Page 11 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
“Natalie, what did you do to that man?” I laughed because I knew there was more to the story.
She looked down at the tablet in her hand and tapped the screen, as if she had something important to do. “I have no idea what you mean.”
“You put a little something-something on him…didn’t you?” I pointed at her like I found the key to an unsolved case. “That spellbook you found!”
“Okay, maybe I experimented with a spell, but it was just supposed to make him want me, not jump to marriage.” She shrugged. “I even used half the recommended ingredients, like when making pancakes. I never want six. Three is more than enough.”
“I keep telling you to stop playing with magic you don’t understand. That’s not how any of this works. You’re going to get yourself in a lot of trouble if you don’t stop while you’re ahead.”
“We can’t all be like you. Your natural abilities work for you.” She pouted. “I have to try my best to learn and grow my own witchy powers.”
“Did you ever figure out who owns that grimoire?” I asked her. “Seriously, if it’s the property of someone evil, it's going to bite you in the ass.”
“No, but it vanished a while ago.” She rolled her eyes. “I only got to copy a few simple spells out of it before it did.”
“Good. You don’t need access to that anyway.” My shoulders relaxed. At least we didn’t have to worry about her being cursed because she refused to listen to reason. The day she told me she found it after taking her hardheaded ass to a party meant for magical beings, I told her to get rid of it. Of course, I couldn’t force her to do anything. She was a grown woman, after all, but I did ban her from bringing the damn thing anywhere near me.
“I could be a lot better if you would just take me under your wing.” She waved her fingers in front of her face. “Teach me yourways, sensei.”
“How many times do I have to tell you, I don’t know anything about that type of magic? I don’t use spells to do what I do. But even if I did, do you think I would teach you a damn thing knowing how reckless you’ve already been? Playing around with love spells is so dangerous, especially using one on a man you barely even know. That seriously could have backfired on your silly ass. You should be happy that man didn’t try to kill you.”
“But think about how exciting it would make my life!” She tucked the tablet under her arm and put her hands in a praying position.
All the prayer in the world won’t make me dare mess with love magic. That shit never works out the way you want it to!
“Turning thirty isn’t that damn bad.” I laughed. “Now get out of here and find something safe to do!”
Just as Natalie stood to leave, a notification sounded from her tablet. She checked the message then looked at me. “It’s Mr. Statton. He said he will be here in an hour. I can hang around.”
“No need.” I waved her off. “You can get going. I still have some papers to review. I’ll wait for him. He just wants a tour of the place.”
“Are you sure?” she double-checked with me, as always.
“Yes. I didn’t do a love spell on him, so I won’t have to fight him off.” I teased her.
“Funny.” Natalie mockingly rolled her eyes then left. “See ya!”
It was never my intention to tell Natalie about my abilities. Actually, I wanted her to be in the dark. Foolishly, I thought that would make things easier for me. But three months after she started working for me, she found out, and I couldn’t have been more relieved.
It was innocent enough. I thought I was in the office alone and hadn’t yet figured out how much Natalie liked to overwork herself. There was a potted plantin my office, a gift from an old friend, and it was dying. One thing about me—I’m going to revive a plant if I can. This one just needed a little pep talk, and just as I stuck my finger in its soil to revive it, Natalie walked in.
I could have tried to lie, but honestly, I was relieved not to have to tiptoe around her. She freaked out but not nearly as much as you would think. After I explained my abilities, Natalie seemed a lot more relaxed around me, and that was becauseIwas more relaxed. Not having to hide a part of myself all damn day made it easier for us to work together.
It also made it easier to keep her long-term, considering the few supernatural clients we had. There weren’t many, but sometimes, they caused more trouble than they were truly worth. With Natalie in the know, she could better handle those clients when they came into the office.
The problem that created was the more Natalie learned about the magical world, the more she wanted that power for herself. Soon, she was stalking magical beings to find her way into their world, which was exactly how she landed in a party to find the unattended grimoire. She said she found it, but I wonder if Natalie didn’t treat herself to a five-finger discount.
She was lucky this time that the owner of the book didn’t come for her silly ass, but it wasn’t uncommon for witches to cast protection spells on their own books. Once Natalie started using the spells from its pages, the owner would have been able to locate it and call it back to her. I only hoped they didn’t change their mind and decide to come smack her upside the head about messing with their magic.
After Natalie left, I did one more walkthrough of the office before settling again in my seat behind my desk. One hour stretched to nearly two before Raymond arrived, and just after seven, I marched to the front entrance to let him in.
The contract isn’t signed yet. Keep it together, girl. Thisis important!
I wiped the agitation off my face before I swung the door open to greet him. “Hi. Glad you could make it.”
“Sorry about it being so late.” He grinned as if he hadn’t wasted enough of my time.
“It’s fine. Let's make this quick.” I stepped aside to let him in. “I don’t mean to rush, but I haven’t had dinner yet, and it's been a long day.”
