Billionaire Under the Mistletoe

by Hannah Jo Abbott

  “Don’t be sorry, I just don’t want your arms to get tired.”

  Stewart set her down on the floor as he said, “I’m not tired.”

  “Yes, well, let’s take a look at the fantastic work we have done on this tree.” She stepped back and stood next to him as they admired the decor. Their arms brushed against each other as they stood close.

  “I would say it’s a job well done.”

  “Me too,” Abi said. “Job well done.”

  CHAPTER NINE

  Stewart sat in his office trying to listen to a conference call, but he was distracted. This was so unlike him, but he had laid awake all night thinking about the moment when he had Abi in his arms. The moment he had thought about kissing her. And he wasn’t the one who had stopped it. She was. Would I really have kissed her? He had wondered. He really couldn’t say, but he knew that he had wanted to then. And he still wanted to now.

  Abi had been kind, but professional this morning. He had even heard her call him “Mr. Vincent,” more than once. He hoped she was just trying to be professional, but he wondered if she was trying to clue him in that she was pushing him away. He sighed because he didn’t know the answer.

  His call ended, and he felt like he hadn’t given it his best, which was what he asked of not only his employees, but himself. I can’t do this, he told himself. I need to focus. But at that moment he heard voices outside his door. They sounded very chatty and not businesslike. He stood and walked to the door where he could hear. The voices didn’t sound familiar to him, but they seemed to be familiar with Abi. He barely cracked the door to try to get an idea who it was before he walked out.

  “Abi, your dad and I are just so proud of you.”

  “Thanks, Mom. I appreciate that.” Abi’s voice sounded strained, but he was thankful she had clued him in to who it was. He was reaching for the door to open it all the way when Abi’s mom continued.

  “We just think it’s so great you’ve found this position and it seems like it’s going so well. And I mean, Abi, this office!” Stewart imagined that she was taking in the spacious building. “You need to just make sure you work hard and keep this job.”

  “I’m doing the best I can,” Abi said.

  “I know you are, honey. This is just so great!”

  A male voice spoke up now. “Yes, it is great. We’re proud of you, and really just hope that now you can focus on this job and put away the foolish idea of making a career as a writer.”

  Stewart’s heart sank to his stomach as he heard those words. How dare they belittle her dream like that? He could feel anger rise up inside him. I would never talk that way to someone I care about. Without his permission, his heart added, And Abi is someone I care about.

  He didn’t wait any longer to make his appearance. He opened the door wide and pasted on a smile just as wide. “Hello there, I’m Stewart Vincent.”

  “Oh, hello,” Abi’s mother smiled showing all her teeth and reached out to shake hands. “I’m Beverly Williams, and this is my husband Phil.”

  “These are my parents.” Abi stood as she spoke.

  “It’s nice to meet you both,” Stewart shook both of their hands. “Were you in the area?”

  “Yes, we were just downtown doing some early Christmas shopping.” Beverly was practically fawning over him. “We just wanted to stop by and see where Abi works.”

  “We’re happy to have you. I’m glad you got to see her doing such a great job. She is an excellent assistant, and we stay very busy.”

  “Oh yes, I’m sure you have lots of work to do! We’ll say goodbye and let you get back to it.”

  “It’s no problem,” Stewart smiled, “You’re welcome to stop by anytime.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Vincent. We’re so happy for her to be working for you. We’ll get back to our shopping and let you work. Bye, Abi.” She went to Abi and gave her a quick hug. “Come on Phil, let’s let Abi do her job.”

  “Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad.” Abi said as they left. Once they were out the door, Abi turned to Stewart. “Thanks for saving me.”

  “Me?” Stewart pretended not to understand. “I didn’t do anything.”

  Abi stood and stepped close to him. “Oh yes you did. And I’m grateful.” She reached out and touched his arm just briefly. “I love my parents, but they can be a little overwhelming sometimes.”

  Stewart returned the gesture and reached out and grasped her elbow as he spoke. “I understand. I’m happy to be a buffer anytime.”

  “Thanks,” Abi said quietly.

  He saw the sadness in her expression, left there by her parents words. An idea came to him and he decided to act on it right then. “I have to run an errand, so I’ll be back in a little while and we can get back to the project proposals. Is that alright?”

  “Sure,” Abi said. A smile spread over her face, “You’re the boss.” She furrowed her eyebrows then and said, “But wait, you have an errand? Isn’t that my job?”

  “Yes, it is. But this is something I need to do myself.”

  Abi shrugged. “Alright. I’ll see you when you get back then.”

  Stewart wished he could hug her than and tell her everything would be alright, but he didn’t. He went back to his office to grab his coat and phone and texted his driver to meet him out back.

  He was already searching online for the item he had in mind and in a few minutes he had a list of possible shops where he could find it, and he was off.

  A couple of hours later he slowly walked toward the office door. In his hand he held a small red gift bag. He listened before walking in to make sure Abi wasn’t on the phone and that no one else was in the office. He wanted her full attention. When he opened the door she looked up, she smiled when she saw it was him. He watched her face as her eyes moved down to the bag in his hand. He could see delight, and then confusion, and then a look that he thought must be her telling herself the gift wasn’t for her.

