I thought about what Bran had said and hoped this gift would be enough. It was time to take a chance.
As I hung the money on the front door of the little house, I considered filming it for social media, but Bran had said a humble brag was a no-no. Apparently letting people know you were charitable was uncharitable.
The contortions of human society never failed to amaze me, but Bran had always been good at figuring out how to make a good impression. I trusted his opinion.
So, I just left the money and went home.
Luckily, a good Samaritan’s work was never done. I hated being bored.
4
CATHY
"Welcometo the first meeting of the minds." Roma smacked her hand down on the conference table like a judge with a gavel. I had to smile at her enthusiasm, even if I'd barely slept last night.
Before this phase of the meeting, Roma and Cassie chatted with Yolande, who was the HR person for the company, about Franklin going on a long leave of absence and Cassie taking over. The neutral but interested expression she’d worn as they spoke kind of implied that she wasn’t totally buying the story, but she didn’t say anything other than mentioning that she’d need to rearrange some paperwork. I’d almost nodded off as they spoke, but I’d managed to stay awake.
Late last night, well after I'd gotten home, a courier arrived with a package. The note from Anne Fortuna saidThis was delivered for you. I trust you'll know who and why.
Inside the package was a very expensive Lego set for a large bouquet of flowers.
Smooth. Very, very smooth. He'd remembered what I'd said about building Lego sets to relax and had sent me flowers. Both solid points in his favor.
Darn it. I didn't want to like him. He'd stolen something from the alchemists, and even if they were the bad guys, that didn’t make him any less of a thief. While I didn't know if it was something that hadneededto be stolen or if he'd just been creating trouble, I did know that I had no desire to be in the middle of drama.
Pfft. Who was I kidding? I was at Roma’s office, sitting at a conference table, about to start brainstorming plans for bringing literal monsters out into public life. As people you’d want as your neighbor.
Drama was my middle name.
"Okay, so what is our next step?" Roma looked at Cassie. "We're all on the same page now. We need to figure out how in the world to do this."
"Shouldn't some of the objects of our campaign be here?" Cassie asked. "At least Bra—" She was cut off by the office door opening.
Bran stepped in as if he'd waited for her cue. "Sorry I'm late. I was on the phone."
He sat beside Roma. I didn't catch the name he said as he sat in a chair, and it creaked in protest at his weight. He wasn’t heavy but muscular. Oh yes. "— called. He ended up foiling a convenience store robbery last night. The guy had thousands of dollars of cash on him. He took the money to that foster house and left it on the front door, but then he complained about how he should've recorded the whole thing."
Roma groaned. "He has so much potential to be good, but then does things like not understanding how bragging about charity sort of diminishes the charity itself."
I didn't want to be too nosy, but I couldn't stop myself. "There are times it would be good to publicly declare the charity. Like there's that guy who gives thousands and thousands of dollars away and films it. Then he gets so many views that he makes a bunch of money from views, which gives him more money to give away."
Bran pursed his lips. "That might be good for our image, as well, in the long run. Eventually, the world will figure out Rey is a fox shifter. He’s not as clever as he thinks he is."
"Wait." I held up one hand. "You're talking aboutRey? As in Reynard? As in my date last night?"
Three sets of eyes stared at me with open curiosity. I could feel a flush beginning on my cheeks as I realized I had used a nickname for him without meaning to, but it was too late now.
"Holy crap," Roma said. "I can't believe I forgot to ask you how it went."
I blushed even redder and shrugged one shoulder. "It was going really well until someone from the alchemists turned up."
Bran smiled, his eyes crinkled at the corners by how broad it was. "Yeah, that was unfortunate. Rey told me about that afterward."
"He stole the philosopher's stone? As in the same one they wrote about in Harry Potter?" I shook my head. "It was just a lot. And the guy who turned up from the alchemists’ guild was scary. Freeze you in place and threaten your life levels of scary. I don't want to be in the middle of stuff like that."
Roma patted my hand while Bran looked uncomfortable. "Unfortunately, with or without Rey, if you're committed to helping us with this campaign for what Andromeda says we should call the Others, formerly known as ‘monsters’, coming back to Gaia, that means you're going to be in the middle of tensions like that more than you may like." He gave me a sympathetic smile. "But the good news is, we protect each other. It's not like you'll be out there on your own."
"Why did he steal the philosopher's stone? Is it something he could've used to his benefit?" I just didn't understand.
