so Max handled
that. I could have passed him in the hallway I guess and just
didn’t know who he was.”

“Maybe,” Mary said. “But I guarantee
you wouldn’t forget him if you saw him.”

“Why’s that?” I asked her. Mary smiled
a naughty smile and said, “You’ll see at the party. Here, there are
the forms for you to sign as well as the sign up forms for the
auction.”

Smiling I said, “Thanks. You’re not
going to tell me what it is about Mr. Winters that is so
unforgettable?” It seemed from the look on her face that he was as
attractive as he was generous. But, I guess it could have been the
opposite as well.

“He’s just hard to describe,” she
said. “You’ll see him soon.” I left there wondering if the man had
two heads or something. Either way, I was looking forward to
finding out. What I’d read about him was all good. He was lauded as
one of the most brilliant business minds of the century. He’d
invested his life savings…which according to Forbes was a paltry
sum and eight years later he was a billionaire running a
multi-national company. Money didn’t interest me much, but I was
fascinated by intelligent, driven people.

CHAPTER TWO

~

ROBYN

I took the paperwork for the auction
back with me when I resumed the meeting with Gary. That was a
mistake. As soon as he saw that I was up for bid, he was all over
it.

“This is going to be the best auction
ever!” he said, enthusiastically. “Last year I bid on and won
Aurora from accounting. She and I had the best day. We went to the
movies and had dinner… I’m sure I’ll have plenty of competition
bidding on you,” he said. “But for you I’m willing to break the
bank.”

As much as I was looking forward to
doing a good deed for charity, and I thought Gary was harmless, I
was afraid that spending the day with him would only perpetuate
this fantasy he has of us being together someday.

“Oh, don’t waste your money on
me.”

“Waste? Are you kidding? I’d pay just
to be seen with you, Robyn.” He was so sweet and he had innocence
about him as well. But, he did nothing for me. I honestly thought
something like this would only encourage him, and that wouldn’t be
right.
I agonized for almost two weeks over what to do about it when I got
an idea and went to see my friend John in production.

“Hey Robyn! Long time no
see!”

“Hey John,” I said, accepting his kiss
on the cheek. “How are Phyllis and the kids?” John and I had known
each other since college. His wife and I had become friends over
the years and they had the most adorable pair of twins I’d ever
seen. John was the one who had referred me for the job I have
now.

“They are great. The twins are finally
sleeping through the night so Phyllis and I are getting used to
seeing the world with clear eyes again.”

I smiled and said, “I might have an
idea that could help us both out.”

“I’m game. What’s up?”

I told him about the auction and about
Gary. He laughed.

“Gary’s crushing on you hard, huh?
He’s kind of relentless that way. The last girl he attached himself
to around here got another job out of state. There was speculation
she only took it to get away from him.”

I laughed too. I knew that John was
only half kidding. Gary was the kind of guy who never gave up until
he wasn’t given any other choice. I really didn’t want to crush the
poor guy. But, I didn’t want to be saddled with him
either.

“So if I give you the cash, will you
bid on me?” I asked him.

“Sure, then I can order you to watch
the twins while Phyllis and I have a real date?”

“Absolutely,” I said. “I’ll let you
know that night how much I’ll be able to afford,” I told
him.

“What if there are multiple guys
bidding? Should I bid against them all?”

“I doubt that’ll happen,” I
said.

“Oh please, I know you’ve seen you.
You own a mirror, right? Besides, I was witness to the droves of
men who lined up to date you in college.”

“Shut up,” I said. Yes, I knew that
men found me attractive. I didn’t ever hurt for a date if I wanted
one. But, I was also mature enough these days to know that there
was so much more to me than that, and I wanted a man who would
appreciate all of me. The thing about being twenty-six was that as
much as I loved to have fun, I was beginning to think about
settling down. I wasn’t sure who I was looking for, but I’m sure
when I do meet him, I’ll know. Until then, I wasn’t willing to get
myself in a position where I’d miss “Him” when he showed up. I’d
rather spend my Friday babysitting the twins than giving some poor
guy false hope.

The time flew by and on the morning of
the auction I stopped by and gave John the money I could afford for
him to bid on me.

“Wow, this is a good deal of money,”
he said.

