Once Upon Stilettos (Enchanted Inc #2) by Shanna Swendson Read Free Book Online

seat.
    There was a zapping sound and a sandwich, a small bag of chips, and a cup full of what I knew would be Diet Dr Pepper appeared on the table in front of me. Two more zaps, and the others had created their own lunches.
    There were a few perks to working for a magical company. Getting lunch to order was one of them. When someone at MSI said they were zapping some lunch, they weren’t talking about a microwave.
    I steeled myself to be quizzed about my date with Ethan, but Ari surprised me by asking, “What was Owen’s deal this morning? He went tearing out of R and D like there was a crisis. I can only assume he was heading upstairs.”
    And thus the rumor mill began turning. I knew his actions wouldn’t have gone unnoticed.
    I gave what I hoped looked like a casual shrug. “Who knows? He just wanted to see the boss. You know Owen. He probably translated something exciting and had to share with the one other person in the company who would be as excited as he was.”
    Ari shook her head. “No, it wasn’t his ‘Eureka’ look. He looked upset. But he did go talk to the boss?”
    Damn. I’d confirmed that. As vague as I was, I hadn’t been vague enough. “Yeah, but he seemed okay when he left.”
    “Interesting,” Ari said, then took a bite of her sandwich.
    “You guys see all the good stuff,” Isabel said with a sigh. “Nothing interesting ever happens in Personnel.” That “nothing interesting” meant Isabel had plenty of time to talk to people during the day, and as the one who handled all the employment paperwork, she knew everyone in the entire company. Now that she knew about Owen’s attack of alarm that morning, I had no doubt that it would already be an old story by the end of the day.
    I made a mental note to try talking to Owen about being a little more discreet, but the problem was that he so seldom made any kind of display about anything, the least little show of emotion was enough to set tongues wagging. If he’d been frowning slightly and walking a little faster than normal, his co-workers would have noticed it.
    “And how was your big date?” Isabel asked.
    “It was nice. We went to a wine dinner. Very classy.” I left out the part about foiling a magical scheme. That would raise the juice level a bit too much. An uneventful date was less likely to be the lead story on the office grapevine.
    “Somebody likes you,” Ari singsonged. “Those things aren’t cheap. He shelled out mucho bucks for that date.”
    I supposed that was true, but I tried not to rate dates based on how expensive they were. “It was very nice of him, then,” I said neutrally before taking a bite of my sandwich.
    Ari then spent the rest of the lunch hour regaling us with stories about her weekend. I could hardly believe she’d managed to fit in her visit to Bloomingdale’s to interrupt my shopping amid all that activity, but I didn’t have Ari’s energy level.
    While she talked, I tried to evaluate my friends as possible suspects. I hated thinking of them that way, but I knew I’d feel better if I could eliminate them from the list. Ari worked in R&D, but in the practical magic division rather than in theoretical magic with Owen, which still gave her access to the entire secured department. I got the impression that she had a thing for Owen, but he showed no signs of returning her interest. She had a devious streak and was the person to go to if you wanted a creative revenge plan against a cheating boyfriend. If she’d made a pass at Owen and he’d rejected her or—more likely—hadn’t even noticed, there was no telling what she might do to get back at him.
    But she was also a little on the flighty side—and not just because of the wings. I couldn’t imagine her being driven enough to care about corporate espionage. Work to her was a way to earn money for going out and having a good time. She lacked the motivation and determination for spying. The only way I could imagine her breaking into Owen’s