Secret Santa

☃︎Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Tʜɪʀᴛᴇᴇɴ☃︎

Pippa exits her car hesitantly. Her Secret Santa said something yesterday about 'Get ready for tomorrow.' Since she arose from bed this morning, her Secret Santa's gift is all she can think about. What more could he give her? Every thought of what might be waiting on her desk fills Pippa with anxiety.

Pippa spots Mary entering the office and flags her down. Mary stops in her tracks, waving at her friend with a smile. Pippa runs to catch up with her.

"What's up?" Mary asks when Pippa stops beside her. Pippa pants slightly, holding up a finger. Mary laughs. "Geez, what are you? An old lady? I thought you ran marathons!" Pippa shoots her friend a dirty look, and Mary relents.

"Fine! Now what's up?" Mary smiles softly and Pippa rights herself.

"My Secret Santa's supposed to bring me another gift today. More than just flowers," Pippa confides. Mary's eyes widen.

"That's crazy, Pip. That's just—I don't know what else to tell you, but that's crazy. They're crazy." Mary pauses, looking around. "Do you have any idea who it could be yet?"

Pippa shakes her head.

"I wish I knew!"

The girls decide that they've loitered long enough when their fingers are practically frozen to their purses, and they head inside the building with a brief shiver.

"Hollowed Gourd, it's cold!" Pippa exclaims. Mary shoots her a raised eyebrow, but she says nothing as she shrugs off her coat and hangs it on the coatrack behind her desk. Pippa takes a moment to right herself, then, with cautious steps, she walks to her desk.

There, on her desk, is a pink box with a clear window, which displays several rows of chocolate chip cookies. Pippa reaches for it slowly, her mouth agape. She drops her purse on the floor to open the box and count the rows.

Twelve. There are twelve rows of cookies.

Pippa gently places the cookies back on her desk and takes a look around. When she turns around, she spots Mark peering through the blinds in the window of his office.

Pippa sighs heavily and plops into her desk chair. Jasper looks up slowly, turning to Pippa as he leans back lazily in his chair. He eyes the open pink box with curiosity.

"What's that?" He asks, crossing his arms over his chest. Pippa smiles softly at Jasper.

In a—horrible—posh British accent, Pippa replies, "My Secret Santa has bestowed me with yet another gift; this time, I am bestowed with the gift of chocolate chip cookies!" Jasper chuckles softly at Pippa's accent.

"What the hell was that?" He asks laughingly. Pippa laughs along with him.

"I have no idea! That sucked!" She manages, laughing so hard, tears roll down her cheeks. Jasper rolls his eyes good-naturedly. He sighs, watching as Pippa finally begins to calm down, wiping her eyes frequently to be rid of the flowing tears.

A little blossom of...something blooms in his chest, and Jasper just smiles, watching as Pippa clears her throat and begins to search her desk drawers for a tissue. By now, her mascara is quite smudged, and it's collected beneath her under-eyes.

Jasper finally pulls his gaze from Pippa and spots a card sticking out under the pink box.

"Hey, Pip? I think there's a card," he mentions. Pippa furrows her brows and puts the search for a tissue out of her mind, now focused on the card. Her eyes roam her desk. Then, she sees it; a crisp, white envelope with a card tucked away inside.

Pippa takes the card in her hand and peels away the envelope. She slides the card out and opens it up. As she reads the phrase inside, Pippa's brows furrow further. Pippa closes the card and stares at the cover contemplatively.

As Jasper watches, he chews his bottom lip. What does Pippa think? He can tell that she's confused, but is she flattered? Angered? Jasper can't be sure.

Pippa clears her throat again.

"Just...read it," she says, offering the card to Jasper. Jasper gently pries the card from her fingers and flips it open. His eyes quickly dart to each word, taking in what's written:

Day 1.

Dear Pippa,
This Christmas, I give you my heart.
—Secret Santa

Jasper closes the card slowly, not exactly sure what to think. Should he be angry? Happy? Jealous? He isn't sure.

"I wish I knew who was doing all this," Pippa says softly, "This all would be really sweet if I just knew who keeps doing this."

Jasper contemplates her words.

"This guy needs help," Jasper murmurs. Pippa catches it, but only barely, and chuckles.

"Want a cookie?" She asks finally, motioning toward the pink box with her head. Jasper hums in thought, then smiles.

"Hell yes."

——

Ok, I'm sorry guys! I'm trying to catch up on these, but it's not really working out. I have a lot going on right now. This will be completed eventually, I promise.

I had hoped to finish this on Christmas, but it is now Christmas Eve and I have yet to complete this book. I'm actually a little disappointed in myself, I'm not going to lie.

Anyway, I hope you like chapters 12 & 13. I will post the rest when I can.