Illuminate

Stefan recognized the second speaker. It was the man who’d called him in for the interview in the first place. One would assume he should have cleared it with his boss first. And then something else clicked – Lucy? That’s the gruffest sounding Lucy I’ve ever heard. Now, Stefan was intrigued, and he settled back in his chair. He’d undoubtedly be kicked out soon enough, but he hadn’t had any entertainment in a while and the chair was comfortable enough.

“I told you to stop calling me that.” The first voice sounded even gruffer now. “There isn’t a better anchor than you and you know it. Do you want me working for someone second-rate? Why the hell did you have to claim your mate anyway? Things were working fine as they were. You anchored for me during working hours…”

“Which was all the hours under the sun and beyond when it came to working with you,” Darwin raised his voice. “Six months I waited for you to get your act together. Six months of barely seeing Monty awake. I got the silent treatment from him every time you called telling me we had another case and I had to leave him. Well, no more. What’s done is done and I’m not sorry. Brother or not, I deserved better from you, and Monty deserved better from me.”

“I refuse to work with anyone non-family.” Lucy was sounding peeved now and Stefan muffled a giggle.  It sounded like Lucy had a major attitude problem and was used to getting his own way.

“You don’t have a choice.” In contrast, Darwin was sounding pleased with himself. “I found you a good replacement. His scores are off the charts. He can handle seven different types of magic…”

Stefan winked at Garrick who was sitting on his shoulder, pleased he was being stuck up for.

“What does he look like then? How old is he?”

What’s that got anything to do with anything? Stefan looked down. His shirt was clean and pressed and while his trousers were showing signs of wear, they still held a crease. His green and gold waistcoat was old – made for him by his mother many years before, but not a thread hung from it. I’m clean and tidy. What more does he want?

It seemed Darwin wondered that too. “I’m not asking you to date him. He’d be your anchor. His looks have nothing to do with how well he can do his job.”

“I bet he’s young – still moony eyed and power hungry, I suppose.” Stefan could almost hear Lucy’s teeth grinding. But then Lucy’s next words shocked him to the core. “You know what these young ones are like. They see me, feel my power, and start drooling. They’re useless in the field, too busy flirting and just getting in my way. Why do you think I insist on working with family members only?”

What a cheek! Stefan wasn’t sure he wanted the job anymore. The money he’d been offered would have put a roof over his head, and a hot meal would have been nice. But no. Anyone who had their head so far up their ass they believed everyone would fall over it… Stefan didn’t need that shit in his life. He’d been there, done that, and paid a really steep price for his stupidity.

Gathering his bag for real this time, and yes, Stefan knew how pathetic it was that all his worldly goods fit in one large carpet bag, he patted Garrick’s feathers. “Come on, old boy. We know when we’re not wanted.”

Garrick cawed his assent, his feathers ruffling as he settled more securely. Stefan glanced back as the office door opened, and Darwin poked his head out. “You’re leaving? Please don’t go.”

“I’m sure your friend Lucy pitched his voice purposefully loud enough so I could hear just how badly he doesn’t want me as an anchor.” Stefan raised his voice as well. “He should count himself lucky someone with my skills happened to be free at the moment and was willing to work on short notice. But heaven forbid, I might catch sight of him and fall into a drooling mess at his feet. Honestly, I have better things to do.”