"That sounds good. Just pick a good one for me."
"I'll have to look around. Until now, I haven't been thinking about long-term prospects when I've been arranging things."
The front door opened and Marcia came in. "Mmm, dinner smells good. Katie must be cooking tonight."
"Hey!" Gemma protested, but she was grinning. She'd be the first to admit that her favorite recipe was a Chinese delivery menu.
"What's going on?" Marcia asked as she tucked her briefcase into the end table that also served as her nightstand.
"We're getting Katie a boyfriend."
"We are? What brought this on?"
"I'm tired of all the dating," I said before Gemma could say anything. "I'd like the chance to really get to know someone."
"You do realize you'll have to date some in order to find a boyfriend, don't you?"
Gemma teased.
"Does this mean you are or aren't joining us tomorrow night?" Marcia asked, peering into the pot of tomato sauce and giving it a stir.
"I'm not. But not because of the boyfriend thing. I'm going out with some people from work. I figured it would be a good chance to get the real scoop on the office politics."
Marcia poured herself a glass of wine. "That's a very sound strategy-"
I got up and put some water on to boil for the pasta. I felt all warm inside, and not just because the tiny kitchen was hot from the cooking and all the bodies. It felt good to have my friends here and to remember how much they cared for me. That was something I never wanted to lose, no matter how deep I got myself into the magical world.
* * *
The next morning, Owen was in his usual spot on the subway platform. I felt a flutter in my stomach when I saw him, then reminded myself to forget about it. He appeared tired and haggard, with dark circles under his eyes, but otherwise he looked much better than the last time I'd seen him.
"How are you feeling?" I asked when I got near him.
"Better, thanks. I'm not looking forward to going through that again."
"You have to do it again? Can't someone else?"
"I wouldn't ask anyone else," he said solemnly as a train screeched to a stop.
We didn't talk on the way to work. He looked lost in thought, and I was lost in thought, so neither of us minded the relative silence. The subway during rush hour isn't a prime conversational zone anyway, especially when the topic of conversation involves magic.
I headed straight to the verification office, which took every ounce of will I had in me. I made a show of putting down my bags and draping my jacket across the back of my chair, then was just about to go put my lunch in the refrigerator when Gregor shouted at me. "Yes?" I asked innocently.
"You'll be officing up in R and D. We'll send your assignments there."
"Oh, okay." I kept my face as blank as I could while I picked my bags and jacket up and left the office. Only when I was safely out in the corridor did I smile in relief. It was going to be a lot easier to come to work from now on.
As it had at my last visit, the R&D door swung open when I approached. Once inside, I wondered where I should go, but I soon heard a flutter of wings and a fairy approached. Those wings might look insubstantial, but it seemed that a fairy could move pretty quickly when she wanted to. I recognized her as the fairy I'd seen on the subway that day last week that had changed my life.
"Hi!" she said cheerfully. "You must be Katie. I'm An. They sent me to show you your office."
"Oh, good. I was wondering where to go."
"It isn't far. They want you just inside the entrance so you can spot the bad guys.
Good work the
other day, by the way."
"Thanks."
"And here we are!" She hovered just inside the doorway to a small office with glass walls that overlooked the main corridor. It wasn't palatial, but it beat the verification pool, and it beat my cubicle at my last job. It even had a door. "We've already got the phone set up, and your computer will be delivered this afternoon."
"A computer?" That was something I hadn't had back in the pool.
"Yeah, special orders from the boss. Bathroom's around the corner. We don't have a coffee room or kitchen, but if you need anything, just grab someone and ask for whatever you want. I'm in the lab across the hall, so yell if you want something. Oh, and yell if you see someone who doesn't look like they belong, but that goes without saying. Any questions?"
"Not right now. Thanks."
"Great. Then I'll see you tonight."
"Tonight?"
"You're going out with the girls, aren't you?"
"Oh, yeah, that. You're coming, too?"
"Sure thing. It'll be fun. Welcome to R and D."
As she fluttered away I pondered the idea of a girls' night out that included a winged fairy. It looked like this would be an interesting evening, to say the least.
* * *
I'd just wrapped up my work for the day when Ari appeared at my door. "You ready to hit the town?" she asked.
"Sure, just give me a second to shut down."
"Grab me across the hall when you're ready to go and we can head to Isabel's office together."
I shut down my newly arrived computer and packed my things, then made a quick dash to the bathroom to freshen up before stepping into Art's lab. It was all chrome and white surfaces, with several large computers. "There you are," Art said as I arrived. "Welcome to my domain, the last step in Practical Magic."
"What do you do here?"
"Final testing before a spell is released—make sure there aren't any typos, make sure it works as advertised, any necessary editing to get it down to the tightest, most concise spell you can get. Some of those theoretical guys get a little wordy. They read too many old books. Archaic language may make a spell look impressive, but it doesn't make it work any better." She picked up her purse and said, "Looks like it's the weekend."
Isabel greeted us in her usual effusive manner when we got to her office. "Trix just called down and said she'd be a few more minutes," she said.
"So it's just the four of us?" Art asked.
"Yeah, some of the others had dates."
"Traitors!" Isabel laughed at Art's outburst, but I wasn't sure if Art was serious or not. She wasn't laughing, but maybe she had a dry sense of humor.
"How was your first week on the job, Katie?" Isabel asked.
"It was interesting, to put it mildly."
"You're coping very well with all the excitement, though. We lose more verifiers the first week than you'd imagine."
Actually, I didn't find that hard to imagine. Either the depressing working conditions or the craziness and fear that maybe all of this was the result of a total psychotic breakdown would get to you. Then again, I'd managed to get myself into more than my fair share of trouble. I doubted most verifiers had first weeks like mine.
I looked up to see a man coming into the office. "He in?" he asked Isabel, who nodded. She looked like she was having a hard time forming words. Then I looked at him again and found myself more than a little stunned. It was Owen, but I'd never have recognized him at first glance. Instead of his usual business suits or lab coats, he wore jeans, a baseball jersey, and a Yankees cap. He looked entirely different, and utterly adorable.
He saw me, blinked, blushed, and said, "Hi, Katie. What are you doing here?"
"I was about to ask you the same question."
He turned even pinker. "Playoff game. Rod thinks he has a spell to get us in."
Isabel groaned. "He's not trying that again, is he? Didn't you two almost get in trouble last year?"
Rod's office door opened and he stuck his head out into Isabel's office. "I've got it figured out now, though," he said. Then he got a good look at Owen and frowned.
"Are you sure you're up to this?" he asked. Owen did look pretty much like Death with a hangover, even with the baseball cap pulled low over his eyes. He must have spent the day testing that horrible spell.
"I could use a night out," Owen said. "I'll be fine." I thought he'd be better off home in bed, but a night at a baseball game might be good for him.