Towards the end of every year, since anyone could remember, the advertising firm held a Christmas party for all employees, a warm event in an otherwise unforgiving environment. New York City was a cold place and Christine worked hard to get where she was, especially since she lost her foothold in the modeling business. Caroline had been Christine's faithful friend through the turbulent time while her modeling dreams evaporated like water on a hot stove. Seeing how desperate Christine became, Caroline offered her an entry-level job in the advertising firm where she was an editor. Graciously, Caroline accepted the position.
Last week, after being employed for two months at the firm, Christine learned that Caroline was dismissed. Caroline sobbed while Christine tried to comfort her. She confessed that she had an affair with a manager. "Fred got drunk again and let us slip that we were seeing each other at the office" she managed to choke out to Christine between sobs.
Frederick McIlheney had been an executive at the advertising firm for the past decade. Between his drunken benders, naps at the office, and casual sex with female coworkers, he managed to irritate everyone at the office with his bad jokes and sexual harassment. Because his family owned the parent company of the advertising firm, he was immune to most things that came his way. The dirty little secret that was Fred was a small stain on the otherwise upstanding company. That's why everyone loved Christmastime at the office so much. They loved to see his drunken antics at the party. Last year, he had managed to hump an ice sculpture of a nude woman in front of the whole office. On the crotch of his Santa costume remained a water spot that implied that he had peed himself. Christine had seen the pictures.