"Hey Phil, you all ready for tonight?" His colleague asked.
"Hmm?" Of course, he thought to himself. The annual Christmas party.
"You ready for tonight mate? You are coming right?"
"Yeah of course I am." The annual Christmas party. His company always celebrated the holiday by throwing a lavish, over the top, themed party. This year the theme had been kept a tight secret. The only thing they had been told was that it was a black tie event.
"Good. You need the break. You got much left to finish?" He asked.
"Not really. Got a few emails and final reports to send out and then I'm done." In truth it wasn't anything too important that couldn't wait till after the Christmas period.
"OK. Well the boys and me are meeting at the pub before we go over to the Hilton."
"No worries." His colleague waved back at him as he headed back to his office, closing the door behind him.
Phil returned his attention to his computer, attaching the files he needed to the email and double checking the addresses before sending them. He had been at the company for three years now. Three years of middle management in a greeting card company. Three years of dealing with sales reports, fluctuations in sales, and senior management breathing down his neck. It wasn't all bad, the pay was way over the average for his duties, he never had to work weekends or take his work home with him and he got a fairly spacious office all to himself.
Everyone was excited about this year's party, the first big one since the Covid-19 pandemic, with most members of staff working remotely from home. They were meant to have a Christmas party last year but with some members of senior management coming down with the illness, they changed their minds, deciding to delay it and go all out this year. Their parties were always themed but this was the first that was a complete surprise.
Just then, there was a gentle knock at the door.
"Come in." Phil called out, not taking his eyes from the computer.
"Hey Phil. Why aren't you ready yet?" It was Sonya, one of the sales reps in his team. She was a sweet looking, 5ft 5, athletic brunette, with hair pulled back into a tight bun.
"Oh hey Sonya. Still got a few things to do. What about you?" He asked, clicking send on his next email.
"I'm about to head out. Sara and me are just getting all packed up and then we are going back to hers to get changed." She said, sitting sideways on his desk.
Sara was another member of his sales team and she was the exact opposite to Sonya. Where Sonya was bubbly and lively, Sara was meek and passive. They had been working together for longer than he had been there but he was always surprised at how happy they were to spend weeks away together in other cities.
"Nice. I have a few last things to do then I'm getting sorted. Any idea what this theme might be?" He asked, trying not to look at her pushed out chest.
"No. I thought you might with you being management. But I have booked a room for the night. I don't want to have to find a taxi when I'm hammered." She said, picking up his letter opener, playing with it between her fingers.
"I tried that, but they were fully booked. I will just grab an Uber home, I don't live too far away."
They spent a few minutes speculating what the theme might be, but neither agreed on anything.
"Well I'm sure they will at least have music, so save me a dance ok?" She asked as she slid off the desk. She pulled her skirt down slightly, smoothing the wrinkles that had formed.
"Sure." He said as his eyes remained fixed on her round ass.
"I'm up here." She said, clicking her fingers and pointing up to her face but chuckling nonetheless.
"Sorry. Right, I should get these finished. I will see you there." He told her.
"You better. Dance remember? I'm not letting you get out of it." She said before leaving the office.
Phil sighed loudly as he settled back into his chair. Sonya was so flirty with everyone, he couldn't help but have inappropriate thoughts about her. This wasn't the first time she had come floating into his office like this, teasing the boss.
He went and locked the door, shutting down the computer, forgetting about work for the year, everything left would be January's problem. He opened the cupboard behind him, revealing his neat dinner suit hanging from the hooks on the side. He had never been a fan of dinner suits, only having to wear them a few times in his life. He always had trouble getting the bowtie straight.
When he had changed, he looked himself over in the mirror at the back of the cupboard. He didn't look too bad, he thought.
Phil was thirty two and despite the stressful job, he had not yet started to grow grey hairs, or develop any wrinkles. All in all he was happy with how he looked. He wasn't a model or anything but he still looked young enough to pass for thirty, his body might not be as tight as it was at university but he still had a clearly defined physique.
He sprayed his aftershave before locking his drawers and cupboards and locking his office for the holiday.
He quickly found his team talking to the sales women from the rival team across the office. It wasn't unusual to see the men hitting on the women and the women teasing back. But with most of them being married, it was merely flirting and nothing would come of it.
"Come on, let's go. The first round is on me." He announced, trying to steer the men out.
"See you soon boys." The girls called out as they waved them all off.
As it was a Friday evening the city was packed with other people going to bars or parties. He saw other groups, some single sex, some a mix, all dressed in different styles from formal dresses, to tiny, skimpy outfits that would only not look out of place at Halloween.
They stopped at "The Kings Arms", just a few hundred metres away from the hotel where they had to be in a little over an hour.
Phil went around the group, collecting everyone's drinks orders, most ordering pints, but some ordering whiskey like himself.
"Here's to you. I hope you all enjoy your Christmas bonuses." The previous day, he had negotiated for everyone on his sales team to be given a five percent bonus, as a sign of gratitude for their hard work over the year.
