I raised my eyebrows. “Noted. Thanks for the tip.”
His smile was genuine. “Anytime.” He wasn’t bad-looking when he smiled like that, despite his freaky eyes. But the smile faded a moment later. “So, how did it go? With my letter, I mean.”
I reached into a cubby by my hip and produced the envelope with a flourish. “I don’t usually pry, but I had to do some unsavory things to get this. Any chance you’d tell me why it was worth the risk?”
He chewed his lip, glanced around, then leaned forward. “You’ll laugh. But I suppose I owe you.” He took the envelope from me. “I’ve sort of had this pen pal girlfriend for awhile. Her name’s Lucy, and she’s a faun.
“We met through an ad—kind of the old-fashioned way of online dating. Anyway, we’ve been writing for months, and she keeps asking me for a photo. Last week, she said she wouldn’t write to me anymore if I didn’t send her a picture.”
I glanced at the envelope in his hand. “So, you sent her a photo and changed your mind?”
His face turned pink. “Sort of.” He glanced around again, then tore open the blue envelope I’d fought so hard to find. “I sent her these.”
He handed me three photos, each with a good-looking, muscled guy with dark hair and a soul patch.
I snorted. “Who the hell is that?”
He sighed. “That’s my roommate, Big Steve.”
“Oh, honey.” I shook my head. “I’m not going to ask why you did that. I understand. But I’m glad you changed your mind.”
He nodded. “Yeah. Me, too.”
“What will you tell her?”
He shrugged. “Nothing. She broke up with me in a letter this morning. If you can really call it a breakup, since we’d never met.” He looked thoughtful. “I think she was kind of shallow, anyway. I don’t know.” He didn’t appear to be upset about the breakup. Relieved, maybe.
Big Steve was over-the-top good-looking. This guy was kind of mousy, except for those crazy eyes. I knew what it was like to be mousy. I’d lived it for twenty years.
I gave him a slow smile. “I’m Patrice.” I stuck my hand out.
He shook it, firm, but not crushing. “Bart. Thanks for getting the letter back, Patrice. You really saved me from a huge mistake.”
“It’s my pleasure, Bart. Just don’t spread it around that I’m a softy.”
“Your secret’s safe with me.” He let go of my hand and turned to go.
“Hey, Bart?” Butterflies flittered in my stomach.
He looked over his shoulder. “Yeah?”
“I might be having a drink tonight at House of Nyx. Maybe I’ll see you there?” I waited, wondering what had come over me and wishing I could crawl under my desk.
His face turned pink again, and he grinned. “I might just do that.” He gave me a little wave. “I’ll see you later, Patrice.”
Had I just asked him out? I’d never done that before. That was terrifying in a completely different way. I watched him leave through the door to Mount Olympus proper.
Someone had taken Bart’s place in front of my desk. The woman cleared her throat, annoyed at my inattention.
I returned my focus to my job. “May I help you?” I saw who it was and stared in shock.
The woman before me had hair the color of lemons, and her gaze felt like it went right through me. Circe hadn’t taken long to find me. My entire body went cold, and my snakes went still.
“Hello, Patrice.” Her voice was like honey laced with arsenic.
I took a deep breath and sat up straighter. If she was there to kill me, I was going out with dignity. “Hello, Circe.”
Her eyes flashed pink for the briefest of moments before she gave me a slow smile. “I hear you can get things done.”
Transmonstrified
If you enjoyed Undercover Gorgon, be sure to check out this and other great stories in R.L. Naquin’s collection Transmonstrified.
R.L. Naquin, author of the Monster Haven series, shares an assortment of stories and poems from places just outside the world we know. These pages are filled with friendly monsters, dueling witches, floating ice fish, chupacabra taxidermy, and escalators leading to Heaven and Hell.
This collection includes two brand-new Monster Haven tales. Also, take a peek into the new world of the Mount Olympus Employment Agency.
Transmonstrified is available now.
About the Author
R.L. Naquin
Rachel writes stories that drop average people into magical situations filled with heart and quirky humor.
She believes in pixie dust, the power of love, good cheese, lucky socks, and putting things off until the last minute. Her home is Disneyland, despite her current location in Kansas. Rachel has one husband, two grown kids, and a crazy-catlady starter kit.
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Hang out with her online at:
@RLNaquin
RLNaquin
www.rlnaquin.com
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Also by R.L. Naquin
Find R.L. Naquin’s current and new books on her website at www.rlnaquin.com/books
Published by Bottle Cap Publishing:
Transmonstrified (short story collection)
The Mount Olympus Employment Agency Series
Unfinished Muse, Book 1
Unamused Muse, Book 2
Uninspired Muse, Book 3 (Spring 2016)
Undercover Gorgon:
A Mount Olympus Employment Agency Miniseries
“Episode #0 - Becoming”
Published by Carina Press:
The Monster Haven Series
Monster in My Closet, Book 1
Pooka in My Pantry, Book 2
Fairies in My Fireplace, Book 3
Golem in My Glovebox, Book 4
Demons in My Driveway, Book 5
Phoenix in My Fortune, Book 6
Contents
Copyright
1. “Episode #1 — Witches War”
Transmonstrified
About the Author
Also by R.L. Naquin
Undercover Gorgon: Episode #1 — Witches War (Undercover Gorgon: A Mt. Olympus Employment Agency Miniseries) Page 5