Chapter One
Ria
“You’refired.”
Ria blinked at the curmudgeon across the desk from her.A jaunty rendition of “Jingle Bells” was blaring throughout the office, so perhaps she hadn’t heard her boss correctly.
“I’m sorry,” she replied, “but I don’t quite understand.Could you repeat that?”
Frank Mercer furrowed his already profusely wrinkled brow.“Apologies.You’re right.That damn memo just went out last week too.What was I supposed to say?”
He tapped a finger on his desk, his yellowed nails strangely longer than even Ria’s.She focused on that gnarled old finger as if her fate lingered in the milliseconds between each tap.The blinking glow from the red and green lights hanging outside his office cast his face into a disturbing contrast of holiday cheer and demonic horror, each tap coinciding with a shift in color.
Flash of green.Happy Holidays.
Flash of red.Steal your soul.
Tap.Tap.Tap.
Flash.Flash.Flash.
Her own fingers itched to give a little flick toward Frank.Nothing major, just a tiny little spell to nudge his brain toward whatever he’d actually meant to say.Surely he couldn’t be firing her.Nobody fired a person in the middle of the office holiday party.Not even the Grinch was that callous.
She twisted a finger through one of her long red curls as the itch in her hand grew stronger the longer her boss appeared to war with himself on word choice.She might have given in if it weren’t for the firm knowledge that handcast spells were not her forte.More often than not, they went horribly wrong.Handcasting was a “use it or lose it” type of magic, and Ria locked herself on the “lose it” track years ago.Right about the time she joined Mercer Marketing and put her witchy ways in the past.Potions were pretty much the only thing she could manage these days, since those were only a slight step beyond basic science, but she didn’t exactly carry little vials of revenge in the pockets of her pencil skirt.
“Oh, right,” Mr.Mercer finally said.“Now I remember.You’re not fired.”
Ria breathed an audible sigh of relief.
“We’re letting you go.”
Ria sucked every last bit of oxygen back into her lungs.“You’re doing what?”she protested, still unable to fathom the words she was hearing.“But it’s Christmas, sir!”
“Oh, we don’t say that anymore either.It’s ‘the holiday season’ now.”
That’s what he was focusing on?
“But it’s the holiday season, sir!”she shot back.
“Yes, yes, I understand it’s in poor taste to let someone go around this time of year, but the reality is that the world is changing, Miss Lewis.Big marketing firms like ours are losing out to these new young influencers.They’re cheaper and will shill anything for a few bucks.We have to cut costs, and unfortunately, that comes in the way of junior marketing agents like yourself.”
Of course she would be the one on the chopping block.She was just the person who did all the work for none of the credit.That alone should have been enough to have her shouting at Frank about how stupid and short-minded he was being.She willed herself to find that inferno deep within, the anger she knew existed at least a little bit even if it rarely came out.If she was going to be fired, then surely this was the time to tell her wretched little goblin of a boss exactly what she thought of him.
“But sir… I’ve been here almost five years.”Her words came out meek and pathetic.So much for the inferno.She’d summoned less fire than a matchstick in a windstorm.
“Almostbeing the keyword,” Mr.Mercer replied.
Almost.Ria turned the word over in her head.Why wouldalmostmatter… Then it hit her.
“Are you telling me I won’t get any severance pay?”
He didn’t even look the slightest bit ashamed.“Severance is only available after five years of employment,” he replied.“I’m afraid the holiday bonus is also only available to those still employed as of the December twentieth paycheck.”
Ria’s eyes flickered to the calendar on the wall behind her boss.December nineteenth.No severance.No holiday bonus.She was completely and utterly screwed.
Mr.Mercer reached into a drawer, then slid an envelope across the desk.“You’ll find Mercer Marketing isn’t completely without heart though.There’s a little something in here as a thank you for your years of loyal service.”
She glanced down at the envelope, at the handful of visible words peeking through the little plastic window.
