(A/N-Thanks to Lynn for beta reading this for me. Appreciate it so much. And I hope you all enjoy reading this for this holiday month.)


Four Eaton was sitting at his desk with the windows behind him frosted over with the snow that seemed to be continuously falling in this cold city. It was only the first week of December and he was already craving his yearly vacation; this year he was headed to Paris. He'd had three phone calls this morning about the Christmas Party already. Going away every year kept him from having to endure the friendly Christmas get togethers and gift exchanges, but as CEO of Dauntless Inc. it couldn't save him from the annual party. He had to re-direct the calls all back to his assistant. He paid for the party, but he didn't take any part in arranging it. He was no Ebenezer Scrooge. It's not that he didn't believe in Christmas or want to deny it to anyone else; it's just that he finds no charm in it.

He had done his best every year to avoid all things Christmas since then, except for the party. He had an obligation to his employees, one that he fully planned to continue fulfilling. He had to make an appearance and wish them well. They worked hard for him; he truly appreciated their dedication and he wanted them to know that. He also gave the yearly address to inform them all how the company had fared over the past year and what kind of changes they may be looking at in the future. He had to do it, but he didn't have to like it.

The buzzer on his desk phone went off and he picked it up.

"Yes, Laurel?"

"I'm sorry, sir but I just need one more signature from you and then I promise unless it's a dire emergency I won't bother you again about the party." Laurel had been with him long enough to know that enduring the Christmas season was a chore for him. She did a wonderful job of stopping it at his door. Unless it was about money, she handled it.

He had founded his company eight years before. It was a one man operation back then and he was the man. Laurel had walked in off the street one day looking for a job and because he'd just gained two new clients that same day, and he was feeling like he deserved some help, he'd hired her. The first six months there were times when he had to dip into his savings just to pay her. He thought so many times during that time in his life about letting her go, explaining to her that he just couldn't afford her salary, but he didn't do it. She was more than an outstanding employee, although not quite a friend. He didn't have many of those. He didn't have time for it. Back then he was working to get the company off the ground. Within a year his company was making high six figures and then he was working hard to keep it off the ground. He barely had time for himself much less a bunch of people who might expect his attention outside of work. He had to hire ten people that year and he was glad that he'd held onto Laurel. If it hadn't been for her, there were days when the whole operation would have fallen completely apart. Now, eight years later she is still his right hand gal.

"No worries, Laurel. Bring them in and I'll sign them and then I have to meet with Zeke over in marketing."

"Thank you, sir."

Four smiled as he put the phone down. He had told Laurel a million times that she didn't have to call him "sir." For one thing, he was twenty-nine and she was thirty-four. He felt silly answering to "sir" from a woman who could have been his mother. It was so hard for people to see me as a twenty-nine year old man. When you sat behind a desk as powerful as mine, they forgot that you were only human.

Laurel came bustling in. Everything she did was with haste, like the very foundation of the company depended on it. Sometimes it could be just a little bit annoying, but it had served the company well so he couldn't complain. She was one of the employees that he appreciated so much, and one of the reasons that he showed up at the Christmas party at all.

"Here you go, sir. The first document is the mini-contract we drew up for the charity auction and the second one is for the employee gift cards."

Four signed them both, trusting Laurel enough that he wasn't going to read through a simple document for the party. When he finished she said, the same as she did every year at this time, "If your plans change or your flight gets canceled because of weather or anything sir, please remember that you're always welcome to spend Christmas with my family and me."

"Thank you, Laurel." He had yet to meet her family. Maybe he really was Scrooge. "I already have the trip arranged and barring a blizzard I'll be out of this cold city before the sun sets on Christmas Eve. I'll be in Zeke's office for an hour or two if you need me."

"Thank you, sir," she said.

