PHENOMENAL GIRL 5

by A. J. Menden

  I laughed and sat down on my new bed, too. “Lay it on me.”

  “Paul and Kate are together, which I’m sure you gathered. It’s Paul’s turn, I guess.” He made a face. “Sorry. That was catty of me. Don’t feel too badly about Kate and Robert being together once; she’s been with almost every male member of the EHJ since she’s been here. She’s the latest incarnation of the goddess Aphrodite, whose power is over all aspects of love. If she’s giving off her seduction pheromones, unless they are already in love, men can’t help themselves.”

  “So, that includes you as well?”

  He laughed. “Well, her seduction works unless you’re not wired to like women.”

  “Oh.” His meaning dawned on me. “Well, it’s good to meet the one man on this team who has an immunity to her.”

  “Even if I liked women, I guarantee she wouldn’t be my type.”

  I smiled. I think I had at least one friend here.

  “So anyway, Kate’s with Paul. But, being who she is, she can’t help but grab a little piece on the side, and her current side dish is none other than Simon. And Paul doesn’t know—or at least he acts like he doesn’t.”

  “I could see Simon with her.”

  “He already tried to put the moves on you?”

  “We went out once. He asked me out at a party after seeing my date ditch me. I think you can guess who my date was.”

  “Simon’s really got a grudge against the Reincarnist. That’s one of the reasons he doesn’t like me—my relation to him.”

  “One of?”

  “He’s also homophobic.”

  “You know what they say about homophobic people.”

  “He does have an expansive set of issues,” Toby agreed. “He may try to worm his way back into your good graces since you were with the Reincarnist, kind of like stealing you away.”

  I made a face. “He wishes.”

  “Now, Luke was Kate’s former plaything, which Paul knows, so they don’t always get along. And Mindy has a thing for Luke, but I don’t think he notices.”

  “It’s like a soap opera here!”

  “Isn’t that the way it is on most teams?”

  He had a point. It had been all drama with my former teams as well, love triangles and rivalries galore. I was the one who always tried to stay out of it. Not that it had been difficult. “I just hoped it would be different in the big leagues.”

  “It’s not.”

  I could hear Wesley’s I-told-you-so in my head. I silenced it.

  “It’s so nice to have someone here that isn’t sixty or involved in the drama.” He patted my hand. “You’re a welcome addition.”

  “Thanks, Toby.”

  “I’ll leave you to get adjusted to the new digs. Fair warning: the newbies do a lot of work around the place and don’t get to go on a lot of missions. So prepare yourself for lots of boring paperwork. Call me if you need anything.” He exited, the door swishing shut behind him.

  Paperwork after patrolling every night and working with the police? I reminded myself that everyone had to pay their dues to be in the big leagues.

  I unpacked what remained of my boxes and then looked around. It was an alright room, not as nice as when I was at the Reincarnist’s mansion, but nicer than my former apartment.

  When everything was settled, my eyes landed on the phone. I wanted to call Wesley, but was that too needy? Should I wait a couple of days? Or would that make it seem like I didn’t want to talk to him?

  Aw, screw it.

  I picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number.

  Mayhew answered. It wasn’t as if I expected Wesley to pick up; it could sit there ringing next to him and he would ignore it.

  “Hi, Mayhew, it’s Lainey.”

  “I recognize your voice, Miss Lainey.” He sounded amused. “It hasn’t been that long. I assume you want to speak to Mister Charles.”

  “Of course.”

  “Just a moment.”

  For a lot longer than a minute he was gone; then I heard a click and rap music filtered through the phone.

  “Hello?” Wesley sounded annoyed that he had been pulled away from what ever ancient text he had been reading.

  “So sorry to interrupt your rap and ancient languages time.”

  He laughed. “Mayhew said it was someone I’d want to talk to. How are you doing? Settling in okay?”

  I toyed between glossing over it all and telling the truth. “These people are nuts, Wes.”

  He laughed.

