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“That’s sneaking away. Sneaking is the exact opposite of dramatic. So, are you calling this other company?”
“Tomorrow,” I said. “And, um, maybe we don’t have to tell Gemma and Marcia until I have the other job set in stone. Especially Marcia. She’d have a cow if she knew I quit like that.” I hadn’t yet decided what to tell my other roommates, or how to tell them. It all depended on what happened next.
“Isn’t her boyfriend your HR guy? I have a feeling she’ll know soon enough.”
“I don’t think he’s allowed to disclose stuff like that,” I said. Rod was in on the scheme, since he had to know not to really put through all the severance paperwork, but I thought he was discreet enough not to say anything about it to Marcia.
*
I quit on a Friday, which meant I had to spend the weekend wondering what would happen while hiding what was happening from my roommates even as I was avoiding Owen. Since the odds were extremely slim that anyone from the Collegium would know what went on in my apartment, we didn’t bother with any charades of him calling to talk to me and me refusing to take his calls. At the same time, I couldn’t be seen getting together with him. Instead, we spent a lot of time on the phone. I felt like a teenager again, curled up on my bed with the receiver cradled against my ear, chatting with a boy.
By the time Monday rolled around, I was ready to make the next move. I told my roommates I was taking a mental health day, to explain why I let myself sleep a little late and wasn’t getting ready for work. When Nita got home and went to bed, I read quietly in the living room, then went out for lunch to increase the chances of being approached.
By midafternoon, I was starting to think that I’d have to break down and call them. I was just about to head downtown to the usual bar when my cell phone rang. I didn’t use it often, so I fumbled and nearly dropped it when I pulled it out of my purse. I flipped it open to see the display, and it said “Unknown Number.”
Was this it, or was it some telemarketer? If they knew about how my day at work went, then surely they could get my cell number. I hit the “accept” button and said, “Hello?”
“Hello, Katie,” the caller said. I thought I recognized the voice of the mysterious recruiter. “I understand you might be in a position to reconsider our offer.”
“What gives you that impression?” I said, sitting on the nearest bench. This was it!
“You quit your job.”
“Wow, word travels fast.”
“We make it our business to know what happens in the magical world. So, are you interested?”
“Well, I might be open to talking.”
“That’s all we ask of you, to consider what we have to say. Now, since your schedule is open, how does tomorrow sound? Say, ten?”
“As you said, my schedule is open. Where at ten?”
“We’ll take care of that. Just be ready and outside your building at ten.” The call was disconnected before I could respond. “Okay, here we go,” I said to myself.
I went home before calling Owen to let him know, since I didn’t want to be seen immediately making a phone call. I thought it was incredibly likely that I was being watched. “I’m meeting with them tomorrow,” I said when I reached him at his office.
“Where?”
“That’s the thing—I don’t know. They just said to be ready at ten.”
“I don’t like it. We know you can’t trust these people. That’s the point of all this.”
“If they wanted fit me for cement shoes, wouldn’t they have just grabbed me instead of sending me cookies and flowers?”
“Maybe it’s some sick game they play with their prey. I’ll get Sam to keep an eye on you.”
“Be careful about it. If they get the slightest hint that MSI is watching me, it’ll blow the whole operation, and I’m sure they’ll be looking out for that sort of thing.”
“There are gargoyles all over the city, and he can make it so they don’t see him.”
“They use immunes. That’s why they’re recruiting me,” I reminded him.
“I don’t like this at all.”
“But it’s necessary.”
“If we don’t hear from you by the end of the day, we’ll come looking for you.”
