A smirk flickered in the corner of Lola's mouth as she scrolled through the email. She may have been fairly new to the business world, but successes seemed to pile up one after the other. Archiving the message, she moved on to her accounts, satisfied at the ever increasing numbers.

"Hey! No. Work. On. Christmas!"

Jessie's rolled up magazine bapped gently on Lola's tight curls. The merry Mrs Clause stood before her, hands on hips and foot tapping.

"I know Hun, but this is really important. Just a few minutes, promise."

With a huff, the older woman spun on her heel. The bells on her Christmas booties jingled as she marched off. She'd be sore at Lola for a little while, but hopefully some good news would cheer her up. Turning her attention back to the tablet, Lola began moving assets around. She was getting in the flow of things when her vision went dark and a heavy weight attached to her face.

"Hugs for granny Lola!"

It felt like all of her ringlets pinged straight at once. Supporting the baby clinging to her head, she glared at Jessie's smug, shit-eating grin.

"Oh don't you dare!"

The blond leaned in close to her girlfriend's face, tussling her grandson's hair.

"No work, or I'll make sure you're 'granny Lola' for the rest of your life."

Realising she couldn't beat the woman, Lola relented. She set her tablet down and pulled Jason away from her hair before he could get a mouthful. Jessie led the way back through to the living room. Waiting until her girlfriend's back was turned, Lola snagged her device again, hiding it behind the giggling babe in her arms. Tiffany smiled up at her mother's partner as she entered, apparently delighted at how attached her son was to the woman. Lola was quick to deposit the boy back in his playpen with his father. It wasn't that she disliked children, quite the opposite in fact, but the little ball of energy needed some space to crawl around. She noticed Jessie's scowl as she spotted Lola's contraband, but the woman wouldn't kick up a fuss in front of Tiffany or her grandson.

"Thanks for another great meal Lola!"

Tiffany's youthful pep was something she'd never grow out of. Lola almost envied her.

"You're very welcome honey. Any time you wanna stop by, you just let me know, there'll always be a hot meal waiting for you three."

Cooking had always been one of Lola's favourite pastimes. Ever since she'd put her foot down and kicked her father out of the kitchen. It was nice having enough people to eat a proper meal, Jessie wasn't shy about her appetite, but she wasn't exactly a big eater.

The evening was pleasantly calm, with the small family chatting amongst themselves. A ping from Lola's tablet drew her away from the murmur (and earned her a disapproving look from Jessie). Checking the notification was the one she was expecting, a sly smirk spread across her face.

"They can't leave you alone, even on Christmas, huh?"

The large man in the playpen smiled up at her, his son starting to doze in his lap. Jay was still far too nervous around her and Jessie, but at least they could hold a conversation.

"Actually, I've been waiting for this one all day, hun."

She could see Jessie was getting close to making a fuss again. It was better to cut her off before she got too agitated.

"Hey, Tiffany, I've got something here I want you and Jessie to hear."

The man started to rise, probably sensing an incoming woman's talk, but Lola pressed the top of his head back down. He'd need to hear it as well. Standing and retrieving the glasses from her cardigan pocket, she held the email up like she was reading scripture.

"Ms Rembrite. It is my personal pleasure to welcome you to the Belrose International Trading family. We have great expectations for you and your company going forward, and I want to assure you of my full support in the future. Following the agreement with my daughter, I thought it'd be useful to have a shortlist of the terms of your new contract. Firstly, I can promise that you will remain in control of Rembrite Women's Apparel (henceforth referred to as RWA) as the acting CEO until you appoint a successor. We may offer suggestions or requests, but ultimately the company you founded will stay in your hands."

Lola glanced up, making sure her little audience was still listening.

"Second of all, as promised, all current employees of RWA will retain their positions at their own discretion. Assignment and distribution of personnel will be in your hands unless you wish to delegate the responsibility to one of our HR personnel. And as per your very insistent wishes, all employees of RWA will receive a pay increase up to a minimum of twenty dollars an hour, as well as a Christmas bonus of twenty thousand dollars each."

Jessie's mouth flapped open.

"Twenty thou….You Bitch! How long were you gonna hide that from me!"

It was Lola's turn to wear the smug grin. While she didn't have a tonne of employees, it was still a big gesture on Mr Belrose's part. But the email continued.

"And lastly, as a sign of how much I personally believe in you and your company, the six women named as the founders of RWA (yourself, Ms M Maye, Ms A Yumi, Mrs B Delrio, Mrs K Lapran, and Ms P Bendleson) will each receive a bonus of five hundred thousand dollars, to be paid on Christmas Day. I look forward to a long and prosperous partnership in the coming years. Yours sincerely, Arthur Belrose, CEO of Belrose International Trading."

