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A long sigh hissed out of my lungs. Peter barely looked up, scrolling lazily on his phone. I could see pictures of women in bikinis, lounging on beaches or on yachts. I already told him he should think about diversifying his social media feed, but I’d long given up hope on him. Straight men were like cavemen, focused solely on hunting their next meal and their next lay.
My computer unlocked with a touch of my thumb to the keyboard. The wallpaper of my smiling black-and-gold hellhound, Lily, filled the screen as the messy icons loaded in one by one, the computer clearly struggling. I glanced at the floating clock on the wall, the neon blue numbers reading three thirty-five. I was already late for my call by five minutes.
I quickly clicked into the webcam chatroom and toggled on the “green screen” option. The crusty white wall behind me was instantly replaced with a much more grand office space: rich evergreen walls, flickering sconces, a bookshelf overflowing with trinkets and thick tome-like books.
There, much better.
Yes, I was a Marvel who could channel illusion magic (and hated using it), but even I couldn’t work my mana over a spotty Wi-Fi connection. Especially with how little grasp I had over my powers in the first place. And I certainly wasn’t about to let this billionaire realize he‘d hired someone working out of the equivalent of Mom’s basement. Thankfully, his extremely busy schedule of showering hookers with champagne and soaking in tubs full of money off in the Maldives meant he had no time left to come for an in-person meeting. If it came to that, then I’d have my work cut out for me without the magic of a green screen and a filter.
The chat window rang a few times as I connected with Davie. His backdrop, a sun-soaked beach with skinny palm trees covered in bright pink vines, looked incredibly real. He had sunglasses that looked to be trimmed with pure gold, designer letters laser etched into the impenetrably black lenses. He was shirtless, sipping a drink from a coconut, giggles of whatever ladies he’d brought with him just off camera.
“Hey there, Caleb, how’s it going?”
“Great,” I lied, mustering as wide a smile as I could. “Just busy working on your case. I’ve got all my attention on it.”
“That’s what I love to hear, buddy.”
I almost threw up in my mouth at the condescending attitude. He wasn’t much older than me, but the way he spoke to me made me feel like I was a young child, seconds from being told I couldn’t go out and play with my friends. It was annoying as fuck.
Money. The check. Just think about getting paid.
“Are there any updates on that?” Davie asked, taking off his sunglasses. He drank from the large coconut in his hand, but instead of using the straw, he flicked out his forked snake tongue.
“Unfortunately, not any good updates. I thought I was close to retrieving one of the paintings, but it was a fake. Worse than that, it was also a trap.”
“For you?” Davie asked, not looking all that concerned.
“No, it appears that we aren’t the only ones looking for the paintings right now. I arrived in time to find a nearly deceased Crimson Ring initiate, along with two other dead cultists.” I left the part out about the brick wall of an ice dragon I had saved from being castrated. Speaking about the Crimson Ring and keeping a neutral expression was already difficult enough.
“Shit, seriously?” Davie’s thick black brows pushed together, creating a crevice of wrinkles between them. He had amber-yellow eyes, similar to a snake’s without the angular pupils. “That’s… I didn’t think they’d get involved in this. I just want those paintings for my own ego. What the hell do they want them for?”
Well, at least he was being honest. Had to give him that.
“I’m not sure, but they certainly seemed determined.”
“Interesting. And are you positive you’re equipped to handle this? If not, I can terminate the contract without any?—”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, cutting him off as Peter’s head snapped up from his phone, his eyes blown wide open as if he’d just heard a sickening car wreck. I felt the same flush of fear he displayed. I couldn’t let Davie even consider taking this case anywhere else, and there were plenty of options for him too. “I can assure you, I’ve got everything I need to handle the case, regardless of who else gets involved. I plan on bringing in some outside help as well, just to make sure all the bases are covered. I want to get those three paintings in your hands as soon as possible.”
He took another drink. Some of the white foam got on his upper lip, getting licked off by that forked tongue. “I just want to make sure there aren’t any other conflicting interests at play here. I know the Crimson Ring has their hands in everything, and it’s interesting to me that you seem to be shadowing them now.”
