Christmas Construction

Chapter 2: The Holiday Party

Audrey

The room was garishly overdone. That was Audrey's first thought as she stepped into the event space on the third floor, having dressed for the party right in her office and come down directly afterward. Towering fake trees were all around the edges of the room, with gargantuan ornaments hanging from their boughs and positively dripping with shiny silver tinsel icicles, fluttering weakly from the breezes created by people passing by. Garlands were hung from wall sconces with bunches of fat sparkling Styrofoam berries stuck in at regular intervals. Tall tables were draped with snowflake-patterned tablecloths and topped with chubby light-up snowmen. Looking down at her simple burgundy dress, Audrey had never felt out of place. It was the type of room an ugly sweater would be right at home in.

Audrey noticed Holly nearby and crept up beside her. "Is the decor a Grant Enterprises tradition?" she asked, trying to hide the disgust on her face. Even if it were elegantly done, she didn't much appreciate holiday decorations these days. And this...was torture to the eyes.

"No, this is all new. Jason's idea...to 'boost morale,'" Holly whispered back loudly, making air quotes with one hand while sloshing a glass of champagne in the other. It was obviously not her first, and Audrey was a little surprised to see her so unrestrained. Holly giggled as she poked one of the snowman lights in the belly. "Look! It changes colors!"

"I see," Audrey replied dryly to cover her urge to laugh. "Well, I have to circulate. Enjoy your evening."

"Oh, I intend to," Holly said with determination, shooting a sassy look off to the right. Audrey glanced over and saw a blonde man from the marketing department looking studiously away, his ears bright red. Ah.

Audrey circled the room. On the surface, the mood was generally merry, but she could sense some tension in the air, see some slightly drawn faces in the small groups gathered here and there. It wasn't difficult to know why. The annual Christmas bonuses were usually announced in some fashion at the Christmas party. Audrey knew from older company finances that they didn't always offer a bonus at the end of the year: it was dependent on how well the company was doing. There were only a few years of the last twenty that they weren't able to offer additional compensation, but it was often enough that the workforce would wonder every year whether they would receive it.

This year was going to be disappointing, indeed.

She sighed, thinking about the state of the lobby. She hadn't been fully aware of the extent of Jason's negligence as the CFO yet, and walked in on a Monday morning a month prior to find the lobby full of hanging tarp, with the sharp sounds of demolition barely muffled behind them.

One month ago

"What's going on?" Audrey asked at first, thinking perhaps there was a problem in the building that required drastic measures to fix.

"Demo day," said one of the workers curtly.

"Yes, demo day!" Jason sang as he walked up to her, his arms raised. "Just picture it, Ms. Peters," he continued, spinning around. "Brand new modern glass walls! Organic flow through the space! A statement chandelier! Luxury furniture! And right there," he said, pointing to the space between the elevator banks. "Right there, will be the highest quality welcome desk, made of rare African blackwood! Can you picture it!?"

Audrey's mouth dropped open. "This was a planned expenditure?"

Jason rolled his eyes and gave her an irritatingly knowing look. "Of course, Ms. Peters. We need to make a strong first impression for our clients and potential business partners!"

"I...see," Audrey replied, her heart sinking. While she knew the company was going through a bit of a rough patch, it wasn't until that moment that she discovered one of the reasons why.

"Just picture it," Jason said, walking away. "Just picture it..."

...

That Monday morning had sparked Audrey's quiet investigation of Jason's actions since his promotion to CFO six months prior to her own appointment. It was staggering, how much he had gotten away with. And yet, nobody seemed overly concerned. Perhaps Jason's father didn't think he was capable of doing any real damage to the company. Audrey, after reviewing everything she could get her hands on, felt otherwise.

As though her negative thoughts had called his presence to her attention, Audrey finally spotted Jason across the room. He was talking to a few members of the board, his face already ruddy with alcohol. "I may as well get it over with," she murmured under her breath, starting towards him. She didn't think he actually cared whether she said hello, but he would make a big deal about it if she didn't.

The crowd got in Audrey's way on her way over, and she found herself cornered between a group of tall men talking about hockey and a gossiping group from the sales team. She sighed, snagging a glass of champagne from a nearby server while she waited for a path to clear.

It was then that she heard Jason's irritatingly jovial voice above the crowd. The man was in his thirties, for crying out loud, but like a chameleon, he was good at blending in with his surroundings. This time being a bunch of sixty-something board members.

"It's going to be excellent, my good man!" Jason was saying, gesturing wildly. "You'll see! I have all high-end fixtures coming in. Even though the sconces are on back order. Let me tell you..."

Audrey felt a little sick. Here he was, in the middle of a company party full of employees, and he was bragging about a project that didn't affect them in the slightest. No, it did affect them. It meant they wouldn't get their Christmas bonuses that they worked so hard for.

"...Aww, she's a sweet little thing, Ms. Peters," Jason was saying, snapping Audrey's attention back to his conversation at the mention of her name. She instinctively moved sideways to remain concealed behind the hockey fans. "Not bad to look at, that's for sure."

"I'm surprised you haven't met with much resistance from her," one of the board members, Mr. Klein, murmured doubtfully. He was one of the younger ones who actually had sense. Audrey mentally thanked him for seeming at least somewhat competent.

"Pshh, why would I? She's just for show. And in more ways than one, you know what I'm saying?" Jason said, his tone turning raunchy. The other men—why were boards almost always made up of men?—had enough tact not to laugh, but their smirks were obvious enough. On a roll, Jason kept blabbing. "No, my friends, she'll be pushed out before too long, once she's served her purpose."

Audrey edged closer, her blood boiling. "Once we get some tax breaks for having some estrogen in the driver's seat, she'll be easy enough to get rid of," Jason continued, his voice lowered but not by much. "Who knows, maybe I'll have a little bit of fun with her before she goes."

Audrey had heard enough. She suspected that was one of the reasons she might have been hired, but to hear it so blatantly confirmed—and in front of the board, within earshot of the entire company, no less—was too much to take. She whipped around and quickly wove through the crowd, getting out of the event space as fast as possible.

She dashed down the stairs two at a time, needing to be alone. Needing fresh air. Needing this job to not be so ridiculously hopeless and depressing. Audrey was so distracted that she forgot about one very important thing, that turned out to be to her detriment moments later.

The lobby construction project.

As she dashed off the stairs and turned towards the doors, she tripped over a box of tiles peeking out from under one of the tarps. "Ow!" she screamed, hopping on one foot and trying to regain her balance. Just then, the heel of the shoe that was supporting her weight snapped.

She was falling.