“Harmony?” Ms. Kepworth leaned over the side of the cubicle. “The boss wants to see you in her office.”
Harmony barely held back her scowl. It wasn’t Ms. Kepworth’s fault that the boss was a wackadoo. Her office perpetually smelled of natural oils. That wasn’t the weird part, but it added to the overall picture. What was really strange about Ambia couldn’t be described in one word. The huge sequined infinity scarves with goulashes and belts covered in fringe helped paint a picture of Ambia’s need to stand apart from the crowd. If only her clothes were the strangest part about her. When she’d hired Harmony, who was desperate for a job, she’d told her that although her aura was decidedly blah tan with black dots, she had hopes because there were flashes of pink in there. Which meant that she could possibly be a red one day if she worked to root out her spiritual trolls. Harmony had assured her that she would do her best to rid herself of all trolls, and she was given the job.
As she crossed the office, she prepared herself—and her aura—to be scrutinized. She knocked lightly on the open door and peeked inside to find an empty room.
“Over here.” Ambia’s hand waved from behind her giant oak desk. “Join me.”
Harmony went around and found Ambia sitting cross-legged with her back straight and her eyes closed. Her shoes were tucked under the desk, and her bare feet were stark white with cold. Several precious stones circled her like a rainbow arch.
“Join me, Harmony.”
“O-kay.” Harmony sat on the floor with her back against the wall and her knees pulled against her chest, making sure she didn’t knock a stone out of place.
Ambia opened one green eye. “Before we start, I’d like to do some deep breathing. We’ll breathe in for the count of four and out for the count of six. Begin.” Her nostrils flared open and she loudly sucked in air.
Harmony followed her lead. Honestly, if she didn’tneedthe job, she’d be out the door. But it was Christmas, and she was broke, and rent was due at the beginning of the year.
She breathed out with Ambia. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.
Ambia’s eyes drifted open as if they’d been relaxed to the point that it was difficult to lift them. Harmony had no such feeling.
“There.” Ambia twisted, picking up a sheaf of papers from behind her. “I can’t help but feel—” She glanced at the top page. “—a large emotional black hole hovering over your cubicle.”
“I’m sorry?” Emotional black hole—what?
“Don’t apologize. We all struggle, and the holidays can be difficult for many people.” Ambia flipped the page.
Was that a script? Harmony lifted her chin in an attempt to read the scrawled handwriting.
Ambia tipped the page, blocking her view. “As such, I believe our overall productivity and customer service will improve with the removal of this black hole.”
“Are you firing me?”
Ambia’s head popped up, her eyes wide with curiosity. “Why would you think that?”
“You just said you wanted the black hole gone and that I was the cause of it.”
“Oh.” She placed her hand on Harmony’s knee. “I should have explained. I don’t believe the black hole is your creation—only that it has attached to you.”
What the …? Ambia personified an invisible force hovering over the workroom. This woman was either way more connected with the universe than Harmony could hope to be, or she was cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.
“Should we ask it to leave, then?” Harmony offered.
Matching worry lines appeared on the inside of each eyebrow. “I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”
“Nothing ever is,” Harmony lamented. She was three-quarters sarcastic and one-quarter true to life.
“Exactly! In this case, you’re going to have to be proactive about moving the black hole off your aura.”
Aaaand we’re back to my aura? “How does one go about doing that?” Harmony wasn’t opposed to spending time on an extra project—no matter how far in left field it landed her—as long as her paycheck reflected the additional time spent.
“You need to have fun.” Ambia leaned back with a satisfied quirk to her lips.
“Fun. Really?”
“Yes. When was the last time you had fun?”
“Two days ago.” She answered so fast that there was no question of her honesty. Breck’s magic show had been entertaining and taken her out of her haze.
