Wow, like - wow! You guys are crazy awesome! Since I'm such a lazy writer, it shocks me that you guys keep coming back to review. Thank you so much MikariStar, ScipioPB, imagine believe, CAPJHMPAgirl, and HersheyChoco101 for your kind words! I keep saying I'll try harder to update faster, but I keep getting slower, and I'm so sorry. D: So for your awesome support, I went ahead with a double update! That's right – two chapters in a row! Thank you so very much for reviewing so often; it really keeps me going. :)
God Rest Ye Merry, Employees
"Don't laugh."
It wasn't the sour expression or even the costume – the red hat, jolly matching coat and pants with a pillow stuffed in for good measure, down to the black boots covered in slush – that made Vaughn's lips involuntarily quirk upwards. It was the simple command coming from the disgruntled janitor, his voice muffled by the fake white beard and moustache attachment.
Vaughn held a fist to his mouth and coughed to save his friend the trouble from bursting into chuckles. As seriously as he could, he asked: "Having a good morning?"
Terry's face turned impressively darker, a fierce glower coming from the Santa that would traumatize any child under eight. "What's it look like, asshole? This beard itches like hell!"
This time, Vaughn didn't hesitate to laugh. He let out a good sigh, hiking the present in the crook of his elbow to a tighter grip in his fist. He gave Terry another once over. "They paying you for this?"
"What, do you think I'd volunteer?" Terry grunted, too terribly close to letting slip a string of curses but for the excitable children pointing and smiling at the poser in front of the office building. He scratched his chin under the beard, waving the bell at the children until their parents took them further down the sidewalk. "I'm supposed to raise 'company morale.' So happy holidays, motherfu—"
"Fun, isn't it?" A voice interrupted from behind Vaughn. He turned to see his boss running in a similar get-up to Terry's, only Hamilton's suit was top of the line, every detail stitched perfectly in place. His suit wasn't dirty or baggy, so he didn't look like the irritable, homeless Terry Santa. "Kids aren't scared of me today! Hello, Vaughn, and ho-ho-Happy Christmas!"
"Gee, Santa, how do you know my name?" Vaughn stoically played along with his act, running a hand through his hair.
"Don't be ridiculous! I know the names of all the little boys and girls!" Hamilton said.
"I wouldn't put it past you…" he agreed.
"Ho, ho! What a funny lad you are!" Hamilton laughed, patting his rotund stomach.
His Santa Clause chuckling was impressive, but Vaughn still preferred the Terry Santa smelling of booze, wishing ill will upon all who dared pass him by on this Monday evening. Hamilton had finally caught sight of Terry, suddenly scowling. Vaughn absent-mindedly wondered if he'd have to break up a Santa fight, which would be an interesting addition to his bucket list.
"Look here, pal. I'm the only true Santa!" Hamilton jabbed a finger into Terry's plushed out chest.
Terry swatted him away, adjusting the beard that was rubber banded over his real, scraggly one. "Hey, does it look like I wanna be here? I'm just doing my job."
"I was born for this," Hamilton whispered darkly.
"Mr. Hamilton? We're going to be late," Vaughn opened the door, holding it with his foot.
Hamilton glared warning daggers at Terry, going past Vaughn into the building. Once inside, he was back to giggling merrily and calling out unwanted holiday greetings. Vaughn lifted his other hand and offered the box to Terry. A six pack with a big red bow. "Happy Christmas."
"Now that's a happy holiday," Terry accepted the beer with a wide smile. He saluted Vaughn as he followed after Hamilton. "See ya Thursday, pardner."
"Yeah, yeah," Vaughn waved him off. The door shut behind him as he kicked the snow off of his boots on the wet black mat. Obnoxiously bright, twinkling decorations lined the lobby area where the first floor was hosting their own Christmas party. They had glasses of punch and all seemed genuinely happy to be sharing the holiday spirit with one another, clapping each other on the back and laughing at bad jokes. The folks Vaughn was going to go see made him want to shoot heroine.
"Hurry, hurry! Santa's sleigh is going up!" Hamilton bounced around in the elevator, waving for Vaughn to go join him.
