Unfinished Muse

by R. L. Naquin

  Did Alex know it was next week? No, I was sure he knew. His paperwork had the right date on it. I had to get to my car so I could check the paperwork stashed in my purse.

  I wanted to vomit.

  But I couldn’t. If I was going to get a chance to talk to Alex, I had to do it now. The paperwork would be there when I finished.

  I tore off ahead of Alex and Oscar, my invisible feet clomping on the sidewalk. I made it to the park before they got there, plopped onto the bench, and switched off my belt so I’d be visible. I had about a minute and a half to catch my breath.

  “Hello.” Alex took a seat on the other end of the bench. “Lose your dog again?”

  I shook my head, still breathing heavily. “My…um…sister caught him and took him back. I’m just trying to catch my breath.”

  “Ah. Well, I’m glad I caught you. I owe you a thank you.”

  “Yeah? What for?”

  “Talking to you really helped the other day. I’m back to creating my project. You said just what I needed to hear. I found my joy again.”

  I smiled. “I’m glad to hear that.” I tilted my head and gave him a serious look. “How did you lose it in the first place, though? It sounded like maybe you got some bad advice from somebody.”

  He nodded. “It was stupid. There was this guy I met at the craft store. We got to talking, and he found out I live with my mother.” He paused and searched my face, as if I might reject his friendship with that revelation.

  “Nothing wrong with that.” I shrugged. “I very nearly moved back in with my mom last month.”

  His eyes brightened. “Well, this guy didn’t think it was reasonable at all. By the time he finished talking about prospects and accountability and ambition, I felt about two inches high. I decided I needed to make a change in my life.”

  I scowled. “He didn’t even know you. How dare he?”

  “Well, he wasn’t terribly wrong.”

  I bent over and scratched Oscar’s head. “He wasn’t right, either. What’s this guy look like? Shriveled and bitter?”

  Alex chuckled. “No. Nothing special. Young guy. Mid-twenties, I guess. Weird haircut, kind of almost shaved on the sides, but sticking up on top.”

  I most definitely wanted to vomit now. “Blond? Blue eyes?”

  “I think so, yeah. Why? Do you know him?”

  “God, I hope not.”

  ~*~

  The paperwork, it turned out, wasn’t in the car. I’d left it on the kitchen counter at home. I had to decide whether to go home or head straight to Missy’s. In the end, I did neither. I stopped at the craft store.

  By the time I did get to Missy’s, I’d calmed down considerably. Whether it was Freddy or not, somebody was sabotaging my clients’ projects. And there was a good chance somebody—likely the same somebody—was sabotaging me so I couldn’t help them in time. Whoever was screwing things up missed one important fact.

  Wynter Greene was nobody’s bitch.

  I wrapped on the door of 1117b and waited. Missy opened the door with a cloth diaper over one shoulder and a baby on her hip.

  It took her a minute to remember who I was, but when she did, her face broke into a delighted grin. “Wynter, right? Come in!”

  I handed her the package in my hand. “I thought this might help with your project. It sounded so gorgeous, I wanted to help.”

  She had a puzzled look on her face, but shoved the baby into my arms and opened the bag. “These are beautiful.” She pulled out stacks of adhesive jewels in a rainbow of colors. “They’re perfect. Here, I’ll show you.”

  We sat on the sofa, and she slid the partially finished scrapbook from a box under the coffee table and flipped it open. Several pages were done. She’d been working harder than I’d realized.

  Each page was a celebration of a different significant day in the lives of her parents. She’d done a fantastic job so far.

  “Check this out.” She flipped to the wedding page and placed a string of adhesive pearls around the edges. “See? The one thing that was missing and you brought it.” Her face was flushed with excitement. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” She leaned close and hugged my arm, then gathered Cassie in her arms to kiss her cheeks. Cassie giggled.

  I laughed. “You’re very welcome. These pages are incredible. This is art, Missy. I don’t know how you could have doubted yourself. You have so much talent.” I flipped through the book. She’d added at least three pages since I’d last seen it.

