His Hideous Heartlessness
Happy Halloween and Samhain!
The following is a short story inspired by “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe.
HIS HIDEOUS HEARTLESSNESS
You might think me insane if you knew how frequently I fantasized about murdering my boss. But hear me out: if you knew him, you’d understand. I don’t mean if you just met him and he behaved in a charming manner — I mean if you were around him enough to discover his true personality.
The bookshop owner’s name was Jack McDaniel, as though his parents experienced a premonition of what whiskey would cause Jack’s breath to stink by the time he arrived at work at nine in the morning. As a full-time employee, I was not exempt from the advances, ridicule, and humiliation he inflicted upon women employees in general.
Today Jack arrived several minutes late, while a customer was already at the front counter purchasing books she ordered. Grinning, Jack slipped behind the u-shaped counter. I tensed my shoulders in reaction to that grin. He didn’t cease walking until he stood mere inches behind me, whiskey breath down my neck. The hair stood up on my arms, my heart rate rose, and my stomach clenched. I never did like his energy, even less so at that proximity.
Jack peered over my shoulder, watching while I typed with trembling fingers an ISBN into…