Four gathered his tablet and the files he needed for the meeting with his Director of Marketing, Zeke Pedrad. Zeke was another lucky find. He'd come to him from a corporation that Daunless Inc. had taken over. It wasn't a hostile takeover per se, but it was gut-wrenching for the owners who had to sell because of age and medical issues. Zeke was brand new to their company when all of that happened and while he was still in the early stages of the take-over and the employees of the previous owners were up in arms about whether or not they would still have a job, he met Zeke purely by accident in the conference room one day. He'd slipped in, trying to find a place where he could have a moment's peace and eat his lunch since he didn't have an office there yet and in bursts this boisterous young man who, as he'd found out since, never stops talking.

Without knowing who he was at the time, Zeke took out his own lunch, sat down and began to talk about the "tyrant" who ran the company that was "swallowing up" the one he was working for. Zeke went on to speak about the ideas that he still had in the works for marketing the company that he was absorbing. He had some amazing ideas and when he finally stopped talking for five minutes, Four introduced himself. The look on his face was comparable to that of a man headed to the gallows to be relieved of the burden of carrying around his head. Four let him sweat over it for two weeks before he had HR inform him that his position would be rolled over to the new company if he would like for it to be. He was brilliant at what he did, but he had no idea when he should keep his mouth shut. They'd become friends since then, and Zeke was one of the few people who worked for him that didn't kiss his ass or cow down to him. It was a big part of why Four liked him.

He took the elevator down to the third floor where marketing was located. When the elevator door slid open; for a second he thought he'd landed in a dream. There was a young lady standing there, waiting to get on. She had long, blonde hair and grey eyes, but the thing he noticed most about her was her smile. It was big and genuine and she had deep dimples on either side of her face. Four was so stunned by her that he almost forgot to step off. She didn't seem to know who he was, but she jauntily said, "Have a nice day!" nonetheless as he finally remembered this was his stop.

Before he could reply, the doors were closing. He did see that she had a lanyard and a key card around her neck, so he assumed she worked for him. He'd have to look into that after he got back from his trip. He didn't have the time between now and then to date or cultivate any type of new relationship. Besides, during the holidays if you were dating a woman, she expected you to spend them with her. No matter how beautiful she was, that wasn't going to happen.

Although it was hard, he re-focused on what he was doing and headed on down the hallway to Zeke's office, preparing himself for an hour or two of Zeke's overly enthusiastic company.

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Tris Prior was in the middle of a brainstorming session with Al when HR called and said they needed her to sign some slips to authorize a couple of employee's vacation time. She'd only recently been promoted to Assistant Manager of the Marketing department at Dauntless Inc. She didn't have all the ins and outs of it quite down yet and she'd signed them in the wrong place. Normally, a person might find it tedious to be pulled from what they were doing to sign a few forms. She didn't today, however, for two reasons: One, Al was completely infatuated with her so it was uncomfortable when they had to work alone together. It's not that he's a bad guy; he's just not the guy for her. She felt no attraction to him whatsoever at all, and she didn't want to put herself in a situation where she would have to tell him that and hurt his feelings. Since she started at Dauntless nine months earlier he's been asking me out. She told a white lie…that I was seeing someone the first time he asked, so now he "check's in" on it periodically. She always tell him that same fib, one of these days she's sure it's going to run out of steam. She looked upon the call as a gift and she hurried right out to take care of her obligations.

The other reason she was happier than she should have been about getting interrupted was that when the elevator doors opened, she'd come face to face with the most beautiful man that she's ever seen. He looked a little distracted and stood still when the doors opened for a few minutes, like he wasn't sure if this was the right floor. It gave her several seconds to notice his blue eyes and perfectly tailored suit. It fit him like a glove and when he had his back to her as he stepped off; she noticed how nicely it fit his broad shoulders and rippled across the muscles in his back. His hair was brown and when he finally smiled at me it was the slow, easy smile of a confident man. Her hormones were practically raging like a teenager just from that one delicious look. By the time the doors closed, her mouth was as dry as a desert.

Tris forced herself to tuck away the vision of him for now as she stepped off the elevator on the first floor and made her way to the HR department. She's sure she'd be calling it back up later. When she pushed in the door of the office she saw Amber, the HR manager for the company.

"Hi Tris! I'm sorry to have the girls pull you away from your work, but with the holidays coming up, we have so much paperwork in for these day off requests."

