“Think I’d like it better on the floor.”
“Spencer!” I force a laugh.
“Meet me for drinks after?”
“I don’t think I can.” I shift, drawing myself closer to the vanity. This is harder than I thought it would be.
“You can.” He leans down closer to me. His gaze drops to my mouth. He’s going to kiss me. Oh crap. I panic.
“Okay, I’ll go,” I say in the nick of time.
“Really?” he asks, shock in his voice.
“Spencer!” Someone calls his name. He turns, giving me his back and the second I need to switch the envelope. “Showtime!”
“I’m coming,” he shouts back. “Wait for me after.” He gives me a super-confident smile before snatching the envelope off the vanity.
“Well, crap.” I sigh before I go to find my seat in the small auditorium. My work is done here even though I just made a date with a total himbo.
At least Sebastian is getting what he wants. Maybe, just maybe that will make him happy for once. Now, that would be worth it.
7
Sebastian
I wait in the wings, watching as the townspeople fill the auditorium that’s been decorated with so much tinsel and holiday junk that it looks like Santa vomited in here.
Merry takes her seat near the front. I watch her, taking in her blond locks and how cozy she looks with her red coat on. Which reminds me. I open my phone and check to make sure the SUV I ordered for her has been delivered. It has. Good. I pocket my phone then pull it out again when it buzzes.
Merry: The eagle is going to lift off.
I raise a brow.
Me: You mean ‘the eagle has landed’?
Merry: Wait, is there really an eagle?
I snort a small laugh, then tamp it down as the mayor walks along the center aisle only a few feet away. She shakes hands and greets the townspeople before taking her seat up front. I’m certain she’s ready to get this year’s pageant over with. After all, Nora’s win is already in the bag.
Or at least that’s what everyone thinks.
I rub my hands together. Things are about to get interesting for once. I realized these small strikes—the reindeer and the pageant—are petty and seem like nothing more than holiday shenanigans. But they’re simply part of a larger plan, one which ends with this town’s beloved Christmas holiday utterly ruined.
“Hey.”
I almost jump when I find Merry standing beside me. Damn, she’s quiet. I didn’t even hear her.
“Shouldn’t you be ensuring everything goes according to plan?” I raise a brow.
“It’s all set. Don’t worry, Mr. Grumpy Pants.”
I turn to her. “What did you call me?”
Her cheeks turn a brilliant pink, and she points to the stage. “Look, the show is starting!”
The lights dim as if on cue, and the full auditorium hiccups into silence as the stage curtain twitches.
“Good people of Reindeer Valley.” Spencer McIvins walks onto the stage, a spotlight shining on his big, stupid face. “Welcome to the seventy-sixth annual Miss Reindeer Valley Pageant!”
A smattering of applause meets his proclamation.
I glance at Merry. She’s biting her thumbnail.
“Patience.” I take her hand and pull it away, then keep it in mine when I should let her go.
“It’s just…” She whispers. “I hate to—”
“Now, on to the big finale.” Spencer’s voice booms as the curtains split and reveal the top five Miss Reindeer Valley hopefuls. “Please give all our finalists a huge round of applause. They’ve thoroughly impressed the judges with their talents and their—” He winks at the audience in the corniest fashion imaginable. “—natural endowments. Am I right?”
Merry rolls her eyes. Good. She shouldn’t suffer fools like that asshole.
“And now, presenting our contestants in one last promenade along the stage in their absolutely stunning evening gowns. Here we go!” He announces each contestant.
I watch Merry’s face as she takes in the women onstage. She claps for each one of them as if it’s her own sister up there. Why? She barely knows any of them, and I’m absolutely certain that one of them—Nora—is a monstrous bitch. But she claps for her, too, though perhaps not with quite as much verve.
She catches me looking. “Why aren’t you watching them? They’re so beautiful.”
“If I want to look at beauty, that stage is not where I’m going to find it.”
She blinks. “But they’re like snow angels with banging figures.” She gestures toward the stage. “You know?”
As if I could ever take my eyes off her. I’ve only known her what, two days? And I’m so fucking smitten I can’t think straight. I’m certain this is only happening because of the pressure I’ve put on myself to bring this town to its knees. That has to be it. Because otherwise, it makes no sense. There’s absolutely no logic to the way I obsess over this strange slip of a girl every second of every day—and night.
“Where did you put Rudolph?” she stage-whispers so I can hear her over Spencer’s bullshit.
“None of your concern.”
She shrugs. “I’ve already been getting so many hits on the TikTok I created for it. People are looking all over. They’re invested already. It’s going to be so exciting when one of them finds him.”
I don’t point out that Rudolph will never be found. That the entire plan is to destroy this town in increments until I set the whole thing off at a lavish party. Speaking of, she needs to start working on the invitations. Maybe after this pageant goes down in flames, she can come over to my place and I can instruct her on the finer points of my vendetta. Perhaps by the fireplace, with champagne, and some of those little chocolate caramels I’ve noticed she likes. Not entirely professional, but it couldn’t hurt to—
“Boss?” She squeezes my hand.
There I go again, daydreaming instead of concentrating on serving up my revenge stone cold. “Yes, Ms. Harper?”
“Merry.” She smiles. “I like it better when you call me Merry.”
“All right, Merry.”
“I just didn’t want you to miss it.” She jerks her chin toward the stage where Spencer McIdiot is still yapping. “You seemed sort of … gone?”
“Thank you. You’re a good employee.” I still can’t seem to let go of her hand. I’ll just pretend this is a normal way for employers and employees to comport themselves. ‘Tis the season and all that, right?
“And now, without further ado, it’s time.” Spencer grins big, his veneers painfully white in the spotlight. “Come on up, Madam Mayor. It’s tradition for you to verify the winner with me. No funny business allowed.” He taps the side of his nose like an absolute tool as the mayor climbs the stage.
Nora preens her shiny silver dress and pastes on a similarly too-bright smile.
This will be a delight. I lean back into the shadows at the rear of the auditorium and pull Merry with me. I like having her here with me in the dark, like Hades kidnapping Persephone to the Underworld.