5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Shimmersnap

I snapped a photo of myself—pursed lips and all—and sent it to Dancer. I expected a text message back saying something like “Good luck, have a great day!” or “You’ll do awesome.” Instead, my phone rang.

The noise startled me, and I fumbled with the phone in my hands, tossing it around like it was a hot potato before finally being able to hold it still long enough to answer. I wasn’t used to the idea of human devices, but being that I was gainfully employed now, it was a necessity. How else was Walter going to get a hold of me when he was in dire need of his assistant? I needed to be accessible, but not magically accessible.

Or, better yet, how else was he going to call to ask me on a date?

“Hello?” I answered.

“You can’t wear that to a professional office.”

I looked down at myself. I was wearing a pair of new blue slacks that were tight, but they accentuated my features the best, especially my bubble butt. And I had on a crisp white shirt that had just a hint of sparkle to it—you could barely notice it. Then there was my tie. The entire thing was coated in sparkle. I had been shocked that such a thing existed, but I had been oh so pleased that I bought one in every color—there were two shades of purple! Now, my whole wardrobe was set.

“What do you mean I can’t wear this?” All the shows had office guys wearing suits or what the humans called “business casual.” This was business casual. I looked just like the guys in watch or cologne ads.

“You’ll stick out like a sore thumb.”

“I will stick out, but in a good way, surely. I do need Walter to notice me.” If I looked like every other assistant out there, how would I catch his eye? I needed to stick out!

“The fact that you’re there will make him notice you. Don’t try too hard, Shimmersnap.”

I fought back a groan. It was the age-old advice I’d been given ever since my first job in Santa’s workshop “Don’t try too hard. Don’t do this. Don’t do that. Dull your sparkle, Shimmersnap.”

Some days it felt like everyone wanted to wrap me up like a present and keep me in a box. But the thing with presents was, they were meant to be opened and enjoyed! The sparkling wrapping paper needed to be spread everywhere. It wasn’t just for looks.

I sighed. Dancer could be right. He spent more time in the human world than I did. I should just wear a regular suit. I could dull my sparkle for a while. I was used to it.

Still, I didn’t have time to change clothes. I was going to be late. Let’s ignore the fact that I could simply blink and my clothes would change, I didn’t have time to think about what I could wear, so therefore, I didn’t have time to change.

I could always dial back the sparkle once I got to the office.

“Thanks, Dancer, appreciate it. I’ll call you later and let you know how it goes.”

“You’re not going to change, are you?”

“Bye. I can’t hear you.” I hit the end button.

I could dull my sparkle, but if my mate wasn’t going to accept me just as I was, then I was better off being a figurine forever. At least as a figurine I could be myself.

I appreciated Dancer’s advice, I really did. But this was something I could handle. I didn’t want to just blend in with the rest of the humans. I was an elf. I needed to shine, sparkle, and shimmer.

My trainer didn’t bat an eye when I introduced myself. Shimmersnap wasn’t a common name, but they just wrote it down, and we went on our merry way. They led me through the office—painted a boring taupe with gray trim—giving me the grand tour of the place. They were the friendly sort, always smiling, giving me advice on things to do and not to do around the office.

They showed me the coffee maker. I’d heard good things about the caffeine elixir that humans needed to survive each day. I’d never tried it before… Today just might be the day.

It looked almost like hot chocolate, and I knew from television that humans were always putting sweet sugary syrups to sweeten the bitter liquid. Why not just drink the syrup, I always wondered. Apparently, that was frowned upon.

“Looks like you’re assigned to Walter Grimsby. He’s…” She struggled to find a word.

I smiled. “Great, right?”

“He’s… something,” she said. “If you have any trouble at all or feel any pressure from him, just bring your concerns to HR, okay? You won’t be the first person we’ve had to reassign from Walter. His bark is worse than his bite, I think. And he’s not inappropriate, just… mean.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” I said. I couldn’t imagine my Walter being mean. He just liked things the way he liked things. He seemed to be the no-nonsense type. I’d had supervisors in the toy shop like that. Even on January first they were acting like we were working up against a tight deadline to get all the toys done. One year our supervisor pushed so hard, we had all the toys done by November, and he made us clean every inch of the workshop while the rest of the Santas’ elves were making toys and bringing joy. The place did sparkle when we were done, so I supposed it was worth it.

“Don’t just stand outside my door loitering. If you’re going to come in, come in!” a voice I recognized boomed from inside the office.

I stepped inside and gave my brightest smile. “Hi, Walter, my name’s Shimmersnap.”

He looked up, his eyes going wide. “Shimmersnap? What kind of name is Shimmersnap?”

I shrugged. “Mine.”

He blinked. “Sorry, I can’t hear you over that ridiculous tie.”

I looked down at the blue sparkles. I had hoped he would like the blue. After all, his ties were all blue.

“It matches yours,” I said. “Blue.” I puffed out my chest.

He seemed speechless at that. “Come in, sit down. Let me explain what I’m working on. I don’t anticipate that you’ll last long—none of the assistants do—but at least while you’re here, I’ll put you to work.”

“Sounds great!” I gave my trainer a big smile. “I’ll talk to you soon, okay? Thank you.”

I sat down across from Walter. “This is going to be great, don’t you think? I’m very excited to be here.”

He looked at me like I had grown two heads. For a moment, I worried that my ears were visible, but I checked, and all my glamors were in place.

“Well, you’re enthusiastic. I’ll give you that. Now, let’s get to work. I don’t really like a lot of chit-chat, so keep to yourself, and we’ll be just fine.”

Well, that wouldn’t do at all. I needed to get to know my mate. I needed him to get to know me.

“Okay,” I said, continuing to smile brightly.

He wasn’t going to dull my shine. I kept my smile in place while he walked me through what he was working on and what he needed from me. I only understood about half of it, but that was no bother. I only needed my mate to like me enough to keep me.

This was going to be a piece of sparkly cake.