Stranded for Christmas with my Boss (Forbidden Billionaire Boss Daddies)

5. Alyssa

Chapter five

Alyssa

L ight snowfall drifts through the cold air as I leave New York City in my rearview mirror and make the hour-long drive to my hometown. It’s a small, forgettable town for those who just pass through, but it’s where I spent most of my life. Where I have collected most of my memories.

Towering skyscrapers turn into small, old buildings. Packed, multi-lane streets shrink to one-way roads with light traffic. Kids skip down the sidewalks and adults walk at a leisurely pace instead of businessmen and women powerwalking from place to place.

Life feels slower where I grew up. I love this place, but I’ve always craved…more. I’ve wanted to live in the city, where life never slows down and where the lights shine the brightest.

Maybe I’m addicted to the chaos, but I’m definitely not addicted to the high price of living. The fact that I can afford a studio right now is a miracle, but my own bills aren’t the only ones that I’m taking care of right now.

After pulling into my parents’ driveway behind the one car that they share, I get out and make my way to the front porch, a thin layer of snow crunching under my boots. Memories from my childhood appear in the places people would least expect.

The crack in my mom’s plant pot from when I kicked it over while playing tag with friends. The faint purple paint stain on the top step of the porch from when my dad helped me paint my dresser. Pieces of the past have been left all over this house.

I knock a few times before letting myself into the house, shivering a little as I escape the cold lingering outside. “I’m here!”

My mom pokes her head out of the kitchen at the end of the foyer, smiling at me with oven mitts on her hands. “Perfect timing! I just took some cookies out of the oven.”

Speaking of which, the delicious aroma of freshly baked peanut butter cookies fills the air, leading me right to the kitchen and into my mom’s open arms. “Smells amazing.”

“Doesn’t it?” my mom says as she squeezes me tightly. “It’s so good to see you.”

I visit every other week and sometimes more depending on whether my parents need help with anything or not. They’re in their mid-sixties, so they need help more and more as the years go on. After all they’ve done for me, I’m more than happy to do it, though.

“It’s good to see you too.” I let go of her and glance around, not seeing my dad at the dining table with his newspaper or in his recliner in the living room watching television. “Where’s Dad?”

“He’s getting the Christmas boxes out of the closet.” My mom affectionately pinches my cheek. “This is one of my favorite parts of the holiday. Getting to decorate with my kiddo!”

I smile and steal a peanut butter cookie from the cookie sheet before grabbing a few letters off the kitchen counter. I look through them, trying to ignore how my stomach churns when I see some high numbers. “The power bill went up.”

My mom sighs and nods as she shuts off the oven. “I knew it was coming eventually. Things are just so expensive. We’ve been trying to use less electricity lately. Unplugging appliances not in use and not running the heat as hot.”

I set the power bill aside so that I can remember to transfer some money to their bank account. My parents are getting too old to work, and after my dad suffered a bad fall and racked up a bunch of medical bills, their finances really suffered. I’m doing what I can to keep them out of the hole and help them pay off their medical bill debt, even if it eats away at the measly amount of money that remains after paying my rent and other bills.

They would do the same for me if things were flipped.

“It’s okay, Mom. Don’t let it get too cold in here,” I say as I offer her a comforting smile. I check through the rest of the bills before hearing my dad’s approaching footsteps.

“Hey, honey,” my dad greets me with a warm smile and a tight embrace. “How’s your new job?”

“It’s good!”

It’s…complicated. Of course, I’m not going to tell my parents that I slept with my boss and that I struggle with dirty thoughts each and every day that I’m around him at work. However, outside of that huge issue, work is good.

Somewhat.

I’ve already learned a lot during my first week there, and I can tell it’s a good position that can catapult me up the ranks if I play my cards right. However, Jensen isn’t the easiest guy to work for. He’s demanding and particular, and he seems to be a hard ass toward me more than anyone else.

I can’t even tell how he feels about us sleeping together! He won’t say anything, and I’m not going to look desperate by bringing it up first. I just have to deal with his bossy attitude and work hard because this is the best job I’ve ever had, and bills are too high right now for me not to have a job.

At least he looks good. That’s one of the few reasons why I haven’t thrown documents in his face after he barks orders at me.

“We’re so proud of you. You’ve always wanted a job in the city!” my mom tells me as she leans against my dad’s side.

She’s right. It’s my dream, and maybe this dream is far harder to maintain than I originally thought, but I’m living it.

“I feel really lucky to have it. I needed something better, and that paid more than my last job,” I say with a soft laugh, remembering my measly paycheck from my office job here in my hometown.

It was a nice start, and I was fresh-faced and right out of college with hope-filled eyes directed toward the future. For a while, it didn’t matter that my office was a small desk and a chair in the back corner of the main working floor. It didn’t matter that my boss felt more annoyed than excited about my tireless enthusiasm.

What mattered was that I had a job that was better than my cafeteria job on campus, and I could help my parents out.

“Speaking of money, I’m actually going to sell some stuff in town tomorrow.” My dad motions for me to follow him. “Let me show you all the stuff that I dug up.”

I trail him down the hallway where the bedrooms and bathroom are located. He still has a slight limp from his fall. It’s hard watching my parents get older, but I’m just glad I can be here for them. I’m glad they’re not alone, especially during the holidays.

My dad takes me into their bedroom and shows me a jewelry box on the dresser. “I found all sorts of old jewelry that we don’t wear anymore.”

I move closer and look into the wooden box once he opens the top, which has a mirror attached to the inside. Old gold rings, bracelets, watches, and necklaces fill the bottom of the box, not glimmering as brightly as they used to, but they’re still high quality. “Wow, these are nice.”

My dad grins and nods like he’s showing me treasure. These are pieces from their past too. “This is the first nice watch I ever got. I felt like the coolest guy around wearing it.”

Our laughter mingles as we admire a slightly bulky watch. He shows me a few other pieces of jewelry from past family members, including gifts and things handed down. Nothing catches my eye personally until he holds up a beautiful ring with a pear-shaped diamond.

“What is that?” I ask him as I gently pick it up out of the box.

“That’s my mother’s ring. Your grandmother,” my dad replies as a bittersweet look forms on his face. “It’s nice, isn’t it?”

I admire the intricate details and diamond accents. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a ring like this before. “You can’t sell this one, Dad. It’s so beautiful.”

All of this struggling is only temporary. I just have to keep telling myself that.

The bittersweet look brightens into a genuine smile as he nods. “You’re right. I’m just trying to make what money I can, you know? I don’t want your mom worrying more than she already does.”

I lean against his side as he puts his arm around my shoulders. “It’ll be okay. I’m getting my first paycheck soon. Just don’t sell anything really personal, okay? It’s not worth it.”

My dad holds me close, sharing a quiet but comforting moment with me. Now that I live in the city and hop back and forth, we don’t have as many moments like these, but I treasure every single one that we share.

Happy moments are fleeting and temporary.

“We should get back in there and put up the Christmas tree, or your mom is going to kill us,” my dad tells me, breaking the silence with a chuckle.

I laugh and nod, feeling eager to get to decorating. It’s one of the few things from my childhood that I still do, and as the years continue to pass by, I lose more and more of those things. Who knows when it will be the last time I’ll be able to do this?

There isn’t any room for depressing thoughts during the holidays, though. I have a great, new job, loving parents, and Christmas is only a few weeks away. Am I really going to focus on the bad things like high bills and uncontrollable lust for my boss?

No!

Well, for the most part. I just hope my moment of weakness doesn’t cost me everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve.