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“I wouldn’t have found the brooch without you, and a book was your idea. Now, dinner? There’s a restaurant I know a couple of blocks from here. It’s run by magical people, although I doubt most of their customers have figured that out. We won’t have to be so careful about our conversation there.”
That left me with quite the dilemma—I wanted to spend more time with him, but there was no way I could keep my secret at a magical restaurant. In fact, the more time I spent around him, the harder it was to keep my secret.
I must have hesitated longer than I realized, for he frowned at me and asked, “Katie? Is something wrong?”
“To be honest, I’m not sure I’m up for dinner right now,” I said, and it wasn’t a lie at all. My stomach had tied itself in knots and I felt queasy. “Do you mind if I call it a night?”
If he was disappointed, he hid it well. “Not at all. I’ll make it up to you some other time.”
“I think I’m the one who would have to make it up to you,” I said as we resumed walking up Broadway.
“You were the one doing me a favor,” he argued.
“I made a couple of gift suggestions. That’s not worth a dinner.”
He didn’t say anything after that, and I feared I’d pushed back too hard. While I didn’t want him to know how big a crush I had on him, I also didn’t want him to think I didn’t like him at all. Though really, the crush had faded somewhat with time, which was what I’d hoped would happen. He was less of an ideal and more of a real person, even if his smiles did make my legs turn to jelly.
He walked me to my front door, then said, “Thanks again for the help.”
“No problem. You’ll have to tell me what they think.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” I looked over my shoulder after unlocking the door, and he’d already disappeared.
Owen was uncharacteristically quiet the next morning. Not that he was usually all that talkative, but there was a subdued quality to his quiet that was new. I hoped I hadn’t hurt his feelings. Maybe he was just lost in thought.
The quiet commute was a sharp contrast to the building lobby when we got to work. It seemed like almost the entire MSI workforce was gathered there, and judging from the bits of muttered conversations I overheard, I got the impression that no one else had any more of a clue about what was going on than I did. Owen edged closer to me. He looked distinctly uncomfortable in the crowd.
Hughes, the lobby doorman, approached us, ticked something off the clipboard he carried, then murmured a few words under his breath. Two baseball caps with the MSI logo on them appeared in his hand. “Here you are, sir, Miss Chandler,” he said, handing one to each of us. “You’ll find an envelope inside your cap. Please keep it sealed until you’re instructed to open it.” Before we had a chance to ask questions, he moved on to greet the latest arrivals.
Owen studied his ball cap like he thought it was going to bite him. “What’s going on?” he asked.
I spotted Rod moving through the lobby toward us. He looked more energized and excited than I’d ever seen him, and I wished I could see what that lively expression would have done to his true face. He’d probably be almost as irresistible as he was with all his spells. Speaking of spells, I felt his magnetism hit when he got within about five feet of me. While I was still moderately in control of myself, I took a step backward and sighed in relief when that eased the urge to throw myself into his arms.
“Great! You two are here,” Rod said.
“For what?” Owen asked.
Rod grinned and took a step forward. I shifted sideways and back half a step. “It was one of Katie’s ideas. We’re boosting morale and teamwork. Don’t worry, this’ll be fun.” He turned to me. “Can I take your coat and your other things? I can get them up to your office.” In order to hand him my coat and bag, I had to step within his sphere of influence. I could feel the waves of desire wash over me, and I forced myself to keep my eyes on Owen. Surely his very real charms—his strong jaw, sculpted cheekbones, and blue eyes full of intelligence, kindness, and a hint of sadness—would be enough to counteract any other man’s attraction spell.
It must have worked, for I was startled when Rod said, “Oh, gotta run. I need to brief the boss. Katie, your things will be in your office.” Only then did I notice that he no longer held my coat, purse, or tote bag.
Once he was gone, Owen turned to me with a look that almost made me feel like I’d stabbed him in the back. “This wasn’t my idea,” I insisted. “I may have suggested that boosting morale and teamwork might counteract the effects of the mole, but I didn’t suggest anything like this. I’m afraid I may have created a monster.”
“And what, exactly, do you think this is?”
I looked around at the ball caps and at the posters I now saw hanging from the balcony railing above. “I suspect we’re in for a company pep rally and a team-building exercise. There will probably be sharing and hugging, that kind of thing.”
“Oh.” He looked like he’d rather be wrestling a dragon, or maybe having dinner with Idris. I turned to watch Rod with Merlin. Merlin looked utterly fascinated by the goings-on. He was even wearing his ball cap proudly.
I turned back to reassure Owen that I’d try to do what I could to get him out of stuff like this, but he was gone. I had a feeling that if my magical immunity had been in place, I would have been able to see him sneaking around the periphery of the lobby and then up the stairs to the relative safety of his lab. It was no fair. Why couldn’t I veil myself with invisibility?
A trumpet sounded a flourish, and the whole crowd turned to face the stairs. The playerless trumpet that hung over the stairs near Merlin disappeared. “Thank you all for being here this morning,” Merlin said, his voice ringing through the room. Not that we had much choice, given that they’d ambushed us at the front door. “I know we’ve had some challenges in the past weeks, but it’s important that we remember who we are and what we do. We need to accept—even embrace—the fact that our world has changed and move forward proudly. To that effect, I would like to present a challenge. If we reach our productivity goals for the year before the holidays, everyone will receive a bonus.”
The crowd cheered, and I had to give the old guy credit. He knew exactly how to motivate people: money. I wasn’t sure where the hats and posters fit in, though. It seemed to me that he could have delivered the same message via e-mail.
“Now Mr. Gwaltney will take over,” Merlin said, then stepped aside for Rod.
