Frogs and Kisses (Enchanted, Inc. 8)

“If you’re ready.”

She jumped out of her seat. “I’m starving. And you must be the other new people who’ll probably get the job we’re up for.”

Trish and I introduced ourselves, and all of us headed for the cafeteria, Evelyn leading the way. “Of course, with most of the employees here having magical powers, a cafeteria is somewhat unnecessary, but we actually make it a policy to use as little magic as possible. That keeps our magical visibility low, and we can save our resources for other things.”

The Collegium dining room looked like any corporate cafeteria, just with better food, no cashiers, and everyone dressed more or less the same in perfectly tailored clothes. Once we had our food and had settled at a table, Evelyn said, “So, what do you think of Roger so far?”

“Hard to say,” Trish said with a shrug as she speared a lettuce leaf on her fork.

“He’s cute,” Bex said, smiling.

“I guess, if you fantasize about country clubs,” I said, which made Trish smirk. “He hasn’t yelled at me yet or forgotten my existence, and when he asked me to come to his office, he didn’t make me stand there until he finished something else before dealing with me. That already puts him ahead of most bosses I’ve had.”

“You and me both,” Trish said, nodding.

“Why aren’t you h

is assistant already?” Bex asked Evelyn. “You’re the office manager, so it seems like you’d have the job.”

“I’m not magically immune,” Evelyn said. “That keeps me out of the running. I’m a member of one of the lesser families involved in the company, which gives me a job, but doesn’t put me on the executive track, I’m afraid.”

There were so many questions I wanted to ask about that, but I didn’t dare, not yet, so I filed the information away for future reference. As far as I could tell, I wasn’t supposed to know for certain that I was working for the Collegium rather than for some corporation.

I’d have thought that since we were all up for the same job and were in a mob-like organization, Trish, Bex, and I would have to guard ourselves from backstabbing by each other, but it didn’t feel that way at all. Instead, we bonded over the shared experience of being thrown into this odd situation.

“Not too long ago, I’d never even heard of magic, and here I am now, working for basically the Citibank of magic,” Trish said.

“I know!” Bex said. “This isn’t at all what I imagined magic would be like. Where are the moving staircases and portraits that talk, and stuff like that?”

“MSI—the last place I worked—was a little more like that,” I said.

“We try to keep up with the times here,” Evelyn said. “Having magic doesn’t mean you have to be stuck in the Middle Ages. The world is passing institutions like MSI by.”

“Well, what do you expect when the CEO is more than a thousand years old?” I said, raising an eyebrow and feeling guilty for speaking ill of Merlin.

“Did they have all this security?” Trish asked. “I don’t mind getting a fabulous work wardrobe, but I have to say, I’ve never heard of having to change clothes to go to work, unless you’re in an operating room or making computer chips.”

“Nothing like that there,” I said, “but I wouldn’t have been surprised at that place if they’d made us wear wizard’s robes with moons and stars all over them.”

“Did they sort you into houses?” Bex asked with a giggle.

“I’m kind of surprised they didn’t,” I said.

“Believe it or not, we do something like that here,” Evelyn said. “You’re sorted during the interviews and grouped into the divisions where you’re most likely to fit, based on the executive running it.”

Trish, Bex, and I regarded each other. Trish raised an eyebrow and said, “I don’t know what that says about us.”

“Maybe it just means that he has good taste,” I said.

Later that afternoon, I finished my work and took it to Evelyn, as the memo on top had instructed. She thanked me and asked, “How’s it going for you so far?”

“Fine, I guess. I’m sure my workload will change as I get further along.”

“Of course! But what you’re doing now is very important to the company. It’s not just busy work or a test.”

I ran into Roger in the hallway on my way back to my office, and he gave me a toothpaste-commercial smile. I thought I might even have seen a little glint off his teeth. “Did you already get through all those documents?” he asked.

“I just dropped them off with Evelyn.”