Vaughn decided there were worse things, but he was not about to enter such a small space with a man so happy to be dressed in a safe, pedophile suit. He was about to decline and take the stairs when he saw one of the computer technicians from the first floor party stumble to the stairwell and violently empty the alcoholic contents of his stomach all over the floor. Vaughn blinked. "On my way, sir."
The door creaked shut and an eerie silence enveloped the pair as the elevator began its climb. Hamilton was spritely humming the tune of 'Jingle Bells.' Vaughn stared at the ceiling, but he couldn't help but feel eyes on him. When he chanced a glance to his right, he found Hamilton scrutinizing the present in his hand.
Before he could react, Hamilton suddenly snatched it from him, shook it, sniffed it, unpleasantly fingered the wrapping from all sides, and handed it back to him with a satisfied look on his face. "Ginseng tea with a travel thermos. Very classy, Vaughn!"
Vaughn stared at the present as if it was suddenly alive, stepping away from his boss. "How did you know that?!"
"It's one of my many talents!" Hamilton bragged with a wink, his hands behind his back as he rocked on his heels. "But if I told you it also works on clothes, I'd have to go to prison! Hahaha!"
"Haha… ha…?" Vaughn attempted, but the effort was pathetic. At that merciful moment, the doors pulled back and Hamilton leapt out of the elevator.
"Merry Christmas! Hohoho!" Hamilton chortled. He patted a good humored Louis on the head and made a grab for Alice's ass as he passed them by. "It's me! Santa Clause!"
"You're looking pale," Gill observed as Vaughn carefully made his way out of the elevator. He suddenly crossed his arms and stuck his nose in the air. "Not that I care!" He quickly ignored any retorts Vaughn had to say and followed after Hamilton as his lackey.
"Hello, Vaughn!" Louis appeared with a friendly wave and smile. He held out his hands. "If you'd like, I can take that present over to the other ones."
"Oh… yeah, thanks," Vaughn handed off the professionally wrapped gift, courtesy of the store he bought it from. He watched as Louis headed off to the bathroom and craned his neck to see him set it with a stack of presents on the bathroom counter – apparently the best place for presents they had.
"Look, it's Santa's little elf!" Allen was upon him in an instant, mussing up his hair. Vaughn smacked him in the back of the head. Allen rubbed the sore spot, glaring at him. "Grumpy elf…"
"What's with the stick?" Vaughn asked, trying to look over the red-headed man's shoulder.
Allen evilly smirked, his dark rimmed glasses glinting in the ceiling light. He brought out from behind his back a long pole looking like a fishing rod. A piece of string was tied to a sprig of mistletoe, dangling like a lure. Vaughn was too busy studying it to realize it was between them, and Allen had already attacked – grabbing him and giving him a sound kiss on the cheek. "Mistletoe~!" He happily announced.
Vaughn recoiled, wiping his cheek on his sleeve until it was raw. "What's the matter with you?!"
"Oh, contraire - what's the matter with you? Don't you have any Christmas spirit?" Allen laughed at Vaughn's childish reaction and having got the better of him. Vaughn grumbled something incoherent in response. Allen rolled his eyes. "Typical you'd be the Grinch. Want to help me get Basil and Rod under this thing?"
"No, I want those five minutes of my life back," Vaughn said, stalking off with his hands in his pockets.
"Suit yourself!" Allen called.
Vaughn shuddered and rubbed his cheek again for good measure. The decorations in the office were exactly as Luke and Tina promised. Though they had probably eaten more tinsel than they had put up, the room was covered in garland, lights, balloons, and streamers from ceiling to floor. There were obvious compromises where red and green balloons were tied to wreaths covered in popcorn (they were too lazy to string it, so it was just loose, popped kernels all over the place). Vaughn was sure there was no other office looking quite like theirs.
He had escaped from Allen, but he had wandered into the territory of someone else he'd like to avoid. Vaughn stopped short before he ran headlong into Alice. She was dressed in a skimpy Santa suit. Thigh high candy cane stockings were still a good deal lower than her fuzzy, tutu skirt. She had green elbow gloves and the typical night cap with the white pom on the end. Alice whirled around to face him, nearly spilling her can of Mountain Dew when she realized his proximity.
