Page 66 of A Fae in Finance
I opened my eyes to a sea of faces staring at me.
“I didn’t want Kamare to die for trying to protect you,” I said. “She believed she saw a real threat to her people and tried to eliminate it. I won’t hurt you, but I can’t promisenohuman will hurt you. Humans are like you—we aren’t all one thing. To me, Kamare did what she thought she needed to do.” I paused, and then realized perhaps I should expound further. “And if you’re worried about me altering your way of life, you can talk to me about it, and we can resolve it peacefully. Without killing, maiming, or incapacitating me. But I understand her motive.”
The Princeling stood up, giving me an hour and forty-five minutes of my night back. “That is all the time we have today for human lessons,” he said. “If you have more questions for the Lady of the True Dreams, you may come back three days hence for another lesson.”
Masterful. The faeries filed out reluctantly, and I suspected I would see many of them at my next class.
Chapter 11
In Which I Learn Applicable Construction Techniques
My dreams were full of blinding blue magic, sheets that rained from the sky and settled in the dust like fitted carpets. They left me groggy and bewildered, dazed so that my eyes hurt before I even opened them.
I logged into the morning meeting three minutes late to the middle of an argument between Jeff and Levi.
“If we keep giving away free work, no one will hire us for anything,” Levi said.
“If we don’t give away free work, we’ll never meet any potential clients anyway, Levi,” Jeff said. “We don’t have a strong enough reputation. And if this faerie deal falls through, we are fucked like a bowl of mashed potatoes. Speaking of, thanks for showing up, Miri.” He added the last bit having seen my name pop up onscreen, I supposed.
“Hi, Jeff,” I said. I went on mute.
“Jeff, we need to start going after smaller clients,” Levi said. I stared at Corey’s and Matt’s initials on the screen. “That’s the only way for us to build credibility.”
“We need prestige. We need more big names.”
“We keep losing to other banks on the big names!” Levi snapped. I wondered if he was in the office today or at home; if other people on the floor could hear him as he shouted into the phone. “We don’t need more big names. We needanynames.”
I wondered if my job was at risk. The thought had a laugh bubbling up in my throat, a hysterical keening giggle. Was I really going to lose the Princeling’s bargain because of my manager’s incompetence?
And the other thought, always underneath, begging me to examine it—was being trapped in Faerie the worst thing in the world?
Yes, I reminded myself.I miss my friends. I miss my family. I miss paying a quarter of my salary for a gym membership I never use.
I shoved that back down and refocused on Jeff and Levi.
“If you have these relationships, Jeff, start using them!” Levi said. I held my breath. People didn’t talk to our boss like that, generally.
“If you think you can find a better job elsewhere, Levi, you’rewelcometo leave,” Jeff said. “People leave. You need to do what’s best for you. I personally couldn’t care less.”
No one spoke. I wanted so badly to be in the office, to be able to look over and see Levi’s face, or Corey’s reaction. I stared at the screen, mostly black, except for the bubbles where their initials indicated their presence on the line. And surprisingly, there was a bubble on the screen I hadn’t seen before.
“Thank you for that feedback,” Levi said. “In other HR news, everyone, say hi to Kayla. She’s an internal transfer, provisionally on our team so, you know, test her out. Give her a go. Hop on that ride.” He chuckled. “We can always get rid of her.”
“Are there any client issues to discuss?” Jeff asked, having not said hi to Kayla. “Miri, you’re on the ground. What’s going on with the client?”
I pondered for a moment.
“Seems pretty quiet here,” I said.
“I’m sending you to the client site today,” he said while I was talking.
I’m on client site, I thought.
“The Princeling will take you to the factory construction site so you can look around. That way, when our investors go, we can give them a sense of what to expect.”
“Oh, okay.” I hoped he heard bland indifference in my voice, and not immense irritation at the fact that he felt he could move me around like a pawn on a chessboard.
“So, bye,” Jeff said. Was he hanging up, or just telling me to get off the line? I stared at the screen, my hand on the mouse.
