by R. J. Blain
Stupid woman. Chase needed a new receptionist.
I also needed to resist almonds. Fortunately, I preferred my nuts intact and not in flour format, and the fear of full-body itching ensured my good behavior.
I settled with hissing my discontent while I waited for Chase to returned, and I picked in front of his keyboard as my spot.
After an hour, which I timed from Chase’s screensaver, he returned, and he frowned while closing the door behind him. “Did someone come in here?”
I crawled around his monitor, pointed at the blanket, which would be easiest to spot the powder on, and nodded.
With a frown fixed in place, he headed over. A single sniff transformed him from a calm, rational man into a raging, growling beast stuck in a handsome man’s body. “Almonds?”
I slinked back to my spot between Chase’s chair and keyboard, hunkered down, and kept a close eye on him.
“Did you see who did it?”
I nodded, and I pointed at his computer. Reaching around me, he unlocked his system and opened his word processor. I described Denise’s behavior, quelling my initial urge to feel guilt over tattling. Chase grunted, picked up his phone, and dialed a number. “Dad, did you plant any intel about Miriah’s allergies to anyone? No? Okay. We’ve got a possible bug or a clever tail. My office was dusted with almond flour while I was in a meeting. Miriah was in here alone, but she was hanging out on the curtain. Denise didn’t notice her.”
Chase’s father talked for a long time, and Chase sighed. “I really doubt it’s cyanide, Dad. But that said, I’ll call in for a lab and pretend it is. If it is cyanide, I really doubt the culprit—yes, I know who it is—would touch it with bare hands. While I agree it’s a desperate stunt, I’m not convinced it’s to the point of accidently killing themselves over. That said, as far as I’m concerned, it was a murder attempt. As soon as I’m off the phone with you, I’m calling the police. Remember everything I said about timeout? Go ahead and ignore that bullshit. Start with the receptionist. Also, you know the rule: no questioning her. Put her in timeout until the police arrives, and when they give you directions, please listen to them for once in your life.”
Damn it. I didn’t want to deal with the police. I hissed my discontent.
“Sorry, Miriah. This is too serious to ignore.”
To a point, I agreed. Being murdered would make giving Caleb a good Christmas impossible. I considered Chase. Everything I’d witnessed pointed at the same conclusion. For the first time in my life, I’d fallen for a decent human being. No, not just a decent human being, but a genuinely nice one as long as I ignored his pre-tea grumpiness.
Good fortune came with buckets of bad luck. I flopped onto my side and waited for the inevitable misery of the police snooping about in my business.
“It’ll be all right. I thought you’d be safe in here. I was wrong. I won’t be making that mistake again. I’ll get you a good laptop so you can work wherever I have to go, but you’re not leaving my sight until this is resolved.”
I foresaw a great deal of trouble in my future. How far would he take his edict? I’d experienced the men’s bathroom enough for one lifetime, although I had to admit the urinals made excellent waste disposal facilities for karma chameleons.
Christmas would be an interesting adventure if I didn’t get to the bottom of Chase’s mystery. Would Gavin take pity on me for once? I needed to catch a break for a change.
I just hoped it wouldn’t be a literal one. I had enough difficulties in my life already.
A pair of cops, two younger men likely new to the force, and someone with a lab testing kit invaded Chase’s office. As only a fool would pour powdered cyanide out on a desk without heavy protective gear, the police suspected almond flour, a dangerous only-to-me substance that would waste them time and resources in an investigation they likely wanted nothing to do with.
They descended on my workstation with startling determination and efficiency. I scrambled off the desk, used Chase’s leg as an escape route, and bolted for the safety of the curtain. I made it halfway across the carpet before Chase caught me and relocated me to his shoulder.
“Thank you for coming, officers. Please forgive Miriah. She’s edgy. She’s allergic to almonds, and someone targeted her yesterday. She’s been cursed by a divine, so she’s currently stuck in this shape. She typed up a recounting of the situation on my computer. I can send you a copy of the statement after you read it.”
While young, the cops went to work with no outward sign of inexperience, photographing Chase’s desk, examining my workstation, and otherwise poking their nose in my business.
The older gentleman with the lab kit also went to work, taking samples of the powder, sealing it, and stowing it away. “We’ll run a full lab on this to test for additives. It’s entirely possible there’s something else toxic in the powder. At first glance, I’d guess almond flour. There doesn’t seem to be any bitterness to the scent.”
“Not cyanide, then,” Chase muttered.
“Very probably not.” The lab technician checked my message on Chase’s computer. “Especially not handled so casually. That’s a good way to take an express trip to the grave.”
The cops both sighed and shook their heads. The younger of the pair, a handsome enough blond with bright blue eyes and a crooked grin, pointed at the desk. “Can you confirm everything that was dusted, please?”
Chase pointed at my keyboard and nest. “She left everything else alone. You can take both as evidence. We haven’t touched anything since it was dusted. If you need to take the complete computer, we need to get a backup made of it first. That said, the woman responsible did attempt to access the machine without success.”
“You can confirm she didn’t succeed?”
“Yes, we can.”
