Witches for Hire (Odd Jobs #1)(13)

Clive stared at the entrance where the man had disappeared. “What did you do to him, and why didn’t you come to me first?”

How can he be ungrateful about me putting our safety first? Unbelievable. “I made him an example, so we wouldn’t have to deal with magic thieves all year.”

“Your wards didn’t flinch while he tested them, so he wasn’t a threat.”

“He’s not, but someone else more powerful who tries leeching off us might be. There’s a time for lenience, and that wasn’t it.”

Edarra walked in the lobby with a mug of coffee, then stopped as she sensed the tense atmosphere. Her eyes went to the door as if she could conjure up a job.

A nerve ticked in Clive’s jaw. “Leaders make better decisions when they have all the facts. You should have told me about the potential threat.” Clive crossed his arms. “I see no surprise on your faces, so you knew this threat was a possibility.”

“Wel-ll.” Simone scratched the back of her neck. “It isn’t something that we have on the top of our minds when there are usually more serious threats.”

“You can’t expect us to educate you about every danger in our world.” Those were ridiculous standards, and Jeremy had only defended himself. That little curse wouldn’t have made the Council’s eyebrows twitch…. Okay, maybe a stern warning, but Clive is overreacting. He looked at Simone for support, but she was content to let him take the brunt of it. A fine ally she’s turned out to be.




THIS WITCH is a bigger handful than I thought. By preventing his employees from catching a glimpse of the military perfectionist who demanded a soldier’s best or removed them from his sight, they now saw him as a worlix cub. No matter how Clive pushed or relented, it seemed like he would always fail to find balance. But he had sworn to himself that he would make it in this world, and he was not going to be looked down upon. Especially not by this man. “When you feel brave enough to start your own business, then you may make the hard decisions.”

Jeremy drew his shoulders up and jabbed his finger into Clive’s chest. “Excuse us for trying to keep you alive.”

Simone grabbed his arm. “Jeremy, dammit, shut up!”

“No. We’ve given him too much leeway because of his ignorance. Edarra has taken the most dangerous roles on every field job because of him.”

Clive turned to the Amazon. “Is that true?” He remembered her volunteering to always take point, but he had thought she was overly enthusiastic. In fact, he wanted to have a sit-down with her to ask if bosses taking little risk was what she was used to.

Pushing her wavy hair behind her ear, Edarra leaned her head left to right as if she couldn’t decide whether to nod or shake it. “I don’t mind it.”

“I can’t believe it.” Clive’s eyes widened as he stared at his three employees. “You’ve been treating me like a high-priority target with low defense skills.”

Jeremy frowned. “That sounds like weird military jargon.”

“I can imagine.” Clive boomed the last with his magic, amplifying his voice loud enough for his employees to cover their ears. “I was a damn knight!”

His employees stepped back from him. For the sake of the Amazon’s sensitive hearing, Clive ended the spell on his voice. “I appreciate your efforts, but there was never a need to baby me.” Clive made an oath to himself that he would do everything in his power to hide this conversation from Mia and Raj. He looked at his employees, who stared back in astonishment. “Why are you so shocked? Other knights have come to your world.”

“Actually, it makes sense,” Simone whispered. “That’s why you’re not a dick.”

Jeremy nodded in agreement. “That’s why he does that weird thing of introducing himself as Sir Clive on the phone.”

Edarra raised her hand. “I’m still confused. The knights I’ve met had huge mystical swords. Where’s yours?”

The fascination with knights’ weapons in this world harbored on cruelty. Clive licked his lips. “I broke it into shards and then melted them down.” Three mouths opened in response, but he raised his hand to silence their questions. “It’s a personal matter I don’t like to talk about.”

A smirk appeared on Jeremy’s face. “I knew he had secrets.”

“What I have is a past, Mr. Ragsdale.”

Jeremy looked at his nails. “Tomato, tomahto.”

“Segue,” Simone said. “Why is a friggin’ knight in the Council’s hiring program? That’s supposed to be for low-level mages who haven’t proven their worth yet.”

Clive narrowed his eyes. “Because Mia and Raj set such ludicrous standards for knights that those of us who came after them are paying the price.”

Simone’s frown matched his. “I see.”

“Now I’m lost,” Jeremy said.

Simone crossed her arms. “You know those movies where the overqualified teacher goes to the bad school with underperforming students who need a special kick in the pants to reach their potential?”

“Yeah.”

She pointed at Clive. “You’re the overqualified wizard.” She switched her finger in her direction. “And we’re the underperforming witches.” Next she pointed at Edarra. “And underperforming Amazon.”