"Sorry," Vaughn quickly apologized, hoping to sidestep her and find something to drink. Hopefully alcoholic.
"Oh, Vaughn!" Alice held a hand to her low cut chest in surprise. "You spooked me! Late as usual, I see."
"Yeah…" he awkwardly shrugged.
Alice laughed, showing no sign anything was off though her smile wasn't genuine. It wouldn't have been so surprising if she wasn't so obviously and desperately trying to appear natural. She tossed her straightened silver hair over her shoulder, placing a hand on her hip. "I hope someone bought me that edible bra, because I'm not wearing one."
Now looking everywhere else, a red faced Vaughn could only manage to mumble: "Oh… Okay…?"
"Jeez, what's with you?" Alice slapped his shoulder. Her golden green eyes appraised him, and her hand lingered. "I was just kidding!"
"Right," he nodded, abruptly removing her hand from his shoulder.
Alice caught the movement, and her eyes darkened. Her expression became surprisingly sincere as she let her hand fall and grip her soda can. "Right… I actually wanted to talk to you about that…"
"Guys!" Tina bombarded into their conversation, looking around like a hunted gazelle. She had a quirky headband holding up two springy sprigs of plastic holly. They bounced around like crazy whenever she moved her head. "I've lost Luke!"
"You what?" Alice spoke sharply. "Where's Gill?"
"Over there!" Tina pointed across the room. He was with Hamilton, nodding as he spoke on the other side of Molly. They had her pinned, obviously boring her to death and creeping her out simultaneously.
"Why? What's the matter?" Vaughn asked, his brow scrunched in curiosity.
Tina himmed and hawed about an answer before she burst, talking animatedly with her hands. "He's super drunk! If Gill sees him, he's sure to get the boot!"
"No alcohol allowed," Alice reminded with a sigh. "It's been a fun game of hide and seek, but I guess it could be worse. Luke's drunk behavior looks about the same as his usual stuff."
"But he's bound to do something crazier!" Tina whined. It was strange to have her sounding so logical and rightly worried. She covered her ears and closed her eyes. "I can't stand it! What will I do all by myself!? Who will take my camera in times of crisis?!"
"Tina," Alice set down her Mountain Dew on her desk and grabbed her friend sternly by the shoulders. "Calm down. He's probably around here somewhere. Have you checked Basil's box?"
"No…!" The girl gasped, her hope rising.
"Then he's in Basil's box," Alice concluded, picking up her soda again.
"Great idea! Thanks!" Tina cheered, fist pumping. She was suddenly brought back down to earth, and her eyes darted between Vaughn and Alice. She covered her mouth in shock. "Oh, no! Did I interrupt a romantic encounter?!"
"What?" Vaughn deadpanned.
"It was! It was a romantic encounter, and I just jumped right in!" Tina fussed.
"Romantic encounter?" Allen perked up from forcing Basil and Rod's heads together. "Where?"
"Nowhere!" Alice shrieked, slapping a hand over Tina's mouth. She roughly shoved her in the direction of Basil's corner. "Now hurry and go!"
Vaughn watched as Alice smoothed her skirt and coughed awkwardly. She took a sip of her drink and sighed happily. "So! That thing I wanted to talk to you about? Yeah, forget it. I never said anything."
"Are you sure?" He asked, tilting his head slightly.
Alice choked as she tried to drink too fast. She shook her head, clearing her throat. "No, no! I'm fine. Totally fine. I'm going to go kiss Rod for kicks – wow, is it hot in here?"
Vaughn grabbed the can she shoved into his possession as she quickly made her exit, doing just as she promised by pulling Rod in by his tie and winning the shock and awe attention from the men in that corner of the room. Vaughn decided he had better leave her be despite the pit in his stomach rising again. He tossed the can in the trash. He needed to find something to do. Better rescue Molly…
Candace had beaten him to the punch. She was lingering with her brunette friend as Hamilton insisted they sit on his lap. She was dressed in a red turtle neck and black pencil skirt with a Christmas tree brooch pinned to her sweater. She gracefully laughed as she refused her creepy boss' advances.