  She shrugged. “Yeah. I think this guy I met was trying to sell me a trip for my parents. He was a travel agent. I was stupid to listen. I guess he just got under my skin, you know?”

  I nodded. “Yeah. I get it.” Knowing exactly what she’d tell me, I asked her to describe the guy.

  “Cute as hell. Nice butt. Long eyelashes and twinkly blue eyes. Cool haircut, too. Like yours, only shorter on the sides.”

  Somebody was going to get his pretty face punched when I found him.

  I pulled myself from the couch. “I need to get going. I just wanted to give you that stuff and see how you were doing.”

  She gave me a one-armed hug. “Thank you again. They’re perfect.”

  “Glad you like them.” I stepped out the door and stopped. “Missy, when’s your parents’ party?”

  “About a week and a half. If I work really hard, I might be able to get it done in time.”

  Chapter 22

  Phyllis was livid. I hadn’t expected that part.

  When I got home, I went straight to the folder on the counter, muttering to myself about deadlines and booby-traps.

  “Are you alright, Wynter?” Phyllis sat in the kitchen window, her leaves perky with interest.

  I flipped open the folder, my lips in a tight smile. “Nope. I’m not okay. Not at all.” I scanned the assignment for Alex till I got to the deadline. I ran my finger over the number twenty-eight, and the ink smeared, leaving behind a one where the eight had been. “Nope. Not okay at all.” I repeated it on the other two assignments with the same results.

  “What’s wrong, honey? Talk to me.” Phyllis’s branches were shaking.

  I slammed the folder shut, though it didn’t make a very satisfying sound. “Somebody changed the dates on my deadlines to make me think I had more time.”

  “No!” Her braches whipped around so hard I moved her to the counter for fear of her slipping off and spilling in the sink. “You have to report this, of course.”

  I nodded. “Oh, I will. But there’s more. Some guy has been talking to each of my clients and throwing them off their projects. All that crazy stuff you watched Mark do? Mystery Guy caused it.”

  “Oh, Wynter. What a disaster. Who did this? You take me with you tomorrow. I’ll find out who’s behind all this. Don’t you worry.”

  I took a deep breath. “I think…well, this is going to sound crazy, but I think maybe the person doing it could be Freddy.”

  Phyllis laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. Why would—okay, I do know the why—but how could Freddy do anything? You haven’t even talked to him.”

  I chewed my bottom lip in thought. “I know. But I have a feeling Freddy was working at Mt. Olympus all along.”

  “Well, that much we can find out first thing tomorrow.”

  I nodded, distracted by Mark’s light across the courtyard. I should’ve gone over and checked on him, but I was physically and emotionally drained. All I wanted was a good night’s sleep.

  “You’re right. First thing tomorrow, we’ll get to the bottom of it. But you know what?”

  “What, honey?”

  “I’m not letting these people miss their deadlines, no matter how hard someone’s been trying to make that happen.”

  Phyllis patted the back of my hand. “That’s my girl.”

  ~*~

  Despite her insistence that I take her with me, I left Phyllis at home to keep an eye on Mark out the window. I considered knocking on his door and asking him to keep her with him for the day, but she was
n’t a dog or a sick kid. I couldn’t come up with a convincing reason why my houseplant needed constant monitoring. She was coming down with root rot? Her water consumption was too high, and I was worried she might be diabetic? Maybe I could tell him she’d been hanging out with a bunch of bad seeds and I was afraid she’d run away.

  That would be weird. Even for me.

  “Just watch and see if anybody goes in or if he goes anywhere, okay? I need your help, Phyllis. I can’t be everywhere at once.”

  Phyllis sounded pouty. “You need me at the office where I can set everything straight. They’ll listen to me.”

  I placed her on the window ledge. “I know they would. But I need to do this myself. And I really do need you to watch in case Freddy—or whoever it is—tries to contact Mark again.”

  “Fine. Go.” She shook a few branches in my direction. “But if you get in over your head, come back and get me.”

  I smiled. “Thanks, Phyllis. You’re the best.”

