His First Christmas: The Lonely Billionaire - A Heart-Warming Romance Novel (4 page)

“Well, Anna,” she started happily, “I have some news to tell you about that. I’m actually no longer working at the factory. I’ll be starting a new job next week—as a receptionist for Tom’s brother’s company.”

“Oh,” Anna nodded. She wasn’t quite sure what her mother’s new job would entail, but she did understand that her mother was pleased.

  “And, thanks to working different hours, I’m going to have more time to spend with you and Cathy,” Jenny grinned, lifting Anna up and giving her a kiss.

Anna had noticed that her parents seemed less tense than usual: happier, lighter. The bags under their eyes disappeared; they didn’t feel the need to smoke so much. It was a welcome change.

The family’s month-long stay with the Gellers culminated in a massive Christmas dinner held at the local community league. Swanky jazz music played while the neighbors mingled. Anna was loving the big, festive, atmosphere. She chased Benny and Jessie around the league halls, her mother occasionally warning at her to be careful.

It was a change of pace from the quiet Christmas dinners her family usually had together. It was the first time a Christmas dinner had been held at the community league, and Anna’s parents thought it was simply a new, neighborhood thing. The Lionels spent the evening laughing, conversing, and generally having a merry time before the surprise announcement came.

“Linda, we got your box of treats. How kind of you,” her mother said appreciatively to Leone’s next-door-neighbor.

“Least I could do after you shared your pancake recipe with me. They’re absolutely divine,” Linda gushed.

Her mother’s tone turned more serious. “Also…I wanted to thank you and Tom for helping me get my new job,” she said, putting a hand to her chest. “It’s improved my quality of life so much… I can’t thank you enough.”

Linda and Tom smiled back at her. “You deserve it, Jenny.”

Meanwhile, Anna’s dad was drunkenly playing darts with his newfound neighborly friends. “Woo-ee! Bull’s-eye, boys!” Anna’s dad said triumphantly.

Everyone covered their ears as the telltale high-pitched ring of the microphone rang throughout the hall.

“Ahem,” Leone said, poking at the microphone. “Hello. Yes. Okay, volume is good,” Leone said, satisfied with the acoustics. “It is so nice to see all of your smiling faces here tonight,” she said jovially, then switched to a more somber tone. “So, as I’m sure you’ve all heard…the Lionels’ home burned down recently.” Anna’s parents were surprised at hearing their name called, and wondered why they were being mentioned. Leone continued, “Since then, me and Kenny have had the pleasure of hosting ‘em. And we’d be content to do it forever, too, but they insist on “not being a burden”,” she chuckled, using air quotes. “They said they would move out after Christmas. So, to help ‘em with the transition…” the crowd began to give knowing whoops and cheers, “we decided to rally the community and raise some funds,” she grinned.

“And with your generous help, we’ve raised ten thousand dollars!”

At this juncture, a check was revealed and presented to Anna’s parents.

Anna’s parents looked at the check in shock.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Anna’s mom said, teary-eyed.

CHAPTER NINE

“So just to confirm, the hall can hold five hundred guests? Excellent,” Anna said, speaking with a receptionist on the phone.  She was at the office, late, again.

Anna’s computer was a mess of spreadsheets and other documents. Her browser was overflowing with tabs for different venues and catering companies, she was compiling an exhaustive spreadsheet of the invitees and approximate costs, at the same time as working on designs for the invitations.

Anna hung up the phone and rubbed her eyes. She checked her inbox, hoping to see an email from Robert, the homeless man.
Maybe I can invite him,
she thought, but there was nothing there.

***

Finally, after weeks of additional work and countless nights staying late at the office, the night of the Christmas gala had arrived.

“Wow, Anna,” Jane said. “You’ve really gone the extra mile for this event. I’m so impressed at how everything has come together.”

Anna smiled warmly in response. “Thanks for coming out, both of you,” she said to Jane and her husband. “It really means a lot.”

Jane lowered her voice and added slyly, “By the way, this food is
delicious.
Don’t tell anyone, but I took five blinis.”

Anna couldn’t believe that the fundraising dinner was actually happening—and going off so well to boot. She couldn’t stop smiling.

She spotted her favorite clients at the same they spotted her, and she walked over. Mr Carson, the lawyer, clapped her on the shoulder. “There’s our star real estate agent! Again, five hundred thousand above asking? That’s unbelievable,” he said.

“Well, not all of the credit goes to me—your home spoke for itself, of course. And then there was your amazing upkeep and presentation,” Anna said.

“Personally, I think it was your gingerbread cookies,” Mrs Carson said. “You have
got
to send me that recipe,” she said.

“Sure thing,” Anna laughed. “By the way, all of the paperwork should be finalized soon—then everything will be officially a done deal.”

They nodded. Anna sensed the moment had come to wrap up the conversation and said, “Thanks again for making it out. Enjoy the rest of the evening, and do let me know how settling in Laurier is,” she said, waving them off.

Next, Anna ran into Penelope, Kirk, and Victor, and their plus ones.

“Wow, look at you,” Penelope said, impressed. “You look great,” she said. Anna was finding it interesting to see the people she worked with everyday in a fancier setting. And Anna, just like everyone else, had taken the time to look classy. True to Christmas spirit, she had worn a ruby red cocktail dress.

“This is my husband, Stan, by the way,” Penelope added. Anna smiled and shook his hand.

Victor and Kirk took this chance to introduce their wives as well.