I wondered what Denise wanted from my computer. My work wasn’t anything new; I merely confirmed the story the numbers told, none of which pointed at her as the culprit. The suspects belonged to other departments, although her addition to the puzzle would complicate matters.
Who did she work with?
Why?
The cops talked to Chase for a few more minutes, asking so many questions I wanted to go hide. Chase kept his answers short but cooperative, and most focused on him rather than me.
Chase’s phone rang, and I hissed at the wretched device for startling a few years off my life.
“It’s just my phone,” he murmured, stroking his hand down my back before checking the display. He answered and said, “What do you have for me?”
While faint, I heard Chase’s father announce he’d put Denis in timeout and that a bag of almond flour had spilled in the hallway. His father didn’t sound very apologetic, not that I blamed him.
The almond flour in the reception would make my afternoon and evening even more difficult unless someone cleaned up the mess or I found some way to bypass it.
Chase chuckled. “Officers, the culprit was just detained by my father in the reception, and she’s in possession of almond flour. It seems there’s a bit of mess out there. If you need us for anything, we’ll be in here.”
It amazed me the cops went along with Chase’s implied suggestion they head to the reception, and they packed the keyboard and my nest and took them out in sealed bags.
I tapped Chase’s shoulder, and once I had his attention, I pointed at the cops’ departing backs.
“Oh. You slept through most of it yesterday, but they’re the same folks who did the initial investigative work in the other office. We got to skip a lot of the extra bullshit and get straight to business. If we’re needed, we’ll be summoned. If they need your direct statement, they’ll call in an angel—or subpoena that damned divine to reverse his curse during the questioning sessions.”
I’d pay a great deal to watch that disaster.
“The tech team is going to love me in about ten minutes. I’m going to order a laptop for you along with a replacement keyboard. Damn it. I’m going to have to detox my ent
ire office, too.” Chase stood, checked his chair, and once satisfied it wasn’t contaminated with almond flour, he placed me on it. Stomping to the door, he yanked it open. “Dad! My office. Now.”
I admired Chase’s ability to howl louder than my son during one of his temper tantrums.
“I’m a little busy right now,” his father howled back.
Obviously, howling was a family trait. Were they lycanthropes? I could handle Chase being a lycanthrope.
Lycanthropes had zero loyalty issues, long life spans, and with my tendency to have disasters rather than dates, I might even survive a relationship with one. With my luck, Chase was an incubus, which would prove Gavin right—again—and leave me with more than a few regrets.
“Unacceptable,” Chase replied, lowering his volume to something a little less offensive to my ears.
“Deal with it, brat!”
Life never made sense, and I doubted it ever would. As I’d somehow gotten lost in some odd version of reality, I decided to make the most of it, returning to my hiding spot at the top of the curtain to watch it snow.
A circus of men and women streamed through Chase’s office, and one of the women was a gorgon with black snakes, all of which wore tiny hats with veils. Each hat had a bow of a different color. I counted snakes and estimated she packed thirty or so.
She must have spent a fortune of time and effort making thirty-something hats with little veils and adorable bows. Did it offend gorgons to ask about their snakes?
Did they have names?
Did they pick which color bow to wear?
Did they eat?
I could spend a lifetime asking questions without my curiosity being sated.
The gorgon lifted her chin, waited until everyone else left the office, and closed the door.
“I know why no one has discovered an issue with your financials until now,” she announced.
Well, damn. The gorgon did a better job at my job than I did. I’d only pinpointed the problem without coming close to learning the why of it.
“Have a seat. What have you learned?”
The gorgon sank into one of the chairs across from Chase and clasped her hands on her lap. “Your chameleon has excellent sight—of a magical nature. It’s unlikely she knows she has it, either. It’s not one easy to discover. Someone obscured the reports to draw attention away from their siphoning of funds and general performance issues. You’re developing a resistance to it, which is why you noticed something was amiss. I have not. I only see the issues when I use her new reports. You’re fortunate to have developed some resistance to it.”
“How so?”
“From what I can tell comparing the reports, part of the magic creates an impression on its victims. Creating a new report won’t be considered by most because of that magic, which is unusual in nature. Really, the interplay of magic and technology is fascinating. So, you have an interesting situation here. You would be wise to avoid trusting your eyes. They may deceive you. I would also guard your chameleon well. She’s going to be a target for all those involved if they know she’s capable of seeing through their magic. I expect without her you would be very frustrated. You would continue knowing something was wrong, but no one else would be able to find something amiss. Perhaps an angel. The magic is a lie, and they dislike lies. I’ve met a few angels. They would find this situation... interesting.”
I decided interesting was the gorgon’s favorite word of the day.
Chase grumbled a few curses and reached for his phone. “I know one way to solve this.” He pressed a button to activate the speaker and dialed a number.
“How can I help you, sir?” a man answered.