  She pasted on a smile and spoke, “Did you finish your errand without any problems?”

  “Yep, I sure did.” He went to her and sat on the edge of her desk. “I wanted to do this myself, because this is for you.”

  Her mouth fell open as he held it out to her. “Really? For me? Why?”

  “Just something I wanted to get for you. Go ahead, open it.”

  She blushed as she pulled the tissue paper out and pulled out the small item wrapped inside. She unfolded the paper slowly and carefully to reveal a Christmas ornament. She gasped as she took it in. It was tiny books lined up in a row, and then beneath was one book showing the spine with the words “By Abi Williams.”

  Stewart watched her as she held it tenderly in the palm of her hand and ran her finger over her own name. When she was silent he asked, “What do you think?”

  She turned to face him and he saw the tears filling her eyes, “It’s beautiful. I can’t believe you did this.”

  “I wanted you to have a special ornament to hang on the tree.”

  “Thank you,” she stood and embraced him, her arms going around his neck. Stewart wrapped both of his arms around her waist and breathed her in. They stood there, without moving for several moments. Abi finally leaned back to look him in the eyes and said, “I don’t think anyone has ever really believed that I would be a writer.”

  “Well I do,” Stewart said, making sure she could see in his eyes that he meant it.

  “Thank you,” Abi brushed at her eyes and stepped back from him. “That really means a lot to me.”

  Stewart wasn’t sure what else to say. “Take your time, and whenever you’re ready, we can start working on the projects again. The rest of my day is cleared for this. So I thought we would get crazy and sit on the couch out here by the tree.”

  “Wow,” Abi said, wide-eyed, “That is crazy. You’re really stepping out of your comfort zone, aren’t you?”

  “Oh, you have no idea.” Steward smiled at her.

  ***

  The day flew by for Abi. She didn’t know she could enjoy a da
y of work so much. She was beginning to see why Stewart did what he did, and why he loved his job. She was starting to love her job, but she had a little something inside her telling her that was more because of him than the job itself. The day seemed a little more relaxed than the past few weeks had. At one point she caught herself watching Stewart as he read off a proposal and thought about how he had changed over the course of the week. Or maybe it was just that he had opened up to her and they were actually becoming friends. Either way, she was beginning to see that he was a genuinely nice person, and not just a stuffy businessman.

  It was well past what Abi would have considered a normal dinner hour, when she leaned her head back on the couch as Stewart closed one more proposal. Her stomach chose that moment to let out a deep rumble and she sat up quickly, wide-eyed and embarrassed.

  Stewart let out a laugh. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize how late it was getting. You must be starving.”

  “Nope,” Abi said quickly. “Not even hungry.”

  Stewart scooted over from his seat on the couch and brushed her nose with his index finger. “Liar.”

  “Just joking, since I don’t think I could cover that growl. Should I order some food to be brought over?” she said, reaching for her phone.

  “Actually, I have a better idea.”

  “Oh?”

  “Let’s get out of here. I’m sure you’ve had enough of the office for a while and it would be nice to stretch my legs.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, of course. The projects will still be here when we get back.”

  “Alright.” Abi stood and reached for her coat. “Where to?”

  “If you don’t mind walking a little, there’s a great little Italian place a few blocks away.”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  They made their way down the elevator and out the doors to find that it was lightly snowing. Abi pulled her coat tighter around herself.

  Stewart noticed and offered, “If it’s too cold, we can take the car.”

  “No, no. Absolutely not. I love seeing the snow.”

  It was only a few minutes walk to the restaurant and they were seated at a table right away.

  They both ordered salads and the dinner special. “I’m so hungry, I’m not sure I even care what I eat,” Abi said. But she changed her tune when the food arrived and proclaimed it the most delicious Italian food she had ever had.

  “I told you it was good,” Stewart said.

  They kept the conversation going all through dinner. Stewart asked her about her story ideas, and she blushed to tell him of the romance she was working on. And Abi peppered him with questions about high school and college and how he knew he wanted to go in to the tech business. She felt like she was getting to know the real Stewart now.

  After dinner Abi begged to stop by a grocery store before going back to the office. “I need some candy to keep me going.”

  “No problem.”

  There was a small corner grocery store a block over, so they walked as the snow started to fall heavier on their hats and coats. They entered the store and it didn’t take Abi long to find the candy aisle and pick up a number of things. She even added some salty snacks to her basket, “Just in case,” she said. As they rounded the aisle to the checkout counter, they saw a woman standing there talking to the cashier.

  “Please sir, I could sweep the floor or clean the bathrooms. Anything at all.”

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, we’re just not hiring right now.”

  “I could just work today in exchange for snacks or milk. Really anything.”

  Abi glanced at Stewart and she saw that he had slowed his steps. He lowered his head and listened intently as the woman spoke.

  “Please, it’s for my kids.”

  “I’m sorry, I can’t help.” The clerk turned away and left the woman standing there.

  She covered her face and took a deep breath before taking slow steps towards the door.

  “Ma’am,” Stewart’s deep voice surprised Abi and the woman stopped in her tracks.

