Fairytale Christmas with the Millionaire

“I’ll be fine. It’s a big event. Do you know the Hulligan Group?”

He nodded. “They’re a big financial firm.”

“And they rented out the entire café for a holiday party. I was told it was going to run late.”

He reached out to her. His fingertips caressed her cheek, making her heart pound. “You look tired. You’re on the go from first thing in the morning until you collapse in bed at night. There are lunch parties and evening parties on top of your regular shift. This is, what, your eighth party this week? Just quit. I’ll pay you to plan my holiday party.”

“No.” She pulled away from his touch, angry that he’d disregard her job so quickly.

“My job might not be as important as yours but I like it and there are people counting on me. Now I have to go.”

She jumped to her feet when Graham said, “Alina, wait. I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant.”

Her back was to him. Her mind said to just keep walking, but another voice said to let him explain himself. She turned to him and found him standing there with a frown on his face.

“I don’t have a lot of experience talking with women. Not like this.” He raised his gaze to meet hers. Uncertainty showed in his eyes. “The last woman I was involved with, well, I thought things were going good. We’d been together more than a year when she dumped me.”

“I’m sorry. That must have come as a shock.”

He nodded. “It did. When I asked her why, she said I was too focused on my work and she felt invisible. I don’t want to make that mistake again. Not that we’re dating or anything.”

Was he trying to say he’d spoken out of actual concern for her? She didn’t want to jump to conclusions. She’d done that with her stepmother and stepsisters and look how that had turned out.

Graham’s gaze met hers. “I just meant I was concerned about you. If there’s anything you need me to do, just say the word.”

Her heart fluttered in her chest. He cared about her. “Thanks for the offer. If I think of something, I’ll let you know. For now, I need to go change.”

She rushed out the door and headed for the steps. All the while her heart was pounding. Graham really cared about her.

A voice in her head said to be cautious. After all, he was the enemy, poised to take away her home. She wanted to say that was business, this is different—it’s personal—but could you separate the man from the business?

* * *

While the CEO was away, the party planner could scheme.

Okay, so maybe scheme was too strong of a word. But this Christmas party was nearly impossible to plan. Even though Graham thought finding a location to hold the event would be the hardest part of this last-minute party, it was in fact the easiest since he owned the venue.

The Toliver conference space on the top floor of the Diamond Building was perfect for his purposes. Though Graham thought it was too cold with the black-and-white decor, she knew the right decorations could change the starkest room into a cozy Christmas setting.

The more she thought about taking on the task of planning Graham’s party, the more she saw an opportunity. Not just for Graham but for herself, too. If living here in the apartment building and interacting with its residents hadn’t changed Graham’s mind about the pending demolition, she was going to have to work harder. And she thought she had an idea. The only question that remained was whether or not Graham would go for it.

She knew she was going out on a limb here because planning an elaborate party in just a few weeks, well, it was a crazy notion. And yet, she found herself willing to take on the challenge because she was running out of options.

First, she’d have to come up with the theme for the party. And then it came to her: the Snow Ball. Other party details would prove to be more challenging...that is, unless you lived in an apartment building full of talented people. She just hoped everyone had the time and interest in helping her. After all, it would be asking a lot of them to help Graham, of all people.

Still, what would it hurt to ask them? And that’s why she’d called the residents she was closest to and asked them to meet in her apartment.

“Thank you all for coming,” Alina said. “I really need your help.”

Mr. Jackson glanced around. “Where’s the handyman?”

Alina smiled at the CEO of Toliver Investments being called a handyman. “Graham had a meeting at the office. I told him I would handle things here while he took care of his other work.”

Merryweather crossed his arms over his chest. “Is he at the office plotting to kick other people out of their homes this holiday season?”

“He’s not like that.” As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Alina felt as though she was having an out of body experience. Since when had she started defending Graham?

Pearl Sanders, the sweetest eighty-year-old woman, sent her a knowing smile. “I understand, dear. He is quite handsome. If only I was a few years younger, you’d have a challenge on your hands.”