“Oh no,” I told her. “Bigger things to focus on, remember?”
“But! But—”
I shook my head. “You should have told me about your wife the leather goddess.”
She groaned. “I regret so much.”
That was satisfying. “You should.” I turned back to Jeremy, narrowing my eyes. He should have been quaking in fear, but he barely looked affected. “Why do you ask?”
“I’m really going to have to see that suit one day.” He sounded amused.
“Can it, Olsen,” I barked. “Spill before I destroy everything you hold dear.”
“Oh my,” Marina breathed. “I make excellent hiring decisions.”
I definitely did not preen. Mostly.
“We have a date,” Jeremy said.
Somehow I fell out of my chair. One moment I was sitting there as a normal human does, and the next I was staring up at the ceiling, wondering why everything in my life was an absolute train wreck.
Marina stared down at me as Jeremy stood and leaned over his desk to do the same.
“I slipped,” I said.
“Is that what we’re calling it?” Marina asked.
“How the hell did that even happen?” Jeremy demanded.
“This place is haunted,” I said as I picked myself up off the floor. “I didn’t want to say anything because I know how delicate you are, but there are ghosts here. One of them is an angry bandito who doesn’t like chairs. He kicked it and I fell down. Simple as that.” I made the sign of a cross over my chest before sitting down in the chair again. “Ay, Dios mío. Eventually we’ll need to find a priest, but we don’t need to worry about it now. Let’s not focus on anything that happened in the last five seconds.”
“Oh, I don’t know if that’s possible,” Jeremy said as he slumped back in his chair.
“There’s an awful lot of judgment in your voice.”
“That’s because I’m judging you,” he retorted.
Marina was looking at the both of us strangely. “Is there something—” She shook her head. “Forget it. Jeremy, what were you saying?”
He sighed. “Stephen Morgan.”
“Oh boy,” Marina said. “Are you sure?”
“Who is Stephen Morgan?” I asked. The name was familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.
“The former director,” Jeremy said. His lips quirked. “One of the people you refer to as a Super Gay.”
“Oh dear god,” I whispered.
“Super Gay?” Marina asked, sounding confused. “Do I even want to know?”
“Rich homos,” I muttered, trying my best not to throw a pen at Jeremy’s head. I’d only had a couple of interactions with Stephen while he was here, and while he’d been kind, I still was uneasy at the idea of Super Gays. Neither I nor anybody I knew was in the same tax bracket as they were. But that shouldn’t matter. Because if Jeremy needed to go to them to beg for money for Phoenix House, then so be it. I would help him plan before he— “Wait. What do you mean we have a date?”
He arched an eyebrow. “Do you really think I’d be going by myself?”
“Yes,” I hissed at him. “That’s exactly what I think. They’re your friends!”
“You’re friends with Super Gays?” Marina asked. “Are there Super Lesbians?” She frowned. “My wife and I have never gotten an invitation if there are. That’s disappointing.” She brightened. “Probably because we’re not rich. I feel better now.”