His Christmas Wish

Nine

Bailey

The energy in the ballroom was almost electric. Employees from the office and all four of Bryce's restaurants mingled with various friends and business contacts of his like they'd known each other for eons. From servers and bussers to lawyers and businessmen, everyone in the room was dressed to the nines and enjoying the Winter Wonderland I had created. It was heartwarming. Seeing all these people, from all walks of life, together and enjoying the atmosphere I'd spent the last month and a half dreaming up, made every painstaking detail feel worth it.
And yet, no one in this room, no amount of joy written on anyone's face, even carried a candle to the glow emanating from the man beside me. Bryce spoke to each person in this room like they were long-time friends. He remembered more names than I had probably forgotten in my lifetime. It was no wonder that there wasn't much employment turnover at the Jordan Group. With a boss like Bryce Jordan, why would anyone ever want to leave?

Bryce made no attempt to hide the change that had occurred in our relationship in the last three days. He held my hand as he circulated the ballroom, wrapped an arm around me as he stopped at talked to every single attendee and whomever they brought with them, dropped a kiss on my head as certain older board members rattled on about business and what they thought his next move should be. And the most shocking thing to me? No one so much as flinched. It was almost as if they expected us to arrive hand in hand. As if they expected to watch the man of the hour gaze at me with what could only be described as complete adoration. No one stuttered, no one stammered, no one even so much as asked any questions. It was almost strange how little they seemed to care.

Maybe transitioning from our strictly working relationship to lovers wasn't going to be a difficult as I had previously thought.

After cocktail hour, we all settled in at our pre-assigned seats for a three-course plated dinner. Waiters circulated offering water and wine as Bryce readied himself to address his company.

"Are you nervous?" I asked, running a hand down his forearm as he stood and buttoned his tuxedo jacket.

"Not in the least," Bryce answered before stooping to press a chaste kiss to my lips. "This is by far the least nerve-wracking thing I've done today."

I arched a recently micro-bladed eyebrow. "What exactly were you up to today?"

Bryce gave me a cool wink. "Time will tell." He pressed another kiss to the crown of my head. "Back in a flash."

The dull roar of a hundred plus people chatting stopped the instant Bryce Jordan stepped onstage. A smattering of applause began and before long, the entire room was nothing but a sea of clapping hands. Bryce just smiled and gave the room a small wave before he took his place behind the microphone stand. He didn't have so much as a notecard with him, but that wasn't surprising. The man I knew had no issue speaking from the heart.

"Thank you," Bryce began with a nod and another wave as the applause began to grow softer.  "Thank you all for being here this evening to celebrate with me. I know taking time out of your schedule for a work thing isn't everyone's favorite thing to do, so don't worry, the food will be worth it." A small hum of laughter erupted and softened before Bryce continued.

"As most of you know, this year has been... difficult for me, to say the least," Bryce spoke, his voice thick with sincerity. "Six months ago, I lost the most important person in the world to me, my mother, Hazel. If you've been with us for longer than six months, it's safe to say that you've met her. Hazel was the figurehead of Jordan Group. She certainly didn't have to work, but she wanted to. She wanted to be there in the trenches, with all of you. She wanted to see the challenges you faced and help me with practical solutions and methods to strengthen what we do each day. And if you've been around at least a year then you know that Christmas was my mother's favorite. She was a kind, giving woman, day in and day out, but only grew more so when the Holidays approached. She planned these parties so that every single one of you could experience the best. Taking care of those who take care of us was something she'd instilled in me since birth. It had always only been my mother and I, and it was her and I until the very end."