Page 135 of A Fae in Finance
“I would not inflict this city upon a horse,” he said as he tapped on a nearby rock. The rock face cracked open and Sahir pulled out a small red motorbike. “And this bike is very cool,” he added, sliding his backpack onto my shoulders on top of mine.
I snorted, sure I looked ridiculous.
He popped the seat and pulled two helmets out.
“Hop on,” he said, closing the seat again and passing me a helmet. I jammed it onto my head, fumbling with the clasp for a moment before he took pity on me. He grabbed the straps, his fingers under my chin, and pulled them together until the helmet sat snug on my head. His fingertips lingered at my jaw. Then he put his own helmet on and straddled the bike.
I jumped on behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist.
We sped through the streets so fast I felt sure he was using magic, and when we reached our building, he tapped a wall that most definitely had a restaurant on the other side and no space for a motorbike. The wall split, revealing another space for the bike. “Convenient,” I said.
When we went through the revolving doors into the lobby, I stuttered a step. It was so sterile, white and wide and empty. The security guard stared determinedly at a spot above my head, his jaw set. I waved at him. He didn’t notice.
I fumbled for my key card, grateful I’d never taken my wallet out of my backpack.
Sahir and I tapped into the elevator bank and waited for an elevator to take us to our floor. When it opened, we stepped inside together.
The doors closed, and I flung myself at him with the violence of unadulterated terror, pressing my face against his shoulder. “I’m scared,” I whispered.
I felt him startle before he put his arms around me. “Do not fret, Miriam. It will—” He stopped. He couldn’t tell me it would be okay. He didn’t believe it. “I will be nearby,” he said.
The elevator stopped at our floor, and we pulled apart. He patted me once on the arm, attempting comfort and probably leaving a bruise.
The doors opened and Sahir tapped us into the secure area of the floor. We parted there, him turning right and me left.
Entering the office was surreal—nothing had changed and yet everything felt different. The grays of the carpet felt more aggressive than ever; the dull white walls bore into my soul. A pang hit as I realized how much I missed the dirt-made structure of the Court.
I came to our row of desks and found everyone already settled, preparing for our nine a.m. meeting.
“Miri?” Levi said, looking up at me as I opened my backpack and put my computer on my desk. “What are you doing here?”
I ground my teeth together. Levi should attend some remedial human classes on manners. “I found a way to leave Faerie,” I said.
I waited for him to comment.
He grunted and nodded. No one else said anything, and none of them looked at me: I felt like some awful insect they couldn’t face.
I sighed and put my bag down.
“I guess I can just get Jeff,” Matt said. “Since we’re all here, we don’t need to have a morning call.”
Matt stood up and knocked on Jeff’s open door. I looked at Corey, who finally smiled at me but didn’t say anything. I sat in my chair and swiveled until I faced my teammates.
Jeff and Matt came back, Matt pulling out Jeff’s chair for him. Jeff sat down while Matt was still moving, and Matt grunted but pulled him the rest of the way. When Jeff saw me, a range of expressions crossed his face: shock, confusion, and then annoyance.
Everyone settled and we all looked at each other.
“Miri, you haven’t been here in a while,” Jeff said in a flat voice.
I stared at him. “I’ve been trapped in Faerie.”
“Oh, right,” he said, and then looked at Levi, dismissing me entirely. “What do we need to discuss today?”
“We have a lot of pitches,” Levi said.
“We always have a lot of pitches,” Matt muttered.
“There’s the vampire novelty T-shirt company,” Levi said. “We could pitch them for a capital raise.”
