“Wait, so he really carried a wand around with him?” Tyler asked, brow furrowed, as if trying to picture the scene.
I was thirty minutes early out of habit and tried not to eavesdrop as I put my lunch sack in my locker and took out my loupe glasses. But it was hard not to listen when my coworkers weren’t being quiet, and their conversation was far from boring.
Macey visibly shuddered. “It was next-level Harry Potter creepiness, Ty. He kept telling me his wand was made from unicorn hairs and the feather of a white phoenix.”
I bit my lip, trying not to show I was listening, but I couldn’t hide my amusement.
“Can’t there be any normal guys in this town?” Macey groaned, putting her head in her hands.
Tyler reached out to pat her back. “I’m sorry your date wasn’t asmagicalas you thought it would be,” he said with a smirk. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Macey lift her head and shoot him a death glare.
“What are we talking about here?” I asked, unsure why I was inserting myself, but needing to know why they were talking about Harry Potter wands.
“Just Macey’s date last night. Her date believed he was a wizard,” Tyler explained, stifling a snort. “Like, he truly thought he was a wizard.”
“It was horrible,” Macey groaned.
I bit my lip again.
“Does he role-play in the parks on Friday nights? Maybe we can go LARPing with him?” Tyler teased, adding fuel to the fire. Macey looked like she might actually hurt him.
“There are sharp instruments in the other room, Ty. I would be careful. My mental state is not stable right now,” she warned.
“You know, I have a cousin. Maybe I can set you up,” Tyler suddenly said.
“Really?” Macey’s eyes widened, and she sat up a little straighter, all thoughts of her terrible date forgotten.
“Yeah, and he’s much cooler than all the college kids from Redlands. I’ll text him,” Tyler said, pulling out his phone.
“Hey, we are college kids from Redlands,” Macey pouted.
Tyler waved her off and kept typing. I watched this whiplash-like exchange, pleasantly surprised by my new coworkers and their sense of humor.
“Ask him if he has a Harry Potter fetish. I really don’t want a repeat of last night,” Macey shuddered, and I stifled a laugh.
Just then, a knock sounded at the door, and Jay appeared.
“Good morning, everyone,” he greeted.
I turned to see him dressed in blue scrubs and a white lab coat. His dark hair was styled across his forehead, some tucked behind his ears, and his navy blue eyes met mine.
“Good to see you back again, Hope,” he said easily, his expression giving nothing away.
“Yeah, no problem,” I said, my heart doing a nervous flip.
“Hey, Jay, Macey went on a date with a wizard last night,” Tyler said, grinning.
Jay’s brow furrowed, but a smile tugged at his lips. “Is that so?”
“He’s just torturing me. You can go now,” Macey said, shooting another glare at Tyler.
Jay chuckled and disappeared down the hall.
I felt unsettled by the interaction between him and his assistants. It was so casual. So easy.
“You really just call him Jay?” I asked.
“I don’t think I even know his last name,” Macey admitted.
