Page 71 of Scrooged for the Holidays
Not that there’s much Kai doesn’t enjoy, especially when it comes to punishment and pain. We’re alike in that way, though for me, it’s different: He naturally craves it, more submissive than dominant by nature, while I only reach for submission on the days I need grounding, like the other day in the bar.
“I’m not going to get huffy,” Remi says. He looks at Greer. “Tell them.”
Greer sits tall in her chair, shoulders shifting back. “I simply said that this town—this inn—could be booming with tourists, especially this time of year. All I did was question Remiel as towhy it’s not and said that it could be the outdated decor and lack of marketing. I’d never even heard of Elysian Pines until I ended up here. This could be a very lucrative ski town.”
“And you think you could help make that happen?” I ask.
Greer’s cool gaze falls to mine as I twirl a bite of pasta around my fork.
“I’m good at what I do, and Northlight Capital is one of the best investment firms in Colorado, if not North America. We’ve made Garland into a prospering town in just three years. The businesses were barely hanging on before we came in and turned things around for them.”
She’s right; Garland was struggling. Remi spends the most time there out of the three of us, and I remember when he told us about most of the businesses being bought up and new high-end places coming in. But just because she’s right in one sense doesn’t mean she is in others.
Yes, Garland prospers now, but prospers for who? It’s not the people who once owned businesses there or many of the locals. Most family-run places have been bought out or pushed out—either by the steep rent hikes after Northlight took over the buildings or by their struggle to keep up with the surge of tourist demand. Greer is smart enough to know that. It’s also part of the reason she’s here.
She’s lost her connection to her emotions, her ability to see that things aren’t black and white. Part of what Remi will show her tonight will help her see that there’s more to existence than work, money, and power, that her choices have effects that one should care about. Moreover, that there’s more to her life than being the puppet of corporate greed and fitting this role she’s created for herself.
Deep down, I don’t think that’s even what she wants. Her aura wouldn’t already be changing if that were true. She wouldn’t be smiling or eating dinner with Kai or Remi, either.
“Is that what Holly thinks? That you’ve turned her business around for good?” Remi asks.
Greer stares directly in his eyes, the gold and white in her aura winking out. I know Remi sees the effect of his words on her, but he doesn’t back down. I’m not sure why he wants to push her buttons, but he must have a reason.
“Her family business was already failing before we bought up the building and took over the lease. And I doubt you know this, but I emailed Holly plenty of times with ideas on how to bring her business into the future, but she kept it the same. It’s not my fault that she didn’t take any of my suggestions.”
“Did your suggestions include less outdated holiday decor?” He playfully smirks.
Greer picks up her wine again, eyes bold and eyebrows slightly raised. “Yes, I did. The future is coming, whether you want it to or not. You can move with it or stay in the past. If you don’t evolve, even with something as simple as decorating trends, you could lose everything you’ve worked for. And while we disagree on the idea of wealth, Remi, you need money to live in this world.”
Her words linger between the three of us. There is truth to them, but she only believes that what she says is achievable by being the way she is now. Her words also reveal more than she intends—not only the reason she is the way she is but also the fears that drive her.
Kai clears his throat. “I don’t know, Princess. I think the past deserves to be honored. It can teach us many things, including how to move forward—not only in the present but into the future as well. It shouldn’t be glossed over.”
Malachi, I warn through our link. He doesn’t look at me; instead, he stares straight at Greer. Her body is still, her eyes unblinking. She’s eyeing him as if she’s seen a ghost, and in a way, she has.
While it’s not a rule, we don’t often talk to our jobs about what we’ve shown them. We rarely make contact with them again after we’ve had our night, much less have dinner with them.
As far as I know, Greer still thinks her time with Kai was a nightmare. And if he’s not careful, he’ll have a lot to explain. He could potentially ruin the rest of her time here. She’s only just begun to open up, and if she closes off now, it’ll be that much harder for Remi and me to help her see why she’s here—and why she can’t keep barreling toward a future that’s not just bleak for her but for everyone in her path.
Greer remains quiet for another moment, her brain probably attempting to put pieces together that don’t make sense. After another clock tick, she decides something, because her shoulders pop back before she speaks again. “Don’t tell me you’re a history buff, Angel Boy?”
The skin on the back of my neck rises, and my gaze meets Remi’s.
His tattoo. She saw it last night.
Right. I exhale a quiet breath, my lungs feeling heavy. Kai showed us what happened with Greer last night in the past, and I know that he told her what we are, which is par for the course. It helps people trust us more when we’re showing them personal and important things, to know we aren’t completely human but something they consider bigger than them or of a heavenly nature.
But when they wake, they usually think it’s a dream. By the end of their three days, if they believe we are who we claim and accept that everything here was real, they leave—and Elysian Pines slips from their memory like a dream upon waking. They carry the change within them, even as they forget us and the town, moving on with their lives.
“I do enjoy the History Channel,” Kai responds. “It’s educational.”
Greer’s gaze narrows, and I think she’s putting the pieces together with all of Kai’s comments. I look at his profile, ready to ask him what he’s doing through our link, when I see a tiny smile at the corner of his mouth. His intentions become clear—he wants her to figure it out sooner rather than later. I’dask him why, but I already know. He’s smitten with our little Scrooge.
While her knowledge of us wouldn’t matter if she were any other job, it will complicate this one. Kai will be hurt when she leaves. Remi, too. Especially if she accepts us for who and what we are, something humans in our past—including family—have failed to do.
I twirl a bite of pasta around my fork with a goal in mind: to change the subject. “Kai enjoys expanding his mind by reading. He’s a frequent guest at my bookstore.”
Remi, Kai, and Greer all look toward me at my words. I feel Remi’s surprise through the bond, but he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to. I know he’s surprised I’m making conversation, more so that I’m talking about my bookstore. It’s rare that I do, as it’s less a bookstore and more my sanctuary. The beings that live here stop in from time to time, and sometimes a job will wander in while they’re here, but mostly, it’s my space.
