Page 45 of Sleighing You
I nearly rolled my eyes, but suppressed the urge. “Yeah…today. At the store.”
She shook her head. “No, not just today. Your picture… it’s up in the corporate office as Employee of the Year.” She dropped her ear to her shoulder and tutted her tongue, pouting. “That’s sweet. Did you get a plaque for your wall, too? An extra week of unpaid vacation?”
There was nothing overtly wrong with her words. If you had a transcription of this conversation, on paper, she would seem friendly. Like we were just two people at a party, making small talk. But the condescending tone and the narrowing of her eyes that didn’t quite allude to a smile, but rather a sneer… I knew better. And she knew just what she was doing.
I will not let her get to me.
I did get a plaque, actually, not that I was going to admit that to her. “I got a raise,” I said, which was also true. “I also got shares of the company. And I earned respect from my boss. He’s treated me like an equal ever since.” Jack started listening to me after I earned Employee of the Year. Because in my first 12 months of working for StoryBook, I tripled his net income for our location. He took a chance on a scrappy, young employee and thankfully it worked out for both of us.
Helena stood and it wasn’t until I was right beside her that I realized just how tall she was. Good lord… was she 5’10”? 5’11”?
“The thing is, though, Amy—”
“Avery,” I snapped, correcting her. “But I’m pretty sure you knew that already.”
“—you’renottheir equal. At the end of the day, all those people in there will go home to their mansions. They’ll go back to their office buildings where they earn six and seven figures. And you’ll still be here… in a town no one’s heard of, running a small shop, working like a little elf to add to the pot of money that funds their lifestyle.” She huffed a laugh; a sound that was anything but joyful. “The Pohle’s don’t see you as family… they see you as a cog in their machine.”
She flicked her cigarette between two manicured fingers off the edge of the deck and turned to go inside, but just as her hand hovered over the doorknob, she paused and turned back to look at me once more.
The world went watery as I stared at her cigarette, the orange embers sizzling against the wet snow, extinguishing.
Do not cry in front of her…
“I know I sound harsh, but trust me. I’m doing you a favor.”
The thing was… she was right. I knew it deep down in my gut.
Andthat’swhy it hurt so damn much.
