Unfinished Muse by R.L. Naquin Page B

minder. Nobody was watching over my
shoulder or tracking my hours. And Polly didn’t seem at all
concerned about how long it took to inspire this guy Alex to get
his work done. If I didn’t get him motivated today, I could do it
tomorrow. The sudden freedom felt like an elephant had stepped off
of my chest and let me breathe.
    That didn’t mean I meant to totally slack
off or anything. But at least I could stop somewhere and get coffee
on the way. I was, for all intents and purposes, my own boss during
the day.
    I stepped into the half-full elevator,
golden tool belt jingling on my hips, and pressed the button for
the lobby. One floor down, a few people left, and a few more got
on. The doors closed, the elevator moved, and the doors opened. I
marched out, confident and full of myself.
    A split second later, I realized I was on
the second floor, not the lobby. I groaned. I could spin around and
hit the button. The doors had only begun to slide shut. If I were
super quick, they’d open again and let me in.
    Of course, then everyone inside would know
I’d prematurely jumped out of the elevator.
    Opting out of the embarrassment scenario, I
moved forward with purpose so the last thing the folks in the
elevator would see was me getting on with my business. Or
pretending to, anyway. Once the doors closed, I stopped and looked
around.
    The second floor was neither wide open like
the lobby, nor a maze of hallways like the fifth floor where I
worked. The main hallway was wider and led to a central waiting
area that branched off in several directions. Also, I smelled
coffee.
    I followed the big hallway to the center and
peered up at the directory on the wall. Arrows pointed in different
directions to the Medical Clinic, Library, Chapel, and Midlevel
Cafeteria.
    Midlevel cafeteria? That sounded intriguing.
No one had told me about any of these places, and I wasn’t certain
if I was allowed to use them. But if I had a better cafeteria
option than the one with the snake lady serving slop, I’d take
it.
    I followed the arrow in the same direction
my nose told me there was coffee. I stopped outside the doors,
hesitant to go in without knowing first if I’d be humiliated and
tossed out. The view through the windows showed me a much more
comfortable eating area than the one downstairs. People sipped
coffee and typed on laptops or phone displays while a young girl
helped people from behind the counter.
    It looked perfectly normal. There had to be
a catch.
    The back of my neck itched, as if a bug had
landed there. I swatted at it and felt warm air brush my
fingers.
    “This isn’t a Dickens novel, you know.” The
voice behind me was deep and rumbled with amusement. “You don’t
have to stand outside and watch people eat.”
    I whirled and faced the guy breathing on my
neck. He stood several inches taller than me, had broad shoulders,
blue eyes, and soft blond hair. Perfect. Or nearly so. For some
strange reason, he was wearing a cowboy costume, complete with
chaps and gun holster. He clutched the brim of a black cowboy hat
with one hand.
    Swap all that out for a nice suit, and he’d
have been perfection. Though the chaps weren’t at all
off-putting.
    I cleared my throat in an effort not to
stutter with a sudden bout of nerves. “Howdy, partner. Did I miss
the rodeo?”
    He grinned and reached around me to open the
door. “Work clothes. I don’t look like this all the time. Honest.”
He held the door and waited for me to walk through.
    I frowned “Thanks. But am I supposed to be
in there? Nobody told me. I’m new.”
    He rested his hand on the small of my back
and ushered me in. “Anybody who’s out of orientation can be in
here. You hungry?”
    I shook my head. “I was just hoping for some
coffee before heading out to my assignment.”
    He winked. “Allow me, New Girl.” He strode
to the counter. “Hey, Gretchen. Could I get two large cinnamon
lattes?” He turned his head toward me. “You like cinnamon, New
Girl?”
    I