It was Christmastime. Downtown Houston was covered with colorful, decorative wreaths, lights, and other magical adornments to help people get into the Christmas spirit. The town square was absolutely beautiful, with artificial pine trees placed all around it and flashing red and green lights omitting a truly cheerful beam on the surrounding structures. Gleeful Christmas hymns like 'Silent Night' and 'Away in a Manger' could be heard in thrift stores all over town, and the radio stations had Taylor Swift, Martina McBride, and Brad Paisley's holiday songs on regular rotation. Nothing could replace the magical feeling of turning on the radio and hearing something about family, Santa, or Jesus. The Christmas spirit was definitely there, and it was all over the place.
December 25 was only three days away, so the streets were crowded with last-minute Christmas shoppers and families who had come together for the occasion. The mall was bustling with people in thick jackets and fuzzy sweaters, and the stores with cheap products were virtually empty. A machine in the ceiling was gently blowing out fake snow, adding even more magic to what was already there. The huge Christmas tree in the center of the building was certainly a sight to see. Purple, gold, and red garlands wrapped around it numerous times, with colorful little glass balls hanging everywhere. Musical lights flashed on and off, and a cheesy, mechanical little 'Jingle Bells' rendition was heard coming from them. Empty boxes made to look like Christmas presents sat under it, with glittery bows tied around them and that corny cartoonish wrapping paper that everyone loves catching eyes. All seemed well in the world.
And Brock Hart hated it.
Mall manager Brock Hart hated every single thing about Christmas. He hated the music. He hated the decorations. He even hated poor Rudolph! Those cartoons they played every day on ABC Family made him want to rip his hair out. But most of all, he hated the spirit of the season. He hated the whole family aspect. He hated how every single one of his employees was always smiling and talking about their plans for the holiday. He hated it when they would try to get him a present to make him happy. And he despised that stupid fake snow his second ex-wife Barbra Jean had insisted on.
The only good thing about Christmas was all the people in the mall. He only enjoyed the profit he was making off the holiday. Brock was greedy. He got greedier every day. It was quite sad, to be honest. One time, his daughter, Cheyenne, who was a mall employee, had walked into his office and found him tossing dollar bills up into the air and laughing like a hyena. It had deeply concerned her, and she had recommended him to a therapist, whom he never went to.
This close to Christmas, he was especially greedy and three times as hateful and unpleasant.
He was sitting in his office playing with a deck of cards. His first ex-wife, Reba Hart, walked in. His whole family had jobs at the mall, as it was very easy to get one there, but they all hated working for him. If he didn't pay them so well they'd be out of there faster than lightning.
"Hey, Brock," Reba greeted, giving him a nice, pretty smile.
He glared at her. "Ms. Hart, what did I tell you about calling me Brock while on the job?"
Her smile faded and she gritted her teeth. "Okay. Hello, Mr. Hart."
Brock smiled. "What can I do you for, red?"
Reba rolled her eyes. "Brock, you know I hate being called red."
"I know, but I'm your superior." Brock winked at her. "So I get to call you anything I want to."
Rage raced through Reba's veins. "Fine. Look, I need to talk to you as a friend, not as an employee."
"Well, you should've thought about that before you started working here," Brock barked. "We aren't friends on the job. I'm your boss. You're my employee. You're my property."
Reba's mouth fell open. "I'm your property? Just who do you think you are?"
"I'm Brock Hart, soon-to-be billionaire. And you're Reba Hart, slowly fading into nothing."
"What it that supposed to mean?!" Reba raised her voice. Just because they were divorced didn't mean he got to boss her around. She sighed and tried to control her temper. "I didn't come in here to argue, Bro—Mr. Hart. I came in here to ask you something."
Brock leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Well. I'm waiting."
Reba tried smiling again. "Look, I know for the past three years you've been bitter about the whole Christmas season, and this manager gig here at the mall sure hasn't helped. You haven't come to Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. It's been rough on the whole family not having you there—"
"What are you getting at?" Brock asked, burning a hole into Reba with his eyes.
"I'm trying to ask if you would like to come to Christmas dinner," Reba offered, trying to avoid eye contact. "We'd all really love to have you there. It has to get lonely there at your house all alone."
Brock scoffed. "Christmas dinner? I assume by that you mean the turkey they're serving in the food court on Christmas Day."
Reba blinked a couple times, trying to comprehend what he meant. "You mean… the mall is going to be open on Christmas?"
"That's right," Brock sang, twiddling his thumbs. "Don't even try to tell me you didn't know about it."
"None of us knew about it!" Reba yelled, jumping up. "It's Christmas! It's the one day of the year where our family is somewhat functional! It's the holiday all about family and love and goodwill! Why can't you close this place for just one day?!"
"Because ignorant people who didn't bother to go shopping beforehand enjoy seeing what their loved ones want first, then going out and buying whatever it is. Most other places in town will be closed and they may not get what they're looking for, and that would be a disappointment, don't you think? Why would you wanna do that to good people who have worked hard all year and deserve a little treat?"
Reba glared at her ex. "Or you just can't wait for all the money you're gonna get when people return things and buy something else. It's all about money with you!" She looked him in the eyes. "It's always been about money with you. You put money before everyone."
"Money makes the world go round, Ms. Hart. Without it, what would life be? Boring, stupid, and pointless. If you had only stayed with me you could have a little piece of it and you'd understand why I want this."
Reba clenched her fists and tears filled her eyes. "You are a piece of work. You are truly a piece of work, and if I didn't need this job right now you'd lose an employee. This is the reason why I didn't stay. Go to hell." She turned and stormed out of his office.
Brock grinned as she left. "Feeling the spirit, I see."
A/N: Hey everybody! :D I know it's been a really REALLY long time since I've updated anything, and I apologize for it! I've got a boyfriend now, so go me! I've also been getting a lot of help with my depression issues, and things have really started looking up. I'm starting to love life more and more each day. But with good things unfortunately come bad. Pointless high school drama and sickness have also somewhat consumed my life. But don't worry, I really think things are getting better, and I plan to have this sucker finished by Christmas 2013, and I have set a deadline of March 2014 to finish at least one of my other stories. But enough about me! How's everyone been? XD Reviews appreciated!