  “I need a scorecard to keep everyone’s relationship straight. And FYI, the cat’s out of the bag about ours.”

  “You trying to use my clout or something? ‘Let me go on a mission or I’ll get my boyfriend here and he’ll make you do it because he formed this team!’ ” He sounded amused.

  “No, actually, your blabbermouth ex-girlfriend told everyone.”

  There was a long pause. “Pardon me?”

  “You heard me.”

  “Who are you talking about?”

  “You don’t remember?”

  “Please, we’re not going to rehash the what-I-do-and-do not-remember game.”

  “Aphrodite! She announced your sexual prowess in front of everyone, not knowing why that might bother me.”

  “Well, at least she was complimentary.”

  “Hardy-har-har. Then she used her love powers or whatever, and figured out that we were together, and blabbed.”

  “When was this?”

  “As soon as I walked in the door!”

  “No, Lainey, when was it that I was with her?”

  “Some time when you were Robert.”

  “Oh.” He was quiet for a moment. “Well, he never wrote it down and I don’t remember it.”

  “It must not have been too memorable.” She was only drop-dead gorgeous, after all. What man would want to remember that?

  “Blonde girls trapped in closets I remember; one-night stands, not so much. But I must say I had terrible taste in women.”

  “Wesley Charles! I’m going to hang up this phone, fly over there, and hurt you!”

  “You know I meant Victoria Dupree and now Aphrodite, not you!”

  “I think I’m included in your taste-in-women category!”

  “Alright, but I didn’t mean you. I meant one-night stands, and let’s face it, my love, you are not one of those.”

  “Really?” I smiled, cradling the phone to my ear. “And what am I?”

  “You want me to say something romantic?”

  “Yes, please.”

  His warm laugh filtered through the phone. “My one and only Lainey. My love forever and always.”

  I smiled. “You’re good.”

  “I try.”

  I sighed. “I miss you, Wes.”

  “You want to come back?” He sounded like he was joking, but was that a trace of hope in his voice?

  “I’m not giving up that easily. I want this job, even if the people I’m working with are nuts.”

  “Some of them aren’t that bad.”

  “True. Toby’s nice. Did you know he’s related to you?”

  “No. How?”

  “Way far back.”

  “Ask him the name, and I’ll have to read the diary.” He paused. “If you start to hate it, come back, please. I won’t do the I-told-you-so dance for too long.”

  “Is there a song too?” I teased. There was a knock on the door. “One of the inmates is summoning me, Wes, I gotta go.”

  “Play nice with the other kiddies. Tell Ben to make them behave.”

  “Or you’ll ground him?”

  He laughed. “I miss you too, Lainey.”

  “Call me if you find out anything new about the Dragon.”

  “Of course.”

  We hung up and I went to answer the door to see Kate standing there.

  “Can I come in?” she asked.

  “I guess so.”

  She fidgeted, her ultra-cool demeanor gone. “I just wanted to say I’m sorr
y for blabbing about your personal life.”

  “You should be.”

  “I didn’t mean to. To be frank, it caught me a bit by surprise, and I just blurted it out without thinking.”

  “I do that sometimes, too. And it was a shock to everyone.”

  “It’s because he was such a loner.” She clasped her hands in front of her. “Look, the incident between Robert and me was a one-time thing and it was years ago. You were probably just a kid then. I doubt he even remembers it.”

  “He doesn’t.”

  She shot me a look and then regained her composure. “You asked him about it?”

  “It came up in conversation.”

  She sighed. “I just wanted you to know that it was years before you came along.”

  I nodded. “Thanks.”

  “I never would have mentioned it if I had read your aura a little closer.”

  “My aura?”

  “Yes, I can see people’s auras and read whether or not they’re in love with someone. Yours definitely showed love, but I didn’t notice with whom until too late. If he had been here, it would have been easier to read. But it’s obvious not even the promise of being with the woman he loves is enough to bring him back here.”