  She really was. For a plant, she was a pretty loyal companion. I was lucky to have her. Not for the first time I wondered what her story was—and how she’d ended up as my guardian.

  ~*~

  In the lobby, I checked for any men who were my past or present love interests. Unless I had plans to date a minotaur in a business suit, the lobby was clear. I took a calming breath and stepped into the queue in reception.

  This was the part Phyllis could have made easier, but I felt like I needed to do it on my own.

  The line wasn’t long, probably because it wasn’t a Monday, so there were no new hires needing to be checked in. Still, those five minutes or so gave me plenty of time to get worked up into a solid case of sweaty nerves.

  “Next.” Patrice eyed me through her tiny glasses.

  I inched forward to the edge of her counter. “Hi.”

  She grunted. “Hi. You need something already? Didn’t you just get here a few weeks ago?” The two snakes that hung over one of her eyes squirmed and flicked their tongues at me.

  My mouth felt dry. “I was wondering if you could help me find someone.”

  One of her eyebrows rose. “Did you try lost and found?”

  “Ha. Yeah. No. I think someone I know works here, but I don’t know where to find him. I was wondering if you could look it up or tell me where to go to find out.” I cleared my throat. “Please?”

  Patrice smirked. “A guy?”

  I nodded. “Yes.”

  “A guy you’re interested in, perhaps?”

  I let out a rush of air. “Oh, gosh, no. I already…I mean. No. Not someone I’m interested in.”

  The second eyebrow jumped up with the first. “An ex. Ah. So, let me get this straight. You think you saw your ex somewhere and want to know for sure if he’s here? Is that right?”

  “No!” I frowned. “Yes. That’s exactly right. And I think he may know I’m here and he’s been screwing with me. Or I’m paranoid and delusional. And if that’s it, I’d kind of like to know that, too.”

  Patrice nodded. “Men are idiots.” She tapped something on a tablet and it came to life. “What’s his name?”

  “Freddy Mossman.” I shifted my weight from foot to foot. Now that I wasn’t so nervous about Patrice—okay, still nervous but no longer terrified—my anxiety shifted to what Patrice may or may not find.

  “Mossman.” She scrolled through the list on her screen. “Arnold, Carl, Cathrine, Erika, Fredrick, Harold. Hmm. You said Freddy?”

  The sweat on my skin grew cold. “Yeah. You said Frederick.”

  “Could be him. Maybe you’re not delusional.” Her snakes curled around her head and settled into a new style. It was flattering—kind of like a casual updo.

  “Only one way to find out, I guess. Can you tell me where he works?”

  She tapped on the screen and a new page came up. “Dreams and Nightmares. Fourth floor.”

  I nearly choked. “Really?”

  She nodded. “Mean something to you?”

  “Maybe. It makes sense. Now, I think I know who’s been helping him.”

  She backed out of the screen and set the tablet aside. “I guess you’ve got your work cut out for you, then.”

  “I guess I do. Thanks, Patrice.”

  She smiled. “Good luck.” She shifted her attention before I stepped away. “Next!”

  I went to the elevator fuming. Freddy had been here the whole time, and he’d been working in the same department as Rick. I stabbed at the button inside the elevator for my floor. All that time, Rick had been playing me. And to what end? So Freddy could…

  The final piece slid into place and I nearly choked on it. Freddy. Rick. Fredrick. Fred. Rick.

  “I am a total moron.”

  A harpy—the only other person in the elevator—shook her feathers. “Did you say something?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing. Sorry. Just talking to myself.” The doors slid open on my floor and I stepped out.

  “First sign you’re delusional.” She smiled at me as the door slid shut.

  I shivered. Nope. I knew I wasn’t delusional. I still didn’t know all the hows and whys of what the hell Freddy/Rick was up to, but I was going to find out.

  When I entered my office, the atmosphere was similar to the previous Friday. In an office where I rarely saw anyone, people were clustered in groups everywhere, whispering and looking worried. Dave and Jeremy actually stepped out of my way as I passed them to get to my desk.

  The air was thick with murmurs from every corner.

