Page 20 of Her Christmas Monsters

Ethan gives me a reassuring smile, his warm brown eyes shining brightly as he nods in encouragement. I can’t help the smile that stretches across my face, his excitement is absolutely contagious.

Fynn stands on my right, calm and poised, clearly not worried about the reaction, or at least not showing it. He cocks a brow in question but I shake my head, knowing he would take over in a second if I couldn’t handle being up there.

Although I can’t see Soren, I know that he’s here with me. Fynn was able to get an enchantment to turn him invisible to any mortals, and unfortunately that includes me for now. He promised we’d find a witch who would be able to work me into the enchantment, but on this short notice that was all he had.

We were both grateful for anything though. After the shock of everything wore off last night the full realization hit me that Soren had given up his home and everything he knew to be with me. It would tear me up inside if he was forced to hide away for the rest of his life too.

“The live feeds are ready in three, two,” the production coordinator says, drawing my gaze back to the audience. Her mic echoes through the speakers beside me before she turns it off, silently counting the one and giving me the go-ahead.

“I first want to thank everyone for coming out this morning,” I say as I look out at the reporters. Most of them have their cellphones set to voice record, while others take notes in preparation for the question period. “Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. The magical season warms our hearts. A time to gather with friends and family, to give to others, and rejoice in the fortunes we’ve received throughout the year.”

Some of the reporters lean back in their chairs, yawning as though they’ve heard this all before.

“While we at the Ainsworth Corp hold this true to our hearts as you saw with our ice castle earlier, we wanted to show another side of this multifaceted holiday—the darker side some may say,” I announce, grinning as the reporters perk up at this last part. “May I present to you, the Midnight Castle.”

I sweep my hand to the side just as Ethan pulls the golden ropes. The curtains rustle for a moment until a thin stream of shadows pulls it from the top, helping to guide the massive sheet of fabric down safely. I can’t help the smile that stretches across my face at the small reassurance that Soren is here.

All three of my mates helped with this project. Ethan was with me every step of the way—he picked up the slack when I needed to focus on something else and helped me through the long nights of planning. Soren was my inspiration, if it hadn’t been for him I’m not sure any of this could’ve happened. And Fynn, while he may have been an asshole, he pushed me to create something I never could have dreamed of constructing. He believed in the design regardless of how outside the box it might be from the version of Christmas we’re so used to.

Gasps echo through the crowd as they take in the massive structure. It looks nearly the same as my sketch, a castle that appears to have been built into an obsidian mountain. The sun filtering in through the glass ceiling glitters off the stone exactly as I’d imagined it—like the lights from the Christmas tree had shone off Soren’s shadowed form in my dream.

I continue my speech, explaining the purpose of the attraction and the history behind it and the reporters listen to every word, some scribbling furiously while others watch me with rapt attention.

“And the proceeds from the entry price will be donated to food banks across the city to help the many families who struggle through the holidays,” I conclude. “Thank you.”

I step off the pedestal with bated breath, unsure of what their reaction will be. They seemed interested for sure, but it still could go either way.

“Good morning,” Fynn says, his deep voice booming through the speakers as he takes my place. “I’ll be fielding your questions, but first I want to take a moment to thank Ms Wright. We understand that this idea isn’t the display that everyone is used to, but we at Ainsworth stand by this experience as an event that will attract young and old and add a little excitement into the monotonous, commercialized Christmas many have grown tired of. We still do have our traditional display—which in itself is extraordinary—for anyone who prefers.”

Every reporter in the audience immediately raises their hands, attempting to talk over each other the moment Fynn stops talking.

The publicist brings the mic over to one of the women as the others’ voices slowly die down.

“Christine Jones, Channel Five News. Press is usually apprised of events like this weeks before yet we just received this news days ago. Were these dual displays always your plan?”

“No they weren’t,” he admits and my heart freezes. We’d discussed some of the potential questions and answers with the publicist beforehand and this was not the answer we agreed on. “I asked for something unique this year, and Clara really delivered on a short timeline. Clara has continually done an incredible job with the displays year after year. Because of that, I’ve decided to promote her, regardless of the success of the display, to Director of Marketing.”

Director.

My breath catches in my throat and my gaze snaps to him, but he continues to answer the next question, like he hadn’t just dropped a huge bombshell. I’d been hoping for the manager position, not director.

“They loved it Clara,” Ethan exclaims as he wraps me in a tight embrace. I can’t help the laugh that bubbles up in response because we did it. We actually did it.

Sure some of the reporters were hesitant, some outright despised it. But honestly, you can’t please everyone, and the amount of people who praised it far outweighed them. After the conference, the reporters were invited to take a walk through with their camera crews and we got some great shots and interviews of the maze inside and the Krampuses lurking around the corners.

“There may still be some backlash, but they loved it. I’m sure customers will be showing up in droves just to see it themselves,” Fynn says as I pull away from Ethan. I make my way over to the asshole himself and tug him into a tight embrace. To my surprise he doesn’t even pretend to be reluctant and he clutches me back just as tightly.

“We should celebrate,” Ethan declares, and he searches around Fynn’s office.

“What are you doing?” Fynn grumbles, reluctantly pulling away to follow after Ethan.

“Thank you for all of your help Soren,” I say and move over to my third mate, fully visible now without the enchantment. I press my cheek against his warm, smooth chest—Fynn has unfortunately made him wear a pair of his black suit pants though.

“Anything for my mate,” he murmurs before placing a tender kiss on the top of my head. “You did an amazing job, my love.”

“Where’s the champagne?” Ethan shouts, cutting off my reply. Soren shifts so his arm rests across my back and we turn to watch the show.

“It’s a work day,” Fynn grumbles as Ethan finds the hidden fridge in the cabinets behind the desk. “Fine we’ll celebrate today, but after that Clara has a lot of work to do in her new role.”

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