“I promise Mrs. Morgan will receive the best care no matter what you decide. If you would like to discuss the position further, reach out to my secretary, and he will set everything up,” Dr. Yates replied, handing Oliver his card.
Oliver followed Dr. Yates to the door and found Ansley speaking to the secretary, his voice edged with annoyance. His green eyes narrowed on Oliver as he snatched the folder filled with paperwork from Jenkins’s hand and made for the elevator with Oliver trailing behind him. Releasing a relieved breath, Oliver felt the tether thicken and strengthen with their descent. He tugged on it twice, and a heartbeat later, Felipe sent a pang in return. As Oliver and Ansley rode to the ground floor in a tense silence, Ansley’s eyes dug into him like daggers. By the time they reached the front door, Felipe sat idling at the curb and Oliver’s hands shook with anxiety. Felipe opened the door for them, catching Oliver’s gaze as if to make sure he was okay before he crowded into the steamer. He wanted to collapse in a heap in the backseat, but he couldn’t, not with Ansley sitting charged as dynamite beside him.
When they were finally a block away from the Institute for the Betterment of the Soul, Ansley rounded on him. “What the hell happened back there? I told you to let me talk, and you did the exact opposite! What did Dr. Yates say to you when I left the room? I swear to god, Oliver, if he is wise to us because of you—”
“He offered me a job.”
Chapter Nine
The Shadow of Memory
Felipe couldn’t helpbut be a little proud at how quickly that managed to shut Ansley up. Ansley sputtered and stammered, but when Felipe suggested they wait until they were back at the Paranormal Society to discuss all they saw, Ansley crossed his arms and pointedly stared out the window. He didn’t say another word the whole ride back, not that anyone minded. By the time they reached the investigators’ meeting room, Felipe had shed the chauffeur’s jacket while Oliver stared scornfully at his borrowed outfit.Soon, he hummed across the tether. He hoped this debriefing didn’t drag out. Oliver was already tense from their outing. Slamming the door behind him, Ansley dropped into the seat at the head of the table and shot Oliver a dirty look as he blenched at the magic zipping across the walls.
“He offered youa job? How?” Ansley demanded. “What did you do?”
“Nothing! He asked me about my schooling and such.”
“Tell me everything he said to you.”
Oliver recanted the conversation he had with Dr. Yates word-for-word like he did in his reports, but Ansley continued to eye him like an angry housecat.
“I still don’t understand how you managed this.”
“Neither do I! I’ve never been offered a job like that before, and I certainly donotalign with that man’s values.”
“Well, you did a good job sounding cross with me in there.”
“That wasn’t hard,” Oliver retorted, reaching up to rake his hair but stopping himself by pressing his palms flat to the table.
“What did you tell him when he offered you the job?” Felipe asked gently.
“I told him I needed to think about it. That was the best course of action, right? If I don’t meet with him to discuss the job and Lucy Morgan doesn’t appear for treatment, that isn’t too suspicious.”
“No, but—” Ansley let out a grunt of frustration. “We have spent months trying to get someone in. Months! And the only one who has ever gotten this close to Yates isyou.You are most certainly going back to talk to him.”
“But if he starts making inquiries with the College of Physicians, he’ll know I lied!”
