Page 56 of Class Studies

I played with the tip of my braid, wondering who he chatted with.

“All good stuff, of course,” he added.

I frowned. “I find that hard to believe.”

Tederwinkle grinned. “A realist and a philosopher.”

His praise made me shift uncomfortably. “You wanted a word before Saffron arrived?”

“Right, down to business.” He straightened the sleeves of his jacket and put his hands on his knees. “I believe you’ll be wasted at the MA. Your placement tests were off the charts. Although the details have not been shared with me, your unique abilities alone are a force to be reckoned with. Shutting down a mage’s connection to their spell and controlling their very will?” He winked at me. “Yes, some would consider it black magic, but as I’m sure you’re learning, nothing’s truly evil if used responsibly.”

I took a deep breath. “Well, not quite put like that before. But yes, morality seems to be a sliding scale here at least.”

“As it is outside of this Institute.” Tederwinkle smiled like the ambiguity was a good thing.

I rubbed my arms. “I don’t even know if I’m getting out of here,” I said before he continued. “And, honestly, sir, I’m not interested in working for only one person or company.”

His smile widened. “Of course, you’re getting out of here! And that’s the joy of contracting. You can pick and choose your jobs.”

I spread my arms. “But I’d still be working for Global Tech, and I don’t understand what they do.”

Tederwinkle brightened. “They make money, and that’s all they do. I feel like you think I’m hiding something from you, but I’m not.” He held his hands up. “We don’t make products; we provide services through our employees. I’m truly here looking for fresh talent to bring into our company. The successful people in the world outside of here make connections, and I’m here extending you a connection.”

I wrinkled my nose. “What if I come with, ah, others?”

The recruiter pushed his mahogany framed glasses further up his nose using his pointer finger. “Like friends?”

Heat rose to my face. “Yeah.”

His smile made my skin crawl.

“Have you joined a harem?” He licked his lips. “That seems to be a pitfall most Rimmed Mages fall into.”

I narrowed my eyes at his wording and studied his brown eyes. I couldn’t tell if they were rimmed or not. “I’m not a Rimmed Mage.”

“But you’re not a Natural Mage either, are you Aphrodite?”

He flicked his gaze down. Although I assumed he looked at my chest, for some reason, I couldn’t shake the memory of him focusing on me when he talked about technology during my history class.

My hand drifted toward my socket. “Ah, do you….”

Two loud knocks rattled my door, and I jumped up in surprise. My heart beat wildly, and I pressed a palm to my chest to calm it.

“Aphy, it’s me,” Saffron called.

Tederwinkle stood. “I should take my leave.”

He made his way toward my door, opening it for Saffron. The Greek God’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Think about my offer.” Tederwinkle tapped his temple. “Thank you for entertaining an old recruiter. I look forward to seeing you again. I believe I’ll be taking over Doctor Roy’s class to talk about Integrity tomorrow. I’ll see you then.”

I nodded, unsure what happened, as he vanished down the stairs.

Saffron, dressed in black slacks and a simple cream button-down, stepped into my tower and closed the door behind him.

He eyed me. “What did he want?”

I shivered once and shook it off. “I’m not sure. I think he offered me a job.”

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