“I have an account that I put money
into all year for Christmas charities. I just love Christmas so
much. I enjoy knowing that my money helps make someone else’s
better. This year, it will all go to the kids I guess. That’s okay
though, I’m sure they will put it to good use.”

“Okay,” he’d said with a grin and
fanning the money, “Get prepared for dirty diapers and a lot of
spitting up.” I didn’t know much about kids, but I knew that I’d be
able to figure it out. John’s twins were three months old, a boy
and a girl. As much work as I knew they‘d be to take care of, I
also knew it was going to be a fun, rewarding experience. I was
looking forward to the challenge.

After I left John and Phyllis’s house
I went to work for a few hours. I took off early and went shopping
for something new to wear to the auction. I spent too much time
wandering around the mall. The Christmas decorations and lights
were up and the smell of pine and cinnamon wafted around as soft
Christmas music played in the background. I stopped and watched as
the children lined up to see Santa Claus. Watching them made me
happy and reminded me of how, when I was small, my parents would
always take me to see him on the first day of December. My mom
would dress me up pretty in my Christmas clothes and my dad would
enthusiastically snap photos as Santa and I went through my list.
Then at the end when Santa asked, “Have you been a good girl this
year?” My daddy would look at me with so much pride in his
face.

“She’s the best.”

I wasn’t in a hurry to have kids, but
I’d really love to someday. I fantasized about what it would be
like when I was the one to take them to see Santa Claus.

After a while I finally realized if I
didn’t get home soon, I wouldn’t have time to get ready. I forced
myself to leave the Christmassy atmosphere and went home to my
apartment that I’d begun transforming for the season just this
week. I didn’t have my tree yet to put the final touches on, but
the rest of the place looked, smelled, and if you stuck a hand in
the candy bowls, even tasted like Christmas.

I took out the pretty new dress I’d
bought today and looked at it. I wasn’t a girl who liked to go with
the latest fashions. I was always looking for something that would
make me stand out from the crowd. Today, I found the cutest 1950’s
retro blue, green and black plaid Audrey Hepburn style dress. It
was sleeveless, so it was marked 50% off too. I had a blue sweater
that matched it perfectly and a blue pair of heels, so the only
other thing I bought to go with it was a little petticoat that made
the skirt flare out. When I put it on I felt soft and
feminine.

I curled my hair in long, soft curls
and applied my make-up carefully. When I was ready, I took a final
glance in the mirror and decided I should at least be worth a
couple of hundred bucks.

The auction was being held at a hotel
in town that was also owned by Winters Inc. The company seemed to
dabble in almost everything and from what I’d heard; Mr. Winters
had founded it on his own with very little capital. Of course, what
he considered a small amount of money to someone else could be a
large one.

I found the ball room and was
surprised to see how many people were already there. Gary spotted
me and waved eagerly. I waved back, nervously scanning the room for
John. I finally spotted him sitting right up front. Good boy! I
knew I could count on him. I felt much better.

They called those of us who would be
auctioned off to the back and we waited together in a nice little
room that they had set up a table full of drinks and snacks in. Max
brought a deck of cards, knowing from experience how long the wait
could be. I was second to last on the list and Max was last, so we
entertained ourselves with raucous hands of “go fish” and “21.” Max
could be loud and crass sometimes, but he was a lot of fun. His
personality had scared off the last woman in my position with
marketing I was told. I was okay though; I didn’t scare easily at
all.

I could hear some of what was going on
out front and I was both surprised and happy to find out that I
worked with some really generous people. Some of my co-workers were
going for over five hundred dollars. It did make me worry that
maybe I hadn’t given John enough cash. He had five hundred, but in
my mind I thought the bidding would be stopping around three. There
was nothing much I could do at this point other than hold my
breath, cross my fingers and hope for the best. I didn’t know
Gary’s financial situation, but I doubted he could afford to throw
away five hundred bucks.

When it was my turn Max winked at me
and said, “Knock ‘em dead kid.” I wasn’t shy about being the center
of attention; thanks to my parents who put me in every sport I was
interested in including dance and gymnastics while I was growing
up. I stood on the stage and waved at a few of my friends in the
audience. The auctioneer told the audience my name and what
department I worked in and then he started the bidding at a hundred
dollars. I was literally shocked to see about eight hands go up.
Gary had moved to the front and he and John were on opposite sides
of the stage. The other six or so men were scattered throughout the
audience.