by R. L. Naquin
“Come in, Wynter. Close the door and sit down.” The voice was still melodic, but it sounded more like a funeral dirge than an aria.
I sat in the chair opposite her and placed my hands in my lap so she couldn’t see them shaking. I still wasn’t sure what I’d done wrong. I knew a lot had been done to me, though, so I was prepared for a fight. “You wanted to see me?”
She rubbed her fingertips over a tiny spot between her thick eyebrows. “Please tell me it’s not true that you’ve been speaking with your clients in full-flesh mode.”
My stomach tightened. “Full-flesh mode?”
“Visible. Solid. Out in the open.” She gave me a pinched look, as if she would be angrier if she weren’t so tired. “Don’t make this more difficult than it already is. Please.”
I took a deep breath and let it out. “Okay. Yes. I’ve been working with my clients in person. But there are circumstances you don’t know about.”
“Wynter, you broke the cardinal rule.” She shook her head and pushed a sheet of paper toward me. “What’s more, you’ve been observed breaking several rules. Really important ones.”
I took the paper from her desk and read it. “Turned off invisibility belt while alone in a client’s home.” I thought about it. “Yeah. Okay. I hadn’t learned how to interact with objects very well, and I needed to see his notes. He didn’t catch me.” How the hell did they know about that? “Since my paperwork failed to tell me what the project was, I had to get creative.”
Polly frowned. “That’s odd. But go on.”
I consulted the list. “Interacted with clients while corporeal. Yeah. I had to undo the sabotage someone else had been doing.” Looking at the list, I felt my blood pressure rising as I grew angrier. “Took home belt and supplies without proper authorization.” I looked up from the list, scowling. “First of all, one of my clients is my next-door neighbor, and I wasn’t about to drive all the way back to work at the end of the day to put it back when I was already home. Second, I had no idea it wasn’t allowed until I talked to you a few days ago and you gave me a pass.”
Polly watched me with an unchanging expression. “Go on. Read the rest.”
“Touched a client, drove a vehicle for three blocks while still invisible, used more than twice the recommended dose of Beastie Discombobulator Dust on a client’s dog. Hey, nobody even trained me how to use that stuff. Totally not my fault.” Despite my anger—and admittedly, a good helping of fear—my hands didn’t shake anymore.
Polly folded her hands on her desk. “It sounds as if you’ve got an excuse lined up for everything. All of those rules you broke were in your handbook.” The disappointment in her voice made the melody of it sound a little flat. “Audrey came to me earlier and admitted she didn’t give you as much training as she should have. However, you could have learned it all from the handbook. Did you not even bother to read it?”
Despite my effort to remain cool and calm, a short bark of laughter escaped me.
“The handbook? I didn’t even know about it until this morning. Ask Audrey. We found it in my trashcan on my desktop. So, not only did I get lousy training, I had nowhere to go for answers.” I pulled my folder from my pack and placed my three assignments in front of her. I poked a finger at the various fields. “You see that? No explanation filled in for Mark’s project. I was flying blind. See the deadlines on all three? Take special note of the smudges on the numbers where someone changed them so I’d think I had a week longer than I actually did.”
Polly rubbed her finger on the numbers, making the smudge more apparent. “What the hell?”
By now I’d worked up a pretty good rage. My voice was shaking. So much for cool and calm. “You ready for the best part?”
“Mighty Aphrodite, I have a feeling I’m not. But go ahead.”
“It turns out my ex-boyfriend works in the Dreams and Nightmares department and he’s been sabotaging my progress. He had all three of my clients talked into quitting their projects. The only way to figure that out and talk them back around was by breaking the stupid rules.” I paused, thinking I was done, then remembered one last thing that upset me—because, hey, if you’re going to blow up your career, you should be thorough, right? “And what is wrong with this office? Nobody would help me. Dave and Jeremy are a couple of pigs. And you’re never in your office. I’ve never been so alone in my life—and that’s saying something, because I’m pretty much a loner. I needed help and there was no one. So, yeah. I did what I had to do.”