"It's okay; I apologize for signing them in the wrong place." she didn't tell her how much she appreciated her timing.

Amber waved a hand at her and said, "They're not that user friendly. We're working on re-designing them. We should have new ones out by the New Year. By the way, did you sign up for the auction yet? You can do that here if you like? I'm volunteering and I think Zeke is too, isn't he?" She had no idea what she was talking about.

"Volunteering for what?" Tris asked her.

"To be sold at the auction?" Her face must have been blank because she said, "For the children's Charity?"

"I'm sorry Amber. 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." Tris loved Christmas. It was literally her favorite time of year and she savored every part of it. Her 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 them anyways. She'd always been suspicious that it was just about saving the money it cost them. From what she heard about this party, Mr. Eaton spared no expense.

"Yes, the party is a lot of fun," Amber 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. Eaton supports."

"What sorts of things do they order you to do?" Tris 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."

Tris 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. Eaton not only gives all the money earned to the Children's foundation but he matches it as well."

"I'd love to do it," Tris told her. It really did sound like a lot of fun. Her boss sounded like a really generous man too. She liked that. Tris came from a family where generosity was looked upon fondly. "I'm looking forward to finally meeting Mr. Eaton at the Christmas party," Tris 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 Zeke handled that. I could have passed him in the hallway I guess and just didn't know who he was."

"Maybe," Amber said. "But I guarantee you wouldn't forget him if you saw him."

"Why's that?" Tris asked her. Amber 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 Tris said, "Thanks. You're not going to tell me what it is about Mr. Eaton that is so unforgettable?" It seemed from the look on her face that he was as attractive as he was generous. But, Tris guessed it could have been the opposite as well.

"He's just hard to describe," she said. "You'll see him soon." Tris left there wondering if the man had two heads or something. Either way, she was looking forward to finding out. What she'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 her much, but she was fascinated by intelligent, driven people.

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Tris took the paperwork for the auction back with her when she resumed the meeting with Al. That was a mistake. As soon as he saw that she 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 she was looking forward to doing a good deed for charity, and she thought Al was harmless, she was afraid that spending the day with him would only perpetuate this fantasy he has of them being together someday.

"Oh, don't waste your money on me."

"Waste? Are you kidding? I'd pay just to be seen with you, Tris." He was so sweet and he had innocence about him as well. But, he did nothing for her. She honestly thought something like this would only encourage him, and that wouldn't be right.

Tris agonized for almost two weeks over what to do about it when she got an idea and went to see her friend Robert in production.

"Hey Tris! Long time no see!"

"Hey John," Tris said, accepting his kiss on the cheek. "How are Phyllis and the kids?" Robert and Tris had known each other since college. His wife and her had become friends over the years and they had the most adorable pair of twins she'd ever seen. Robert was the one who had referred her for the job she had 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."

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

"I'm game. What's up?"

She told him about the auction and about Al. He laughed.

"Al'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."

Tris laughed too. She knew that Robert was only half kidding. Al was the kind of guy who never gave up until he wasn't given any other choice. She really didn't want to crush the poor guy. But, she didn't want to be saddled with him either.

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

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

"Absolutely," Tris said. "I'll let you know that night how much I'll be able to afford," she told him.

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

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

The time flew by and on the morning of the auction Tris stopped by and gave Robert the money she could afford for him to bid on her.

"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." Tris didn't know much about kids, but she knew that she'd be able to figure it out. Robert's twins were three months old, a boy and a girl. As much work as she knew they'd be to take care of, she also knew it was going to be a fun, rewarding experience. She was looking forward to the challenge.

After she left Robert and Phyllis's house she went to work for a few hours. She took off early and went shopping for something new to wear to the auction. She 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. She stopped and watched as the children lined up to see Santa Claus. Watching them made her happy and reminded her of how, when she was small, her parents would always take her to see him on the first day of December. Her mom would dress her up pretty in her Christmas clothes and her dad would enthusiastically snap photos as Santa and she went through her list. Then at the end when Santa asked, "Have you been a good girl this year?" Her daddy would look at her with so much pride in his face.

