Essie shivered, the wind biting her bare cheeks as she scraped ice off the windshield. She hated Midwest winters. The cold was bad enough, but the snow and ice just made it worse. Especially when all three were together.
She never felt more depressed than during this season, too. It was difficult all year long, having no one to come home to after a long day of work. But in the winter, there was no one waiting for her to snuggle up with in front of a fire, to warm her up from the inside out. She had always longed for just that, but she'd convinced herself that it was just something she'd have to experience in her mind.
Today had started bad, and she was sure it would just continue to get worse. Days like these always did. Her boss had called her to come in despite previously agreeing to let her take the day off, and it had snowed six inches last night with more in the forecast. She was supposed to be sleeping in, buried under the warm covers of her bed, imagining she wasn't alone anymore. Not clearing the car before fresh snow covered it again.
"But no, I'm freezing my butt off for the biggest jerk this side of the—"
The wind whipped around her as she slid into the driver's seat, blowing a pile of snow off the roof and down the back of her coat. She screamed and slammed the door shut behind her, jerking the gearshift into drive. The car fishtailed once she reached the highway and barely missed the neighbor's mailbox.
"If I make it through this day, I swear I'm going to quit! It'll be my Christmas present for being good all year. Surely I deserve that."
She had no sooner pulled into the lot at work and was climbing out when her cell phone buzzed. With her mittens on, it was difficult to flip open the phone and punch the green 'answer' button. She managed to drop it in the snow before succeeding.
"Hello?" she said, out of breath.
A gruff, male voice snapped back at her. "Ms. Smith, are you almost here?"
She tried not to cuss at her boss. Despite threatening to walk out on a daily basis, she needed to keep this job. At least for now. She forced a smile and managed not to raise her voice. "I'm walking in from the parking lot right now, Mr. Thomas. I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier—"
"Get us some coffee. Not that cheap stuff, either. It had better be hot," he said, and then the line went dead.
She screamed into her scarf and jammed the key back into the ignition. "Us" could only mean his two buddies were visiting, and they were no better than her boss. For a brief moment, she wished she were back in grade school and could have the gift of a snow day. Anything to not be right here, right now.
###
The muscles in her back complained when Essie sat back in her chair. She couldn't help the deep groan when she kicked off her required black heels, flexing her toes. No matter what season it was, she also had to wear black nylons and a black pencil-skirt. At least she could wear whatever blouse she wanted. Today, it was a fitted, navy button-up that made her gray eyes stand out...as well as her 36C-cup breasts. And her brunette hair had managed to stay neatly braided in its bun.
Yet, despite how well she presented herself, she didn't feel attractive. Then again, maybe that was because of whom she worked for. If you didn't have a dick, he made you feel like the lowest possible organism on the totem pole. And he had no problem reminding you of it.
She didn't know how she had survived the day. Running for coffee three times, dictating letters and case notes, filing all of last month's paperwork again, all while answering the phone on the second ring...with a smile.
Being Mr. Thomas's legal assistant had very few rewards. The paycheck was the only thing that kept her waking up at six in the morning, driving half an hour one way, working nine-plus hours a day, driving another thirty minutes, and then crawling into bed at night, sometimes without dinner she was so exhausted. A vacation would help, but that would mean Mr. Thomas would be without his left and right hands for more than one day, and he wouldn't hear of it.
She still couldn't believe he had told her she could have today off. Then again, he had retracted his agreement by calling her just after dawn. Some political big-wig in the city had been caught with his pants down on the wrong side of the tracks; the story had been plastered on the front page of this morning's paper. The only reason Mr. Thomas hadn't called her earlier, he'd said, was because he'd been consoling his client. She should consider herself so lucky.
Every now and then, two of his lawyer friends dropped by, like today. They holed up in his office, their raucous laughter sporadically exploding like gunfire, disrupting the blessed silence and any attempt to concentrate on her work. She knew full well that nothing serious—at least legal-wise—was accomplished behind that closed door during their visits.
It didn't help that she'd found them corralled around her desk when she'd finally walked in with their first coffee. As usual, Mr. Thomas bragged to his friends that no one could please him like she did. They'd snickered, given her a once-over with a wink, and grabbed a cup before parading back to the "man cave."
The whole thing disgusted her. She still expected her boss to come to her some day and proposition her...and then blackmail her to keep her job even if she rejected him.
A soft snort slipped out at that thought. Her mind always did imagine her being in undesirable situations with the worst outcome. Either that, or blissfully erotic ones where some handsome man rescued her from this nightmare and pleasured her endlessly...
Essie shook her head. The chance of either of those situations were less than slim, and with her luck, she'd find herself in the nightmare instead of the dream.
Loud footsteps made her sit up and pretend to be working on the computer. Mr. Thomas led the group of three men. None of them acknowledged her as they laughed over a dirty joke. The grating sound stopped abruptly as the front door closed.
She held her breath for a full minute, and then relaxed in her chair. After another five minutes, she pulled on her knee-high boots and buttoned her wool coat, stuffing the ends of her scarf inside the collar.
At least she wasn't required to be back here until Tuesday due to Christmas Day being on Monday. Three whole days to just stay under the covers at home without a care in the world. To pretend her life was different and she wasn't lonely anymore.
The wind had picked up, and the snow seemed to be falling harder as she hurried outside. More than an inch of the white stuff coated her car. By the time she had dug through to the handle and pried the door open, her hands were frozen, and the sleeves of her coat were soaked.
The engine died the first two times. With a groan, she slammed her hand against the steering wheel, accidentally hitting the horn, and screamed. When the engine turned over on the next try, cold air shot out the air vents and sent goosebumps prickling up her arms and shivers down her back. She wanted to cry, but she was afraid her tears would freeze right on her cheeks.
She let the windshield defrost and the thermostat warm up before she maneuvered the car out of the snow-packed lot. Remembering her deceased father's advice, she tapped her brakes as she came to the stop sign before turning out onto the highway. The car skidded for a moment—the anti-lock brakes taking hold—before it came to a stop.