Seeing her made him involuntarily flinch, and he found his feet spinning him in the opposite direction. A couple of coolers were against the wall on the floor. Dan was sitting next to them, sipping from a juice box.
"Sup," Dan nodded as Vaughn opened the first cooler and found nothing but juice boxes.
"Glad you're not bat shit insane," he replied, going to the other cooler and finding a root beer.
"Wish I could say the same for you, Mr. Popular," the straw gurgled air as he finished off the juice box and crushed it in his fist.
Vaughn realized, as a casual observer of his life, Dan had a valid point. He popped the top of the can and chugged the entire sugary drink in one gulp. He shook his head when he was done. Maybe if he just pretended it was alcohol… or maybe he should just ask Luke where he got his.
"Up on the house top, reindeer paws~!" Out came the gallant caroling from Basil's box in Luke's booming voice.
"Luke! Come out of there!" Tina demanded, pointing at the ground at her feet.
"Woof! Woof!" Luke protested from within the cardboard box.
Tina stomped her foot. "Luke, you are not a dog!"
"Woof!" He replied.
She sighed, just going with it. Tina clapped her hands encouragingly. "Come on, Luke! Come on! Come here, boy!"
The drunken source team member attempted to flop out of the box, but only his foot made it out. There was a struggle and the box bounced around as he hit the walls in a panic. Breathing hard, he called out: "Luke's stuck! Help Luke!"
"Oh, pickles…" Tina sighed, kneeling down to drag him out by force.
"You'll get hiccups, man," Dan warned too late, watching as Vaughn tossed the empty can in one of the many trash bins around. He turned his attention to Allen. "Hey, how much you wanna bet he'll ruin someone's life with that pole of mistletoe?"
"Ten dollars it's Basil's," Vaughn said. He rubbed his chin as the flustered intern started yelling something at Allen and Alice, who now seemed to be in league with the mistletoe scheme. "Definitely Basil."
"Fair enough," Dan nodded in agreement, reaching into the cooler by his side for another juice box.
"Everyone!" Hamilton shouted above the background jingles of Christmas radio. He clapped to get everyone's attention, but hardly anyone was giving him the time of day in that outfit. He held his stomach and belted out a few more 'ho ho ho's before announcing his plan. "Start handing out your presents any time now! The end of the day is already upon us, so don't let your gift go ungiven~!"
Though everyone was usually sour about coming in after work on a Monday for a mediocre Christmas party, the turn out this year was impressive. Everyone had made it in a greedy effort to receive their surprise gift. Rod's idea had actually succeeded in bring them all together – albeit, for the wrong reasons, but they were all there. And that was about as good as it was going to get.
Guess it's time for the moment of truth, Vaughn thought, keeping tabs on Candace. He knew he shouldn't care or be so possessive, but he wanted to know who got her instead of him. Someone like Allen would bruise his ego, and someone like Gill would make him wish he wasn't born. Because in his paranoia over Candace, he was sure that whoever got her a gift was a love interest, and they were automatically ranked above him. Rejection was still biting at his heels after all these weeks.
"Basil~!" Hamilton bounded across the room, presenting the intern with a small package.
Basil stared wide eyed at the gift. There was a bruise on his forehead where Allen had unsuccessfully smashed him into Rod, but it went unnoticed as he took the present. "For me? But I thought you said I wasn't allowed to participate, Mr. Hamil—"
"Santa! I'm Santa Clause!" Hamilton corrected him. "And all the good children get gifts from Santa!"
"Wow, thank you!" Basil excitedly tore through the paper, tears in his eyes. His smile slowly began to diminish until it was a small, doubtful frown. He held up the leather ring. "A collar…?"
Hamilton gave his head a happy pat. "For being such a good intern! I expect you to wear that regularly. It's your official ID."
"What?!"
