Christmas Holly
Holly Mcbride wasn't expecting the best Christmas of her short adulthood. The young Scotswoman had just turned twenty-three and was living and working in Birmingham; she'd studied for her law degree in the city and had secured a full-time job as a legal assistant with the firm: Pinkney, Dockett and Greene. Holly was clever and attractive but also modest and reserved. She was a little taller than average and had a shapely figure, long flame-red hair and blue eyes; she wasn't short of admirers but her natural reticence had restricted opportunities for romance.
She'd lost her virginity not so long ago, in her final year of university, but she would not have considered herself to be sexually confident or knowledgeable. The only boyfriends that she'd had were both fellow students. Six months ago, she'd ended her relationship with the second of these, the one she'd allowed to fuck her. After months of badgering, she'd finally agreed to sex with him; he came, she didn't, but when he'd asked her if she'd enjoyed it, felt obliged to say that she had.
It was early morning on Christmas Eve and Holly felt a little down and disconsolate. She'd arranged to go out with her friend Kirsty and her boyfriend and to spend Christmas Day with them, but Kirsty had just phoned to say that her boyfriend had tested positive for Covid. To make things worse, both of her flatmates were going home to their respective families for the Christmas holidays so she faced a lonely Christmas on her own. On a brighter note, she planned to go and stay with her parents and her two sisters for Hogmanay in Edinburgh, but that was five days away.
At nine o'clock on the dot, not long after Holly had heard that her Christmas had fallen apart, the glamorous, sophisticated Eleanor Pinkney swept into the office in one of her knee-length, pencil-cut, Italian business suits. The buzz of conversation stopped; all eyes were on her as she walked by and made her way to her large, glass-walled office. She was a senior partner in the law firm, along with Rupert Greene; Henry Dockett had died several years ago. The original Pinkney in the firm's title had been her father; she'd kept the surname for professional reasons.
The firm specialised in family law, and at fifty-one years of age, Eleanor was renowned as one of the best family lawyers in the city. Slim and graceful with mid-length bobbed black hair and fiercely intelligent brown eyes, she cut an impressive figure in court and in the office. Like Holly, she had her admirers, but unlike Holly, it was clear from her carefully crafted bearing and imperious demeanour that she knew she was desirable to men and women alike.
Eleanor's husband was an art dealer; her relationship with him might best have been described as semi-open; on five occasions during the past decade, they'd indulged in threesomes, but only on his terms. It was always a woman they invited into their marital bed, never a man. He always expected Eleanor to engage enthusiastically with their guest; she had complied with his wishes to such an extent that she found sex with women at least as pleasurable as with her husband; some of them more so.
A couple of years ago, on the last occasion they'd indulged in a threesome, she'd hit it off so well with Madeline, a thirty-eight-year-old art historian, that she started a year-long affair with her. She knew that her husband regularly had flings; she suspected he'd got a woman in the United States, which was where he was now, probably with a child into the bargain. He was, rather too frequently, in Boston, Massachusetts on business; he'd wanted children; Eleanor had never felt the time was right. They both knew that their marriage may not last the test of time so they had a prenuptial agreement in place; she was philosophical about her future.
She'd not been entirely passive in relationship matters; she'd bedded a couple of men from the legal profession. Also, for several years, she'd had a steamy affair with her sister-in-law. They'd drink coffee and eat cake together whenever the brothers went off to football matches; then, one afternoon they drank champagne and ate each other's pussies, a habit they maintained until her sister-In-law started an even steamier affair with her nineteen-year-old Latvian cleaner.
A couple of years ago, Eleanor had a one-night stand with a handsome, butch security officer who she'd seen often at the Family Justice Centre. It had been a new experience for her to be on the receiving end of a strap-on cock.
But that was all in the past. Now, on Christmas Eve, Eleanor was looking forward to spending Christmas with her husband in an up-market country hotel. She'd booked it six months earlier, having been seduced by the photos of Christmas trees and log fires on the hotel's website. They planned to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas night at the venue.
Unfortunately, Eleanor's hopes were dashed, as soon as she sat down at her desk, her phone rang; it was her husband with news of a setback to their plans.
"Hi Darling looks like bad news, I'm afraid it's been snowing heavily here; last night's flight was cancelled, and it looks like Logan Airport might close. Trains have been cancelled as well; I don't know how I can get a flight home at the moment."
"Oh, no Grant, I've been looking forward to Christmas at the hotel, please don't give up; if anything at all takes off for Heathrow, I expect you to be on it."
"Well, I'll try my best, of course I will, but I don't hold out much hope."
"Ring me as soon as you know anything definite."
"Okay, Darling, I'll speak to you later; better go now; my phone battery is running low."
Eleanor sensed that he was pleased to be stuck in Boston; he hadn't seemed keen on spending Christmas at the hotel; she was almost certain that he'd got somewhere 'comfortable' to stay. She'd considered hiring a private detective in the past but although the marriage was on its last legs, she hadn't wanted to rock the boat just yet.
********************
With a heavy heart and no real prospect of human interaction over Christmas, except for a FaceTime call with her family on Christmas Day, Holly busied herself with tasks she wanted to complete before the holiday. She'd been with the firm for six months; Eleanor had noticed her but, as with most of the junior staff, had given the impression that she hadn't. If Holly knew how often Eleanor had noticed her, she'd have been surprised.
Christmas Eve in the office held a promise of fun and alcohol, not necessarily in that order. In the late morning, staff indulged in 'Secret Santa' present giving and wine and mince pies were partaken in the afternoon. Most people enjoyed the Christmas spirit in the tastefully decorated chambers; a modest party had been planned for when the office closed at four-thirty. Several of Holly's colleagues had dressed in their best party outfits but no one had told her beforehand so she was still in her lawyerly pin-striped skirt suit, another reason for her to feel excluded from the Christmas festivities.
Just before four o'clock in the afternoon, she'd watched Eleanor take a phone call that appeared to displease her. Eleanor's husband was on the other end of the line, confirming, belatedly, that he wouldn't be home for Christmas. She was angry with him for leaving it so late to call her. It was almost eleven o'clock in the morning in Boston; the Airport had announced it would be closed until further notice. After the fractious phone call, Holly watched Eleanor putting on a smile and effortlessly holding court with partners and senior staff; she looked confident and sophisticated; Holly was left wondering what had troubled her boss.
A little later, Eleanor circulated the open plan office and spoke to junior staff, including Holly.
"It's Holly, isn't it? Are you doing anything special for Christmas?"
"I'm going to stay with my family in Edinburgh for Hogmanay, but Christmas will be pretty quiet."
"Oh, why is that?"
"Well, I was going out tonight with my best friend and her boyfriend, and then I was going to spend tomorrow with them, but he's tested positive for Covid. So..."
Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."
Holly put on a brave face and said that Hogmanay was a bigger event than Christmas in Scotland so that would be the highlight of the holidays for her.
"It looks as though you and I are in the same boat; I've just heard that my husband is stranded in the States; I suppose we'll just have to make the most of it. Christmas dinner for one is not a very enticing prospect though is it?"
"No, sadly not. Never mind, I'll probably immerse myself in Christmas films and pretend I'm not alone."
"Good idea, we'll break out the wine and chocolates and make a toast to absent friends," laughed Eleanor.
Holly saw something in Eleanor's gaze, something almost there but not quite, it gave her goosebumps.
"Well, anyway, I hope you have a wonderful time with your family in Edinburgh; I'd better circulate with the rest of the staff."
"Oh, okay. I think I'll be going soon; I'm not dressed for a party; I'll see you in the New Year."
"Yes, I'm not much in the mood either, aren't we a sad pair?"
