‘HR keeps sending me letters addressed to Mr L Bloomings.’
I frowned. ‘I’ll speak to them. It can’t be hard to fix.’
‘You’d think,’ she sighed, ‘but the HR team are still living in the Stone Age.’
I patted her shoulder. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll get it sorted. Just a little snag.’
‘Thanks, Stacy.’
I looked at Laura, her shoulders still rounded despite my reassurances. ‘We’re hoping to gain access to the new place sometime tomorrow. You want to make us all some “new office” biscuits?’
Laura beamed. She loved to bake. She wasn’t all that skilled at it, but she enjoyed it, so the rest of us choked down her offerings. She couldn’t gothatwrong with simple biscuits, could she?
‘Sure! I’ll decorate them with little icing houses or something.’
‘Perfect. We can double it up for McCaffrey’s housewarming.’
‘Great idea, boss!’ She bounced out of the toilets, a woman on a mission.
I took a few minutes to straighten myself out. I had no makeup with me, but I did have some perfume so I gave myself a little spritz. My hair looked wild and untamed, but what was new about that?
Loki settled on my shoulder and we headed out of the office.
The protestors were gone, and Robbie was waiting for me, idling at the kerb. I climbed into the passenger side.
‘Hey.’ I smiled and leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek.
‘Good evening,’ he replied with a half-smile of his own. He looked in the rear-view mirror at Loki, who was settling in his usual spot on the headrest. ‘How’s it going, little guy?’
‘I good.’ Loki puffed out his chest. ‘I strong. Look.’ He tugged on my magic and made himself invisible. A moment later, he reappeared.
‘Nice.’
‘I powerful caladrius now.’
‘You sure are.’ Robbie started the car and we rolled off. ‘Tell me about your case, Inspector. Have you heard from the ME?’
I grimaced. ‘Only to say that the initial sample she took from Teddy was destroyed in analysis, but she managed to get another. She’s hoping to have answers for us in the morning.’
‘Good. Talk to me about the mace.’
Ah, the mace. I was hoping to put that off until I had a can of Dr Pepper in my hand. ‘No biggie. An ogre swung by to tell me I’m not good enough for you. I kept her mace as a parting gift.’
‘What was her name?’
I grinned. ‘She said her name was Fuck You, but I have my doubts. She got incensed when I kept calling her that.’
He looked at me for a moment, and then he signalled, pulled over, and doubled over laughing. His guffaws filled the car in the nicest way, bringing a smile to my lips and more warmth to my heart. Yeah, maybe there was still some life there.
‘You all right there, Robbie?’ I asked, grinning as he continued to howl with uncontrollable laughter. It was truly remarkable to see him let go like that. The man took poker face to a whole new level, so I loved that he was sharing the moment with me fully.
Eventually he got a grip and wiped at his eyes. ‘I don’t know why the hell I ever worried if you could handle my people.’
I appreciated the vote of confidence.
‘She tough,’ Loki chirped.
‘She sure is,’ Robbie agreed. ‘We’re very proud of her, aren’t we?’
