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I managed not to jump in shock when Roger called me the next morning, but I still couldn’t help but tense up all over. Had he figured out that I’d given him a bogus spell? I hoped my voice didn’t shake as much as it felt like it did when I answered.
“Can you come to my office right away?” he asked, rather brusquely.
“Of course,” I replied as my heart hammered in my chest. He was a raging psychopath, I was pretty sure, but he was usually rather pleasant and friendly. If he was that terse, something was wrong. I tried taking a few of the yoga breaths Gemma had taught me—slow in and out through my nose—but they didn’t do much to stop the panic attack. I told myself that if something was really wrong, he’d have kept me out of the building, or he’d have had me dragged out of my office. Would he really bother calling me in before chaining me in the dungeon, or whatever it was he did to people he couldn’t turn into frogs?
I felt a little better when he looked up at me and smiled as I entered his office. Even better was the spread of coffee and pastries set out on his desk. I didn’t think he’d serve me Danishes before sending me to my doom. If he did, he was a bigger psycho than I thought.
“Please, come in and help yourself,” he said with a gesture toward the food. I didn’t need encouraging. It was only midmorning, but I was starving because I hadn’t had time for breakfast. There wasn’t a lot of leeway in the morning when a car picked you up at a precise time, and I was used to roommates waking me when they got up. It was hard to oversleep when there was that much activity in the apartment. It had been ages since I’d needed an alarm clock, and I wasn’t adjusting well.
Once I’d taken a Danish and poured a cup of coffee, he gave me a smile so nice I could almost forget what he really was. “How are you liking things here so far?” he asked.
“I have to say, it’s been the best working environment I’ve ever experienced,” I replied, quite honestly. Yeah, there was the weirdness of having to change clothes, and all, but no one yelled at me, I got to arrive at nine and leave at five, there weren’t a lot of pointless meetings, and Roger hadn’t ever changed his mind about an assignment he’d given me after I’d done it and then blamed me for not doing it right in the first place. It didn’t say much for the management I’d dealt with that a psychopathic mobster with plans for world domination really was the best boss I’d ever had.
“G
ood,” he said, still smiling. “Do you enjoy your work?” Before I could answer, he laughed and said, “Okay, that’s a stupid question. The work I’ve given you so far is incredibly tedious. Copying documents by hand would be way below your skill level if it weren’t for the fact that you’re the only one who can touch that book. You might even be the only one who can read it properly. But I promise, there will be more interesting work for you in the coming months.” With an even bigger grin, he added, “Stick with me, kid, and you’ll really go places,” in a reasonable Humphrey Bogart impression.
That gave me a pang. Owen loved Humphrey Bogart films. Because of this operation, I’d missed spending the winter snuggled up with him in front of his fireplace, watching old movies. I forced myself to smile at Roger because the last thing I needed was him asking me why I looked so sad.
More seriously, Roger said, “What I’m saying is, you’re the candidate I’ve selected for the permanent position as my right hand. You’ve got valuable connections, you’re smart, you’re efficient, and you’ve proven yourself to be loyal. Congratulations, and welcome aboard.”
“Um, thanks,” I said, trying to sound more enthusiastic than I felt. This was what I wanted—getting closer to the heart of the matter. It was just not my idea of fun to have to spend that much time with someone like him.
“You’ll be getting a new office closer to mine. It’ll be bigger. And you’ll have outside communications access, as you’ll need that to make appointments and take calls for me.” That was an improvement, I thought. I didn’t even have to fake the smile in response. Not that I’d be able to talk to people at MSI, but in a crisis, I might be able to call one of my friends and give them a prearranged danger signal.
I nodded in acknowledgment, and he continued. “As I’m sure you can tell from the transcription you’ve been doing, I’m gearing up for a big operation, and I’ll need your help every step of the way. However, I should warn you that there may be some risks.” He waved a hand at his office door, shutting it, before saying, “What I’m working on isn’t exactly sanctioned by the company. It’s in line with their ultimate goals, but I intend to do it on my own before they can get to it. That should secure my rise, and when I rise, you’ll come with me. But if it doesn’t work, if I fail, you’ll fail along with me. You won’t have any future with this company apart from me. If my plans don’t work, you’ll be out—or worse. I feel like I should make that clear to you before we go further.”
“What do you mean by ‘worse’?” I asked, because I figured any normal person would.
“There may be consequences. You’ve seen what happens to magical people—or even normal people—who get in our way. Magical punishments wouldn’t work on you, of course, but there may be other consequences. Is this a risk you can accept?”
I gulped. “I believe so.”
He grinned again. “Good. I can assure you that I have no intention to fail. I’ve got the tools I need, and my plan is already in place. You and me together, I think we might even be unstoppable, and then the sky’s the limit. We won’t only take over this place, we’ll take it in new directions. We’ll rule the magical world!”
I braced myself, waiting for the bolt of lightning and clap of ominous thunder that usually accompanied proclamations like that. Unfortunately, the real world usually wasn’t very cinematic, so nothing happened. His eyes did have a crazy gleam to them, and the “Mwa ha ha!” was implied in his tone. I also thought I detected a slight crackle of magic around him.
“That sounds exciting,” I said, mustering all the enthusiasm I could.
“Yeah, you’ll really be able to stick it to those people at MSI. They’ll regret letting you get away from them. Let me know if there’s anyone in particular you want me to deal with, like that ex of yours.”
It was a good thing I already had my eager mask on because I wasn’t sure I’d have been able to hide my feelings quickly enough otherwise. “That–that won’t be necessary,” I stammered, even as I felt like a steel band had gone around my chest. More flippantly, I added, “I want him around to see how successful I am without him. That wouldn’t be any fun at all if he were a frog down in that pond.”
He laughed. “I can see your point. I’ll admit, I do have one ex down there, but it’s far more satisfying being successful in front of the ex who’s still dealing with wardrobing—and that’s as far as she’ll ever go. But the moment you want him taken out, you just say the word. What about your old boss?”
“Which one?” I asked. I did have one former boss I wouldn’t mind having turned into a frog, even if she wasn’t magical. I mean, if I needed to give a name to prove my loyalty, I’d be willing to sacrifice and let them have Mimi. But I suspected that wasn’t where he was going with this.
“You know the one I mean.”
“Merlin? Good luck with that. You know what he did to the last person who took him on.”
“Oh, when I’m done with my plans, he’ll be easy prey for me. What would you say his greatest weakness was?”
“Well, he is a bit behind the times,” I said, which was sort of true. He’d been in a magical coma for about a thousand years, only reviving a couple of years ago, so he’d missed a lot of development. But he’d also done a really good job of catching up. I didn’t tell Roger that, though.
“I think I can work with that,” Roger said with a satisfied nod. “But that’s not my next step. I have other things to put in place first. Go ahead and finish your coffee—take your time—and then I need your help with something.”
