“Well, now Ari thinks you were the one her spell affected and that I didn’t mind you mauling me one bit.”
He reached for the box of chocolates my secret Santa had left on my desk, then frowned. “Don’t eat those,” he warned.
“Let me guess, they’re enchanted?”
“Yeah. And it might still affect you, could even prolong the effects of the drug. Once the drug weakened your immunity, they were able to hit you with spells to make it worse.”
“I guess I need a magical food taster now.”
“You should run things by me until we get this resolved.”
“But will it be resolved? All we’re going to do is reveal Ari and then try to get the rest of the company on track. Idris will still be out there.”
“We can only deal with each problem as it comes along.”
“He’s got to be up to something bigger if he’s trying to distract us.”
“Or he’s just enjoying watching us run around like rats in a maze. But we’ll worry about that when we get through the immediate crisis. Relax, Katie, everything will be okay.”
It was easy for him to say. He had all his magical powers at his disposal. I didn’t even have reliable nonpowers. I couldn’t be sure if someone was affecting me magically or not, and if they were, I couldn’t do anything about it.
In the meantime, I had to find one more secret Santa gift for Owen, the one I’d give to him in person at the party Friday night, the party I was going to as his fake date.
On the way home from work, I stopped by the Union Square Barnes & Noble store and found a history of espionage that sounded interesting. I was sure he’d like it, and it even made for a nice inside joke between us. I would have enjoyed it more if we weren’t playing lovers. If we couldn’t be together for real, I’d have preferred to be just friends for real. Our relationship felt as fake as Rod’s illusion, and I hated that.
My unease must have been obvious, for when I got home, Gemma asked, “What’s wrong?”
There was no way I could begin to explain it to her, but I needed to talk. “It’s that guy, the one from work.”
“Didn’t you say you were going to the office party with him?”
“Yeah, but it’s not a real date.”
“Define ‘real date.’ You’re going with him, aren’t you?”
I couldn’t get into the stuff about a company spy who’d tried stealing my nonmagical powers from me. Instead, I oversimplified the situation. “There’s this girl he works with who’s become all crazy-stalker obsessed with him. He’s too nice to be mean to her and really break her heart, but she’s not getting the message that he’s not interested. So he asked me to play girlfriend at the office party so she’d realize he wasn’t available.” It was sort of true, in a twisted, backward way.
She didn’t look like she bought it. “That’s what he told you?”
“Sort of.”
“And let’s see, this is the guy who suggests that you grab dinner on the way home and who asks you to help him with his Christmas shopping—the same one who sheltered you from the snowstorm and insisted on you staying at his place overnight?”
“In his guest room,” I reminded her. “He was a perfect gentleman.”
“And you say that this guy is extremely shy, can barely talk to people without stammering and blushing?”
“Yeah. It’s kind of cute. Most of the time, he doesn’t seem to have that problem with me, which is why I don’t think he likes me that way. I’m like his sister, someone who doesn’t fluster him.”
“Honey, I’ve got news for you. You’re being stealth-dated.”
“What?”
“He’s taking you out, so it’s like a date, but without that scary asking-you-out part. He’s managing to date you under the radar, no pressure for either of you. Next thing you know, you’ll be an established couple without ever having had an official date.”
I shook my head. “No way. For one thing, he never touches me, not even when he has an excuse to. If he was doing this stealth-dating thing, wouldn’t he manage to accidentally brush against me, or take my arm to guide me somewhere, and then not let go?”
“Hmm. It depends on the guy. He might not trust himself with you. That might be the only way he can stay comfortable with you. He might have to choose between getting physical or getting to know you, and for now he’s chosen to get to know you.”