  “To be honest, I didn’t want him coming here right now,” I said. “I wanted to make it on my own.”

  “I can understand that.” She turned to go and then paused at the door. “It’s still a bit surreal to know the always-guarded Robert let someone into that protective shell he had. It was a big deal that he loved you.” She looked sad for a moment. “So tell me, what’s the new one like—Wesley? Besides cute. And don’t worry, he’s untouchable by me now, since he’s with you.”

  “A lot more laid back,” I said. “The same, and yet different in some good ways.”

  “Ah, youth.” She smiled. “Welcome to the team, Lainey Livingston. See if you can get your erstwhile lover to show his face around here again. The se nior members weren’t thrilled with him for leaving, but no matter what hurt feelings may be there, we’d love to have him back.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “Yes, we will.” She turned and left me to my thoughts.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  The next morning I was jarred awake by a knock on my door. Toby burst into the room, way too merry for such an early hour. “Rise and shine, cupcake! We have our daily meeting in about an hour and you’ll want to look presentable, not rocking the bed-head.”

  I sat up and tried to pat my hair down. “What time is it?”

  “Seven. Every day we have a staff meeting at eight where we receive our itineraries and discuss any business.”

  “Itineraries?” I yawned. “Do the villains phone ahead to schedule?”

  “My dear, we are not just a hero team but public figures as well. There are public appearances to make, ad campaigns, that kind of thing.” He noticed I wasn’t making any progress in waking up. “Get a move on, girl! Newbie has to go downstairs and get everyone coffee from Cuppacino.”

  “We have a Cuppacino downstairs?” Well, if there ever was a reason to get up in the morning.

  “I certainly couldn’t function without it.”

  “A job with perks. I love it.”

  “I’ll go with you to get coffee the first time. It’s like everyone goes out of their way to be difficult. No one can order a simple caramel macchiato.”

  “That’s my favorite drink.”

  “Mine too!”

  We high-fived like teenagers making a stupid joke. I disappeared into my bathroom and showered and dressed in record time, not wanting to be late. I came back to find Toby flipping through one of my books.

  “Find anything interesting?”

  “Your erotica stash.” He held up the book. “This one’s quite good.” He set it down to reach in his jacket pocket and pull out a small silver pen and a pad of paper. “You may want to take notes.”

  “It’s that complicated to get coffee?”

  “Wait and see.” He opened the door and we walked down the hallway. “First thing you do is go around to everyone and ask what they want. It changes day to day.” He knocked at the first door we came to, and it whispered open. Kate leaned against the frame in lingerie that would make a supermodel blush. I stared. Toby didn’t even blink.

  “I’m showing Lainey the ropes of the coffee run,” he said. “What do you guys want?”

  Kate tapped one manicured nail on her ruby-red lips. “I want a half caf, half decaf soy latte with one shot of vanilla, two shots of hazelnut, and just a splash of cinnamon. A splash, not a whole shot. Sugar-free all the way.” I scribbled notes as she turned back behind her. “Paul, darling, what do you want?”

  “Irish cream cappuccino, no lid, easy on the foam. And a cranberry nut scone, unless they have morsa biscotti,” he called out, walking out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist. I was surprised to see he had a well-defined body hidden under those stuffy scientist clothes.

  Still more than I ever wanted to see, especially this early in the morning, I thought as I scratched out the order with my pen.

  “Thanks, guys. We’ll see you at the meeting.” Toby motioned me on.

  It didn’t get any easier from there. Mindy wanted a chocolate biscotti latte, which I didn’t even know existed; Luke wanted a chai tea, except with oolong instead of black tea, and half soy, half skim milk; Simon, who seemed out of sorts with me, wanted a coconut banana frozen cappuccino with shaved chocolate on top but no whipped cream, and Doctor Rath, thank God, just wanted a double shot of espresso. He likely shared his father’s opinion of fancy coffee drinks.

  Head reeling, I made my way downstairs with Toby in tow.

