Hell Inc. (5 page)

The rest
of my work day crawled by, and I considered leaving several times,
but the thought of facing Levie, and my thoughts, sounded even more
unpleasant than dealing with disgruntled customers. It was that bad.
It got even worse when my manager approached me and tapped me on my
shoulder. I pushed the hold button on my phone and took off my
headset.

“What?”
Maybe not the best way to deal with my boss, but I was in a bad
mood. I'd sold my soul for three wishes and in less than twenty-four
hours, I'd managed to waste one. She smiled at me anyway. Kristy
was like Erin, annoyingly cheerful and extremely nosy.

“Rosanne
in HR wants to talk to you.” She paused and looked around.
Covering the side of her mouth to shield her words from the thousands
no doubt clamoring to hear, she said, “It's about your shoes.”
I glanced down at my pumps. Three inch heels, dark plum, no
ornamentation of which to speak.

“Why?”
Kristy shrugged and motioned me to stand. I dragged myself to
Rosanne's office and plopped down in the gray chair on the opposite
side of her desk. Immediately, I noticed the large brown and white
bird sitting on one of her bookshelves. It eyed me critically with
one big yellow orb and shrieked. I resisted the urge to cover my
ears and tried not to pay it any attention. If I focused on it too
much, the roc might gather enough influence to decapitate my boss.
And as much as I would have liked it do so, it would probably just
end up making my day worse.

Rosanne
continued typing on her computer for several moments before bothering
to acknowledge me. And when she did, it wasn't pleasant. She folded
her hands on her desk and turned her lips up in some semblance of
what a normal human being would call a smile.

“Now
Ginger, you know that we promote professional dress in our working
environment.” I raised an eyebrow and glanced down at my black
pencil skirt, dress jacket and white button up. I decided it was
best not to respond. “I've noticed that your shoes are well,
not quite presenting the conservative image that we at Executive Rent
a Car would like our customers to associate us with.” The roc
chose that moment to spread its massive wings and take off. If it
had truly been of this dimension, it would have been impossible for
it to fly around the room. However, as it was only partially in this
reality, it was managing to circle just fine. I tried not to look at
it, I really did, but it let out another horrible cawing screech.
With my ears ringing, I tried to stay nonchalant, but my shoulders
were tense and my spine rigid and not just because of the
supernatural bird. Rosanne didn't seem to realize that we were in a
call center. There were no physical customers present. Ever.

“Unfortunately,”
she said stressing the word in a way that would have made babies cry.
“If you don't have any other shoes that you can switch into
that are a little more appropriate, I'm going to have to ask you to
take the rest of the day off.” She opened her mouth, showing
her teeth in another faux smile. “Without compensation.”
I almost laughed, really. I looked down at my shoes again. They
were plum. Dark plum. So dark they were nearly black.

I stood up
and smoothed my skirt down, gathering my resolve as I watched the tip
of the roc's wing hit a plaque on the top shelf of her bookcase and
send it hurtling to the floor. Apparently, I had paid it enough
attention to lend it at least some physical influence. Rosanne
didn't appear to notice what she was doing when she stood up and
picked up the (no doubt) useless trophy, frowning at the crack in the
wood.

“You
know what Rosanne,” I said, grinning as I watched the roc feel
threatened by her repositioning of the plaque. It beat its wings
furiously at her back and snapped at her head with its beak. “You
can take my shoes and shove them. I quit.” I gave the bird
one last heavy stare and hoped it really would take her head off.

As I left
the building, I embraced my new feelings of freedom. Okay, so I had
wasted one wish, big deal. I still had two left, and I didn't have
to spend eight hours a day at a job I hated, still barely paying the
rent and wondering what to do with my life. I had options now,
choices,
and that, that was worth my soul. I shivered and
tugged my wool coat tighter around me; the night was chilly but not
nearly as chilly as the voice that spoke to me from the shadow of the
building.

“Was
that clingy waiter boy your lover?” Levie asked, gracefully
pushing away from the building and falling into step beside me as I
made my way to the parking garage. I ignored his question, too
perplexed by his change in attitude.

“You
seem awfully calm. Are you sick?” He brushed the raven hair
away from his brow and gave me a sideways glance. Now that he was
calmer, I took a moment to appreciate his face. He might have been a
jerk, but he was a jerk with full lips, a rounded jaw, and smooth
skin. It was a deadly combination so I pretended not to notice that
I was attracted to him.

“I've
drained myself of my anger. I have accepted the fact that you have
ruined us both.” The guy sure knew how to make a woman feel
special.

“I
see. And how did I do that?” Levie's customary scowl
returned. He ignored my question.

“You
made a wish, do you not recall?” I felt myself flushing as I
thought about my mistake.

