Chapter 16

Jack knocked on the door before using the passkey to enter his boss’s apartment. Feeling like he was leading a parade, the orcs pushed the gurney into the room followed by Ms. Shivdasani carrying Mr. Assyrtiko’s clothes nicely folded in her arms.

“He looks like a stuffed, roasted goose,” Dr. Kat said. She put down her teacup and leaned back in her chair.

“He had another episode with his stomach, I’m afraid,” Jack said. “The shaman insisted on an aggressive, invasive treatment. I’m sorry to report that he will be on the mend for three days or so.”

Hypatia put down her cup and saucer as well before standing. She stalked over to the gurney as if she could not contain her sex appeal. The power to mesmerize radiated from her body with every deliberate sultry step. Jack fought hard to tear his eyes away from the menacing figure, but it was a losing battle. She stretched forth her pinky as if she were spearing an olive from the jar. As she touched the shoulder of the prone figure on the gurney with her finger, the man mumbled slightly.

“Which shaman was it, Jack?” Hypatia asked, boring her eyes into him.

“The shaman of the dwarf elves, Slurpee Do’s uncle, I believe.”

“He certainly spared no expense on his ingredients,” Hypatia said. “T’will serve. I assume this will be billed to corporate?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Jack said. “Mr. Assyrtiko is nigh irreplaceable, and no expense was spared.”

“In more ways than one,” Hypatia said. She turned to the woman holding the clothes. “Who is this delightful creature that you’ve brought to me?”

“Hypatia Dragonkind, I am pleased to introduce Ms. Lalita Shivdasani, a noted actress and Bollywood star. She was instrumental in convincing Mr. Assyrtiko to undergo treatment.”

“I held him down until the shaman gave him his medicine,” Ms. Shivdasani said. “He was quite disobedient.”

Hypatia chuckled. “He can’t help himself,” she said. “Jack, would you see Andres to his bed. Obviously, our plans for dinner are cancelled and other arrangements will need to me made.”

“Of course,” Jack said with a slight bow. “May I recommend you keep your reservations and upgrade to the chef’s table. The chef would be most disappointed if he could not serve you this evening.”

“Good idea,” she said, “Make the reservation for three and I will have Lalita join Dr. Kat and me for the chef’s choice. One hour?”

“Certainly,” Jack said. He motioned to the orcs. They got their patient in bed quickly and were out of the apartment in mere minutes. Jack made his perfunctory goodbyes, racing out the door himself and down the hallway as if his pants were on fire. He yelled at the chef and he yelled at the front desk. He returned to the kitchen with the stash of candy bars and threw them at the chef with the best overhand he could muster. The chef screeched as the flying chocolate hit their target. Jack danced a jig for an instant before ducking out of the kitchen to the thunk of a knife embedding itself in the door.

He sought out his apartment, glad to find that it was empty. He threw himself onto the unmade bed and promptly fell asleep. He awoke an hour later according to the bedside clock. Unsure of what to do, he washed his face and changed his shirt. The tie, covered in splotches of shaman medicine, was a total loss. Grabbing a blue blazer from his closet, Jack walked quickly to the employee’s dining hall. The room was packed to the walls with magic folk raising a hubbub as they talked over the meal.

When Jack stepped inside, the room went silent as every head turned to look at him. Jack looked down, checking his zipper. “What?”

The entire room stood up, except for the few humans, and gave him a formal bow. He bowed back because he did not know what else to do. “If you don’t get back to eating and making lots of noise,” Jack said, “all of you are fired.”

They laughed and sat down. Jack grabbed a plate and filled it high from the bubbling steam trays. He finally spotted Danica sitting towards the back. He squeezed in next to her and a mountain elf he did not recognize. He dug into his food, realizing with the first bite he was hungry. He ate and swallowed a third of the plate before he looked up.

“Danica, please explain what happened when I walked in the room,” Jack said. He was not smiling.

“The dwarf elf shaman declared you a shaman, Jack,” Danica said. “Shamans are rare among the magic folk, and you are human. There are no human shamans until now. At least you dressed for the occasion.”

“All the shaman nonsense is speculation until the dragon makes a declaration,” Jack said. “She was in no mood to discuss the situation this evening. You heard?”

“I heard circumstances have spun out of control,” Danica said. “Assyrtiko’s is on the disabled list for the next few days. We lost a guest to the dragon because protocol in the infirmary went to the dogs. However, dinner in the kitchen has my ears burning.”

“The chef’s table was the only response I could think of to take back some control the situation,” Jack said. “Chef will fawn over Hypatia (the elf next to him gasped at the name) and the other two will be in a safe place with the kitchen staff keeping an eye on them. After dinner, I don’t know?” Jack shrugged.

“The good doctor wants you to knock her up,” Danica said, cutting her vegetables into bite sized pieces. “You probably haven’t had the conversation with her, but this is a woman of experience: leather, chains, chocolate ganache, waterfalls, and trapeze bars. I had no idea that graduate school was so hedonistic. Her history makes me wonder if I’m just a naive amateur. Who would have thought?”