"Aren't you going to give out your gift?" Vaughn looked down at Dan.
Dan leaned forward and took the neck pillow off and held it up for him to see. "Already have! Man, I'm such a nice guy."
"You got a gift for yourself?!"
He shrugged, leaning back into his pillow in content. "Hey, I drew the name; I played the game."
Vaughn rolled his eyes at Dan's good luck as he went off to find the present he brought – to get himself! Certainly would have made things easier…
"A-Allen!"
The voice was unmistakable. Vaughn turned to witness Candace holding up a carefully wrapped blue present, snowflake paper and a white bow sitting elegantly on the top. She was blushing as she handed it off to the bastard. "I… I hope you like it…"
"Candace! I'm so glad you're my Santa this year~" Allen winked at her as he opened the gift. It was a set of cologne.
Vaughn tuned them out as Candace started to gush her hope it was the same brand he used, and how she had to investigate by asking around. It was chaotic as people crowded the area next to the women's restroom where all of the presents were kept. Luckily, Vaughn was the last, and his lone present was waiting for him on the empty counter top.
"What is this?" Alice asked, holding the stuffed brown bear.
"It's your gift!" Gill pointed out the obvious.
Alice wrinkled her nose at the button eyes staring back at her. "This would be cute if you won this at a carnival or something, but…"
"For heaven's sake, just take it!" Gill grumbled and turned to leave.
"Wait a minute!" Alice said, catching him by the collar. Gill gasped for breath until she let him go, shoving a box at him in a similar manner in which she passed off her Mountain Dew to Vaughn. Despite her criticisms of his corny gift, she was hugging it close and blushing hard. "This is yours!"
"Mine?" Gill asked skeptically.
"Just open it!"
He obeyed, taking off the lid and inspecting the long black tie inside. Though it was simple, it was of high quality. Gill frowned at it. "Why a tie?"
"Because I hate that ugly thing you're always wearing," Alice complained, crossing her arms over the teddy bear.
"Bolos are classy!"
Vaughn watched as Allen passed off one of those cheap ring puzzles to Rod, Candace no longer in sight. Rod was entirely too ecstatic at receiving a gift from his favorite person, but he had enough senses to find Tina and offer her a photo album. In turn, she presented a Tupperware full of mayonnaise and spinach sandwiches to Luke where he was singing his revised 'Thirty-Two Days of Christmas' underneath Gill's desk. As they got their presents, coats were gathered in an effort to get home and enjoy the next two days off.
One of the few people still left in the gift chain approached Vaughn with a shy smile. Molly didn't bother going festive and wore a pair of blue jeans and a zip up jacket. "You've kept your distance all night."
Vaughn shrugged apologetically. "Wasn't you I was running from."
"With your tail between your legs," she added with a chuckle at his unamused expression. She pushed a gift bag into his hands. "Well, here you go! Surprise; I was your Santa."
Vaughn was actually, pleasantly surprised. She had been rather good about keeping it a secret from him, considering her usual gift of gab. He dug through the tissue paper.
"I knew you wouldn't mind if I didn't wrap it," Molly said. She stuck her hands in her pockets. "Made things easier for me, anyways."
He felt something soft and pulled. Out tumbled a plain red scarf, sewn a little lopsided around the corners. His eyebrows shot up. "You made this?"
Molly revealed her hands and the Band-Aids around three of her fingers. "First time with a needle! Holy, ow. But it's not too shabby, if I do say so myself… I had to get you something to keep you warm since you never wear a proper coat. Because you're such a hard ass."
Vaughn nodded, not bothering to inspect it further or retaliate her insult. He smiled. "Thanks."
"Molly! Thank goodness!" Tina popped up again, looking very worn out. One of the plastic holly boppers on her head was missing. She took a deep breath and handed a potted plant to Molly. "I have to go back and find Luke again, but he got this for you. Happy Christmas!"
"Oh!" Molly held the clay pot carefully, avoiding the large pins and needles in a ball on top. "A cactus?"
Tina shrugged. "It could look super cute on your desk!"
