Chapter 5

Within days of Merlin’s return to work, gossip was buzzing around the office about him and Steffany. She swore she’d said nothing and he certainly hadn’t been bragging to anyone, but there it was anyhow.

The rumors apparently caused some of the other ladies in the office to begin looking at him with renewed interest while a few horny males cast envious and sometimes resentful glances his way. But had Merlin been the observer rather than the observed, he probably would have seen the source of the rumors right off. The sudden turnaround in his love life wasn’t affecting his work in any negative way, and in fact his renewed energy and his increased productivity was impressing the hell out of his boss, but what everybody else was seeing was the loving glances passing back and forth between him and his lady love, the increased frequency of visits to each other’s office, and the fact that they had lunch together nearly every day unless either of them had a business luncheon scheduled.

Out of the public view, they began spending three or four nights each week together in either his or her apartment. And the sex just kept getting better and better, partly because of his increasing self-confidence and partly because of her passion for trying out new and kinky bedroom practices. She showed him her beautifully illustrated copy of the Kama Sutra and told him she intended for the two of them to master every position. Merlin could hardly object.

He hadn’t summoned Smoke since the night of his dumbass comments; partially because he had nothing specific to ask, but mostly because he was still feeling rather ashamed of himself and he dreaded facing the object of his insensitivity.

But that didn’t mean he wasn’t thinking about it. An idea was growing in his brain about how he could put his resident spirit to work, and not just to his own personal benefit. He began thinking of ways Smoke could provide knowledge of a business nature; like insights into the personalities of future clients and business associates, trends in the medical supply industry, and new innovations about to come on the market.

And since he and the lovely Steffany were already in a sort of partnership, he could learn things that might enhance her position as head of sales. Of course, he wouldn’t be able to come right out and let her in on the source of his information, but he was pretty sure he could do it surreptitiously by asking her casual questions from time to time, then providing her with useful suggestions in later conversations. She might not adopt them initially, but at least the seed would be planted. And while those hints would primarily benefit her and the company, he might gain some small rewards of a more personal nature. That part felt a bit selfish, but how could he not hope?

And so a couple of weeks after his last and unfortunate meeting with Smoke, Merlin came home from the office one afternoon and stood before the mirror. “Smoke, come! Please?”

Swirly clouds condensed into Samuel’s wizened image, the usual stogie between his fingers and dressed in his signature white linen suit. “Yes, Merlin, how may I be of service?”

“Well, uh, first, am I forgiven?”

“Hardly necessary. You simply are what you are and you can be nothing else. In my limited experience, I find humans have a penchant for speaking before they’ve fully considered the thought they are about to express. Have you a question for me?”

Was that a slur? Merlin sighed and said, “Sounds to me like you’re still upset.”

“Since I have no inclination to harbor such nebulous sentiments, I believe it’s your own feelings of guilt that are forming that impression. In this case, it’s a useless and nonproductive emotion. Now, if we can get on with it, I believe you intend to ask me to provide you with information that will enhance your ability to do your job.”

Merlin was knocked off his game for a moment. Of course Smoke knew what he was going to ask, he always did, but it still screwed with his mind when his every thought was anticipated like that. “Well, yeah, I was.”

“And you intend to ask me to provide information that will be of direct benefit to Ms. Thomas as well. I must say, Merlin, that such a request would be stretching the limits of my obligation to you. You do see that, don’t you?”

“Um, well yeah, I suppose you’re right about that. Does that mean you won’t do it? I’ll understand if you feel it’s dishonest.”

Smoke actually smiled through his overgrown mustache, giving Merlin some small sense of relief. “Dishonest is a loaded word, as you well know. I’m hardly bound by any moral code invented by your species, am I? It isn’t I who has to live with the consequences, my boy, it’s you! I’ll provide you with whatever information you desire, although as I’ve already explained, I’m bound to point out any possible pitfalls it may introduce. What you do with the information and how comfortably you can live with it are entirely up to you. Now, what is it you wish to know, specifically?”

In anticipation of his upcoming meetings and scheduled negotiations, Merlin had already written down a list of items to be covered and spent the next few minutes describing them in detail. If he got everything he wanted, he’d have the advantage in every single one of them. In the back of his mind, he knew very well it wasn’t entirely kosher, but he was able to suppress his guilt ... or at least convince himself that it was all for the greater good. It was a bit of an ethical leap for an otherwise painfully honest man and he felt a little like a politician.

Smoke provided him with every single thing he asked for and without any caveats. He did, however, add one note of caution. “Now, I believe you to be rather intelligent - for a human, that is - so I probably shouldn’t have to say this, but I will. You must exercise due caution when employing this information. If you get all full of yourself and start showing off your brilliance, you’re going to attract the wrong kind of attention. When it comes to things like product development, you wouldn’t want your competitors to suspect you of industrial espionage, would you?”

“No! Of course not!”

“Good! There’s an old sociological premise: ‘Knowledge is power’. It goes without saying that the ending to that statement should be, ‘when it is used judiciously’. Your access to what I can provide gives you a great deal of power, Merlin. I exhort you not to abuse it.”

“I won’t, Smoke, I promise.”

“A promise easier made than kept, I suspect. Will there be anything else?”

“Uh, no. Thank you, Smoke.”

Martin did indeed employ his newly acquired knowledge, and he honestly believed he’d employed it judiciously as well. Over the next few weeks, the value of that knowledge began to manifest in an increase in business from current accounts as well as several new and important ones, some at the expense of his company’s competitors. Martin had always been appreciated for his business acumen, but now he was reaching star-status. His boss, Jerry, heaped on the accolades, his colleagues pestered him for advice and hung on his every word, and more than one of his company’s competitors tried in vain to recruit him on the sly. Why would Merlin want to be anywhere but where he was? More to the point, why would he want to be anywhere Steffany wasn’t?