(A/N-Special thanks to Lynn for beta reading this. And also thanks to all who read, review, follow and fav this story. You guys are amazing!)


Tris went home that night and had trouble sleeping as her mind combed through every male employee she'd met since beginning at Dauntless Inc. It was a huge corporation and their offices alone had eighteen different divisions. They worked in a ten story building in Manhattan and so far, she hadn't had a need to go above the sixth floor. That meant even if she had met everyone on the first six floors which she strongly doubted, there were four more floors of mystery. Well, actually only three. The top floor was reserved for the offices of Mr. Eaton himself, so she didn't think that one counted. She doubted the man himself showed up for silly things like that. Besides, he already employed us all, he didn't have to pay for one of them to work for him for a day.

She finally took a long, hot bubble bath and drank some tea and by one or two a.m. she at last fell asleep. It seemed like only minutes later she was awakened by an annoying ringing sound. She couldn't open her eyes at first; she just lay there and wished it would stop. When she realized it was the phone, her thoughts jumped to discovering the identity of her mystery man. She was suddenly awake and alert. She picked up the phone and said hello. She wasn't disappointed.

"Hello, is this Tris?" It was the same silky, masculine voice that she'd heard bidding for her last night.

"Yes it is. Who is this?"

"I'm the one who bought you for the day."

"Don't I get to know your name?"

"Not just yet," he said. Tris wondered what all the mystery was about. "I have my chauffeur on his way to your apartment. He'll be dropping off a costume for you soon."

Oh great, a kinky one, she thought. But then he went on to say, "He will also have a car full of presents which you will drop off, in costume at the local orphanages and elder care homes. The driver will know where to take you and the presents are wrapped, but marked with the appropriate place to drop them off."

"That sounds like fun!" Tris said, "I love Christmas!"

He didn't respond to that. Instead, he said, "When you finish that task, you'll be contacted again with further instructions."

"Sounds like a plan!" Tris told him, excitedly. She was looking forward to the day, and hopefully to finally meeting him later on. He must be a really generous man to hand out presents all over town, and she just couldn't get that voice out of her head. As she was pondering it all, her doorbell rang. She opened the door to an older man in a chauffer's uniform, holding a box.

"Miss Prior?"

"Yes," Tris told him. "But please call me Tris."

He smiled slightly and said, "I'm James. This box has the costume for you to wear and I'll be downstairs waiting with the car when you're ready."

"Okay… hey James, who sent the costume?"

This time he smiled outright and said, "That's not for me to say, Miss." He tipped his hat at me and turned and left. Tris shook her head and carried the box inside. She sat it down on the couch and pulled off the ribbon that held it together. When she slipped off the lid she was surprised to find a green and red elf costume inside. It was a green, sparkly dress that came to about mid-thigh with red fur trim around the neckline and sleeves. There were slippers with pointed toes and silver bells attached to them and even a hat to match the dress with pointed ears sewn on. She was ecstatic! She loved stuff like this. This was what Christmas was about.

She got ready as quickly as she could; knowing James was waiting for her. When she finished dressing she looked in the mirror to see the perfect reflection of an elf. She was tickled and looking forward to this a lot. She grabbed her bag and keys and headed down to meet James. He was standing next to the car and when he saw her, an amused expression lit up his face. He opened the back door of the giant limousine for her and as she slid in on the supple leather seat he said, "You look fabulous, Miss."

"Why thank you, James. I feel fabulous."

He closed the door and went around to his side. There was a partition between them that Tris assumed was for privacy, but she didn't need any and the car was so big, she felt lonely in the back all alone. She tapped on the window and James lowered it a few inches.

"Did you need something, Miss?"

"It's just lonely back here, James. Can we leave the partition down?" He smiled and lowered it the rest of the way. That felt better to her, she could breathe, and talk to James.

The first place they stopped was a home ran by social services where kids who came into the system were sent while they awaited a spot at a foster home, or court with mom and dad, or adoption. It was a large, three story Victorian home that had been converted. James told her they knew they were coming and should be ready for them. She knocked and was let in by a plump middle aged woman whose red dress and dark red cheeks reminded Tris of Mrs. Claus. She introduced herself as the "headmistress" of the house, Mrs. Grimes. She led Tris and James who was carrying a large sack and an armload of packages behind her into a big open room with a Christmas tree in the center and about twenty small children gathered around it in a circle.

