A Christmas Blessing [ COMPLETED]

3.

Today was the day Shawn Carter would meet Beyoncé Knowles again, but under a professional manner. She could potentially help him pick the perfect gifts for the company, and make that task easy for him. As far as he was concerned, she was hired already but wanted to make sure she was at least likable.

"Good morning daddy! Today I don't have school!" Peyton exclaimed to her father once he sat down for breakfast.

"Is that so princess? You're going to be good for Yaretzi (housekeeper) then?" He asked as he bit into his fruit.

"Daddy I wanna go to your job today. I haven't been in like forever....Please!" Peyton said. Shawn didn't want to give his real facial expression to the idea of having his daughter in his workplace, but he still mustered up a smile.

"You sure you don't want to keep Yaretzi company? I'm sure she'll love your help around the house & can even take you out." Feeling like there won't be a win in this conversation, Shawn weighed his options, and concluded it wouldn't be that bad of an idea if Peyton tagged along. In fact, she hardly gave him any trouble whenever he was around her, and none of the nannies or housekeepers ever complained about her behavior.

"Alright Peyton you can come. Go to your room & grab your iPad & coloring stuff so you won't be bored. And please get your charger!" Shawn yelled as she rushed to the stairs happily.
~~~~~
Beyoncé arrived at Davis & Co. Firm with 10 minutes to spare before she would meet with Shawn. Stepping off the elevator doors and approaching the front desk, a brown skinned woman with jet black hair greeted her. "Hello there I'm Lauryn. Welcome to Davis & Co Firm, who are you here to see?" She asked. Beyoncé, giving a friendly smile back at the lovely receptionist, said her name and the appointment she's scheduled with.

"Ah Mr. Carter. He's a great person. You're actually early so when he's ready for you I'll send you in." She said. "Thank you Lauryn. How's your day going so far?" Beyoncé asked, catching Lauryn off guard.

No one ever sparks conversations with Lauryn if it's not business related, and for a friendly stranger to do so made her genuinely smile. "I'm actually feeling good today thanks for asking. My back usually hurts from sitting in this particular chair all day, but it's not bothering me as much," she said, honestly.

"Girl I know the feeling. I used to work at a temp agency and sitting at desks bothered me too. How long you've worked here?"  Never sitting down in the waiting chairs, the two women continued their small talk until Shawn was ready for Beyoncé. "Well nice meeting you Lauryn. Hope to see you again!" Making her way down the hall using Lauryn's directions, Beyoncé knocked on his office door.

The door creaked open and an adorable little girl looked up at Beyoncé. The little girl's cocoa brown skin and funky Afro puffs melted Beyoncé's heart. Being around and handling kids always came natural to her. So bending down a little to get to the girl's height was a no brainer.

"Hi there. I'm Beyoncé but you can call me BB. I'm looking for a Shawn Carter?" She asks, not even bothering to just look up & see the man past the door, but wanting the little girl to feel authoritative since she did open it.

"BB you're really pretty & my name is Peyton and that's my daddy. He's at his desk." She said turning around and pointing to the man. Just like the day at Starbucks, he wore a tailored suit and small stripes etched along the coat. It made Beyoncé feel underdressed in her black and white jacket that grazed along her stomach, lightly touching the top of her jeans.

"Hello Mr. Carter. It's nice to see you again."

"Please call me Shawn and from your card I saw you're a personal shopper. I would love your help in finding gifts for the staff here. There's a list compiled of everyone's name, picture & position and if you'll accept, you can start immediately." Shawn said never keeping his gaze off the beautiful woman. Could she have possessed even more beauty in the days since he's last seen her?

"Oh wow I honestly thought you'd ask an extensive amount of questions before hiring me. I would love to start as soon as possible, and also have time spent at the firm getting to know the people I'm shopping for." Beyoncé said as she glanced back at Peyton who was engrossed in her glittery iPad. "Your daughter is so gorgeous." She said.

"Thank you. She's 7 with the personality of a 30 year old. We were actually heading out to lunch and you're more than welcome to come join us." Shawn said.

"BB is coming with us? Yay! I like her daddy." Beyoncé blushed at the compliment and simply followed the duo out, and walked to the car deck to head to lunch in the city.

Shawn decided to drive to a nice Italian restaurant because he knew Peyton would love it there, and hopefully Beyoncé too.  As they ate and talked with Beyoncé occasionally helping Peyton wipe her spaghetti-filled mouth, the two adults got to know one another better.

A personal shopper's main priority is to build trust with their clients and levels of comfort to make the experience as pleasant as possible. With Shawn not giving Beyoncé specific instructions for gifting the staff, she has the freedom to pick out what she feels suits best for each person, and already knows that her job will be easy for an experienced shopper like herself.
~~~~~
Two days later

It's been two days since Beyoncé began working with Shawn & everything has been running smoothly. She's met most of the staff that's on the list & took notes of everyone's personality. Everyone loved Beyoncé-even Peyton took a strong liking and now wants to see Beyoncé every chance she could.

"I've already wrapped up presents for your staff & whenever they step into your office, you can just hand it to them. From what you told me, everyone should have their gifts before the holiday party and so it's all right here," pointing to Shawn's cabinet shelves, Beyoncé pulled out a white bag with a bow on top. "The first gift is for Lauryn and she's coming in anytime now.

As if on cue, Lauryn stepped in and greeted them both as Beyoncé passed Shawn the bag. Having not one clue what the gift could be, he hesitantly gave Lauryn the bag, hoping Beyoncé bought a great one. She opened the bag and gasped. It was a soft, but firm back pillow and Shawn furrowed his eyebrows.

"Uhhh is that gift alright for you Lauryn?" He asked, timidly. Who buys someone a back pillow? Certainly not Shawn.

"Oh my God! Yes it's the perfect gift. I just spoke to Beyoncé about my back issues and this came at a perfect time. Thank you!" She hugged them both and exited the office. "I saw your face and it was hilarious. I knew Lauryn would appreciate it." Beyoncé said laughing. Shawn chuckled too and shook his head.

"I know this may sound weird to ask but what do you normally do on Sunday's?" Beyoncé asked Shawn. Today, Shawn's assignments at the office were slower than usual and whether or not either of them admitted it, they took a liken to each other. They could talk all day about any and everything.

"Nah it's not weird and I'm usually preparing for the up coming week's schedule on Sunday's." He said. "Is work all you think about? You don't spend your weekends hanging out with Peyton and just enjoying life?" Beyoncé asked. "Well she has a nanny to do those things with, and I work the way I do for Peyton" Shawn replied.

Shaking her head and leaning back into her chair, Beyoncé took a second and stared a Shawn. "That's not how she sees it I bet. Girls want their daddies to be attentive and involved in their life. They like it when you ask them how their day was or randomly pick them up from school. From my time around Peyton, I can tell she loves you a lot and would want more time with you." Beyoncé said.

"Well what do you suppose I start doing?" Beyoncé's eyes lit up at the question and she had a perfect idea. "How about you two come to my church Sunday? It'll be fun !" She said.

"Church? I don't know Beyoncé. I haven't been to church in a very long time and they may not let me back in," he said jokingly. "Of course they will and I would really like it if you two came." She said. Just from spending time with her, Shawn couldn't tell Beyoncé no if he really needed to and before giving it more thought, he was already agreeing.

"Okay sounds good. Church it is."