Damsel Under Stress (Enchanted, Inc. 3)

I opened the front door, and the flutter in my stomach became a full-scale hurricane. You’d think that going out with him the night before would have made the anticipation a little less intense, but I was learning that I couldn’t predict my reactions when it came to Owen. He really put me off-kilter.

I couldn’t hold back a huge smile as I emerged onto the front steps, knowing he’d be waiting on the sidewalk. Then the smile slid right off my face, for he wasn’t there. I checked my watch to make sure I wasn’t early—I had been a wee bit eager to see him—but it was the same time we usually met, and even when I was off-schedule one way or another, he always managed to adjust and still be there to meet me. I was beginning to wonder if I should wait for him and for how long when I heard a rough voice say, “You’re the Chandler gal, aren’t you?”

I looked up and down the street, seeing plenty of people on the sidewalk, but nobody who seemed to be talking to me. “Psst, up here,” the voice said. I stepped forward, turned around and craned my neck to see a gargoyle perched on the fire escape above me. It wasn’t Sam or any other gargoyle I’d run into before, but he was probably on the MSI security force.

“I’m Katie Chandler,” I said.

He spread his wings and glided down to sit on top of a nearby parking meter. “Mr. Palmer said to meet you here. He had something come up and had to be at the office early. I’m supposed to make sure you get to work safely.” He spread his wings once more and took off in the direction of the subway station.

I hurried to follow him. “Did something happen?” I asked, out of breath from having to keep up with a flying gargoyle.

“Hey, I’m just a messenger. All I know is what he told me.”

I was worried and disappointed, all at the same time. It had to be something big for him to abandon our daily routine, but it was the second time in just a few days that duty had called him away from time with me. I knew I could expect more of that in the future because of what he was up against, but that didn’t entirely erase the disappointment. At least he’d sent word instead of standing me up, and he’d made sure I’d be protected.

Owen wasn’t chatty, but he was a far better conversationalist than this gargoyle, who didn’t seem to be making much of an effort. He was strictly doing his job. Fortunately, there were no threats. The morning commute was as uneventful as you can get when you’re being escorted to work by a taciturn gargoyle.

Once I reached the office, I faced my next ordeal: dealing with all the office gossip about Owen and me. If I’d had my choice, I would have preferred to date secretly until our relationship was more secure. But we’d already been pretending to date to help flush out the bad guys, and then we hadn’t dropped the act once the crisis was over. I was pretty sure that, as shy as Owen was, if he’d thought about it, he wouldn’t have kissed me in public the way he had, but parties and excitement have a way of short-circuiting the brain. Plus, it was a very nice kiss and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Trix, the fairy who served as receptionist in the executive suite, greeted me with a flutter of her wings and a wink. “Hey, you! How was your weekend?”

“It was good.”

“Good? Is that all? I did notice what was going on at the office party, and you didn’t seem to need any mistletoe.”

“We didn’t run off to Vegas over the weekend, if that’s what you were wondering. We just got together a couple of times. You know Owen, this thing isn’t going to move at light speed.” Then it was my turn to tease. “And anyway, I wasn’t the one who spent a good portion of the party in a broom closet with someone.”

She immediately looked down at her desk and gave her wings a little flick. “That wasn’t our idea. Ari and that Idris guy put us there.”

“But you did take advantage of the opportunity.”

“Hey, I’m no dummy.” My turning the tables seemed to have worked, for she quickly became businesslike. “The boss wants you for a meeting at ten. His office.”

“Thanks. I’ll be there,” I said before heading to my office.

“This isn’t over!” she called after me. “You’re going to have to give me the full scoop sometime.”

I ignored her and settled in at my desk to catch up on messages and e-mail before the meeting. I was the assistant to the boss, who was otherwise known as Ambrose Mervyn, CEO of Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Inc. If you did all the translation into and out of Welsh, Latin, and probably a few other languages in between, that came out as Merlin. Yes, the Camelot wizard. He’d founded MSI, in a noncorporate form, as a way of fine-tuning and regulating magic way back then, then had gone into a self-imposed magical hibernation until he was needed again. Our current problems with a rogue wizard trying to undercut our efforts to keep magic safe and on the good side of things had brought him back to lead the company.

Just before ten, I gathered my supplies and headed for Merlin’s office. As I went through the doorway, I almost missed a step even though I was walking on an even surface. Owen was already in there, sitting at the conference table and twirling a pen between his fingers. I wondered if there would ever come a time when seeing him didn’t take my breath away. I should have known he’d be at any executive meeting since he usually represented the research and development department, but I still wasn’t prepared to see him again. He looked very nice dressed for work, as he always did, but he appeared even more tired than he had been the night before.

“Oh, good, Katie, you’re here,” Merlin said, waving a hand to shut the door behind me. Owen looked up, saw me, gave a half smile, then turned bright red and looked down at the notebook that lay in front of him on the table. It seemed I wasn’t the only one feeling a little taken aback by seeing each other here.

I took my usual seat at Merlin’s right hand, ready to take notes on the meeting so I could write up a report and note the items for follow-up. A moment later, the office door flew open and Sam the gargoyle soared inside to land on the back of the chair across from Owen. Merlin waved the door shut again. I wrote the date and time of the meeting on the top of my notepad while I waited for the rest of the department heads to arrive, but before I could start listing names of the attendees, Merlin spoke.

“Katie, I’m sure by now you’re aware that the prisoner we apprehended Friday night has escaped.”

“Yes, sir,” I said, wondering if this meant the meeting had already begun. Apparently, this wasn’t the meeting of department heads I’d expected.

“And I’m sure you realize how important it is to find her again.”

“She might make Idris even more dangerous. He’s not necessarily evil, and even if he was, he’s not focused enough to really do anything about it. But she’s vindictive, and though I used to think she was flighty, she does seem to be capable of following through on something.”

wasn’t chatty, but he was a far better conversationalist than this gargoyle, who didn’t seem to be making much of an effort. He was strictly doing his job. Fortunately, there were no threats. The morning commute was as uneventful as you can get when you’re being escorted to work by a taciturn gargoyle.

Once I reached the office, I faced my next ordeal: dealing with all the office gossip about Owen and me. If I’d had my choice, I would have preferred to date secretly until our relationship was more secure. But we’d already been pretending to date to help flush out the bad guys, and then we hadn’t dropped the act once the crisis was over. I was pretty sure that, as shy as Owen was, if he’d thought about it, he wouldn’t have kissed me in public the way he had, but parties and excitement have a way of short-circuiting the brain. Plus, it was a very nice kiss and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

Trix, the fairy who served as receptionist in the executive suite, greeted me with a flutter of her wings and a wink. “Hey, you! How was your weekend?”