Christmas Boss

Chapter OneC

The sound of loud machinery and raised voices came to her from the scrap yard behind the office building she was headed toward. A moment later, clouds of dust floated her way, encouraging Vivacious Cruise to pick up her pace.

It's was a dirty job but somebody had to do it, she thought as her heels clicked along the sidewalk and up the concrete stairs. Each and every day, she thanked God that she got to be the one to do this dirty job, at least for one more day. She loved her job and couldn't imagine doing anything else with her life. As founder and CEO of Cruise Metal Recycling, she was one of very few women in the metal recycling industry. Over the years, her company had received much recognition and numerous awards. With revenues close to one hundred million, she employed one hundred people at two different locations on the eastern side of the United States.

But the fear that her success could all end overnight hounded her like a faithful yet demonic dog. No amount of kicks or threats made the beast roll over and surrender. Right after Halloween the fear had intensified. And she knew why. Her company's fiscal year would be coming to a close on December 31st and after a talk with the accountant, she wasn't where she wanted to be to make a great start for the new fiscal year. If only she could secure a Stern Demolition account, then her company would stay comfortably in the black for at least one more year. It wasn't for lack of trying. She'd pursued that company with more fervor than was probably professionally proper and now she was probably on their ignore list.

Inhaling a deep breath of cold December air, Vivacious paused with a gloved hand on the railing and looked at the building looming before her just like she did every morning for the last fifteen years. She'd come a long way from that little brick house with the carport on Baker Street. And to think it all started with her father and a little white Jeep Cherokee truck...

The building was decorated for Christmas with wreaths hanging on the double doors and red ribbons twisting around the potted evergreens standing guard at the entrance. She was definitely not in the mood for Christmas. With metal prices tumbling, it had been a tough year. She wished she could turn back time and make it June again. Then she'd use that extra time to work harder and smarter. The door swung open before she could open it, manned by none other than Bobby Lee, a tall man in his seventies who didn't look a day older than forty-five.

"How you doin' this mornin', Miss Boss Lady?" Bobby Lee asked, showing his plaque-plagued teeth, and holding a push broom against his lean body.

"Very well, thank you, Bobby Lee."

She'd given up a long time ago trying to make him call her Vivacious or Miss Cruise. Out of respect for his age and devotion, she had to let it go. Bobby Lee was one of her first hires and he'd been with her since the early days. His real name was Raymond Whitfield and why he preferred the name Bobby Lee would forever remain a mystery, not only to those who knew him, but to Bobby Lee himself. He could never explain it. Whenever he introduced himself, he'd say, "Hiya. I'm Raymond Whitfield, but call me Bobby Lee." He was what many people called "special," a term he even called himself and often bragged about his accomplishments in the Special Olympics when he was younger.

Bobby Lee's chief tasks were to keep the office areas clean and dust-free, to make sure the bathrooms were well-stocked, the sidewalks swept and debris free and windows sparkling. It irritated her at how many in the recycling industry cared nothing about the importance of upkeep. Vivacious prided herself on keeping her buildings tidy, painted and professional looking, with a touch of the feminine, a valuable tid-bit she'd learned from her heroine in the industry, Marsha Serlin.

Now with the old dog of fear yapping at her heels again, she wondered if such vanity was foolish when most of her competitors and customers could care less, pocketing the money saved on maintenance instead of trying to defeat the relentless enemy of time, dust, disorder and grime.