Enchanted, Inc. - Page 96/116

"My work isn't nearly as interesting as yours. I'm a secretary. That's about it." I stuck to my most boring job description, hoping he wouldn't ask me more questions.

"Oh, I don't know, I bet your life can get pretty interesting, depending on your boss."

"I have a good boss, so no real horror stories. Not even any funny ones. Sorry."

His eyes narrowed, and I wondered if I'd overplayed the boring angle. He probably felt much like I had with my date the night we'd met, desperately trying to keep the conversation going without much help. But then I realized he wasn't frowning at me.

He was sitting facing the restaurant entrance, and he was frowning at the doorway.

"What is it?" I asked.

He shook his head like he was trying to clear it, frowned again, took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, polished his glasses, then put them back on, blinked, and frowned once more. "Nothing. I just thought I saw something weird, out of the corner of my eye." He gave a nervous laugh. "It's been a long week. And I'd better stick to one beer tonight."

I turned around and saw Trix and her sprite park ranger—in civilian clothes tonight—standing in the doorway, waiting for a waiter to show them to a table. I turned back around to face him, a queasy feeling forming in my stomach. I'd never seen what their masking illusion looked like, but I'd never seen anyone else react this way to seeing them. Anyone, that is, but me. I remembered that he'd cleaned his glasses that first night when the fairies had come in to the restaurant. Could I have found another immune? "What did you think you saw?" I asked cautiously, trying to sound casually curious even though my heart had migrated to my throat.

"Nothing," he insisted, but I stared at him until he sighed and said, "There's a trick of the light that makes those people look like they've got wings. But I only saw it for a second." He sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than convince me.

Yep, I recognized that symptom. "Could you excuse me for a second?" I asked.

I slid out of the booth, then gave Trix a meaningful glance as I passed the table where she and her date had been seated. The rest-rooms were downstairs, which would make a quick powwow easier.

Trix joined me less than a minute later. "What's up?" she asked. "This date seems to be going better than your last one."

"The frog guy hasn't shown up, but the night is still young. And let me guess, you and Ranger Bob are my designated bodyguards for the evening."

She giggled, which sounded rather like jingle bells. "Ranger Pippin, actually."

"Are you two masked tonight—I mean, would most people see you as human?"

"Of course. It's second nature away from work."

"Well, then, I may have just found another immune. My date saw you. He thinks he's going crazy because he's seeing people with wings."

She gasped. "Oh, boy."

"So, what do I do? How do I handle this? He's that intellectual property attorney I mentioned. Do I just tell him right out that magic is real, or do I talk him into coming to the office for a consultation, and then let Mr. Mervyn and the others give him the orientation?"

She shook her head. "Don't tell him anything until we're sure what he is. We'll need to put him through a few tests, and then we can approach him." I remembered the weirdness that morning on the subway when they'd tested me, and had a sinking feeling that I was about to have the kind of evening where Naked Frog Guy showing up with his guitar would serve as a nice dose of comic relief.

She took a cell phone out of her purse, dialed, then said, "It's Trix. Katie needs to talk to you."

She handed the phone to me and a voice said in my ear, "Katie? It's Rod. What's up?"

"You know that attorney I was talking to tonight?" I hoped the office grapevine had done its usual tricks. "Well, I think he's an immune. He saw Trix's wings."

"Stay there. Try to keep him relaxed and talking. We'll be there in a moment." I found it more than a little unnerving that he didn't have to ask where we were.

I handed the phone back to Trix. "Looks like we're about to run some tests."

She grinned and giggled again. "Oh, good. That's always fun!"

Our meals had just arrived when I got back to the table. Ethan still looked twitchy, darting little glances toward Pippin, like he was trying to figure out what he was seeing. He smiled with great relief when he saw me. We ate and made small talk for a while, and I tried not to show any nervousness about what this testing would entail.