"Hi! I'm Tris the elf!" Tris said.

"Hi Tris!" came the resounding reply from twenty small voices.

"Santa Claus is extra busy this year. He asked that I come by and deliver some gifts to you because you've all been so good." One of the little girls in the front row raised her hand. She was about four years old. Her hair was blonde and had two pigtails. The dress she wore was worn, but her face was scrubbed clean and she looked healthy. "Yes?" Tris said, looking at her.

"Brady hasn't been good. He pulls my hair."

Tris tried to keep a straight face as she said, "Well, Santa Claus must have seen him doing something nice to make up for it, because he was on the nice list."

"He did give me his extra pancake at breakfast," she said.

Tris smiled then and said, "That must have been it."

James helped Tris and together they handed out presents out. When all the gifts had been handed out, they also gave them little bags of Christmas cookies that looked homemade. When they left, they all had smiles on their faces and her heart felt full and happy. They traveled the city for the next few hours spreading the same kind of joy. After the first couple of stops, the formerly stoic chauffeur was smiling from ear to ear and laughing at all her jokes.

Carrying the packages in and passing them out was no small task and Tris began to wonder if her mystery boss was afflicted somehow and that's why he'd hired her to do this. He was definitely a wealthy, generous man. The kids were getting toys and clothing that kids in two-parent homes may not have been able to get because of the expense and the elderly were receiving robes and slippers and for some of the men, boxes of cigars that she knew didn't come cheap. She'd tried to prod information out of James along the way, but he wasn't forthcoming with any.

On the way to one of our stops, Tris said, "I know you can't tell me who this man is, but can you answer just a question or two about him?"

"Hmm, that would depend on the question, I believe," he said with a grin.

"Is he always so generous, or only at Christmas time?"

"He's a very generous employer throughout the year," James said. "He does always give quite a bit to the community during the holidays."

"Why doesn't he take the presents out himself?" Tris asked. James looked sad.

"Christmas is a time of year that our boss doesn't care for. He avoids Christmas and everything he can that goes along with it. He wants to give back to the community however and this is a way he can do that. He usually just hires people to deliver them. I like this idea better."

Tris had a hard time imagining anyone who didn't like Christmas. Christmas was literally her favorite time. She enjoyed it when she was a child even more than her birthday.

"Why doesn't he like Christmas?" Tris asked him.

James chuckled and said, "You'll have to ask him that yourself when you meet him."

"What should I call him when we meet?"

He laughed outright again and said, "Tricky Miss Tris, but I'm not falling for it."

They took care of their last stop, a residential care facility for the elderly. More than one of the old ladies and even one old man got tears in their eyes when they received their gifts. Tris was touched to see that her secret employer had also thought about the elderly who weren't able to intake sugar because of a medical condition. He'd sent sugarless snacks that looked as appetizing as the sugared ones.

Tris realized after they left the care home how tired she was. She also realized that it was after one o'clock and they hadn't had lunch yet. She was about to ask him about it when the car phone rang. James put it on speaker and Tris heard her mystery man's beautiful voice float out.

"Hello Tris, how is the day going?"

"It's been so much fun," Tris told him, sincerely.

"Good," he said, sounding amused. "And how did you like the costume?"

"Loved it!" Tris said.

"Really? That's great," he said, sounding surprised. She could tell that he found it strange and amusing that she hadn't been embarrassed to dress like an elf. "How would you like to go to the offices and hand out the presents to each department in full costume?"

"I'd love to," Tris told him, "You must be one of the executives…" He didn't answer that. She was fishing for a club. But then she said, "Just as long as I can have lunch first."

"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry," he said, actually sounding remorseful. "I should have thought about lunch. I suppose you could have James go in and get it."

"Why couldn't I go get it?" Tris asked.

"I was just thinking of you. You're still in costume, correct?"

"Yeah, but I don't see the problem. I like the costume and it fits very nicely." He was obviously not one of her friends or close acquaintances or he would know that she loved to have fun and very little embarrassed her.

He chuckled, but she could tell he found it odd. "Okay then, have James take you out to lunch. On me, anywhere you'd like to go. Then he'll take you to the offices."

"That sounds perfect," Tris told him. "And when do I get to see you?"

"Have fun Tris," he said, and then he hung up.

Tris could see James' face in the mirror, he was smirking. "What's so funny?" she asked him.

