Page 5 of Painfully Merry

“But they liked him more, and everyone hates me.”

“Come, my dear. They don’t hate you. They just haven’t gotten to know you. It’s only been a year since he passed. Give it some time.”

He squeezes my hand, but I don’t believe him. This board only has one goal in mind. Make money and try to beatSweets n’ Treats. I get tired of competing, but without it, I wouldn’t have the drive to succeed, and I must remember that.

The music dies down, and that’s my cue to kiss ass to everyone in this room. Rolling my eyes, I walk to the podium, and it feels like I’m sacrificing myself. Thankfully, I’m not the virgin in the room. I take a look at the list and want to laugh. There isn’t any way that half of these people pulled their weight this year. I know for a fact that when Grandpa ran this place, they worked overtime. Since I took over, it was excuse after excuse about an emergency they had to get to. If I didn’t want HR on my ass, I had to comply.

I call upon everyone's name, and when I read Emma’s name for best assistant, I want to laugh. Her reward should be a phone. A rotary telephone; have fun texting your boyfriend on that. She comes bouncing up to me with a massive grin.

“Oh my god,” she exclaims. “I’m so excited. I didn’t think I would get anything. I haven’t been here very long.”

“I know. Company policy says I have to. Congratulations.” I hand over her shitty piece of paper and an envelope. “Try not to spend it too fast.”

She races back, and a man, who I imagine is her boyfriend, hugs her. They look cute together, I’ll admit—still not an excuse not to do your job.

I give Harvey a wink before I slowly approach the exit. A hand grips my shoulder.

“Where are you off to, Sabrina?”

Kevin.

His long fingers brush against my neck, and I pull my neck away.

“Touch me with those filthy fingers again, Kevin, and you’ll never push another piece of paper in your worthless life again.”

His lips curl slowly in amusement. “Don’t be like that, Sabrina. We all know what you want.”

I laugh against my throat. “Yeah, please tell me because you know me better.”

He walks in front of me, blocking off the exit completely. “Well, for starters, it would be the thief.” He shrugs. “I heard through the grapevine they still haven’t caught him, although Parker was a good stand-in, don’t you think?”

“If you think I don’t know, it’s you, Kevin. You are wrong. I’ll prove it.”

I push past him, pushing the door open.

“Don’t count on it, sweetheart,” he calls out.

I don’t wanna see that jerk again, and I’ll do what I can to find out if he’s responsible.

3

Parker

People say getting revenge will eat you alive. I say they didn’t get the proper revenge. I’ve been going over the game plan for days now, waiting patiently to get inside that house. She won’t get out of anything when I get my hands on her. She made my life hell, and I’m about to return the favour.

I slam back my beer, waiting for Chaos to show up. This bar is getting too crowded for my liking, but it’s his favourite place to hang out. I find that odd for a guy like him. A blonde at the bar watches me. Every time I take a drink, she licks her lips. It’s amusing how a woman thinks they can look at a guy and bam, he’ll sleep with her.

“Parkster, if you glare at her harder, she’ll come.” He watches her as he sits across from me.

“Chaos, if you talked to her, she would die.”

He bobs his head, smiling. “You know it.” Chuckling, then stopping abruptly. “Sabrina, what’s the plan there?”

I watch a small strand of grey hair fall onto his forehead. Why he wanted grey hair, I’ll never know. I’ll chalk it up to a phase. Maybe one day he’ll grow up. I laugh inside because I don’t see that happening.

“She feels confident with her new camera system. She won’t suspect anything. I say we sneak back in tomorrow. Did she ever say why we couldn’t go into the basement?”

Shaking his head, he answers. “No. But she was dead serious about it, and it piqued my interest. What homeowner doesn’t like the basement? That’s where all the creepy crawlies live.”

---