“Probably not.”
We made our way to my desk while carefully avoiding the break room. The smell of burnt coffee and something that might have been singed fur wafted from that direction. I decided I really didn’t want to know.
Didi was already at her station. She was frowning at a stack of papers that looked like they’d personally offended her and glanced up as I approached.
“You’re late.”
I looked at my watch. “I’m five minutes early.”
“For anyone else, that would be late.” She returned to her papers. “We have a new client complaint.Apparently, someone sold a brownie a ‘growth potion’ that turned out to be expired fertilizer.”
“That sounds like a problem for Risk Assessment,” I said promptly.
“It is. Except Gavin set the complaint form on fire.”
That explained the sprinting.
“Accidentally?” I asked.
Didi’s sour expression suggested my question was terribly naive. “He claims the form ‘startled’ him.”
Bo settled under my desk. I pulled up my files and tried to focus on the accounts I was supposed to be auditing, the Husky’s squeaky toy making the odd distressing noise near my feet. Janet had reluctantly allowed him to bring it into the office on the condition that he use it sparingly.
I could feel Didi counting the squeaks from where I sat and nudged Bo into silence. My mind drifted to tonight’s residents’ association meeting.
Besides Mrs. Chen, who I’d only recently discovered was a witch, I hadn’t been aware of other supernatural creatures in the building. I vaguely remembered Samuel mentioning he’d caught some strange scents coming from the place once.
A commotion near Nigel’s closet distracted me. The door was cracked open and a faint purple glow emanated from within. Mindy hovered nearby, her translucent form flickering with what looked like concern.
I debated ignoring the situation but curiosity got the better of me. “Is everythingokay over there?”
Mindy drifted toward me, the knife protruding from her neck bobbing slightly. “Nigel’s nervous.”
A nervous boogeyman was decidedly not on the list of things any of us wanted to deal with today.
“About what?” I said, more out of necessity than sympathy.
“He won’t say.” She glanced back at the closet. “But he’s been reorganizing his files for an hour. That’s usually a sign.”
Barney swept past in a cloud of aristocratic gloom before I could respond. The vampire was muttering something about “the youth of today” and “no respect for vintage tools.”
“Someone touched his typewriter,” Didi explained without looking up.
I made a face. “Who would be stupid enough to do that?”
“Probably Hugh,” Bo offered cheerfully under my desk.
“He’s right. Hugh was trying to type a ‘romantic message’ for his date.” Didi turned a page, her mouth twisting in a moue of disgust that broadcasted her thoughts on the topic of romance. “He thought it would be ‘charmingly retro.’”
I chewed my lip. “How bad is the damage? Also, you know about the date?”
“Amberford’s a small town, Abby,” Didi said dismissively. “The H key is stuck.” A ghost of a smile crossed Didi’s face. “He hasn’t noticed yet.”
I masked a shudder. This was one witch no one should mess with.
The day continued in much the same fashion, AKA complete and utter bedlam. Janet had to break up a territorial dispute between two pixies in accounting. Someone accidentally CC’d a ghoul on an email meant for a client, causing a minor diplomatic incident. Gavin finally emerged from hiding only to immediately set fire to a different stack of papers when Charlene’s afternoon shriek startled him.
By the time five o’clock rolled around, I was more than ready to face whatever horrors awaited me at the building meeting. At least brownies couldn’t set things on fire.
