He shot me a withering look.
“That’s not funny.”
“It really is,” I replied, smiling despite myself.
He muttered something about hostile environments and unfair mortal expectations as we walked. I found myself scanning the street more than usual, hyper-aware of every passerby, every reflection in shop windows. It was ridiculous, I told myself. Paranoia born from a bad night and too little sleep. Still, the memory of his voice slipped back in uninvited, and I shook my head as if that alone might dislodge it.
Focus.
By the time the office building came into view, Bo was well and truly winded, leaning against my leg like he was about to file a formal complaint. I slowed just enough to give him a sympathetic look.
“You’ll survive,” I told him, adding with a smirk,
“Congratulations. You’re officially a city goblin now.”
He groaned, dragging himself upright.
“I am not a goblin, peasant. I am one of the Kobalos.”
“Yeah, well, whatever you are, you guys need to stop skipping leg day,” I replied with a grin, one that widened when he gave me a quizzical stare.
“I don’t know what that is, but it sounds like more torture to me.”
I snorted, adjusting my bag as we headed toward the entrance, telling myself that if I could survive this morning, I could survive anything.
The lobby smelled faintly of coffee and ambition. The polished floors reflected the overhead lights as people funneled in with the same half-awake determination I’d perfected over the years.
“Okay,”I murmured under my breath as we crossed the threshold, eyes forward, smile neutral.
“This is the part where you stay quiet.”
Bo snorted.
“Says the nut job that looks like she’s talking to herself.”
“Yeah, well, invisible heckling counts too, buddy,”I gritted through clenched teeth. He smirked, clearly enjoying this far too much.
“You’re too tense, you know that?”
“Yes, well, that tends to happen to people who have to deal with a goblin haunting their workplace,”I replied with another hiss, going on to say,
“I think I’m handling it remarkably well.”
“Are you sure? I mean, you are still talking to yourself,” he replied, and I glanced up just in time to see a woman in a flowery dress give me a wide berth and a look that said, ‘crazy bitch’.
The elevator doors slid open, and I stepped inside with a handful of coworkers. Now acutely aware of the fact that I was sharing a confined space with people who absolutely could not see the creature standing at my side, tapping his foot impatiently.
“So,” Bo said conversationally,
“How long before you crack and start answering me out loud?”
I glared straight ahead, jaw tightening.
“Do not test me,”I muttered under my breath after the doors opened, and I exhaled in relief as I stepped out onto my floor. The familiar buzz of keyboards and ringing phones wrapped around me like a comforting blanket. Desks stretched out in neat rows, the hum of productivity oddly reassuring, and for half a second, I almost convinced myself that yesterday hadn’t happened.
Almost.
“Morning,” someone called as I passed, and I lifted a hand in automatic greeting, my smile firmly in place.
