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Heidi flipped upside down on the beanbag chair, her blond hair on the floor and her heart-shaped face looking up at me. “The destruction of company records… I agree with Patrick.”
I smiled politely at them both. “Thank you for your contributions.” I had to remind myself that inviting them over had been my idea. “Melvin wants me to go with him to meet with the CEO of S.J. Sporting. The Artemis team was talking about it last night. Seems Indiana has a reputation for being really buff and into physical activities.” I glanced down helplessly at myself. “Sports stuff like cave diving or rock climbing. Things you need sporting equipment for. I don’t know how he got those ridiculous ideas, except from the two of you and Shane. And Jason, and I guess, me. Okay, so bottom line is if he and I can land the account, it sounds like he might give me, or rather Indiana, the promotion. Otherwise, the Artemis team gets cut.”
“The entire team?” Heidi gasped. “You hold the lives of like a hundred people in your big strong hands.”
“There are only like twelve of us altogether. If you count the non-IT people, too.”
Patrick whistled. “That’s still a lot of pressure.”
“So if this were a game of chess, Melvin moved his bishop, and we need to counter,” Heidi said.
“I recommend the rook,” Patrick said.
I pulled my feet up underneath me on the couch. “Do either of you know anything about chess?” I asked.
“Not a thing,” Heidi answered.
Patrick shook his head. “But I watchedThe Queen’s Gambit.”
“This is the last time I suggest it, but maybe a fedora—” Heidi started.
“No.” I shook my head. “This isn’t Shakespeare. I’m not dressing as a man. Or having a man impersonate me. Ever.I’mIndiana. If I win or lose the account, I’m doing it asme.”
“But we definitely don’t want Melon having a fit during an important meeting,” Patrick concluded. He nodded at Heidi. “This is also the last time I’m going to suggest it, but I do think this is something fire could easily fix—”
I grabbed the throw pillows from the couch and threw one at each of them. Patrick caught his, but the other pillow bounced off Heidi’s face.
She grabbed it to toss it back to me when we heard Patrick gasp. I looked over at him, and he quickly slipped his phone into his pocket and looked at me innocently.
“Can you find out what he’s been doing?” Heidi asked. “He’s been checking his phone incessantly all morning. He won’t tell me what he’s been looking at.”
“Patrick?” I asked.
He chewed his lip for a moment before finally relenting. “Okay, so remember how we took that pottery class together? Well, I told Kelli she could list Bag End from the Shire on their auction site. I wrote the name down for her and explained the basic plot ofThe Hobbitand thenThe Lord of the Ringsarc even though she clearly wasn’t giving me her full attention.”
“That’s really kind of you,” I said. Poor Kelli was probably bored to tears. “I’m sure she was thrilled for the opportunity.”
“Well, at first there weren’t any bids, so I sort of, maybe, might’ve created an Instagram for the pottery studio and tried to advertise a little.”
Heidi smacked his arm. “Nobody wanted your pixie palace, so you had to advertise it?”
Patrick shuffled his hands defensively. “It’s a great piece, okay? It just needed to be found by the right audience. It should go to afan.”
“I know your motives aren’t pure, but it really is a great piece. This kind of thing could really help Kelli. Thank you, Patrick.”
“But that’s not the weird part.”
“Is, too,” Heidi said.
“Take a look at this, Ana.”
He turned his phone screen toward me, and Heidi scrambled off the floor to see. On the page was my melted almost-a-cat, titledSuspicionby Indiana Aaron. It actually had some bids. I squinted closer. “Holy crispy cracker,” I whispered. “The price is up to five hundred dollars.”
“What?” Heidi yelped in my ear. “Forthat? It looks like someone mutilated a lump of dirt, then set it on fire.”
“Are we in the Upside Down?” I asked Patrick.
“My hobbit hole is only up to fifteen bucks,” he muttered.
