Filthy Scrooge

I managed to swallow the cynical laugh bubbling up in my chest. We had our annual Christmas party on New Year’s Eve since it was the end of our season. By the end of the night, all the decorations were a mishmash of Santas with New Year’s glasses from Times Square.

I usually loved to be in the middle of it all. I’d even played Santa a time or two.

This year, I just wanted to be left alone.

“Who drew the short straw and had to get back into costume?”

Mel stepped into the doorway and I laughed for the first time in days. She had a huge pillow strapped under a belt and droopy red pants that were dragging on the floor.

“You look ridiculous.”

“Yeah, well, all you giants don’t give a girl much to work with. Is anyone under six feet in this company?”

I raised my hand.

She pointed at the red sparkly stilettos I was wearing. “No. Just…no.”

I shrugged. “I don’t have much chance to wear them unless it’s Valentine’s Day or Christmas.”

“I don’t even know how you walk in them.” Mel tugged up her pants so she could turn around without tripping on them. “Chop, chop, boss lady. Your minions await.”

“I’ll be right there.”

I toed the box of ornaments back under my desk. I normally didn’t take my tree down until after New Year’s, but I couldn’t look at it anymore this year. I just wanted to put things away and move on.

I tugged my red skirt down until the seams were straight and I wasn’t showing off too much thigh. Mel had convinced me to dress up to feel better and now I wished I’d gone for my wool pants, ugly Christmas sweater, and flats like I usually wore for our office party. I usually won ugliest sweater. I had a closet full of them.

It seemed that changing up everything about my holidays had been the wrong answer. I’d had Christmas with my mother and her new boyfriend—wait, fiancé. Yeah, that happened. Sweet God, I was in the twilight zone for sure. Holiday disaster take two. Well, for me it had been a disaster. My mother had fallen for the man she’d met on the cruise and was now engaged to.

In less than a week.

Like you’re any better?

I twisted the coil of my ponytail I’d pinned just under my ear. I wasn’t going to listen to that little voice of insanity. I was not in love with a man after knowing him three days. I simply was not.

Infatuated?

Yes, I could go with that, but love? No.

It was just crazy talk.

And I wasn’t a crazy person.

Well, maybe a little crazy since I was having a back and forth conversation with myself in my office—alone.

Crap. I probably was insane.

I slid my hand across my midriff and took a deep breath. I could do this. It was less than an hour before midnight and then I could return to my apartment with my suddenly too small bed with my dozen pillows and three different remotes. I’d also charged my Kindle for a binge read since I couldn’t concentrate long enough on the television.

I would get through this and then I’d be back to work. It might be a slower time of year for us at Kandy Kane Dreams, but we still had plenty of holidays coming up.

Like Valentine’s Day.

Maybe I could promote Mel to CEO of the company and I could forget about Valentine’s Day too.

And maybe I would win the lottery.

I marched down the hall as the revelers grew louder and the solace of my office becoming more and more alluring. A group of people were clustered around the Christmas tree.