Fortunately, Gemma and Marcia got home within a few minutes of each other so I didn't have to decide between holding myself back or telling the same story twice.

As soon as we'd all changed out of our work clothes and opened the take-out containers they'd brought in, I blurted, "You won't believe what happened at work today."

ten

My audience lacked the look of rapt anticipation I'd hoped for. Instead, they looked concerned. "Does it have something to do with that lump on your head?" Marcia asked.

Actually, I'd been planning to talk about being assigned a big project by the CEO, but the moment she asked the question, all my good intentions about telling a boring cover story to explain the knot flew right out the window. I couldn't keep one of the most exciting days in my life entirely to myself. It wouldn't hurt to tell a teensy little part of the story, would it? I could talk about the adventure without getting into magic. "Yeah, it does."

"Oh, Katie, you don't have another bad boss, do you?" Gemma asked. "I know Mimi was awful, but at least she wasn't physically abusive. "

"No, I don't have a bad boss. Well, okay, he's not perfect. He has anger management issues." And that was putting it mildly. "But the head honcho is great, and anyway, that has nothing to do with this. We had a little adventure at the office today. Some guy got in and was looking to steal some stuff, and I was the one who caught him."

Marcia nodded. "I've heard about that happening, people wandering around offices, trying to look like they belong and stealing laptops when no one is looking. You caught him?"

"I don't know about catching, but I saw him and yelled for help, so he was caught."

Gemma gave me a friendly punch on the shoulder. "Way to go, Katie. How'd you know he didn't belong, since you're so new?"

Oops. Maybe I should have thought this through before I blurted anything out. "He really looked like he didn't belong, and he looked like he didn't expect anyone to see him there." And that would be because he was invisible to everyone but me, but I definitely needed to leave that part out. I shrugged. "He just looked suspicious, and my instincts kicked in."

"How'd you get that lump, then?" Marcia asked, her eyes full of concern. "Did he hurt you?"

"He tried to take off when I yelled, so I grabbed onto him until Security got there, but he shook me off and I hit a wall. But I'm okay. They had someone take care of me at the office."

Marcia frowned. "This place you're working isn't dangerous, is it?"

That one was going to be a challenge to answer with any degree of honesty because you need a pretty good idea of the truth before you can come up with a good cover, and I didn't really know the truth. "I don't know that it's any more dangerous than any other place." That is, any other place that wasn't in the middle of a magical war against an evil rogue wizard.

"You win the prize for most interesting second day on the job," Gemma said with a grin.

"It gets better. Well, maybe not better, but there is more."

"The security guard who came to your rescue was incredibly buff and handsome, and he wants to take you out to dinner this weekend?" Gemma asked hopefully.

"Not exactly." The person who'd come to my rescue was incredibly handsome, and when he'd been helping me up to Merlin's office, I'd noticed that he had some decent muscles. On the other hand, the security guard who'd shown up was made of stone and had wings. As far as I knew, neither of them wanted to take me out to dinner this weekend. I didn't want to delve too deeply into this particular topic. "Actually, these two things aren't directly related. I got assigned to a pretty important new project."

"That's better than a studly security guard, especially if it gets you some executive attention," Marcia said. "It could be your first step on your way to the top."

Gemma rolled her eyes. "Don't sneeze at studly security guards. If one was cute, maybe you should ask him to dinner to thank him for coming to your rescue."

"We're talking about Katie's career," Marcia said. "That's the priority."

"That's coming from someone who hasn't experienced a studly security guard who's feeling like a hero. Otherwise, you'd have a totally different opinion."

I held up my hands in the T-shaped time-out signal. "Whoa, guys, hang on here a second. Can I finish telling my story before you decide whether my career or my love life is more important?"