Counterfeit Cupid (Mt. Olympus Employment Agency: Cupid #2)(2)

“Sure.” I watched the back of his hairy head bob away into the hallway.

The next few floors people left and only one or two replaced them, so by the time we reached my floor, I only had to squeeze around a cute redhead with freckles and a satyr in a velour tracksuit who, I imagined, must have come in on his day off. I nodded to both of them and strode down the hall to the Cupid offices.

Every department at Mt. Olympus was run differently. It was my great misfortune that the Cupid department was one of the few requiring timecards be stamped at the beginning and end of every shift.

There was a trick to not getting into trouble for being late. First, I had to sneak in without anyone seeing me. Second, I didn’t clock in at all. I always clocked out at the end of the day, though. Otherwise, they might think I was never there. But if I didn’t clock in, when somebody called me on it, I could pretend I forgot and tell them yes, of course I came in on time.

It didn’t always work, but lame excuses didn’t work real well, either.

So, that was my plan—sneak in through the door, slide into my cubicle, and somehow convince everyone around me that I’d been there all along.

I pushed the door open and let myself in, taking care to babysit the door until it was fully closed to make sure it didn’t slam. I turned around to head to my desk and stopped.

My manager stood in front of me, hands on her hips. She was a tiny thing, maybe five feet tall if she was lucky, so for her to give me the intense stink-eye she was putting out, she had to tilt her blonde head back a long way. It looked painful.

“Ellen. Hi. I was…I was just coming to see you.” That was the backup plan. If I got caught coming in, it was best to go straight to the on-duty manager and offer apologies and today’s sob story.

Ellen’s eyebrow twitched. “I need you in my office. Now.” She turned on her heel and walked away, apparently expecting me to follow.

“Busted.” Bill stood at his desk laughing at me over the wall of his cubicle. “Hope today’s excuse is a good one, bro.”

“Better than last week’s, at least.” I gave him a wave and trotted after Ellen.

By the time I caught up, she was already seated behind her desk with an open folder under her fingers. “Have a seat, Joshua. Let’s talk.”

So, that’s how we were going to play it. She knew I hated being called Joshua. I settled into a chair across from her. “I have a really good reason for being late this time.”

She glanced at the file on her desk, then looked up at me. “Jen dumped you this morning.”

I blinked. “How do you know that?”

“Honey, this is the Cupid department, and while Aphrodite is on vacation, I have to keep everything running smoothly. That means I get alerts anytime the love status of any of my Cupids changes.” She groaned and wrinkled her nose while examining my file. “Jen was the third in two years.” She folded her hands and leaned forward. “Any idea why these girls run out on you?”

This had to be the most humiliating reprimand I’d every received at any job. “Not really, no.”

“You don’t look devastated. Your girlfriend woke up this morning, packed up all her stuff, and walked out on you. Why aren’t you devastated?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. Because it didn’t really matter, I guess.”

“Did Steph matter?”

I shook my head slowly. “Not really.”

“Kathy?” Her eyebrows rose in curiosity, as if I were an abnormal cell under a microscope.

“I guess not.” I hadn’t thought about it before. Now I kind of felt like an uncaring ass.

Ellen leaned back in her chair. “So, you’re late. And you were late twice last week, and four times last month.”

Well, it had been a good run. I always knew the Cupid department was a terrible fit for me. Maybe they’d transfer me to something more interesting. I supposed they might send me to the Underworld, but even that had to be better than what I did for a living now.

“I apologize for that.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say. What did she want to hear? Did it matter?

“Joshua, where are your wings?” The expression on her face was intense, scrutinizing me for a reaction.

I felt the blood leave my cheeks. “Um…I left them in the car, I think.

“You think, or you know?”

I dropped my gaze to the carnation pink carpet. “They’re in the car.” I couldn’t believe I’d left them. Again. Wings and bow and arrows were supposed to be returned every night and hung on the wall. Not bringing them in was a serious offense. Leaving them somewhere in the open was cause for a firing squad. Or something.

The Underworld might be the best I could hope for.

Ellen sighed and pressed a wooden stamp to one of the pieces of paper in my folder. She slid it across the desk to me and closed the folder. “Go home. Pack your suitcase—a week or so should do it. You can always do laundry if it takes longer than that. Come back immediately and hand this to reception. The change to your portal settings will be immediate.”

I frowned. “You’re changing my portal settings?” That didn’t make sense. They could certainly change my job, but why would they keep me from going home to Denver? I glanced at my paperwork. “Dallas? Why are you sending me to Dallas?”