Page 24 of Fairy Godmothers Aren't Cheap

“Don’t suck up to me.Proveyourself to me.”

“Yes, ma’am.” I blurted out what was in my heart. “I’d also like to say that I believe Char deserves good things and that we need to do right by her.” Gram-Gram nodded. “I want to create space for her in the world. I want to create a vacuum so the good flows in toward her.”

“You aren’t advanced enough for that.” Now she was shaking her head. “You can’t yet control which form of energy will flow, or which way it will go. Don’t start punching above your levels and working with things you’re not equipped for. You hear me?”

Her warning tone had me straightening my spine. “Yes, ma’am.”

“And no more wishes.”

I blinked. “Sorry?”

Was I being demoted?

“No more granting of wishes for Char until she is paid up. Her account was flagged by Igor.”

But we couldn’t cut her off! Char deserved a happily ever after and bright smiles, as well as someone creating space for her. All she wanted was someone in which to share the small moments of her life. She didn’t need another uncaring, crusty fairy godmother assigned to her like Paxi. I mean, she’d been a legend and all, but in her final years, she’d barely allowed the good energy to bloom in people’s lives.

I believed everyone had the right to be cherished and loved in a way that they could see and feel, and I wanted to be the one who granted that for Char at long last. Her world was waiting and ready to open up for her. She just needed me and a little magic. And numerous well-placed wishes.

“Do I tell her she can’t wish anymore?”

“You told her about divine timing?” Gram-Gram had her fingers steepled, her eyes bright and alive as she worked out her plan.

“Yes, I think I mentioned it.”

“Good. She’ll just think the timing isn’t right for her wishes. We don’t want to scare her off. She’s one of those dolphins or whatever Trish calls our best clients.”

“A whale.” I hated the term and, even more, I hated that Gram-Gram was now using Trish’s slang.

“Yes. She’s a whale of a client. She makes lots of wishes, which is good for us. So, we’ll bide our time this quarter while she pays off her debt.” Her voice lowered. “It should have been you who flagged her account, Estelle. As well, you should have stopped granting her more wishes. Go back to your desk and read up on the financial thresholds and protocols. Then write me a five-hundred-word summary before you leave tonight. Leave it on my desk.”

I held in my groan. “Yes, ma’am.”

“That’s two issues in one day, Estelle,” she said quietly.

“I’m sorry. I’ll do better. Please don’t feed me to Igor.”

Gram-Gram blinked at me, then leaned forward, aiming her right ear—her better one—toward me. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I heard that Igor?—”

“Nonsense. He’s vegan, Estelle.”

Her tone made me feel about an inch tall for believing Trish’s lies. The head fairy sighed heavily as though tired of me, and embarrassment washed over me. “Is there anything else I should be aware of?”

I sucked in a breath, knowing I needed to simply blurt out my next problem. “Char doesn’t believe.”

“Incorrect.”

“But she said?—”

“Did you pass your exam on this topic?”

I nodded. She knew I’d had to pass all the introductory and midlevel tests to be given client access.

“List the reasons we know she believes.”

“There’s a portal into our offices which hovers between our worlds,” I said slowly, thinking it through. “It’s protected by a spell. If she truly didn’t believe, she wouldn’t have been able to see YFGM, let alone enter.”

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