  I set my purse on my desk and pulled out a small decorative candy dish I’d brought back from a short time I spent living in Albuquerque. The bottom of the dish was painted in bright colors and featured a hot air balloon. I dropped the hair clips and old gum into it and set it next to my keyboard.

  Little by little, I was moving in.

  As I adjusted the position of the dish, someone behind me tapped on my shoulder. I turned to find Audrey looking at me with uncharacteristic emotion. What emotion it was, I couldn’t tell. But it wasn’t a sneer on her face. More like guilt or as if she’d swallowed a bug.

  “Can I talk to you for a minute?”

  I folded my arms and leaned against the desk. “Sure. What’s going on today? Everybody’s all agitated again.”

  She glanced away, not meeting my eyes. “I need to apologize to you.”

  I wrinkled my forehead. “Oh?”

  I wasn’t sure what else to say. “It’s okay, some people are just naturally bitches” probably wasn’t the way to go.

  Audrey rubbed her palms over her skirt, as if her hands were sweating. “I’m sure you don’t know about this, but your predecessor was my friend.”

  “Phoebe.” I dropped her friend’s name, and it lay between us like a rock.

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “Okay. Maybe you do know. Well, I blamed you for getting her fired, then taking the job opening she left. I’m afraid I wasn’t a very good trainer as a result. Then you were so nice to Trina when she got booted. You didn’t report Dave to HR, even though he’s been a pig. And I’ve watched how determined you’ve been, even working extra hours. I feel terrible.”

  I sighed. “I figured most of the job out eventually. Don’t worry about it.”

  “I wasn’t very nice. And I made everyone else ignore you. I hoped…”

  “That I’d quit?”

  She nodded. “Maybe.”

  I chuckled. “Look. I’ve recently figured out that I’m not the best at being friendly myself. No harm done.”

  She relaxed a little. “I figured, once you read your handbook, you wouldn’t really need me for much, anyway. It’s all there. But I’m sorry for isolating you.”

  I frowned. “What handbook?”

  She froze. “You can’t be serious. You didn’t read the handbook?”

  “I didn’t get a handbook. I got paperwork, and you threw out most of the stuff that came with it. What was leftover was hardly worth looking at. Did I miss something?”
/>   She gave me a gentle push to get at my computer. “It’s on your desktop. You can’t miss it. It says Muse Handbook. Sheesh.”

  My stomach churned. How could I have missed something so important? I hadn’t used the computer for much—research and mapping—but I’d totally missed the handbook.

  “Well, that’s weird.” She stood over my monitor, her expression puzzled.

  “What’s weird?” I leaned closer. The little icons lined up neatly on the desktop. There weren’t very many of them. I didn’t see the one she’d been referring to.

  “It’s not here. How can it not be here?” She clicked through several folders and they all came up empty. As a last try, she clicked on the trashcan icon.

  And there it was—Muse Handbook in large, clear letters.

  “Why is it in the trash?” I honestly couldn’t understand what was going on.

  “I’m assuming you didn’t throw it away.” She looked up at me for confirmation.

  “I’ve never even seen it.”

  “Well, despite my poor behavior, I never would have tried to sabotage you like this. Breaking some of these rules can be serious. You need to tell Polly about this. It might change her mind.”

  “Change her mind about what?”

  Audrey straightened and turned toward me. “Polly wants to see you. She sent me to get you. She looked pretty upset.”

  I sucked in a long breath. “Well, crap. So, that’s what everybody’s talking about?”

  She nodded. Her expression was filled with compassion. “I’m afraid so.”

  I lifted my chin. “Okay, then. I’m going in. There’s a lot more going on here than you know.”

  “I’m so sorry, Wynter. I never would have screwed with you if I’d known.” She paused and her voice dropped to almost a whisper. “Who did you piss off?”

  I sighed. “I have my suspicions, but I don’t know for sure yet.” I pulled my shoulders back and left her standing there, wringing her hands.

  Polly’s door was wide open. I didn’t even have a chance to knock before her melodious voice greeted me from deep inside.