“Nice to meet you all,” Anna said warmly. “And you guys look great, too,” Anna said. “I mean…violet looks amazing on you, Penelope.”

“And don’t these two scrub up well?” Penelope said, gesturing to Victor and Kirk.

“I try,” Victor said slyly.

“I had to badger him to put on something nice,” his wife said, laughing. “He was going to go with
corduroy.
”

“Oh boy,” Penelope said. “Looks like Tina she saved you from fashion hell, Victor.”

Victor rolled his eyes as everyone laughed.

Kirk’s wife, Joan, turned to Anna, “So, whereabouts is your significant other tonight?”

“Oh,” Anna said, caught off-guard by the question. Kirk shot his wife a look that meant that Anna didn’t have a S.O and that the conversation was heading into awkward territory. Joan already seemed embarrassed to have asked.

“I don’t have one, actually,” Anna said politely. She braced herself for The Look she was about to receive: the why-are-you-still-single look.

Luckily, Penelope was good at diffusing awkwardness. “I know, right? With looks like hers? I personally maintain that she’s hiding some dark secret. Other than that, she seems like the most eligible girl in the world,” Penelope said.

Anna chuckled, pushing down her embarrassment. “Or, maybe, being single is actually totally normal and doesn't mean I’m secretly hiding weapons of mass destruction or something?” she said sweetly.

“Not for someone who looks like you,” Tina said with a smirk. “That being said, I bet you won’t be single for long.”

“Well,
actually,
” Kirk started, “I have this theory that beautiful women are more likely to be single, because people are afraid to approach them.” He gave his wife a kiss on the cheek and told her as an aside, “But luckily I wasn’t too afraid to approach
you.
”
Joan squeezed his hand and smiled.

Looking at them, Anna was touched. “Aw,” she said. “You guys are sweet. If I do end up attached,
dark secret or not,
” she said to Penelope pointedly, “I hope it’s like your guys’ relationship.”

“Hey,” Victor interjected. “Our relationship is awesome too!” he joked.

“Ours too! Emulate us!” Penelope added.

Anna shook her head, laughing.
Hey, maybe we’re all finally going past surface-level friendships,
she thought. “I’d love to stay with you guys but I’d better keep doing the rounds… If I don’t get to catch up with you later, thanks for coming, all of you. It means a lot.”

“Thanks for having us, Anna. It’s a great event.”

“Yeah. Great food…”

Anna continued to make her rounds, smiling and chatting with clients and colleagues. It seemed like everyone was having a genuinely good time, and Anna thought that she might just be beginning to relax a little. She scanned the room, curious to see if their esteemed CEO had made an appearance, and spotted Karen, his secretary. She smiled and made her way over.

“Hey Karen,” she said cheerily. “Happy holidays!” Anna once again felt the need to overdo her cheeriness in an attempt to compensate for having shoved Christmas trinkets in Karen’s face.

“Happy holidays to you too,” Karen nodded, still somewhat warily.

“Do you know if Jason made it out tonight?” Anna inquired gently.

“Unfortunately he did not,” Karen said, matter-of-factly. “Mr Hawthorne is on his two-week break, remember?”

“Right…” Anna nodded. Anna wasn’t sure why she cared if Jason Hawthorne came to her charity dinner.
Maybe to see if a billionaire such as himself ever thought of giving back? Maybe to find out if he’s really that cold all the time; or maybe to test his holiday spirit like the momma bear I am,
she mused. Anna was ready to put any remaining curiosity about Jason to rest when Karen pulled out an envelope.

“Here,” she said, handing it to Anna. “It’s Mr Hawthorne’s donation to the fundraiser.”

“Oh,” Anna said, glancing at Karen, surprised. “Thank you.”

Anna peeked at the envelope on the way to the stage. She went a little slack-jawed as she spied the amount.
How many zeroes? Okay, maybe he’s not as much of an asshole as I thought…

But then a more pessimistic side of Anna’s mind weighed in.
He probably just donated for the sake of his public image. Sure, it’s a lot of money, but it’s probably just a drop in the ocean for him…
Anna tried to shush her cynical side.
This is no time to focus on the negatives, just be happy that he donated!

Anna climbed up the stage and stared out into the sea of her coworkers and their clients. She was happy at how the venue had turned out. It was intimate with soft lighting, but classy.

She spotted Penelope and the gang grinning at her and flashing thumbs-ups. Clearing her throat, she leaned in to the microphone. “Hello everyone. It’s so nice to see how many of you made it out tonight,” she said warmly. “It’s especially nice because we’re all so busy nowadays… I think what I love most about the holiday season is
slowing down
. Even with all the frantic, last-minute shopping, and holiday squabbling, it’s a time to take stock of those things that matter most,” she paused. “To sit down with your people and spend time with them. And most of us are lucky enough to do this in the homes we’ve created for ourselves…but not everyone is so lucky…” Anna said. A memory of the homeless man, Robert, flashed in her head. “But, thankfully there are people out there doing everything they can to better what can seem like a hopeless situation,” Anna continued.

“So, I wanted to thank everyone for being here, and generously donating. I’m proud to announce that together we’ve raised…
two hundred thousand dollars
for Compassion House,” she said, scarcely believing the amount as she said it. The crowd stood up and applauded, cheering when she read the amount. “Thank you, everyone—for helping make people’s lives easier during the holiday season,” Anna said, grinning at the whooping crowd.

At that moment, Anna felt a strange sense of déjà vu. She realized what it was when she flashed backed to her childhood, and that dinner at the community hall.
This is why I do this.