1 Chapter 1

“Holy barbecued donkey balls,” Kyle Ross Lee muttered under his breath as he entered Beaumont Department Store, the one located on Fifth Avenue, New York, through the entrance designated for all employees while doing his best to stop his teeth from chattering and also rubbing his gloved palms against each other in a desperate attempt to warm them up. “Fuck! Damn New York winter.”

He grimaced in annoyance when he heard the beginning of that silly Christmas song about wishing for a white Christmas. That had to be one of the stupidest songs ever. He would rather have a warm Christmas anytime. The cold weather outside was torturous, especially since he only owned one measly jacket, a threadbare winter cap, and a pair of old gloves to protect himself from the harsh element of the season. He had lost his scarf a few days ago after accidentally leaving it behind on the subway. Now his poor neck had to endure the cold. At least until he managed to save up enough to purchase a new one.

New York was one of the most expensive cities in the world. He was surviving just fine on his meager salary and commission as a personal shopper for Beaumont Department Store. If he had any money left after rent, utilities, food, and transport by the end of the month, he would splurge on something luxurious such as a cup of exorbitantly priced coffee from that popular coffee chain or a delicious cupcake before depositing a few dollars into his savings account. He hopped on the spot over and over again in a bid to regain some warmth throughout his entire body while taking his cap off and glancing at his reflection on the glass wall. His short, black hair was a little messy, but it wasn’t horrible. However, his dark eyes stood out in contrast to the reddish tinge that spread around the white portions.

“Kyle Ross Lee!”

He jumped when he heard the shrill voice of Mr. Finlay Atkinson, one of the most irritating and hated supervisors in charge of all the lowly employees, shrieking out his name from the end of the long hallway. Mr. Finlay wasn’t even a decent supervisor. Kyle abhorred that man with a passion. He had a strong feeling Mr. Finlay got to his current position by sucking up and kissing the asses of all the senior managers in the corporate office. He knew for a fact Mr. Finlay had little knowledge about how to properly handle a department store, especially one as humongous as Beaumont. Most of the annual success of the department store should be credited to the other employees’ capabilities and intelligence, but the upper management folks were unfairly patting themselves on the back

Kyle was aware he was an insignificant person in the grand scheme of things, and he could be replaced easily. That would be terrible for his likelihood of making it in New York. He dreamed of becoming an actor on Broadway someday. Being a personal shopper wasn’t what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. The only reason he took on the job was because he needed the money, and also because he was fortunate enough to have a sharp instinct on picking out the items the customers wanted based on short conversations with them. If he wasn’t excellent at his job, he had no doubt Mr. Finlay would have terminated his service long ago.

He rushed toward Mr. Finlay and gritted his teeth when his supervisor threw him a condescending look at the sight of his clothes and shoes. There was nothing he could do about them. He wasn’t exactly rolling in billions of dollars. He bought what he could with the money he had. Auditions for Broadway shows were cutthroat. He could sing, dance, and act, but there were many other actors and actresses who were just as talented. Some were much better than him. He had succeeded in acquiring a few minor roles here and there, but they were few and far between. He was only twenty-four years old. He wasn’t giving up. He might make it as a successful Broadway actor someday.

“Mr. Finlay, sir.”

Mr. Finlay huffed loudly. “Today is your lucky day, Kyle. Do you know why?”

Kyle resisted the supreme temptation to roll his eyes. “No, sir.”

“We have an important guest coming on Christmas Eve.”

Kyle nodded. “Who is it, sir?”

“That’s none of your business, boy. The identity of the guest is strictly on a need-to-know basis, and that information is highly classified. You aren’t important enough. You just have to do your job, and do it well. You need to make sure our sales figures are as high as possible before the guest’s arrival.”

Kyle really wished he could punch the smug, smarmy expression off Mr. Finlay’s face, but he held himself back. Barely. “Okay.”

Mr. Finlay cleared his throat loudly. “Anyway, as I was saying, today is your lucky day. Now, I know you still have about forty minutes before your shift is supposed to commence, but I’m going to give you this wonderful opportunity of starting earlier. I’ll sweeten the deal by adding another hour or two to your shift today. You’ll get to work a total of ten, eleven hours today. Maybe even twelve hours, if you perform well. In fact, I may consider extending all your shifts all the way until the new year if you do a great job today. All the additional hours should earn you some extra cash, which you obviously are in dire need of.”

Kyle did his best to remain calm as he forced a smile. “How generous of you, sir.”

Mr. Finlay glared at Kyle, who grinned widely in return. After a brief moment, Mr. Finlay harrumphed and turned around before heading toward somewhere unknown while Kyle stuck his tongue out at his supervisor and lifted both his middle fingers. He wished he could do all those gestures right in front of Mr. Finlay’s face, but he wasn’t willing to lose his job. He couldn’t afford to. Money was tight. He was still building up a customer base so he could someday freelance as a personal shopper for all the stinking rich people in New York in his spare time.