I felt cleaned out, emptied. She could do what she wanted to me, now. I didn’t care. At least I would go to the Underworld knowing I’d done my best. I sat again, folded my hands, and waited.
Polly stared at the paperwork in her hands. “Wynter, I’m so sorry. Word came down from higher up that I was to keep an eye on you but to let you get on by yourself. I had no idea why. I do know they don’t usually give three clients to a Muse on her first week.” She rubbed the spot on her forehead again. “But the rest of this is too much. I can’t allow someone to sabotage my Muses.”
“So, now what? Do I just go back to work?”
Polly rose from her chair and walked around her desk to lean against it. “No. That’s not even an option. I called you in here to give you orders to pack your desk and report to staffing in the Underworld.”
Despite my earlier bravado, my stomach felt queasy. “But circumstances…”
She nodded. “Yes. Circumstances. I’m going to need your ex-boyfriend’s name. I’ll look into all of this. And you are going home to wait for my decision.”
I blinked. “Home to wait? You mean…a suspension?”
“You still broke rules, Wynter. Go home. Let me get to the bottom of this. Shouldn’t take more than a week or so.”
“What about my clients? What about their deadlines?”
She pursed her lips. “No longer your concern.” She went back to her chair and settled in. “Make sure you leave your belt on the hook.”
And with that, I was dismissed. It was as if I were no longer in the room. How people could turn compassion on and off that quickly was beyond me.
I exited through a sea of anxious faces. Audrey, especially, looked upset. I stopped at my desk to see if I needed to take anything, but the only things there were the kitschy candy dish, photo of Mom, and the stuffed giraffe. I left them there. It made me feel better to still have a claim on the desk.
Somehow, I managed not to cry until I was halfway home.
Chapter 23
By the time I got home, my tears had dried up, as had my anger and my self-pity. Phyllis was so angry, she lost big handfuls of leaves, and I had to sit with her using a damp cloth on the remaining leaves to get her to calm down.
“I told you I should have gone with you.” Once she was calm, she sounded more miserable than I’d felt in the car. “I can’t do my job if you won’t let me.”
“What exactly is your job?”
“To keep you out of trouble. Obviously, I’m doing a terrible job.”
We sat like that for some time at the kitchen table, Phyllis drooping her branches in defeat and me stroking her leaves with a soft cloth. The repetitive motion was as soothing to me as it was to her, so it took me a moment to notice Mark tapping on the window.
I waved him toward the door, and he let himself in.
“Wow,” he said. “Doesn’t look like you’re having the best day ever.” He pulled out a chair and sat. “You okay?”
I put the cloth on the table and sat up straighter. “Unexpected time off work. It’ll be okay.” I tried to give him a cheerful smile. “How’s the project going?”
“I’ve got the designs all done. It’s going to be gorgeous. I lost some time though. Those days I spent screwing around have put me behind. I still have to build it all. And her birthday’s next weekend.”
I frowned. “Will you make it in time?”
“I think so. Might be some late nights, but I’ll make it work.” He scooted his chair out and st
ood. “Anyway, I just came by to say thanks for your help. Without you, I’d still be sitting around feeling sorry for myself.”
This time my smile wasn’t forced. “I’m glad I could help.” I tilted my head. “Hey, I’m not going to work next week anyway. Could you use an extra pair of hands?”
His eyes sparkled. “That would be amazing.”
~*~
I had a number of things I wanted to take care of while I was suspended from work. My number one priority was to make sure all three clients made their deadlines. Screw my deadline. This was no longer about me. My future didn’t hang on their successes anymore. In fact, my future was out of my own hands. I could cry about it some more, or I could use the week off to make damn sure my garbage didn’t stick to them.
I had no access to the invisibility belt anymore, but there had been that day I’d taken an extra bottle of bubbles and slipped them in my pocket. I’d completely forgotten about them until now. I found my jacket in the corner of my bedroom, and the bubbles were still there. Nobody knew I had them.
