I snatch the letter from her hands. Two hundred thousand per year. Full benefits for myself and my dependents. Tuition reimbursement for self and dependents. All in exchange for me teaching two classes a day, five days a week and for my permission to be used as a spokesperson for Dragonfly Casino’s upcoming ad campaign.
“There has to be a catch. Don’t you think there has to be a catch?”
My grandmother shrugs. “I can’t think of one.” I stare at her for a moment, and then we both start jumping up and down, squealing. “What are you waiting for? Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Grandma asks. “This sort of thing deserves a thank-you, in person.”
I stop jumping. A heavy weight descends onto my shoulders. “But if he wanted to see me, wouldn’t he have come to me?”
Grandma frowns. “Not if Godmother convinced him that he could only make your life more difficult. Oh, if he cared for you less, he might, but I think we both know how he feels.” She touches the letter in my hand.
I think about that for a moment. The last time Seven and I spoke about us, I’d told him that I deserved more and he’d agreed. Was staying away and doing this for me his way of giving me what I wanted?
Every impulse tells me to go to him. The desire is so strong, I know a younger me wouldn’t be able to deny it. But I force myself to pause and think. “Godmother is never wrong about these things. Hewillmake my life more difficult.”
“As if it’s been so easy up till now,” Grandma says softly. Her blue eyes twinkle above a sad smile. “Life is short, Sophia, and when you’re my age, you’ll know that regret follows things you did and things you didn’t do equally. The real question is, which will you find easier to live with?”
I stuff the letter back into the envelope with the key. “Will you tell Arden, Mom, and Dad where I’ve gone?”
She grins a conspiratorial grin. “Of course I will.”
I take two steps toward the door, then realize what I’m wearing. “I should get changed… and do my hair and makeup.”
“He’s not going to care about any of that, and you know it.”
I kick off my slippers and shove my feet into my sneakers. My hand is on the doorknob before a much bigger problem comes to mind. “I don’t have a car, and I can’t ride the bus like this. The rules say I have to be in a gown.”
Grandma reaches into her giant knitted purse and retrieves her keys. She jingles them. “Maribelle is parked in lot A with a full tank of gas. Use a little illusion to get to her and you’re home free.”
I swipe the keys from her hand and spend a little luck to transform my appearance into something more appropriate, a purple gown, heels, full makeup and an updo. Then I swoop down to deliver a kiss to Grandma’s cheek. “Thank you.”
She waves a hand dismissively. “I don’t need that car back tonight, Sophia. I think I’ll stay here. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Grandma! Just because I go over there doesn’t mean I’m going to spend the night!”
The look she gives me over her glasses is full of mirth. She shrugs again. “What do I know? I’m an old woman. I go to bed early.” She waves at me, and I’m out the door.
ChapterThirty-Two
The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment; it is not in luck orchance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone. — Orison Swett Marden
Seven’s building is locked down tighter than Fort Knox, and I don’t have the benefit of parking in his private garage. Worse, I had to drop my illusion because it was costing me too much luck and I’m still recovering. It’s not strictly necessary here in Elderflame, so it didn’t make sense to keep it up. But as I stand in front of the security desk in full view of dozens of passersby through the wall of windows on the ground floor, I’m ashamed of my messy bun, sweats, and T-shirt. I do not fit in here.
“You say you have an appointment with Mr. Delaney?” the security guard behind the desk asks, eyeing me skeptically and clicking his mouse. He’s a satyr, big, burly, and perfectly capable of throwing me out on my ass if he so chooses. “I don’t have any record of that.”
“No, I don’t have an appointment. We’re friends, and I stopped by to… to… listen, just call up there and tell him I’m here.”
His lips draw into a flat line. “Mr. Delaney is in a very important meeting this afternoon. If you’d like to leave a message, I can give it to him tonight and ask him to call you.”
I cross my arms and tap my foot, glaring at his nametag. “Eric, is it? Do you know that the last person who kept me from seeing Seven got fired?” A deep groove forms in his brow. “It’s true. Seven and I are friends. Verygoodfriends. And if he finds out you didn’t even tell him I was here, he will be extremely displeased.”
I have no idea if this is true or a bald-faced lie. What exactly did my grandmother hear? Could she have been mistaken about Seven wanting to see me? What if heisin an important meeting and I disturb him? I don’t relish the thought of making him angry at me. Oh, this was a bad idea. Am I really here in my sweats threatening this guy?
Eric reaches for the phone and brings it to his ear. He presses a button and relays that I’m there to someone whom I can only assume is another security guard by the exchange. There’s a pause, and then all the color drains from Eric’s face. Slowly, he hangs up the phone. Our eyes lock.
“Mr. Delaney is on his way down. He’d like to show you up himself,” he says softly.
I can’t help the knowing little smile I give him that has “I told you so” written all over it. “Thank you.”
A few minutes later, elevator doors to my left open, and Seven, in all his dark-suited glory, walks into the hall along with three other leprechauns in professional attire. He shakes hands with each of them, exchanging pleasantries and apologizing for ending the meeting early. The others are on their way out the door when he turns a focused laser beam of attention on me.