"Sounds good!" Molly giggled and thanked her. "And tell Luke thanks, too! When you find him that is…"
"Oh! Right!" Tina nodded, some of her energy returning. Her eyes blinked slow and heavy as she nodded again. "Gotta find Luke…"
"Ahem!" Vaughn glared at the slyly smirking Allen who so suddenly bounded between the trio. Swaying above their heads was the infamous sprig of mistletoe. Allen's smile practically curled like a cat's as he beckoned his chin up towards his weapon. "You know the rules~"
Vaughn had hardly realized Allen meant him. He wildly looked around, seeing the befuddled pair of Molly and Tina looking between each other.
"Who, me?" Tina pointed at herself. She held up her hands in surrender. "Oh, no way! I've gotta find Luke!"
The source team girl fled from the scene with opportunity Vaughn wished he'd taken advantage of. Allen tapped his mistletoe pole and cleared his throat again, eyes flicking between Vaughn and Molly.
"I… don't think that's such a good idea," Molly tried to laugh off the situation though she was clearly uncomfortable.
Vaughn glowered at the culprit. "What are you trying to do?"
"Spread Christmas joy!" Allen easily answered, rolling his eyes. They landed on Vaughn's with terrifying sincerity behind his mask of deceit. "Just an experiment, if you will… Now go on! Rules are rules, kiddies~"
Molly took a deep breath of bravery first. Loosening up, she let out a forced chuckle. "Well, if you're not going to, I will! It's not a big deal!"
Vaughn's eyes involuntarily pinched shut as Molly hopped up on the tips of her sneakers to give him a quick peck on the cheek. Allen made the appropriate, grade school 'oooing' noise, and Molly regained her balance, tugging her shirt over her jeans. Vaughn was just happy her kiss didn't burn like Allen's had.
"Yo, Vaughn!"
Attention drawn to the coolers, Dan was waving his hand in the air. Vaughn frowned. "What?"
"Ten bucks, man!"
"What?!"
Dan grinned. "I bet you!"
Vaughn rolled his eyes, grumbling as he dug through his pockets for some spare bills he had thrown on the line. Molly let out a little humming noise to fill in the silent gap, looking down at the present he had discarded in order to open hers. "You better go give that away before they head out."
Vaughn nodded in agreement, taking his scarf with a quick wave to her and an immature slap to Allen's forehead. He marched to the closed door, half wondering if he should knock first. Testing the knob, he peered into the room. Glad his hunch was right, he opened the door all the way.
Louis was gathering a few essentials from his desk, already wearing his coat. He looked up, startled, when Vaughn entered. He quickly gave him a polite smile. "Oh, hello, Vaughn. Wasn't expecting you."
Vaughn awkwardly turned the package over in his hand. Finally, he held it out. "Um… for you."
Louis stared at it, seemingly not comprehending. "I… I actually thought whoever it was forgot about me."
Now feeling like a jerk, Vaughn shuffled his feet. His elbow felt stiff as he still held the thermos out for Louis to take.
"It's fine though! I-I was used to it," Louis quickly tried to amend the situation, only making it more awkward. He reached over his desk and the one in front of his, struggling to keep his balance for a moment as he took the present. "Thank you very much!"
"You don't even know what it is," Vaughn said.
"Haha, I guess I better open it then!" Louis joked and tore off the paper. He inspected the thermos and tea, noting the brand name on each.
"I thought you liked tea, but if you don't, it's okay to hate it," Vaughn was already putting himself down.
"No, this is great! Th-thank you!" Louis stuttered much like his accounting partner. Vaughn finally noticed her desk completely wiped clean. The be-speckled boy stored the new items in his shoulder bag and took out a small box with a green bow on top, carefully setting it down in the center of Candace's desk. His voice cracked. "She already left… so…"
Vaughn felt bad for him, but it was in a relatable way. He should have realized that Louis would easily fall for Candace. They worked together every day, and they had so much in common. In fact, Vaughn would see why she would reject him and go for Louis instead. It just made more sense.