The collection of crazy-shaped wands I’d bought at the toy store were still in the bag in the corner, forgotten and unused. Keeping the Thought Bubbles with the wands would’ve made sense if I wasn’t so worried the Muse police might try to come in and search for my ill-gotten booty. I stuffed the bag of wands in my closet, then hid the bubbles in my bookcase behind some old Nancy Drews. Its presence both comforted me and scared me. But I wasn’t going to give it up unless somebody caught me. As much as I’d been screwed with over the last three weeks, I figured I deserved to have a little magic to keep, even if it was only a souvenir.
Before I could focus on my clients, though, I had a certain ex-boyfriend to deal with—and I needed to do it before he went into work that night and found out he’d been ratted out.
I dialed Freddy’s number and wasn’t surprised by how fast he answered. “Wynter?”
“Hi Freddy. Are you busy?” I knew he wouldn’t be. He never was during the day.
“Why?” The question came out slow and wary. “You haven’t talked to me in three weeks.”
“Well, I’m ready to talk now. Do you have time for a cup of coffee?”
There was a long pause. For a minute, I thought he’d hung up.
Finally, he took a breath. “I’ll meet you at Jerry’s Java in half an hour.”
“See you then.”
I hung up feeling a little sick and a lot nervous. But I was determined to confront Freddy before he found out at work what I already knew.
“Kick him in the balls,” Phyllis said. “The little worm.”
I laughed. “I won’t be kicking, punching, biting, scratching, or karate chopping today.”
Phyllis’s branches rubbed together, making a grumbling sound. “Fine. I’d want to watch anyway.”
~*~
Freddy was already there when I arrived, and he had coffee waiting for me—a cinnamon latte, of course. The fact that I hadn’t questioned Rick on knowing what to order bothered me, now. I’d been an idiot.
I sat in the big comfy chair opposite Freddy and smiled. “Thanks for the latte. How’ve you been?”
“Okay, I guess. I missed you.” He widened his blue eyes to look sad and miserable.
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing. Rick’s hair and eyes had changed shades a few times, and he was bulkier through the shoulders than Freddy. Also, Freddy had a longer nose with a bump in the middle. Even when their coloring had been the same, they didn’t look at all like the same person.
The Dreams and Nightmares costumes were more than cowboy hats and vampire capes—they went more than skin deep. Even Rick’s voice had been different, deeper.
While I examined Freddy for clues—anything that looked or sounded like Rick—he told me about his cat Dallas, who missed me a lot, how his car had been in the shop for the last several weeks after he’d wrapped it around a telephone pole, and how happy it made him that I’d called.
I cleared my throat. “I have to tell you something, Freddy. I never meant to hurt you, but…”
His face went pale. “What?”
“Well.” I took my time, smoothing my skirt, taking a sip of my coffee, then looking up at him with as much guilt and sadness as I could fake. “I’ve met someone else.”
He frowned. “You…you have?”
I nodded. “I met him at my new job. Nothing’s happened, yet. Not really.” I smiled and looked away. “Well, we did go on a picnic once. I really like him.”
Freddy relaxed a little. “I see.” He took a sip of his coffee, but I could see the satisfaction dancing in his eyes.
“Please don’t be upset.”
“Oh, I’m not.”
I leaned forward and put my hand on his knee. “Will you excuse me? I’ll be right back.”
“Of course.” He sat back in his seat with a self-satisfied look on his face that I kind of wanted to scrub off with a loofa.
Or a phone call.
I left him reveling in his perceived success at getting me to fall for Rick. Once I was in the bathroom where he couldn’t see or hear me, I dialed Rick’s number.
Now, everything rode on this part. If Freddy had separate phones for the two personas and had left his Rick phone at home, this wasn’t going to work. But I knew Freddy. I was betting he’d forwarded Rick’s number to his phone.
It rang three times before he answered. Which made sense. Rick was way cooler than Freddy, so he’d never answer on the first ring.
“This is Rick.”
