Sunday Snippet: A Castle Christmas Carol

Well, the shortest month is off to a banger start. I had a full slate of projects and managed to get through two before their deadlines. The other two aren't due until midweek, and I have two more starting this week. I'm so excited to have a full calendar!

Had a semi-solid week of viewing. Made it most of the way through my current round of shows and I'm hoping to continue the same this week. We'll see if the workload allows for it.

Started off with a My Life Is Murder behind the scenes interview with Lucy Lawless. Ended up thoroughly enjoying it. Should be ready to start season three this week.

Finished up the two-part Agatha Raisin. Somewhat disappointed with how the storyline played out with James and Agatha. But also really enjoyed the mystery. I love the reveals from Sarah's past and Bill and Toni better stay together or I'm going to lose my mind.

Caught the second half of Silent Witness and I'm rather happy my fear did not come to light and the grad student didn't drug Nikki's drink. I also love that she basically said, yeah, no thanks to him. I would not mind if Nikki and Jack took their shot. We'll see how that goes.

Watched another episode of Death in Paradise. I really don't remember any of this one, so it was nice to have no expectations going in. Actually enjoyed the mystery unfold.

Enjoyed an episode of Elementary. Very fun watching Sherlock interact with Joan's family and the way her mom kind of planted the seed for Joan to stick around and work with Sherlock.

Caught another episode of The Batman. I remember watching this the first time around, but I guess I was thinking Batgirl didn't show up until season three. So wrong on that count.

Watched another episode of Classic Rugrats. Again, these were two vignettes that I didn't remember, so it was nice to have new to me stuff to watch.

I'm enjoying the second season of The Secret Life of Amy Benson. Episode two had some good reveals and I'm kind of excited to see where things go in the next one.

Caught another episode of Peak Practice. I'm really, really not interested in the whole Andrew and Kate saga. The ex-husband is a total dick and Andrew is a blockhead if he can't figure out Richard is behind everything. Will be skipping the next episode and moving on to Will's return.

Didn't have time for my Battlestar Galactica rewatch this week and I skipped VIP because I wanted to get Peak Practice in. I'll try to pick up with those if time allows.

That's pretty much it for the life update this week. Tonight's post is from A Castle Christmas Carol, a reverse harem holiday story.

Here's the miniblurb:

Ebony Schrool, the daughter of a toy magnate, is summoned to a meeting at Halliday Castle in the first week of December. She's surprised to find three men—each representing her past, present, and future—all bearing news she doesn't want to hear. Ebony is used to doing things her way, even when her decisions wreak havoc on SchroolRules Toys employee morale. Foley Norton, Patton Gates, and Pearson Beatty have to show Ebony the error of her ways before the holiday season is beyond saving and they're not above using seduction to make their case.

And a preview snippet…

Ebony Schrool pulled into the semicircular drive of the monstrosity of a castle perched at the top of a cliff. "Why on earth am I here?" A single winding road that went on forever. "Not to mention a sketchy-ass bridge across the bay." And the creepy tunnel that led to… "Wow. Gorgeous view." A courtyard in front of the castle stretched clear to the edge of the cliff. "Almost worth the crazy drive to get here."

Almost.

But not quite.

She still didn't know why she'd been summoned to this way out of the way location. "There'd better be a damn good reason to drag me to the end of the earth." Aside from the view.

Popping her door open, she slid out of the car and stretched the kinks out. Once she retrieved her suitcase—the letter informed her to be prepared for several days—she started toward the huge arched doors. Her mind spun with too many thoughts.

Why did I blindly accept this invitation during our busiest time of the year? Because the underlying threat of losing SchroolRules did not compute for her. Not after spending the last two years since her dad married Maleva Lonce aka the stepwitch rebuilding and rebranding the company to Ebony's specifications.

And turned me into the most hated person in the organization. Well, too bad. Ebony had something to prove to her old man, namely if he wanted to hitch his wagon to a woman after knowing her for less than a month, Ebony would protect the legacy of the business he started with her mom. Ebony refused to allow her stepwitch to get her money-grubbing paws on the assets of the toy company.

Which means I have to wrest control from my dad. Not an easy feat. But she'd pulled the profit margin up and reduced costs. Part of her expenditure-cutting measures put a stop to the annual shutdown of the factory from December fifteenth through the end of the year. Her dad started the tradition during the second year of business and the company ate the vacation time. He considered the gesture a holiday bonus and all employees still had two weeks of paid vacation they could use throughout the year. Ebony discontinued the time off this holiday season.

Which pisses everyone off but so be it. They'll get the pay but not the vacation. She needed to keep production going if she wanted to show she could run SchroolRules better than her dad. And, right now, she didn't want anything more in the world than besting him.

How did it come to this? Stupid question. The how would be Maleva Lonce-Schrool. She'd driven a wedge between Ebony and her dad. When Maleva asked for a seat on the board, Ebony flat-out refused to consider the idea and threw down the gauntlet by challenging her father to let Ebony run the company. If she didn't show improved profits after three years, the stepwitch could join the board.

Ebony paused on the trek to the door. "I will not lose to her." Dragging her case, she marched forward and used the doorknocker.

After several long seconds, the arched wooden panels opened, and Ebony strolled into the main hall. When her eyes adjusted to the interior, her mouth dropped open at the three men greeting her. Her eyes narrowed and her mind whirled. Had she just walked into a trap?

Shaking her head, she huffed out a frustrated breath. "What the fuck is going on? Why am I here?" 

This story is a challenge but also so much fun. I love taking a classic and spinning it on its head.

 

That's it for this week.

Cheers!

Skye