Louis' face was down turned, his desk lamp glaring off of his lenses and shielding his watery eyes. He rubbed his nose and looked up with a brave smile. Though Vaughn was confused why he was taking her early absence so hard, he didn't have time to think more on it. From outside, a commotion distracted them both from their silent understanding. They quickly left the small, joint office.
"What is going on in there?" Gill pounded on the closed door of Hamilton's office.
"He's in there! Luke!" Tina whispered in panic. "I checked everywhere else!"
"Open this door!" Gill demanded. Everyone in the office held their breath as Gill brought out his emergency key ring, a tool he was granted as Assistant Regional Manager.
The radio had been turned off, making the task very quiet but for the jangle of the keys. At last, Gill had found the correct one. With a quick twist, he swung the door open.
"Falalala, la, la, la!"
Luke and Hamilton were sprawled in the middle of the floor, arms slung around each other's shoulders as they swayed. The bottle of whiskey was in Hamilton's slackening grasp. Both were singing at the top of their lungs, bleary eyed and smiling wide.
"Deck the halls with boughs of holly, flalala la… la, la!" They sang, miscounting the 'la' part and slurring them all together.
"M-M-Mr. Hamilton!" Gill gasped.
Luke started back again where he still knew the song. "Deck the halls—!"
"I'm… Santa!" Hamilton pointed a limp finger past Gill, dropping the glass bottle in the process. He fell over backwards, toppling Luke along with him.
Alice slapped the dumbstruck Gill in the shoulder, the brown teddy in her other arm. "I understand it's difficult for you, especially in this impressionable time of your life, but everyone has to grow up eventually—"
"I know Santa isn't real!" Gill barked, shaking her hand off his shoulder.
Everyone gasped and stared at him awestruck. Alice feigned shock as well, holding her shunned hand over her heart. "I was just going to tell you about his drinking problem!"
"But now you've gone and spoiled everything!" Tina wailed, hands over her ears in disbelief of this atrocity.
"There are children here!" Allen scolded, holding up a distraught, sobbing Rod. He cooed soothing comforts to the ginger who was blubbering about Gill's 'lies.' Alice was forced to hold the mistletoe pole for Allen, shaking her head in disappointment at the whole ordeal.
"Disgusting…"
"I can't believe this…"
"Bah humbug!"
One by one, the employees filed out of the office. Amidst the confusion, Luke was dragged away to safety as Gill blinked, dumbfounded, over his coworkers' harsh reaction. Hamilton followed the main group out, mumbling something about the party moving outdoors. The elevator doors clanged together, and the lights began to flicker out one at a time, leaving Gill still standing where his inebriated boss had been. The decorations looked melancholy in the emptiness.
"I hope you're happy," Alice huffed, shoving the tie she had bought for him into his arms as she flicked her hair at him and strutted away.
"W-wait! I…" Gill found himself apologizing for the elaborate ruse, fumbling with the tie. He pulled the already looped accessory over his head and tightened it messily over his collar as he quickly followed her out.
As they were the last in the office, Alice tapped the elevator button rapidly and crossed her arms in front of the double doors in wait. Gill easily caught up to her, awkwardly looking between her and the elevator doors. "I… I didn't mean to… offend anyone."
Alice rolled her eyes at his broken words, repressing a smile on her ruby red lips. Thanks to the quick thinking of the Persuasive Papers staff, Luke would live to see another day, safe from Gill's wrath. The garland lights he and Tina had arranged were still glowing a soft yellow around the square outline of the elevator to the floor, giving off the only light left in the room. The rod idly spun between her fingers with an idea. She gave him a sideways glance. The elevator let out a loud ding! to announce its arrival.
Springing upon him, Alice snatched Gill's tie in a similar way she had captured Rod. Pulling him to her, Alice kissed him soundly and pushed him back just as fast. She held up the pole holding the drooping mistletoe in her fist. "Mistletoe."
Gill held a hand over his mouth like he would let out a scream if it wasn't there. He stared off into oblivion as Alice hopped into the elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor, smiling at his horrified reaction and crimson face.
As the doors slowly rattled closed, Alice saluted him with a pink blush of her own. "Merry Christmas~"