"Nothing, Miss."

***********PAGEBREAK********

After much cajoling, she convinced James to join her for lunch at a nice steakhouse. He'd wanted to wait for her at the car. He seemed a little uncomfortable about it as they were walking in and she asked, "Are you embarrassed to be seen with an elf in public?"

He smiled and said, "No miss, but I was thinking about what a picture an elf having lunch with a chauffeur might present." Tris laughed.

"I hadn't thought of that, we'll have to ask our waiter to take a picture of us. Everyone at work will love it." James just shook his head and followed her inside.

They enjoyed our lunch, James told her about growing up in the U.K. and that he'd met his employer just after coming to the States for his mother's funeral. He'd had to stay in New York to care for his ailing father and when James told him his predicament, the man had hired him on the spot. He'd also helped James obtain his work visa and eventually his citizenship.

"He sounds like a wonderful man this Mr…?"

James actually stuck his tongue out at her. It cracked Tris up because she'd be willing to bet he hadn't done that since he was five. He said, "When will you figure out that you can't trick an old English chauffeur like me?"

"I'm persistent like that," Tris told him.

James drove them to the offices of Dauntless Inc. and she set about her task delivering the gift baskets to each department. James followed along behind her and she showed everyone the picture of them having lunch and took a few orders that she promised to take straight back to Santa Claus. It had a great time and was starting to think she'd like to add something like this to her yearly Christmas Traditions. She had some of her own already that she'd been putting into practice since she was a kid. No one that knew her seemed the least bit surprised that she was dressed like an elf, and the rest of the staff found it amusing. Tris ran across Al when she was in the building and looking her over he said, "Who was it that beat me out last night?"

"I have no idea," Tris told him.

"Really?" he asked, suspiciously.

"Really, I haven't met him; I've only spoken with him on the telephone."

"Hmm, the guy is obviously loaded," he said. "It would have to be someone from upstairs."

Tris shrugged, "I don't know. He's generous, that's for sure. I better get back to my task." She could feel Al watching her until she was out of his sight. Sighing, she wondered if he would ever give up.

Tris finished handing out the gifts at work and James drove her home. When he opened the car door for her he had another package, similar to the one he'd given her this morning in his hand.

"What's this? A present for me?" Tris asked, like a child on Christmas morning. She'd always rather give gifts out, but everyone likes one of their own sometimes. James smiled.

"I think whatever it is; you deserve it for your hard work today." Tris surprised him, not for the first time that day, by giving him a hug. She really liked the old guy and because of him her day had been more enjoyable.

"You worked just as hard. Thank you, James."

"You're very welcome, Miss Tris."

Tris carried the box up to her apartment and she was about to open it when her phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hello Tris, how did things go at the office?" It was him, the mystery caller. Her belly fluttered just at the sound of his voice.

"Spectacular," Tris told him. "Everyone was so pleased with their gifts."

"Good, James said you should be commended for the job you did today. So, I commend you. Thank you for taking care of all of that for me."

"You're welcome, I enjoyed myself. I hope James will also be commended. He's great."

"He will be. I'd like to take you out to dinner as a reward for a job well done if you don't have an objection to joining me?"

"I'd love to," Tris said. Not only did she believe she deserved a treat after her long day, she was so excited about meeting him. She was really hoping that he was as beautiful as his voice.

"Great. We have reservations at a very exclusive restaurant in Chicago. Put on the outfit I sent for you and I'll send James around to pick you up at eight."

"Okay, I'll see you then," Tris told him, before hanging up. Finally, she pulled open the box. Inside was a black silk dress. It had a designer label that she recognized. It was a very expensive dress. It had probably cost him over a thousand dollars. It was beautiful and when she slipped it out of the box, she realized there was a lovely matching scarf, stockings and shoes.

She took it into her bedroom and held it up to her in front of the mirror. It was stunning, and the soft material of the dress would cling to all of her curves, no doubt. Did he actually go shopping for it himself, or did he hire someone to do that? She looked at the size of both the dress and the shoes… both perfect. Who was this man? How could he possibly know her shoe size of all things? She looked back at the dress and realized suddenly that the only thing that had bothered her about him all day was that he didn't trust she had enough sense and taste to dress myself for a night out. She loved it, but it wasn't her. She was never one to be anything or anyone other than herself. Tris smiled as she got an idea...a terrible, awful idea.


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