1
CALLIOPE
“Cal?”
The dreaded, dulcet tones of my boss drift through the doorway, invading the peaceful bubble within my office that I’ve so carefully curated. It’s New Year’s Eve. He’s not even supposed to be here. In his own words, these parties are just a waste of time and effort and he doesn’t give a shit about office morale.
I do.
Remaining silent, I focus on untangling the goldHappy New Yearbanner I picked up from the dollar store. Maybe my silence will trick him into thinking I’ve forgone the party and left already.
“Cal!” He’s basically screaming when he reaches my door and kicks it open, making my heart jump violently as my door crashes into the row of filing cabinets set up along the adjacent wall.
“Jimmy.” I greet him with a practiced smile that hides how my stomach somersaults with dread at the sight of him. Every interaction leaves my skin crawling, my heart pounding, and my self-worth well and truly ground into the dirt.
“Do you care to tell me why the fuck the Onyx bracelets weren’t included in the Christmas subscription box?” His voice fills the entirety of my small office while I carefully step around the decorations box, placing it between us as if it can protect me.
“You told me not to.”
“Don’t be so stupid,” he snaps, brandishing a clear plastic bag in which a handful of our very gorgeous Onyx bracelets rattle around. “I would never tell you to make such a terrible decision!”
“Actually, you ordered me to keep them off the website and out of the subscription boxes, don’t you remember?” When I first started here, I thought arguing with our CEO was a delicate dance that had to be carefully maneuvered. I learned quickly that no matter what I say, I’m always wrong. But he can’t fire me because no one else will fill my spot and I can’t quit because I rely too much on the paycheck.
Especially these days.
“Are you thick?” Jimmy bellows at me, stepping forward and sniffing like a man with a terrible coke habit. Given how often he sniffles and how he chews the gross toothpick hanging off his lower lip like his life depends on it, I wouldn’t be surprised. “Look at them! Do you have any idea how manyboxesof this shit I have sitting in the warehouse?”
“I do, actually.” Despite my best efforts, my voice trembles and I clench my jaw briefly. “But you were clear, Jimmy. You said that these bracelets were too good for our subscription customersand you weren’t going to waste such an item on people who couldn’t be bothered to visit the stores. You also said you were going to put them pride and center in the window displays over Christmas because they were going to sell like hot cakes and make you a lot of money.”
In that regard, he was correct. The bracelets were beautiful Onyx stones set in a pure white silver bracelet with a gorgeous diamante chain that could be tightened and loosened at will. They would have sold online like they were on fire, but as soon as I got two pre-orders, Jimmy shut me down.
Despite our working for the same company, at some point, he got it in his head that my success in running the online department, complete with subscription boxes, was somehowstealingfrom him.
To this day, it still doesn’t make sense in my head.
“Why would I put these fucking things on display?” In a fit of rage, Jimmy launches the bag of bracelets and they land softly inside the box of decorations before me, which only seems to piss him off further. “You haven’t been putting the work in, Cal. I told you and Itoldyou that we needed these to sell. I have boxes upon boxes of these things taking up space in the warehouse. No one wants black stones to start the New Year, and now you’re telling me you didn’t even put them on the website?”
Louder and louder he yells until my heart thunders in my throat and warmth stings behind my eyes. “You told me?—”
“How dare you stand there and lie to my face? You’re running this place into the ground, Cal. Don’t you have any self-respect? Don’t you have any pride in your job? You’re a disgrace andyou’ve just lost this company more money than you can evenfathom. You’re lucky I don’t fire you right on the spot.”
“No, sir, please, I?—”
“Don’t speak,” he snaps in disgust, silencing me. “I expect you to come up with an incentive to sell those bracelets and make back every cent you lost, understand?”
Before I can reply, not that it would do any good, Jimmy turns on his heel and storms out of my office, leaving silence and the subtle stale stink of sweat in the air.
“It’s Calliope,” I whisper to myself, blinking furiously to stop the welling tears from falling. “I love my job. I love my job. I need this job. I love my job.”
Over and over the mantra swirls around my mind as I focus on untangling the streamer in my hands. With trembling fingers, it takes twenty minutes longer than it should, which puts my entire party plan behind. All because Jimmy once again made a terrible decision against my advice and I get the blame for it.
With the untangled streamer over one arm, I pick up the box and hurry out of my office. Several winding corridors later and I make it to the common room where multiple people from every department mill around.
The far corner near the windows is set up with a table draped in red cloth and heaving in cheap party food. Several bottles of unopened sparkling wine and champagne rest in the kitchenette next to several staff eager for a drink but too shy to take the first glass, and a Christmas tree that’s seen better days hugs the corner near the main door with all the festive bobbles removed in favor of New Year’s stickers and ornaments.
“Calliope!” Victoria, my work wife and the distribution manager in charge of all the stores under theAngelic Jewelsbrand, rushes toward me with one arm outstretched. Several bracelets clatter together when she throws her arm around my shoulders and pulls me in for a tight hug. “I thought you got lost!”
“No, just held up by the cockroach,” I murmur into her thick blonde hair, fighting a soft gag as her sweet perfume spears the back of my throat. “Oh, my God, did you swim in perfume?”
