“This time,” Merlin said. “We have no reason to hold him. If we did, we’d be guilty of the kind of chaotic inattention to the law that he usually practices, and we might even aid in his cause to draw others away from order. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a speech to finish.”
He climbed back to the top of the stairs. “As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted,” he began, and the employees gave an answering murmur of laughter. “We have much to celebrate this year, but much work ahead of us. For tonight, let us enjoy ourselves. Greet your fellow workers and know that you’re not merely employees of Magic, Spells, and Illusions, Incorporated, you’re also the vanguard in the effort to maintain the ancient standards and purity of magical use. Let us all continue to find ways to use our power to serve not only our community, but also the greater good of all humankind. And by the way, we met our targets, so you will all be receiving bonuses.”
The employees burst into applause and cheers, and I joined in, truly feeling like part of the group. I felt an arm around my shoulders and turned to see Owen smiling down at me. “Good work,” he said. “I didn’t anticipate her trying to frame you, but you handled it well.”
“Like I said, I’ve got my own powers.”
“You really do. And it looks like we got rid of at least one headache by exposing our spy.”
I shook my head. “No, it means we could have an even bigger headache. Idris may be in it for the chaos, but Ari’s a lot more focused, and with her it’s personal now. Plus, she has an attention span that lasts longer than your average commercial break.”
He frowned. “So the two of them really are working together…”
“Fasten your seat belt,” I said with a nod.
“Fortunately, she’ll be in custody for a while.”
“Let’s hope so, or we’re in trouble. You don’t want to give her a chance to pull his strings.”
Merlin waved his hand for attention once more. “I believe we have one additional portion of our celebration to carry out. This season we’ve attempted to pull together as a company by doing kind things for each other. Tonight, we’ll all learn the identities of our benefactors. Each of you was instructed to bring a gift tonight to present in person. Please take your gifts from beneath the tree and reveal your identities to your friends.”
“I guess I’ll be coming up short tonight,” I muttered as everyone swarmed to the tree. “Not that I’d want anything she gave me.” I shuddered, trying to imagine what it might have been.
I let the crowd around the tree die down, in part because I was enjoying watching others surprise their co-workers. The delighted hugs and handshakes warmed my heart. There might have been a few hitches—most of them involving me—but it looked like it had worked overall. There was a family feel to this gathering that certainly hadn’t been there at my old job working for Mimi.
While Owen gave his gift to his pal, I took the book from under the tree and waited on the sidelines. Merlin came up to stand next to me. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” I said. “I was so afraid.”
“Your employment with me is not contingent on your magical abilities, or lack of abilities, as the case may be.” His eyes twinkled. “In fact, you made a rather accurate summation of your true skills for the position. You must have great discernment if you were able to carry out your duties even without your magical immunity in place.”
“It would have gone a lot easier if I’d trusted someone sooner.”
“You’ve learned some valuable lessons from this experience. Don’t forget them.”
Jake, almost unrecognizable with his hair combed, approached Merlin shyly with an elaborately decorated package. “Um, sir? I have something for you.”
They moved away, and I watched others open fantastic magical gifts that soared, sparkled, and sang. It was enough to make me want to hide my book behind my back and play dumb, but then that would have negated that little lesson I’d learned about trust. Owen was my friend and had never failed to be gracious about anything. I could trust him to see the spirit of my gift.
Finally, I found the nerve to approach him. He was still a bit pink from having to carry on a nonbusiness conversation with his secret Santa, someone he didn’t know, but he looked happy. “This has gone really well,” he said.
“Yeah, if you don’t count all my dirty little secrets being aired in front of the whole company.”
“You weren’t the only one dragged through the mud tonight,” he reminded me. I remembered what Ari had said about it taking an enchantment for him to notice someone and winced on his behalf, even if it was kind of true.