Katlyn Duncan - Wrapped Up for Christmas

Once she’d parked, she had fifteen minutes until her interview. The corporate offices were at the rear of the mall through a separate entrance. She recalled interviewing there in high school, and all of it looked the same.

Angie took several deep breaths as she rode the elevator. She knew this wasn’t her dream job, but the quiver in her stomach was still there, making her legs wobbly as she stepped out onto the floor for the corporate offices.

She headed over to the desk toward a young woman with a headset. There were already several people in the waiting area possibly competing for the same job as her. They ranged from teenagers to a man in his sixties.

‘I’m Angie Martinelli. I have an appointment.’

‘Have a seat,’ the woman said with a broad smile. She seemed closer to Angie’s age. Maybe there was an opening in the office? She could see herself temporarily working there.

After sitting in one of the plush chairs, she glanced around the space. If she worked there, at least she wouldn’t run into anyone she knew.

A few minutes later, a familiar person darkened the doorway. ‘Angie?’

Angie stood and did a double take. She locked eyes with Maya Taylor and froze. Angie and Maya weren’t enemies in school, but not exactly friends either. They were in direct competition on the cross-country track team, and Maya never allowed Angie to forget any of her record-breaking times.

‘Maya?’

Maya looked at the paper in her hands, then back to Angie. She plastered on a smirk. ‘This way.’

Maya led Angie into a small conference room, overlooking the tall buildings surrounding them. On the way, she couldn’t help thinking that Maya held her immediate future in her hands. Surely they were both mature enough to not bring their old rivalry into their working worlds.

‘When I saw your cover letter and resume come through, I had to see if it was you,’ Maya said.

‘It’s me.’ Angie couldn’t even look at her. Once again, Maya had the upper hand. So much for not holding on to their high school pasts.

‘You were let go from your previous job in California?’ Maya asked, placing Angie’s resume on the table between them.

It was a standard question, but Maya could make anything sound like an insult. ‘It was time for a change. This is only a temporary job.’

‘Considering the Christmas season, that’s all we have for now,’ Maya said as if it were a challenge. ‘You are coming into the season later than usual. Most holiday jobs become available at the beginning of November. Black Friday and all that.’ She lifted a second sheet of paper from behind Angie’s resume.

Angie craned her neck to see the paper.

‘Are you good with kids?’ Maya asked.

‘Sure, why?’

‘We have one spot open for a photographer at the Santa booth in the food court.’

Angie cleared her throat, unable to fathom wearing whatever costume they required for working with Santa. ‘Is there anywhere else?’

Maya sighed as if Angie was wasting her time – but Angie was determined their relationship in high school wasn’t going to affect how she spent the next month of her life.

‘We have three retail positions,’ she said. ‘Four in food service. Also, an opening for an information specialist.’

‘That was the last job I had when I worked here,’ Angie said, jumping at the opportunity. Working at the information booth at the center of the mall would give her a lot of downtime to continue her real job search.

‘You’re a bit overqualified.’

‘I’m interested. I figured there would be a pay cut, but I don’t mind.’ When she came to the mall, she wasn’t thrilled about taking a job, but Angie couldn’t stand the pitying looks Maya kept throwing her. She wanted to prove Maya wrong, that she could overcome her situation.

‘All right. I have other interviews today. I’ll get back to you soon.’

‘Thank you,’ Angie said, but Maya was out of her seat already.

Angie showed herself out, glancing over her shoulder. Maya was gone, but she hoped their past wouldn’t affect her present.

***

As she walked over the bridge linking the offices and the mall, Angie admired the holiday decor. Garlands of red, green, and silver and gold swooped down from the ceiling. The hum of activity from the mall moved over her as she entered the throngs of people shopping for their loved ones. Even close to lunchtime on a Thursday, the place was packed.

It would only get worse as the holiday neared.

Taking a detour, she found the information booth where she remembered. There was a line of people in front of the empty stand. They were clearly short-staffed, and Angie wondered if she should call Maya to confirm her interest.

Choosing to ignore the bustling counter, Angie quickly passed by, leaving Maya to decide her fate.

In the food court, holiday music played from the speakers, barely audible over the conversations around her. The lines at most of the stands were outrageous, but she had nowhere to be. She chose a sandwich wrap place she’d never tried before. While waiting, she scanned the area, fully expecting to run into more people she knew.

What would she say when they asked about her life and her job? She could lie, but Brett was a prime example of lies blowing up in people’s faces. She wasn’t that person, despite her embarrassment about her desperate need to get work after living in California.

After she paid for her turkey wrap, she waited off to the side for her order.

A guy in a charcoal-grey suit approached the counter. She blinked, immediately recognizing him. If she weren’t so concerned with the growling in her stomach, she would have fled the scene. Heat bloomed within her, and she regretted her choice of thick jacket. There was no way she could avoid him.

When the guy from the café turned around and met her eyes, his polite smile fell as recognition flooded his expression. His eyes narrowed slightly as he approached her to wait for his food.

‘It’s you,’ he said.

Angie gave him a shaky smile. There wasn’t much else she could do after he called her out like that. She got a better look at him without his jacket on. His tailored suit shaped his fit body. He looked like a runner.

‘Oh, hi.’

‘Hi.’ He smirked, and a chill ran down her spine. It was the same confident grin Brett always had for his employees. It was the same one which helped her fall for him.

Silence stretched between them, making the crowded food court close in around her. ‘Thanks again for the other day. I can pay you back for the bagels.’

He waved his hand in front of him as if to say it wasn’t a problem. ‘You figured it out, then?’

‘Yes, thanks.’ She wrung her hands in front of her, unsure of what to do with them.

‘I hope you enjoyed your breakfast,’ he said.

It seemed as if both of them were terrible at small talk. For some reason, it made Angie smile.

‘What did I say?’ he asked with a hint of a grin.

Angie tucked her hair away from her face, trying to cool off. ‘Nothing. So, are you Christmas shopping today?’

‘No, I’m on my lunch break.’

It made sense that he worked nearby since she had met him at the café the other morning.

‘I’m Nick, by the way,’ he said.

‘Angie.’

He cleared his throat.

‘Angie!’ a young man from the food stall called.

‘Excuse me.’ She sprinted to the counter to get her tray.

‘Nick!’ the guy called next.

Angie glanced around at the nearby tables and chairs. There were only a few open tables. She could take her food to go.

‘Do you want to sit together?’ Nick asked.

‘Sure.’ If he wasn’t going to take her money, it was the least she could do to repay him for his kindness.