  There was a line at the Cuppacino kiosk, which happened to be situated next to the gift shop. I gawked.

  “Toby,” I said, nudging him. “Why is there a gift shop?”

  “Lots of people tour this building, Lainey. It’s a big deal for the civvies to come here. There’s a museum in the west wing that you should check out. See some old pictures of your boyfriend.”

  “That sounds interesting, but aren’t you guys worried that a villain will come here and try to blow the place sky high?”

  “Everyone has to pass through security, and I’m not talking about an old man with a metal detector. Mindy invented the most state-of-the-art system possible. Step out of line and it slices and dices and makes French fries.” He checked his watch. “Come on, we don’t have much time until the meeting.”

  I pointed at the line. “Hello—can’t go until they do.”

  “Um, wrong, yes, we can. We own this place.” He stepped around people, dragging me with him. “Excuse us.”

  Customers growled at us, annoyed, until they saw who we were. Then excited whispers started up, and I heard the distinct sounds of camera phones going off.

  “Good morning, Magnificent,” the barista said. “What can I get you today?”

  “Ian, this is Phenomenal Girl Five, she just joined us. She’ll be getting coffee for us every morning.”

  “Nice to meet you.” The barista eyed me. “I liked the costume the girl before you wore.”

  “You and every other man on the planet.”

  “We’re going to be discussing costume changes,” Toby said. “And we’re in a bit of a rush, so…”

  I gave him the orders, adding a skinny caramel macchiato with whipped cream for me and a sugar-free caramel macchiato with no foam, caramel drizzle, or whipped cream for Toby. Soon we were both transporting drink carriers filled with white cups to the elevator and whisking our way back to the penthouse.

  “So, what do they sell at the gift shop?” I asked.

  “The usual—snow globes of the building, T-shirts, cups, hats, bags with the EHJ logo on them, books some of our members have written—there’s a couple of forensics books down there by Robert actually—photos, action figures…”

  “There’s action figures?” I couldn’t help laughing.

  “We
do market our images, Lainey,” he said, not getting my amusement. “You’ll be meeting with our publicist over the next day or so to sign off on the likeness rights and to discuss your image.”

  I was beginning to understand why my boyfriend didn’t approve of this. And I wasn’t sure I approved, either. Letting random people wander through the building? A museum gift shop with action figures? How was all of that working to help people?

  The elevator doors opened, and we walked down the hall to the boardroom and went inside.

  “Thank God the coffee’s here!” Kate said, holding out her hand for a white cup. I quickly went through them and found hers. No one else reached for theirs, so I walked around the table, handing out cups. I was now the gofer.

  “Good, now let’s get started,” Rath said, taking the espresso I handed him. I found an empty seat next to Simon and sat down. Everyone got out various electronic devices, PDAs, Blackberries, and the like. Mindy had some kind of organizer attached to her arm that looked like it had come from another planet and possibly was alive. Its strange, metallic tentacles kept reaching toward the bits of machinery she had scattered around her, and she kept smacking it away. I still had the pen and paper from coffee orders, so I set it in front of me and waited, feeling rather behind on the technology scale.

  “Today’s agenda looks like this.” Rath clicked some keys and a hologram of words appeared before us. “Kate, you have a meeting with Fashionista for a cover story.”

  She sighed. “What now?”

  “Love and sex in the modern age.”

  “Joy.” She tapped it into her Blackberry.

  “Paul, you have a meeting with several top car manufacturers over the airbag recall. They want some recommendations. And Mindy, NASA wants to speak to you about some shuttle modifications.”

  She looked up from what ever it was she was working on and snapped her gum. “I’m not doing it unless I get the patent.” Tentacles clicked ominously.

  “Just take note of what they want and our lawyers can discuss patent rights.” Rath moved on. “Toby has a charity dinner to night, and Simon has a movie premiere and after party to attend.”

  “Yeah, and I’m looking for a date,” Simon said, giving me a wink.