THE BREAK ROOM was about a third of the size of the waiting room, with a long table in the center, a small range and refrigerator on one side next to a counter, and on the other side, another counter with a small sink, several drawers and cupboards beneath it, and a microwave. A sofa sat against the end wall, with a pillow, and a couple blankets neatly folded over the back. The lights were fluorescent, and there was a glare to the room that made me feel alert. Definitely a working room, not a hangout space.
Three people sat at the table, two men and another woman. One of the men was burly, and looked like somebody you might meet in a dark alley. He was bald, with a Snidely Whiplash mustache. Dressed all in black—black jeans, black turtleneck—he looked muscled and fit.
The other man was thin and tall, with wire-rimmed glasses and long brown hair that reached his ass, pulled back in a neat braid. His eyes were deep brown and right off the bat I pinned him as Native American. He was wearing a striped polo shirt and blue jeans.
The woman must have been in her mid-sixties, with a narrow nose and a hawkish face. She was busty, with a narrow waist and curved hips, and she was wearing a neat, brick red, linen pantsuit. Her long silver hair was pulled back away from her face by two thin braids on either side, and I had the immediate sense that she was Crypto. What kind, I couldn’t tell, but one look at her eyes was enough to tell me I didn’t want to mess with her.
All three of them looked up as we entered the room. Herne sat at the head of the table. He placed the file folder he was carrying in front of him, but left it closed.
“Meet Ember and Angel, our two new employees. As I told you this morning, Angel will be taking over the receptionist desk, while Ember will be joining us on the investigations team. I’ve told you about both of them, but they don’t know who you are yet. So, introductions.”
He motioned to the woman. “This is Talia, our head researcher. She does all the legwork. She prepares the dossiers, finds out all the background information on people and places. Basically, anything I need information about that isn’t of a technical nature, I turn to her.”
Talia looked us over carefully. “Hello, girls. Welcome to the agency.”
On the outside, she seemed friendly enough. But there was a reserve beneath the pleasant demeanor. It would take time to get to know her, and if we pressed, I sensed she’d slam down a wall so fast it would smack us in the face.
The burly man went next. “I’m Viktor. I’m head of security, and you need my okay before you check out any weapons from our armory. I’m also here as backup and muscle.”
“Don’t let Viktor fool you. He may be the muscle of the agency, but he’s also one hell of an investigator and he’s got an IQ of 180. Brains and brawn in one package.”
“I just wish my family felt that way,” Viktor said. He glanced over at us. “You’ll find out soon enough, so I might as well tell you. I’m half-ogre. My family disowned me because I took after my human mother. If I’d been a girl, they wouldn’t have cared, but men in my race are expected to be brutish. And by brutish, I mean big. Really big.” He grinned as he said it, shrugging. “You do what you can, and hope it all falls together in the end.”
I blinked. I’d heard of ogres but had never met one. “You look plenty big to me,” I said before I realized that I was actually saying the words aloud. I blushed, but that broke the ice and everybody laughed.
Viktor slapped the table. “From your mouth to my father’s ears, I wish. But it is what it is, and at least I have a good job, thanks to Herne.”
“I wouldn’t have anybody else on my team,” Herne said. He motioned to the other man, who looked younger than any of us. “And this is Yutani. He’s our computer programmer and all-around tech guru. He’s also one of our investigators.”
Yutani saluted us with two fingers. He was leaning back in his chair, staring at us with an unreadable expression. But he didn’t seem angry, or unfriendly, just observant.
“Welcome to the company. Before you ask, and because you probably should know, I’m a coyote shifter. Great Coyote dogs my heels, so fair warning in advance. Sometimes his energy splashes over onto the other people I run with.”
I rubbed my forehead, trying to suppress a groan. The last thing we needed was Coyote’s energy running rampant in our lives. It felt like we already had enough chaos as it was.
“That’s the same look my last girlfriend gave me when she found out who I’m bound to.” But he laughed, and motioned to the chair next to him. “Brave enough to sit near me?”
Angel snorted. “Dude, don’t ever dare Ember. Trust me on that one.”
I grinned at him as I took the chair next to Talia. “I’ve got enough chaos in my life, thank you.”
Angel sat next to Yutani. Viktor pushed back his chair and headed over to the coffee pot, which was sitting next to the small sink.
“Care for some coffee?”
I raised my hand. “I never say no to caffeine. A splash of milk and a spoon of sugar, please.”
“I’m a tea girl myself,” Angel said. “Black tea, two teabags in one cup, as strong as I can make it.”
“I think we can rustle up some tea.” Viktor put a teakettle on the burner, then opened one of the cupboards and pulled out a box of teabags. When he returned with our drinks, Herne cleared his throat.
“I expect everybody here to help Angel and Ember as much as possible. Before we get to our new case, which is a doozy, I’m going to reiterate the rules for the girls.” He glanced over at me with a frown. “I don’t mean any disrespect by calling you ‘girls.’ You’re both women, but you’re both young compared to most of us. But if it bothers you, just let me know.”
I shrugged. “I’ve been called far worse. So long as you don’t ask me to get you coffee.”
Angel shook her head. “Trust me, where I was working before, I had far less respect. And as receptionist, I suppose coffee is one of my jobs?”
“Whoever gets here in the morning puts on the first pot. But yeah, I may ask you to grab a cup for me now and then.” Herne cleared his throat and opened one of the file folders in front of him. “The rules of the agency are simple. You are both required to sign an NDA. Trust me, if you break them, I will find out. Punishment is up to my father, and you do not want to get on the bad side of Cernunnos. You will discuss the cases and events in this office with no one except those in this room. Understood?”
“Understood,” I said. “I had confidentiality agreements with my clients. For me, the ability to keep quiet meant that I had returning clientele.”
Angel just nodded. “Understood.”
“All right, next: we begin work at eight a.m., generally. You’re expected to be on time. Some cases will take us into the nighttime hours, and we adjust as necessary. You’re both on salary. Angel, you’re required to be here from eight a.m. until six p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. You get an hour lunch break, and of course, two coffee breaks. One in the morning, one in the afternoon. As long as you man your desk and get the work done, I don’t care if you sit there playing video games afterward, though only on a private laptop. Absolutely no visiting sites with the work computers where you might download a virus. When in doubt, ask Yutani.”
She jotted down notes. Angel was a perpetual note-taker.