Once Upon Stilettos

When she got a phone call after lunch, I took that as a good time to dash out of her lab and hurry down the hall to Owen’s lab. I nearly ran into Jake on his way out. “You just missed him,” he said. “He had to go to a meeting.”



“That’s okay. I’m only dropping some paperwork off in his office.”



“Cool.” He was already off down the hall, grooving to whatever was on his iPod, before he could think to ask why paperwork required a shopping bag. I spread out the cheesy plastic Santas and silvery tinsel on the big table in the middle of the lab so it would look like I was in the middle of decorating, then found that book again and flipped to the conveniently placed Post-it.



It was like looking for information on what to do about the common cold in a medical journal. I imagined I’d need years of study to properly understand what I was reading, but it did appear that there were ways of making a magical immune susceptible to magic. There was a whole list of chemical names, and none of them sounded familiar. It looked like once the drug was in the person’s system, they could then have spells done on them to really solidify the loss of immunity.



Well, that was great, but I wasn’t taking any drugs, not even the occasional aspirin. I hadn’t changed my routine or eaten or drunk anything new—not that I was aware of. The loss of immunity had hit before the secret Santa game started, so it couldn’t have been caused by any treat that had been left for me. Short of closing myself in a plastic bubble, there wasn’t much I could do until I figured out what was being done to me.



I put the book back on the shelf, then put up the decorations around the lab as quickly as I could. I stuck an anonymous secret Santa greeting note on Owen’s office door before hurrying out. Ari was still on the phone as I passed and didn’t seem to see me.



I was out of breath when I returned to my office. I didn’t see how our spy could stand the stress. The sneaking around for a good reason, with no consequences other than maybe embarrassment and a good laugh, was difficult enough. I’d nearly had heart failure from sneaking a peek at a book that Owen probably would have loaned me willingly, even if he would have asked me why I wanted it.



I rewarded myself for a successful mission by slipping out of my sensible business shoes, taking the red shoes out of their box, and putting them on. I felt the usual surge of power, like I could rule the world if I really wanted to. I’d always laughed at Gemma when she said it, but I was starting to believe that the right pair of shoes actually could change your life.



I kept them on for the rest of the day, and as a result, all I had to do to get ready for going out was touch up my makeup, add a little sparkle, and change my blouse. I got down to Isabel’s office, where we’d agreed to meet, and found it empty. Rod then appeared in his doorway, and I realized I must have become accustomed to his illusion when I didn’t have to pause and remember who he was.



He gave me a low whistle and said, “You look great. You shouldn’t have any trouble attracting attention tonight.” A warm glow spread through me at his praise. Maybe I wouldn’t have to go out to get attention. All the attention I could want was right there in front of me. Then he looked more somber, jolting me out of what had to have been the effects of his attraction spell. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”



I forced myself to focus. “Sure.”



He gestured me into his office and said, “Have a seat, please.” He perched on the edge of his desk, and I sat in the guest chair, crossing my legs like I was modeling panty hose. His eyes were serious enough to snap me out of it once more. It would have helped if he’d turn that spell off even for a second, but I guessed he didn’t realize it was affecting me—unless he was deliberately affecting me. “This is probably none of my business, and I’m sure I’m totally out of line. I also want to make sure you know I’m not saying this in any official capacity, but rather as a friend. I’d like to think that you’re my friend, and Owen has been my best friend for a very long time. But be careful, please.”



Goose bumps grew on my arms, and I momentarily forgot all about the effect Rod had on me. “Careful of what?”



“I know you and Owen have been spending a lot of time together lately.”



“We come to work together in the morning, and we’ve gone to dinner together once. That’s not exactly a lot.”



“For Owen, it is. It’s enough that I feel like I ought to warn you. Owen’s a great guy. But he’s also dangerous. I don’t think he’d do anything deliberately to hurt anyone, but he could easily do it without meaning to. He’s also, well, he doesn’t have much experience outside his lab. I don’t want you getting hurt, but I’m more worried about him getting hurt, and what might happen if he did.”