It was a good thing Jessie had been sitting down, she looked ready to collapse. With a swipe of her fingers, Lola brought up their bank balance, passing the tablet to her girlfriend's shaking hands. Tiffany crowded in next to her mother, both blondes staring in disbelief at the figures on the screen.

"Lola…baby, that's…"

The woman was completely lost for words. Lola had to capitalise on the opportunity.

"That's not all. I wanted to wait until all this was finished, just to take the stress off…."

Her fingers were shaking. She stuffed them into her cardigan pockets, clenching the little cube inside tightly. Lola had rehearsed the speech over a hundred times in her head, but at the crucial moment the words escaped her. She had to power through though. She decided just to speak from her heart.

"Jessie, for as long as I've known you, you've been childish, irresponsible, and pretty lazy. You only seem to care about sex, booze, and yourself."

The trio before her shared an uneasy look. It wasn't the sort of announcement they were expecting. Lola kept going, actually afraid to stop.

"But we all know that's all only skin deep. You act like you don't care because you're scared of getting hurt again. You try to have fun and get everyone to enjoy themselves because you never got to enjoy yourself growing up. You act selfish sometimes because when you were younger no one else cared for you. Yet despite all that, you're still one of the kindest and most caring people I've ever had the privilege to meet."

It was a lot sappier than she'd intended.

"You adore your baby, and you'd do anything for her. And I don't think a more doting grandma exists. Ask any of our friends and they'll all say the same thing, that you're a wonderful person. Heck, if I didn't have you next to me, I don't think I could've made it through these last few years."

The older Maye had watery eyes. Was she going to cry?

"Everything you have in life, you've earned. You worked and worked until you had a comfy little life, not a lot, but enough for you. But still, there's something missing."

Lola pulled out the small box, dropping to one knee as she opened it.

"And I fully intend to fill that gap. Jessica Faith Maye, will you marry me?"

Lola's heart hammered against her chest. It was a strange feeling for the confident woman. For as long as she could remember, she'd been sure of everything she'd done. Most of the time she'd succeeded by forcing her way headfirst through any obstacles, and if she failed it'd just been another lesson to learn from. But this was different. A cold sweat ran down her back as Jessie stared at her silently. She didn't know how she'd react if the woman said no, or if she'd be able to take it. They'd been "together" for several years, and while they hadn't exactly made anything official, they still introduced each other as girlfriends. Each passing second felt like an eternity.

Shitshitshitshitshit! Did I get it wrong? Was it all just sex? It was more for me. She's too quiet. Say something! Even if it's no….

Lola had only seen Jessie's silent stare twice before. The first time had been when she found out exactly why Tiffany broke up with her first boyfriend, and the second when she'd held her grandson for the first time. One time Lola had had to stop her attempting murder, and the other Jessie had almost smothered the boy with kisses. Those beautiful sapphire eyes just kept watching, unblinking.

Do I stand up now? She's not gonna say yes, is she? Oh fuck! Maybe I can stay with Beli or Aiko for a few days. It'll be awkward going back to work. God, I hope I don't cry in front of her….

Lola's mind was in such turmoil that she didn't notice Jessie move. The woman crouched on her chair before launching herself across the room.

"YES! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! A thousand times yes!"

She landed right on top of her new fiancé, squishing her to the floor. Kisses and tears rained down on Lola's face as Jessie showered her with all the affection she'd been keeping bottled up. Relief washed over the young businesswoman, coming out in a throaty laugh. She picked herself up and lifted Jessie to her feet, struggling against the older woman's hug. A weeping Tiffany staggered over to hug the women, babbling gibberish through her ecstatic tears. Jessie's giddy gasping was the sweetest music in Lola's ear. Twisting around so that her daughter couldn't hear, the model whispered a quick question.

"So does this mean we have to be mono….monog….erm, loyal to each other?"

Lola gave her a reassuring squeeze.

"Monogamous? Aw hell no! I was gonna ask if you wanted to get Aiko round to celebrate tomorrow."

They both chuckled, spinning slowly as Tiffany let them go. Lola stopped as they reached the arched doorway, noticing the mistletoe above them. Sliding one hand under Jessie's thigh, and the other around her waist, she dipped the woman low, giving those soft ruby lips the biggest smooch she could manage.

"I love you Jessie…"

"Yeah, I love you too."