“Hi, Rick. It’s Wynter.” Because caller ID didn’t exist, and he couldn’t possibly know who it was, right?
“Oh, hey, Wynter. What’s up? I missed you this morning in the cafeteria.”
I opened the door to the ladies room and peeked at the back of Freddy’s head. He sat in his comfy chair chatting on the phone. I stepped into the coffee shop and let the door close behind me.
“Well, I’m going to have some time off next week. I was wondering if you might want to do something.”
“Absolutely.” His grin was almost audible through the phone.
I walked toward Freddy while I talked. “I promise not to freak out on you this time.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear it.” Freddy shifted in his seat, but didn’t turn around.
“I know what I want now.” I stood directly behind him, now, but he was so full of confidence, he didn’t realize what was going on.
“That makes me really happy. What would you like to do next week?”
I stopped talking and stood over him, waiting for him to notice me.
“Are you there? Hello?” He took his phone from his ear and checked the signal, than put it back. “Wynter?”
I hung up.
He checked again and saw that I was gone.
“In your excitement, you forgot to disguise your voice,” I said.
He froze for a second, then slowly tilted his head back to see me. “How long have you been there?”
“Quite awhile.” I moved around him and returned to my seat. “So, any last words?” I took a long sip of my latte, savoring the cinnamon. I might never have one again after this. Maybe I would try hazelnut next.
“How did you figure it out?” His face was pinched with disappointment.
I shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. What matters is why. Why would you do this to me? What did I do that was so wrong? I broke up with you. I’m sorry that I hurt you, honestly I am. But what was I supposed to do? Wait until we’d picked out china before I did it? We weren’t right for each other. It happens.”
He gave me a dark stare. “Once I could take. But I gave you someone else—a whole new person. Rick was cooler and better looking, but he knew all the things you liked without being told. I made myself into your perfect guy, and you still rejected me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Freddy, I don’t even know who my perfect guy would be. How could you possibly create him? That’s crazy.”
“I’m not crazy.”
“Dude. Seriously. You might want to take a closer look at everything you’ve done over the past month or so. And in case you’re wondering how my clients are doing, thanks for your help, but I got them back on track anyway.”
He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out but a series of stutters.
I smiled and nodded. “Yeah. That, too. Anything I’m missing? Anything else you want to tell me about?”
He shook his head. His face looked a little green.
I sat forward, perched on the edge of the cushion. “Can you just tell me why? I get that you wanted a redo. That explains the Rick thing—at least in your head. But why the hell would you mess with my job? Why try to get me fired?”
He looked away, unable to meet me gaze. “I’m really sorry about that. After you bolted from our picnic, I kind of lost my mind. I’d tried to give you everything you wanted, and you still dumped me. You’d shown me your assignments in the coffee shop, so I spent the weekend tracking down your clients and sabotaging your work.” He scrubbed at his face with the palms of his hands. “I was so angry. But then I saw you again and thought you might give me another chance. I felt terrible.”
I shook my head. “Shit, Freddy. I’ve been suspended. They’re deciding whether or not to send me to the Underworld. And what about changing the dates on my assignments so I couldn’t make my deadlines? And you threw away my handbook so I would break rules I didn’t know about. How did you even get into my office? What the hell is wrong with you?”
He paled. “Wynter, I swear, I never set foot in your office. I never touched your stuff.”
At this point, I had to believe he wasn’t lying. He’d confessed to everything else. I couldn’t see a reason for him to lie about this. I frowned. That meant somebody else—probably someone in my own office—was also screwing with me.
Mt. Olympus was turning out to be a giant clubhouse for people who hated me. For once in my life, I refused to accept it was my fault. Other than having crappy taste in men, of course. That was all me.
I finished my coffee and stood. “Well, Fred. It’s been a slice. Good luck at work tonight. My boss was pretty pissed off. I’m sure your boss won’t be too happy either.” I walked toward the door, then stopped and turned my head. “If things don’t go real well over the next week, I guess I’ll see you around. In the Underworld.”
