That Friday, I came into work anxious and on edge. It was the day of the party, and in addition to a full workday, I still had to find something to wear and get ready to mingle with millionaires. Liv had been beside herself with excitement, but I had woken up with sweaty palms and a chin pimple. Great.

As usual, a massive stack of papers greeted me at my desk; I sighed, already apprehensive about the countdown and limited time. As I sat down, I noticed something else hidden behind the tower of work: a long white box tied with a green ribbon.

There was no note or anything on the box. I looked around the office at a loss. Had someone left it on my desk by mistake?

Curious, I removed the ribbon and opened it to see what was inside. Beneath a layer of red tissue paper was a beautiful silver gown. I touched the material, silky smooth. Exquisite and far too expensive. A dress resoundingly out of my budget. And one that could not be mine. This had to be a mistake. Despite that, I couldn’t help but slip it out of its box and hold it up to admire its beauty.

My fingers hooked a hold of the thin, lacy straps. The straps were lightly beaded and extended onto its front where it was also decorated with a delicate length of black lace. The back scooped low and the long dress cascaded to the floor in a luxurious and shimmering waterfall of sleek satin. It was the most gorgeous dress I’d ever seen, and I quickly spun my head around again to see if anyone was looking to claim it as their own. No one was. They were all busy at work, heads down.

A hopeful thought zipped through my head, but I buried the feeling. Instead, I knew I needed to be practical. Find who the dress was meant to be for and get it back to its owner. I hunted inside the box for any indication that would lead me to them. Thankfully inside I found a note. But it didn’t help me any. It said: For tonight. That was all. I looked around again, feeling a tickling sensation crawl up my back and neck. I felt like I was being watched. But no matter how many times I looked for a clue as to who had left the gift, nothing and no one presented themselves.

I immediately ruled out Tommy. He had seemingly sensed my change in demeanor and had backed off on his new charming act. I highly doubted he’d pick something so thoughtful, but who else knew about the party?

I returned the dress to its box just as Tiff’s bouncing blonde ponytail appeared around the corner of Tommy’s office.

“Wow! I guess someone has an eager secret Santa!” she said. “We don’t normally exchange gifts for a few more days.”

I’d completely forgotten about the Secret Santa, but surely no one would go to these lengths for the new girl. If evening gowns were standard gifts in this office, they were about to be severely disappointed my half-hearted box of chocolate truffles. I hadn’t even opened my envelope to see who I’d gotten yet.

“Is this from you?” I asked her, still breathless from the extraordinary gift.

She mimed zippering her lips shut with her thumb and forefinger and giggled.

“Tiff, tell me!” I whispered, unable to stop the smile that had formed on my lips.

“Not a chance. I’m so jealous you get to go tonight.”

Tiff had become one of the few reasons this job was actually bearable; her positivity made me forget the uncertainty I felt around Tommy. Being around him was like being on a rollercoaster of emotions. Far too many stomach plummeting drops. She’d also witnessed some of his more cold moments and was always there with support.

Still, we were relative strangers. I’d thought about showing her the list, but I didn’t know what she would do with it, and I couldn’t risk losing my job. I also didn’t want her to feel bad since she was on it after all. She seemed to love working here, and I didn’t want to be the cause of souring that for her.

Even though I suspected Tiff of being the gift-giver, the mystery of the dress still tugged at my focus all day, but there wasn’t much time to think about anything other than work. Despite the time of the year, new cases kept a steady flow of people coming and going, in and out of Tommy’s office the entire day, and the phone hardly stayed silent for more than a minute.

By the end of the day, I could have fallen asleep standing up, but I quickly shoved some notes I’d planned to type up over the weekend into my purse and made to leave. I looked anxiously at the clock. By the time I fought the evening traffic home, I’d probably have to turn around and come back. Although the dress had taken some of the pressure off, I still had no idea if it fit.

Nervously, I knocked on the door to Tommy’s office. A grunt of permission greeted me. He looked up from his desk when I entered.

“I called to confirm the car for this evening, to make sure your regular driver was still available, but they told me you canceled it?”

“Yeah, I did. Can you be ready by eight? Which also reminds me, is the address on your file current?”

“Um?” I was thrown off; he wanted to pick me up at my house? “My home address?”

He nodded.

“Yeah,” I said trying to remember what I’d given the temp agency.

“Great, be ready at eight, not a moment later.”

I stood there, staring at him.

“Did the dress fit?” he asked his tone even.

“I dunno, I haven’t tried it on yet—wait, how do you know about the dress?”

“Come on, Shae. You know we don’t reveal secret Santa’s until after Christmas.”

I was about to argue, to demand to know if he was the one but then he winked, and my knees wobbled like jelly.

I’m sure my face must have reflected the confusion I felt because he laughed. It was that same husky laugh I remembered so well from high school, and my insides melted.

“See you later,” he said, as a cue for me to leave.

Remembering how little time I would have to get ready, even though now he was going to be picking me up, I stayed silent, nodded a goodbye and ran out of his office.