“It
was an accident, Levie.” The scowl remained firmly in place.
“I'm really sorry; I didn't know that just saying 'I wish'
would make it happen.” Levie sighed and massaged his forehead.
A habit of his,
I wondered?

“How
then, did you suppose it would happen?” He asked, stepping
over the legs of a man sleeping on the sidewalk and managing to look
both ill and irritated at having to do so. I stopped walking and
planted my hands on my hips.

“Isn't
that your job, Levie? Aren't you supposed to be supervising me? He
actually managed to look embarrassed yet still as mean as ever. The
crab.

“I
thought you were at least intelligent enough to avoid making such a
silly mistake. What you wished for was against the rules.” I
gawked at him.

“No,
you didn't. You've told me from the very first second we met how
stupid you thought I was.” I crossed my arms and stared him
down. “You should have known better.” Levie leaned
forward and brushed his fingers down my arm, as if he meant to grab
me but decided against it.

“Are
you admitting to your stupidity?” He growled, and maybe I was
imagining it, but I thought I saw the corners of his mouth turn up in
an almost-smile. But before I could be certain, he turned his head
to look behind us and pursed his lips in annoyance. “Your
lover's coming this way,” he snarled, and before I had a chance
to reply, he was gone. Blake jogged up to me and held out my purse,
his breath making little clouds in the air.

“You
forgot this,” he said sheepishly, hiding behind a curtain of
brown bangs. I quelled my annoyance and forced a smile.

“Thank
you, Blake,” I
replied as politely as I could.

“I
was just closing up, and I saw it in the lost and found. I
remembered it was yours. It's so –
unique
.” I
glanced down at my red and orange purse with the many-armed, Hindu
goddess, Kali. “I was just on my way to my mother's so if you
were interested ... ” I shook my head before he could
finish.

“I'm
sorry. Really, I appreciate the offer, but I have some things to
do.” Like make some wishes before rent came due, and I
had no money to pay it. He rubbed the back of his head and looked so
crushed that I almost felt bad. Almost.

“Are
you sure you're gonna be okay? I'm really worried about you. What
if that psycho comes after you again?” I couldn't control
myself; I snorted with laughter.

“Look,
Blake. If you're really trying to woo me, which I think you are,
then you're going about it all wrong. Go home, let me take care of
myself, okay?” How he continued to be attracted to me despite
my attitude and my refusal to go out with him was beyond me. Some
people are gluttons for punishment I guess. Reluctantly he waved
goodbye and began walking back towards the restaurant. Levie
reappeared from the shadows a few minutes later, and we continued on
in companionable silence for awhile before he decided that I was
having too good of a time.

“Is
that oafish rube really your lover?” I raised my eyebrows.

“Why?
You jealous?” Levie growled and tucked his wings tightly
against his back.

“You
think yourself worthy of my jealously?” I shook my head and
began walking more quickly.

“I've
had enough of you today,” I said, opening the door to the
parking garage and heading towards the stairs. A person can really
only handle so many scathing insults in one day. Levie thankfully
kept his mouth shut as I fished the key out of my purse and unlocked
the door to my gently used Frontier. Before climbing in, I whirled
to face him. “How did you even get here?” I snapped,
irate at him for taking away the enjoyment I'd gotten from finally
quitting my dead end job. He spread his wings silently, and I
watched in awe as the black tips stretched easily twenty feet from
wing tip to wing tip. My anger cooled quickly, drowned in my
fascination. “Wow.” It was all I could think to say.

“I
will meet you back at your hovel,” he stated matter-of-factly.
I felt my anger boiling up again. The man's effects on my mood were
starting to bother me. If I hadn't known myself as well as I did, I
would have said I was attracted to the arrogant prick.

“Fine.”
I slammed the door and pushed the evil thoughts about hitting him
with my truck out of my head before speeding up the ramp and onto the
street.

Levie had
made it back before me and was waiting on the sidewalk in front of my
building. I parked in my space and purposely ignored him, even as he
opened the door to the complex for me and followed me up the stairs
towards my apartment. One gentlemanly act doesn't undo a whole bunch
of rude ones.

As my
front door swung open, I froze in complete shock. I believe it was
the smell that hit me first: burnt hair and flesh. Yummy. The
charred, blackened corpses of the gnomes lay scattered about my
living room. I turned to Levie, my mouth hanging open but my mind
racing for words. I was blank, my mind too clogged by the rancid
stench. He glanced over my shoulder, haughtiness in his every
movement.

“You
had an infestation, you know. You should be glad that I took my
anger out on those vermin instead of you. Besides, I may have to
sleep in your grubby, little apartment with your filthy bedding, but
I will not sleep in a place infested with pests.” I leaned
heavily against the doorjamb, but there really was nothing that I
could say.