Chapter 8 #2
I took a deep breath. What wasn’t I seeing here?
Why would he want me to help him? Me, a puny human with not much life experience to offer.
I took a step toward the courtyard. He watched me but didn’t make a move to stop me.
I walked over to the open doors to finally take a good look at his secret garden in the middle of his decaying castle.
Only there wasn’t much to see except an overgrowth of trees.
My mind raced with possibilities. The thought of willingly turning into a crow again and being able to fly away anytime was more than tempting. I turned back around and faced him.
“Why me? Aren’t there plenty of other people who could help you? People like you.” Qualified people.
He shook his mighty head the smallest bit, his eyes narrowed, and watched me. “What is your answer, Corvus? Will you help me?”
“You do realize I don’t have all that much to offer, right? I’m only twenty-nine years old, well, almost thirty. I haven’t seen or done much. I doubt being able to design a building is the skill set you need for this meeting.”
“Yes or no, Corvus?” His face was marble, his emotions hidden. If I had to guess, though, I’d have bet he was laughing on the inside.
“Fine. Yes. You knew I’d say yes. But do I need to stay here? In the meantime?”
“It is up to you. You can go back and do research at home and then come back before I leave.” He left the rest open-ended. And where did I want to be?
“Okay, yes, let me go talk to Mindy and see if I need you to change me back or not.”
“Excellent.”
I walked to the door and turned back, torn between staying on his mountain or facing a nightmare I had a hand in making.
“I am pleased you will help me, Corvus, and in exchange for your commitment, I will answer your question.” I shook my head. Which question had he been referring to from the thousands I had bouncing around in my head?
“Why did I choose you to help me? I haven’t been paying too much attention to what has been happening in the world and could use someone who knows how to navigate things as they are now.
” He paused, thinking before he said, “And because you are a lot like me, wild and true, and I know I can trust you.”
“But…”
He didn’t let me ask another question. “That is good enough for now. Let me know your final decision.”
I stood there trying to compose myself. What the hell had I just agreed to? And how could I possibly be like him? Me, wild?
He ignored me, and eventually, I left him to his reading.
I shut the door behind me and turned to what I started to consider my room.
I stared at my meager belongings, missing the suitcase Matthew had carelessly abandoned with my first rental.
I hadn’t unpacked much, only my toiletries and a single change of clothes.
I stuck my dirty clothes from yesterday into a bag but couldn’t convince myself to pack the rest. I headed out to Mindy’s room.
“What did he say?” she asked, meeting me in the hallway and examining me closely.
“He made me a deal. He offered to teach me how to change myself, as long as I help him with his upcoming meeting in Mexico. I can still go back if I want, and he’ll change me back, either way. I think?”
She cocked her head and opened her mouth, but then nodded her head, keeping her thoughts to herself, not commenting on my lack of luggage. I walked her down the hall and out into the sunshine.
Was I genuinely considering staying here?
What did I hope to accomplish back in D.C.
? I was rushing again, back and forth, without giving every consequence of my actions proper thought.
My feet matched Mindy’s steps, but my thoughts were miles away.
What was waiting for me back home? A dark apartment I couldn’t wait to be rid of.
A single friend. A job where I had been undervalued and discarded.
One I did without complaint in hopes of finding a better one.
One I wasn’t sure I still had. Be real, Freya, that job was basically toast. And yet, the threat of being officially fired loomed, threatening to unmoor the last of my faith in myself.
As long as they operated under the fallacy that I wasn’t actually Freya Rook, the job wasn’t technically gone.
Mindy stopped a few times, looking over her shoulder.
She didn’t ask me anything until we reached the car.
“So, you’re staying?” she finally asked.
“Is that messed up?”
Mindy’s laugh was genuine. My one friend in the world threw her arms around me, hugging me tightly. “No, Freya, it makes perfect sense.”
“Should I call Cassandra and give my notice?”
“Hell no. Make her squirm a little. Besides, you need an attorney to look over your employment contract so you know your options. Are you okay walking away from this project? Letting them push you out? We can still fight to get your job back. You deserve all the glory for this project, especially if they get the contract.”
I hesitated, completely unsure for the first time in my life. But the thought of walking back in there and facing either Matthew or Cassandra made my stomach revolt.
“I can’t face either one of them, not now. If I change my mind, then I’m sure he can get me to the airport somehow.” Maybe. He had done it before. He wanted me here for some reason, and being wanted, after all the recent rejection and humiliation, felt amazing.
“How about this? Let me look into the options you have for getting your job back. Legally that is. We can talk in a week. I’ll fly back and pick you up if I need to.”
Her suggestions wiped away the last of my hesitation.
A week up here, away from all the people who had discarded me, a week to lick my wounds and explore my options, sounded heavenly.
I grabbed her and hugged her to me. “Thank you, Mindy. What would I do without you?” When she released me, she turned away, but not fast enough to hide the tears in her eyes.
“But you have to call me, okay? I have to know for sure you’re doing fine. That Benjamin didn’t eat you alive.” But her eyes twinkled with innuendo. “Plus, those hot springs are to die for, better than a spa.”
“And cheaper too.”
She got in the car, deliberately not telling me goodbye. I wiped my eyes and watched her drive away. Staying behind was a risky move, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t right.