“The winner is…”
A drumroll starts somewhere behind the curtains. Spencer makes a big show of opening the envelope, then frowns at what the card inside says. Yes!
“Well done.” I smirk over at Merry, who seems a bit squirmy. “Who did you pick to win instead?” I hadn’t specified what overdone trollop should take Nora’s place, mainly because anyone else being chosen, no matter who, would send that vapid tart off the rails.
Spencer shakes his head. The crowd seems to hold its breath.
“Well, you see, Sebastian. I, um, didn’t want any of the ladies thinking they weren’t good enou—”
“It’s a five-way tie!” the mayor holds up the card and announces into the microphone. “The results are in and right here. Congratulations, ladies, you’re all winners in this year’s Miss Reindeer Valley Pageant! A crown for every competitor. How wonderful!” She starts clapping, and the crowd, still somewhat dumbfounded, begins clapping along with her.
Spencer, befuddled, stares at the card as if it’s grown feathers and is squawking at him.
A five-way tie? No. That wasn’t in my plan. I glare down at my darling little assistant. “Merry, this isn’t what I instructed—”
“Have you all lost your fucking minds!” Nora screeches and yanks the microphone away from the mayor.
Merry shrugs, and then we stand there, hand in hand, and watch Nora melt down like a candy cane in a fireplace.
8
Merry
I try to push away the guilt I have at watching Nora have a stage five meltdown. Everyone was gaping at her and enjoying the new entertainment onstage. All the other contestants are smiling and hugging each other, but they wisely stand far away from Nora. I don’t blame them. She’s freaking scary.
It’s good for her to lose something once in a while. She needs to be humbled every now and then. Still, I can’t help but feel a bit sad for her. People don’t act this way for no reason. There had to be something that happened in her life that made her this way. But that’s no excuse for her behavior. She has to grow up at some point and realize she’s not in high school anymore. I’d send her some cookies or something to cheer her up, but she won’t eat them. It would be a total waste.
I squeeze Sebastian's hand when Nora gets in the mayor's face and starts to shout about her father not giving a penny to her next campaign.
“Maybe I should do something.” I pull on his hand to try to free myself but get nowhere.
“You’re not getting into her path.” His hold on my hand tightens as he links our fingers together.
“You’re the one that set her on the path in the first place,” I remind him.
“Once again, you’ve failed to follow my instructions.” He sighs.
I peek over at him. He’s not looking too happy about the outcome at the moment. He better not try to fire me. God, that would suck. I feel the tears welling up in my eyes, but I hold them back.
“Don’t get upset,” he orders me.
I let out a sigh. I swear, I can’t win for losing. I was happy to make everyone a winner. I thought that everyone, including Sebastian, could get what they wanted. No matter how hard I try to please him and do his bidding, I keep messing it up. I don’t know why, but for some reason, I want to make him smile more than anything else. I have this deep-seated need to please him, but it never seems to work out that way.
It’s another reminder that I never can really master anything I set my mind to. I wonder if I’ll at least make enough money to be able to donate to the mayor’s next campaign. That might make up for her having to deal with Nora’s wrath.
“Can I go now?” I lift our hands to show him that he’s still holding mine. He surely can’t mean to. “I can’t feel my fingers.”
“Did I hurt you?” He quickly untangles them to check my fingers over, inspecting each one of them.
“This is bullshit!” Nora shouts from the stage before she starts kicking the poinsettia plants that line the stage off into the audience.
People start to duck and run for the exit. Realizing my hand is now free, I too, make my escape. I don’t have to look back to know that Sebastian isn’t far behind me. It’s not long before he scoops me up and tosses me over his shoulder.
“Put me down, you big brute!” I shout as I try to wiggle free. His hand comes down on my ass, giving me a firm slap. I let out a squeal of surprise. He spanked me. Not only did he spank me, but he did it in front of half the town. I press my thighs together as heat pools there. What the heck is happening?
“You’ll get trampled. You’re little.”
I roll my eyes.
His hand comes down on my bottom again. “Don’t roll your eyes at me.” He grunts.
“What the heck! You can’t even see my eyes.” I try to lift up, but it’s useless.
“Sir, I’m going to need you to put Merry down.” I hear Chester, one of the local police officers. My heart sinks. Oh noes! I’ve been caught. They know what I’ve done. I haven’t even had a chance to fix Rudolph yet. Sebastian took him and did God knows what with him before I could.
Sebastian pulls me down the front of his hard body. Even with my new coat on, I feel every inch of him. I stay pasted to his front when my feet hit the ground. That can’t be what I think it is pressing into my stomach. Can it? Did he get turned on spanking me? I surely had.
“Everything is fine, Officer. Merry works for me. I was just trying to get her out of there safely,” Sebastian says, reminding me I’ve been caught by the fuzz.
“You okay, Merry?”
“I want a lawyer! I know my rights,” I blurt out as I spin around to face Chester. He gives me a funny look.
“Is this man bothering you? Just because he’s your boss doesn’t mean he can manhandle you.” A blush blooms across his cheeks.
“Merry is mine to do with as I want.” Sebastian wraps his arm around me, pulling me back into him. Sebastian’s possessiveness has me joining Chester in blushing. I start to think of all kinds of things my new boss might do to me—or make me do to him. His erection that’s pressing into me from behind isn’t helping the situation.
“I’m fine, Chester,” I get out. Did I sound all breathy or was that my imagination?
“Are you sure?” He gives Sebastian the stink-eye. “Blink twice if you’re in danger.”
He stares at me. I open my eyes as wide as I possibly can.
“You heard her, Officer.”
A stare-off ensues between them. Chester breaks first, which is not surprising.
“All right. Merry, you know who to call if you need help,” he says before he walks off, leaving us alone.
Sebastian spins me around and looks down at me with his dark eyes. “You call me if you need help, Merry. Not Officer Donut over there.”
“Okay.” I nod, my body still on fire from his touches.
“Merry,” Spencer calls, and I turn to find him working his way through the throng of people still flooding out of the auditorium.
“Oh crappers.” I cringe, remembering what I agreed to earlier.