“Timothy, send a memo to the entire company for me, please. All extra expenses need to be approved by department management, on printed purchase orders, before being delivered to me for final approval. In addition to this, the basic extra expenses authorizations are revoked beginning immediately. All purchases, from office supplies to advertising campaigns, will need official physical purchase orders along with the digital copies. Management will need to justify all petty cash expenditures as well. Call me back when you’ve sent it. Finally, make certain all management confirm, in writing, their acceptance and understanding of the new policy.”
“Yes, sir. It’ll take about an hour. I’ll have our attorney go over it first.”
“Thank you.” Chase disconnected the call.
The gorgon sighed. “That will anger those responsible.”
“Good. You have my blessing to petrify anyone who even looks at Miriah wrong. I’ll cover all of your fines and claim your community service hours as necessary. No one is to hurt her.”
If everyone treated other people like they had real value, the world would be a much better place. I hadn’t done anything to earn any of Chase’s consideration or care.
If anything, I created more trouble for him at every turn.
“I’ll do my best, Mr. Butler.”
“Chase, please. Has anyone bothered you today?”
“Bothered? No. Investigated? Yes. I have pictures of everyone who paid me a visit as well as recordings from hidden cameras I placed in the hallway. They’re interesting.”
I found her interesting. Were all gorgons corporate espionage queens? At least she knew what she was doing. I wondered about my suspected sight, though. Magic worked however magic wanted to work, but I didn’t think I had anything magical about me beyond making a scanner beep whenever someone brought it next to me. I typically blamed Caleb and Gavin for the beeps.
I hadn’t started beeping until I’d become pregnant with my son.
“What do you mean by interesting?”
“More people hovered outside of my door than bothered to come in.”
“Well, you are new.”
“But none of them tried to throw a glass at me. I’m disappointed.”
“I’m sure someone will give you a valid reason to petrify them soon enough. Oh, would you please do me a favor?’
“What do you need, Chase?”
“Send me a copy of the reports you send to my father, please.”
The gorgon grinned. “Of course. He hadn’t told me I couldn’t.”
“Thank you.”
Still grinning, she rose from her seat and left the office, and I admired her, her snakes, and their precious little hats. I would need to be careful around the gorgon. She was sneaky.
Chapter Nine
Tiana swept into Chase’s office, struck a pose, and sang, “Where is my princess? We must go forth to the shelter to volunteer. Our time has come!”
“And so has a blizzard. To complicate matters for you, your princess isn’t leaving my sight.”
Wow. Hello, possessiveness. Since when did Chase involve himself with territory disputes over me? And since when did I actually enjoy it for a change? Obviously, my exposure to him had rattled my few remaining brain cells.
“That escalated quickly. Well, the whole my princess leaving your sight thing. The blizzard isn’t really a blizzard yet. It’s just a moderately angry snowstorm out for the city’s blood. I called the shelter, and they’re in a bit of an emergency situation, so we really can’t skip on account of the weather. What did I miss?”
Chase sighed. “Almond flour while I was out of the office.”
Tiana’s brows rose, and she locked onto my computer, which still lacked a keyboard and a chameleon-appropriate nest. “I’d noticed a mess in the reception. Also, were you aware your receptionist is frozen near the front doors? There are particles of white dust floating in the air, too. It’s really weird.”
“Yes, I’m aware. My father put Denise in timeout.” Chase checked his phone. “Was he still in reception?”
Tiana nodded and plopped onto one of the guest seats. “He was talking to the police, and they were discussing how to move her. They’re arguing over her talents. Until her talent evaluation is done, your father doesn’t want to remove her from timeout—whatever that is.”
&
nbsp; “It’s essentially a time vortex. She’s stuck in the moment my father used his talent on her. Think of it as conscious petrification. She’s aware of everything going on around her, but she’s frozen. Technically, she’s not even breathing.”
“That’s horrifying.”
I nodded my agreement and stayed where I was, safely out of reach of the crazy old man capable of freezing time.
“There’s a reason I tell him to keep his magic to himself unless needed.”
“Where’s my princess?”
Chase pointed in my direction. “She’s busy watching it snow. How far away is the shelter from here?”
“Ten blocks.”
“Are you walking?”
Tiana frowned, and according to her expression, she was trying to figure out the politest way to tell Chase he’d lost his damned mind. “I drove to get here. The roads aren’t that bad.”
“The roads are that bad, and they’ll only get worse. I’ll walk with you to the shelter.”
The moment Tiana recognized she was dealing with the son of a mad man likely as mad as the old mad man, her expression went blank. She cracked, and a giggle slipped out. “You want to walk ten blocks in a blizzard? Are you mad? We’ll freeze to death.”
I adored my best frenemy.
“Hardly. Did you bring a good winter coat with you? That little frock does not count as a good winter coat. That barely qualifies as a spring coat.”
I observed the cage match between the rich, wealthy white man and the black chick who wasn’t about to take any shit from the rich, wealthy white man with glee. Who would win? I would. Neither of the participants stood a chance of victory.
Tiana hopped to her feet and stomped her foot. “This girl fears no storm, and this frock is a Prada, thank you very much.”
“It’s a disaster waiting to happen and a vessel for hypothermia,” Chase countered. “An expensive disaster second only to the hospital bill should you try to go outside while wearing it.”