"She's the best."

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

After a while she finally realized if she didn't get home soon, she wouldn't have time to get ready. She forced herself to leave the Christmassy atmosphere and went home to her apartment that she'd begun transforming for the season just this week. She didn't have her 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.

She took out the pretty new dress she'd bought today and looked at it. Tris wasn't a girl who liked to go with the latest fashions. She was always looking for something that would make her stand out from the crowd. Today, she 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. She had a blue sweater that matched it perfectly and a blue pair of heels, so the only other thing she bought to go with it was a little petticoat that made the skirt flare out. When she put it on she felt soft and feminine.

She curled her hair in long, soft curls and applied her make-up carefully. When she was ready, she took a final glance in the mirror and decided she 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 Dauntless Inc. The company seemed to dabble in almost everything and from what she'd heard; Mr. Eaton 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.

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

They called those of who would be auctioned off to the back and they waited together in a nice little room that they had set up a table full of drinks and snacks in. Zeke brought a deck of cards, knowing from experience how long the wait could be. Tris was second to last on the list and Zeke was last, so they entertained themselves with raucous hands of "go fish" and "21." Zeke could be loud and crass sometimes, but he was a lot of fun.

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

When it was her turn Zeke winked at her and said, "Knock 'em dead girl." Tris wasn't shy about being the center of attention; thanks to her parents who put her in every sport she was interested in including dance and gymnastics while she was growing up. She stood on the stage and waved at a few of her friends in the audience. The auctioneer told the audience her name and what department she worked in and then he started the bidding at a hundred dollars. She was literally shocked to see about eight hands go up. Al had moved to the front and he and Robert were on opposite sides of the stage. The other six or so men were scattered throughout the audience.

The auctioneer took the bidding up to two hundred dollars and then three before a couple of the men dropped out. At four it was Robert, Al and another man that she thought may have worked with Robert in production. When it went up to five, Al and Robert were all that was left. She knew that was all Robert had… she thought she was doomed to spend a day doing Al's bidding until she suddenly saw a hand go up in the back and heard a smooth, masculine voice say, "Six hundred."

"Six fifty," Al said, smugly.

"Eight hundred," the man at the back called out. Al was so close to the stage that she could see his face. She felt bad for him actually, he looked distressed. She hoped he wasn't going to bid so much that he wasn't able to afford it.

"Eight-fifty," Tris heard Al say. The man in the back smoothly countered.

"Ten thousand dollars." Al's face did nothing to hide his emotions. He was sunk and he was not happy about it.

"Going once at ten thousand, going twice, sold for ten thousand dollars."

Tris was flabbergasted that someone had paid that much money to spend the day with her. She could see Robert's face as she climbed down off the stage and it said, "I told you so."

Tris went over to see him first and he said, "I told you there'd be a battle over you."

Smiling Tris replied, "I was a little nervous there for a minute. Al came close."

"Who was that who out-bid me?" Robert asked.

"He was too far back and the lights were in my eyes so I couldn't see him. I was hoping you knew."

"Nope, I was too intent up here on doing my job," he said with a grin. "I didn't recognize the voice as anyone I know though."

"Well, thank you for trying." Tris gave him a kiss on the cheek and he handed her back the five hundred dollars she'd given him. She tucked it away to now be used for what she'd originally intended, thanked him again and headed to the back to see if she could catch her new employer-for-a-day.

She didn't know who to look for or who to ask, so she went to the table where they marked down who bought who and for how much.

"Excuse me, can you tell me who it was who won my auction? I'd like to thank him," Tris said.

The lady at the table's name was Laurel. Tris had met her at a few meetings and knew she was Mr. Eaton's assistant. She smiled and said, "I'm sorry sweetie; he very generously requested we keep it a secret for now. He'll contact you."

"He paid you not to tell me?"

"He didn't pay me. He gave an extra thousand for the charity though with that request."

Wow, this man just laid down eleven thousand dollars for me. Who in the world was he?