Page 20 of Enticing the Elf
“Who’s on Team Failure?” I ask. It’s a logical question, but Caolan gasps.
“Not any of us,” he assures me, holding out his wrist for me to see. “We’re all on Team Success.” His lip curls. “We did have some of the other bands made, though. In case anyone has poor judgment.”
“They’re vomit green,” Hagen adds helpfully.
“I’ll have one of each.”
The shocked silence that takes over the room is kind of nice.
“Dáithí,” Jared begins, but I shake my head.
“I’m neutral. I have to be, if I’m going to get through this.” That’s what I’ll keep repeating to myself, anyway. “I don’t mind if you all pick sides, as long as you don’t let your work be biased.”
“Never!” Alistair shakes his head vehemently. “I am fully confident that Eoin will prove himself without any assistance from us. He will succeed!”
Okay, he might be losing sight of the point. “You know it’s okay if he doesn’t, right? That will just mean that he’s changed his mind about what he wants. There’s no win or lose here.” I’m going to keep telling myselfthat, as well.
“So it’s okay with you if Eoin has a support team?” Hagen challenges.
“What do you mean?”
“We’re here to help you plan the tests. Is it okay with you if Eoin has people to help him carry them out?”
I think about it. “Theoretically, yes. But doesn’t that defeat the purpose of what we’re doing, if someone else is completing the tasks for him?”
“I’d say that depends on the tasks.”
CHAPTER NINE
Eoin
How long canthis damn meeting last? I’m still not clear on why there had to be a meeting to begin with. How hard can it be to come up with a test of some kind? I lived with Hagen for decades, so I know exactly how weirdly creative he is. Something like this should be easy for him. All he and his Team Bro friends had to do was give Dáithí a couple of suggestions to choose from. It could have been an email.
So why am I still sitting here at Raðulfr’s condo an hour after the meeting was supposed to start, sweating through my shirt and resisting the urge to get very drunk on my boss’s whiskey?
“Maybe Dáithí changed his mind,” I blurt—not for the first time. “What if he decided he doesn’t want to do this after all?”
Ari nudges my glass closer. “Have a sip to calm your nerves.”
I shake my head. “No, I?—”
“That wasn’t a suggestion. Have a damn sip before I choke you.”
“What Ari means,” Raðulfr interjects, “is that the whiskey will take the edge off your nerves while we wait. Someone would have called or texted if Dáithí had changed his mind.”
Would they? “What if they haven’t because they’re trying to talk him back into it?”
The sound that emerges from Ari’s throat convinces me to pick up my glass and have a tiny sip. He’s the most level-headed, easygoing person on my team. If he’s this annoyed with me, I’m probably overreacting to the situation.
Though I’m not sure it’s possible to overreact to the possibility of losing the love of your life.
I chug until my glass is empty.
“Impressive,” Brandt says. “Refill?” He’s pouring before I can answer.
A responsible team leader probably wouldn’t act this way in front of half his team, his boss who is the co-head of government, and the other co-head of government. Too bad I’m not wearing my “responsible” hat right now. I knock the second glass back as fast as the first.
It’s outside work hours anyway, and I long ago mastered spells for sobering up. It might do my team good to know I’m apersonwithfeelings.
