Page 50 of Code Mages & Empty Pages
“Just a couple of days, until you’ve met everyone. Taran and Maeve will be in town, as will Beryl Nowen and Alaric, so you’ll meet the whole team. Ms Hendry’s reserved a holiday apartment for you in Glendarn House. An old friend of mine owns it. I’m sure you’ll enjoy your stay.”
I nodded, still a bit dazed by how fast all this was happening. “Yes. Thanks. I’m more than happy to work on this.”
Carson gave me a rare, approving smile. “Thank you, Mr Atkins. I knew I was right about you. You and your colleagues will get an email about payroll in—”he checked his watch,“—fifteen minutes.”
“Thanks, sir. Maybe I will hold off on the news until then?”
“Yes, Atkins.” Carson tilted his head to the side and gave me an inquisitive look. “You look like you need a coffee.”
That made me smile despite myself. “I could do with one, yes.”
He waved a hand. “Have a coffee on me. In fact, coffee and buns for the whole department.” He reached into a drawer of his desk and pulled out a sleek company credit card.
“Oh, that’s…” I accepted the card from him. “Thank you, sir. I’ll bring it back on my way down.”
As I turned to leave, his tone suddenly turned sharp. “This is important. Don’t mess this up, okay?”
My hand froze on the doorknob. Carson had gone from playful and fatherly to hard like frozen ice. “I understand, sir. I won’t.” My chest was tight with nerves, but there was pride in there, too.
Mia looked up as I passed, worry flickering across her face. I just gave her a thumbs-up and headed upstairs to Froth & Flurry.
I grabbed our favourite coffee orders, a box of cinnamon buns, and carried everything back to the office. By the time I walked in, the fifteen minutes were up, and Dawn and Desmond were both staring at their screens in disbelief.
“We’re all getting a pay rise?” Desmond grinned, practically bouncing in his chair.
“Yeah. Well done, Luc,” Dawn said, her voice warm. “You’re a legend. Coffee?”
“Here.” I handed them their cups and set the bag down. “And buns for everyone.”
Desmond already had his phone out. “Carson just said our commitment made a real difference in productivity and mood. He said we ‘deserve it’. Direct quote.”
I tried to hide my own nerves by fussing with the coffee lids. I was panicked about leaving Dawn and Ruffles, not that I’d ever admit it out loud. But this was huge.
I tried to look nonchalant, but my fingers fumbled on the cardboard tray.
Before I could say anything else, Dawn’s phone rang and she turned away. “Sorry, I have to take this.”
She glanced at the screen, and her expression changed. My heart skipped a beat as I watched her lips move, her eyes darting to mine.
“Hello?” she said quietly. She went still, listening. “Mr McBriar, it’s nice to hear from you,” she managed, voice barely steady. She shot me a look, bracing herself.
She listened for a moment, then forced a brittle smile. “Wow, that’s wonderful. Thank you. Yes, I can meet you Thursday afternoon. Thank you. I’ll see you then.” She hung up and stared at her phone, as if it might bite her.
“My house is ready,” she said at last, voice flat.
Desmond perked up. “Oh, so you can move back? That’s great, Dawn.”
“Yeah. Thanks.” She tried to smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She looked at me. “It’s inhabitable again. No more Greenleach. That was Gerry McBriar from Spawn No More.”
I reached over and squeezed her hand under the desk. “I’ll be away for a couple days,” I said quietly. “I need to go to Carranbrae for work. Long story, I’ll tell you tonight.”
She didn’t let go of my hand, so I squeezed her fingers again.
“I can help you move your things this weekend, if you want.”
She hesitated, then gave me a small, sad smile. “Yeah. That would be great. Thanks, Luc.”
Neither of us mentioned that she barely had any boxes, or that she could handle it all herself. The idea of coming back to an empty house made my chest ache. I couldn’t picture the cat tree without Ruffles, or the coffee table without one of Dawn’s half-finished mugs, her tea gone cold. I dreaded it more than I wanted to admit.
