Page 8 of Painfully Merry

“Eight now. Are you not upset about missing another Christmas with the family?”

This topic again. They don’t put the effort in, so why should I?

“Marcy, they never come to me. Why should I go to them?”

“Have you at least talked to your mother? Brother?”

I shove my food in my mouth so I don’t have to answer. She should know by now I don’t make the first phone call. I’ve tried making the first effort, but after a while, it just died down. It’s not my fault that I willed the company. I wasn’t expecting it, nor did I want the burden of being the boss.

But if my brother wanted to become some head honcho, he should’ve gone to a better school and made something of himself, not knocked up the first chick he stuck his dick into. God, I love my niece, but this is another reason why Grandpa left the company to me.

“Marcy, you and I both know it never goes well if I have to call. I’m glad you are getting some time with your family. You know I can care for myself if you ever want to retire.”

She carries my plate away, dropping it into the sink. “My dear, I’ll retire when I’m dead. I love this place too much. Now hush your mouth and scatter. I have things to prepare before I depart.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I leave her alone, and I know better than to argue with her. Even though I’m thirty, she’ll still whip my ass. I grab an apple and head to my office. It’s the best spot in the entire house. I converted the old den into my office because it overlooks the backyard.

The snow looks so magical out there, and I can’t enjoy the view. I need to dig into company files. The first one on my list is Kevin. I go to reach for my pad of paper, and it’s not where I left it. I always leave it to the left of my keyboard. Cora must’ve moved it when she was cleaning in here. This is why I tell them to leave my office alone.

It’s organized chaos, the way I prefer it.

I’m grateful for the staff, but I need a breather from them. I like being alone and the thought of having the house to myself. Fucking heaven. If I don’t want to get dressed, I don’t have to. I’m going to wear all my sexy lingerie, finally. If I wish to play with myself in the living room, no one is here to stop me. My body hums at the thought, and I want the staff to leave now so I can get started on my fun time.

I’m eyeball-deep into the finance department file. I haven’t heard much going on around me, and I’m not even sure how long I’ve been in here. It’s nice not to be disturbed, and it sucks in a way. Closing my laptop, I grab a stack of envelopes. The staff should be leaving soon, and I need to play Santa.

“Cora?” I call out, walking down the hall. I count the envelopes to make sure they’re all here. The last thing I need is to forget a person.

“Yes, ma’am?” She appears around the corner.

“It’s Sabrina. I get called ma’am at work, please, not at home. Could you call everyone into the living room for me?”

She nods and backs away.

I made my way into the living room; between Marcy and Cora, they did a fantastic job decorating the place. The 10ft tree stands tall in front of the window, trimmed with red and green decorations. The fireplace that Grandpa refused to paint over when Grandma asked him to, now has her entire Nutcracker collection on display. It’s the one thing I look forward to every year and continue to add to. I’ll go out of my way to find the wackiest one.

“Sabrina? You wanted to see us?”

I turn to see all my staff standing there, patiently waiting to be released for vacation. To be with their family, no longer waiting on another person. They had the option to retire, and none of them wanted to. I have no idea why. Is this life better than being out there with family? I can’t blame them, and I wouldn’t want to be with my family either—the ungrateful assholes.

“Thank you, everyone. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster of a year. Even though you all know where my thoughts stand about you all working here, I’m grateful to have you here. I won’t give you an inspirational speech, but you’ve made my life easier. With that, go be with your family, and I’ll see you next year.”

I walk to each one individually, hug them, hand over their Christmas bonus, and tell them to get the hell out of my house. With joyful laughter, they don’t linger. The silence is welcoming, almost too welcoming.

I walk past the basement door and shiver. I never liked the basement of this house; it’s creepy and dark. My cousins always wanted to play hide and seek and would always end up down there. After a while, I refused because they would hide in the back where the light wouldn’t turn on. To this day, I never bothered fixing anything down there.

Returning to the office, I grab my laptop; there is no point in being held up in one room. Walking past the dining room, I take the stairs to the second floor. I pause when a scratching sound echoes within the walls. If that’s a mouse, I’ll burn this house down. Nope, I'm not going to pay it any attention. If it’s still there after Christmas, I’ll call an exterminator and kill the bastard. Besides, I have Holiday movies to binge on while digging into employees’ work histories.

The theatre room is a little overkill for watching movies. I like being curled up with a blanket on a couch. But never being home, I haven’t seen the point of buying a TV. I turn on my favourite movie and watch the opening credits, and my heart fills with happiness.

I, too, wish my family would disappear.

A loud bang rouses me from my sleep, and I fall out of the chair—my heart lodges in my ribs when I try to figure out what the hell happened. The room is dark, which doesn’t sit right. The screen continually stays on after a movie. As bad as this sounds, I hope that bang was somebody hitting the power pole. Because if not, I have to head to the basement to find the breaker box. Why would they place it in the basement? Why not the garage, where it’s brightly lit up?

Pulling up my big girl panties, I creep out of the room. The entire house is settled into darkness. I didn’t think I slept late, but it was already dark outside. I move to my bedroom, and my rock lamp is off. Power outage, perfect. Peeking through the blinds, the entire neighbourhood is black. Oh, thank God—no basement for me. But now what? How long is this going to last for?

I rub my arms when a chill hits me. Without the power, the furnace won't kick on. There goes my idea of sexy lingerie. I find my comfortable pyjamas, grab my throw blanket from my bed and my Kindle. I'll read a book if I can’t watch movies or work. Besides, I need to find out how these masked men catch this girl working in the graveyard.

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