  She turned and looked at him without a word.

  “Is there something I can help you with?”

  She nearly crumpled and the tears she had been holding back fell then. “I’m sorry, mister. I’m not asking for charity. But I lost my job and I just need something to feed my kids. I saved enough up to pay the rent, but we’re out of groceries. I just need something to feed them. I offered to do work. I’m not asking for charity.”

  Abi could see the pride in her eyes and knew the woman was telling the truth.

  “Maybe I can help.”

  “I’ve been trying to find a job,” the woman said. “My husband left us eight months ago, and I’ve been trying to get by. But it’s not easy.”

  “What kind of work did you do?” Stewart asked. Abi was in awe of the kindness in his voice.

  “Manufacturing. But you know, all the companies keep moving everything oversees to save money, and the little people are the ones who lose their jobs.”

  Stewart rubbed his chin. “Yes, ma’am. I understand that. Ma’am, I would like to help you out tonight. If you would, please go get some groceries and I’ll take care of it.”

  The woman began to sob. “Are you serious?”

  “Yes. Just get what you need. We’ll wait here for you.”

  “Oh thank you. God bless you,” she said. But she didn’t wait to be told twice and hurried off to grab a cart and started adding items. Abi watched as she carefully selected the items. She seemed to be trying to make wise decisions and not take too much.

  A few minutes later the woman was back at the counter with food. “Is this alright?” She eyed Stewart cautiously.

  Stewart barely glanced at the food, “Yes, it’s perfectly fine.”

  Abi looked closer to see that she had chosen lunch meats and cheese, crackers and granola bars, jars of peanut butter and jelly, along with bread and milk. There were no cookies, or snacks, or sweets to speak of. When the woman began unloading the items, Abi walked to the counter and laid down her candy and snacks. The woman looked up at her with confusion on her face. Abi smiled and nodded at her.

  Stewart stepped up to pay for the items. As the cashier rang them up Stewart asked, “Do you have store gift cards?”

  “Yes, sir,” the man said.

  “I would like to add a one hundred dollar gift card to my purchase.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The woman didn’t speak, but Abi could tell she was crying all over again.

  Stewart turned to her as she took the grocery bags. “What’s your name, ma’am?”

  “Stephanie Lewis.”

  “Stephanie, I want you to use the gift card to come back next week and get groceries again. I can’t promise anything, but this is my business card, I’d like you to call my office and speak with my assistant. I would like to see if we can help you find a job.”

  Stephanie took the card and her groceries. Tears were streaming down her face as she said, “Thank you, God bless you. God bless you!” Then she turned and hurried out the door

  Abi and Stewart stood in silence for a few minutes, watching the door where she had disappeared. Finally Stewart spoke, “Do you want to get more candy?” he asked.

  Abi shook her head and looped her arm through his. “I think I’ve had my fill of sweetness for the evening.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Abi hadn’t stopped thinking about Stewart and the woman in the store for days. Of course, she knew he had the resources to do something like that, but he didn’t have to. Plenty of people would have let her walk out without a word and never thought about it again. But she had seen the kindness in Stewart’s eyes and heard the compassion in his voice. He had seen a need and had reached out to help.

  Two weeks had passed practically in a blur. Stewart and Abi had worked side by side every day. Abi had gotten used to ordering meals in for dinner as they worked late hours. She managed to sneak in a quick visit with her parents for
Thanksgiving day. And Kim was thrilled that Abi managed to keep their Black Friday date. Never mind that Abi nearly fell asleep on the couch in Stewart’s office over lunch. But every day she felt like she got to know just a little bit more about Stewart, and even though she tried not to admit it, she liked him more and more everyday.

  Now as she rode the elevator up to the office, she sighed a dreamy sigh. He really was a hero. Not just to the woman in the store. But to Abi. She had fought even thinking he was cute, but now she wanted to let herself fall for him. Before she stepped off the elevator, she cleared her throat and reminded herself to be professional. This was her job, after all.

  She opened the office door and walked through to find Stewart sitting at her desk. She tilted her head as she said a confused, “Good morning,” but she barely got the words out before he rushed to where she stood.

  “Whatever you have on your to-do list today, you need to cancel it.”

  Abi stood frozen in place with her purse on her arm and her coffee in her hand. “Umm, well, okay. I work for you, so whatever you need me to do is my to-do list.”

  “Oh that’s right.” Stewart grinned. “But this is an emergency.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “Like a real emergency? Like is someone hurt?”

  “No, no one is hurt.” He dropped his gaze to the floor in mock injury. “But I might be hurt, if you say no.”

  “Why?” Abi asked in surprise.

  “Come on, sit down over here,” he said leading her to the couch. When she was sitting down, he began again. “So tonight there is a big charity event that I have to go to.”

  “I saw ‘event’ listed on your agenda, but it didn’t have any details so I didn’t ask.”

  “Right. It’s the Mistletoe Charity Ball, it’s a big fancy event, and we’re a corporate sponsor. It’s a benefit for the children’s hospital. In my position it’s pretty much a faux pas to go to this kind of event without a date. But I’ve been so busy at work and so immersed, that I haven’t thought about finding someone to take.”