Page 45 of It All Started with a Bite

Janet was waiting in reception when we entered the building.

“Ready for your orientation?” She clocked my leaden expression and gave me a sympathetic smile while Charlene and Fred pretended not to eavesdrop. “I see you’re suffering side effects from your shopping session with Victoria. Don’t worry, this is mostly paperwork and a tour.” She paused. “Though there are a few, shall we say, unique aspects to working here that I’ll need to point out.”

The next hour was a whirlwind of forms, security protocols, and increasingly bizarre workplace guidelines.

“No blood drinking in the break room,” Janet read from the employee handbook.

I realized she was directing a narrow-eyed stare at Barney.

The vampire looked up from his ancient typewriter. “What?” he said with an innocent shrug.

From Janet’s expression, Barney broke that rule regularly.

Janet sniffed and continued reading. “No setting fire to the filing cabinets.” This time, she side-eyed Gavin hard.

“It’s not like I do it on purpose,” the dragon newt protested, accidentally knocking over his collection of fire extinguishers.

“No turning anyone into frogs,” Janet stated firmly, staring Dorothy right in the eye.

The witch uncapped a highlighter with a deadly sound and an even deadlier smile.

“And absolutely no unauthorized exorcisms,” Janet finished. “Mindy gets very touchy about that.”

The copy machine near the window made a threatening sound.

By the time the werewolf completed the tour of the other floors and finished introducing me to the supernatural staff making up the departments headed by Samuel’s top management, a headache was hammering at my temples. I returned to the fifth floor to find Didi gathering her things.

“You leaving already?” I glanced at the clock on the wall.

It was only four p.m.

“I have a dental appointment,” Didi said briskly. “Gavin is technically in his hibernation period right now, so he’s gone home early. Be here at eight tomorrow. We’re visiting Mystical Moments first thing.”

I nodded, vaguely wondering how I was going to face Mrs. Owens after everything that had happened.

Didi paused, her bag on her shoulder and her broomstick hovering impatiently beside her. She studied Bo warily.

“Will he be coming with us?”

I looked at Bo.

“If you leave me at home, I’ll chew your brand-new shoes,” my dog threatened.

“He’s coming with us,” I sighed.

15

Pack Dinner and Other Forms of Torture

The Subaru’sengine protested as it crept up the hill toward Temple Heights. At this rate, I doubted I was going to get to the Hawthorne mansion in time for the dreaded family dinner.

“We would have been okay if you hadn’t spent half an hour trying to console Ellie,” Bo said sullenly from the passenger seat.

“We couldn’t just leave her like that.”

Ellie’s day hadn’t gone well. Not only had her new recipes been a complete disaster, she’d accidentally deleted her resume when she was applying for new jobs.

We’d come home and found her sobbing on the living room sofa, her hair caked in flour and eggs and her eyes puffed up like she’d had some kind of allergic reaction. I’d managed to get her into the bath before jumping into the shower and changing.

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