Free Unfinished Muse by R.L. Naquin

history and how to get around. You’ll pick it up pretty fast,
though. Once you get the hang of which colored line to follow, it’s
all—”
    She stopped midsentence as the doors slid
open. A tall guy with dark skin and a goatee stood with his hands
folded in front of him, as if he were military and had been told to
stand at ease.
    He gave a quick nod of his head.
“Trina.”
    Trina pressed her lips together in a tight
line. “Ian.”
    We stepped inside and watched the doors
slide shut.
    “Still the fifth floor?” Ian pressed the
button, not waiting for an answer.
    “Thank you,” I said. Well, somebody needed
to say it.
    Trina stood stiff and straight, staring at
the crack between the elevator doors.
    The elevator dinged at the fifth floor.
Trina marched out, and I followed her. Her heels tapped on the
marble floor in the silence until the elevator doors whooshed
closed.
    She stopped and leaned her back against the
nearest wall. “Oh, gods, that was so awkward. I am so sorry you had
to see that, Wynter.”
    I frowned. “See what, exactly? Who was
that?”
    She sighed. “That was my ex, Ian. Really
ugly breakup. Did you see how he looked at me when the doors
opened?” Her eyes grew large, and her shoulders slumped with
exaggerated emotion. “So awkward.”
    He’d seemed polite and normal to me, but I
wasn’t always the best at reading people. Still, I suspected Trina
read a lot more into the situation than what had really
happened.
    She took a few moments to gather herself
together, then pushed away from the wall. “Okay.” She smoothed her
hands over her tight green skirt. “I’m better. Let’s move on.”
    Two corners, a long, carpeted hallway, and a
story about how Trina once helped the janitorial department to
water all the plants on this floor for an entire week, and we found
ourselves in front of a door with frosted glass painted in gold
letters that said Muse Department .
    My stomach knotted as we stepped inside to
meet my future.
    I nearly turned around and walked out once I
saw my new office. I’d expected…oh, I don’t know. Something
different. Something lovely and spacious, filled with a magical
aura fit for something as mystical as a room full of Muses.
    What I found instead was a cubicle farm.
    My lower lip quivered as Trina led me to a
desk not far from the door. I relaxed my face to erase what was
likely the petulant look of a disappointed child. Showing
disappointment at this early stage wasn’t going to win me any
brownie points.
    The truth of having signed a three-year
contract slapped me in the face as I sat in my new gray swivel
chair surrounded by half-walls to keep me separated from the rest
of the room. I half-expected they’d hand me a headset and ask me to
start taking calls.
    I’d quit my call center job for no reason. I
was right back where I’d started.
    Trina patted me on the shoulder, her voice
excited. “You stay here for a sec. I’ll go tell the boss lady
you’re finally here.”
    She did a little bounce on the balls of her
feet, then took off between the rows of cubicles.
    I spun the chair to face my new desk. It was
pretty sparse. A black phone with lots of buttons. A desktop
computer, currently running a screensaver of a cartoon fish tank. A
spinning office supply holder containing one blue pen, two yellow
highlighters, and an eraser. A stack of trays for paperwork. I
touched the surface of the desk, and my fingers came away
sticky.
    I sighed. So, this was going to be my new
life. Not a lot different from my old one. Possibly worse, since
the PC seemed to be running on decade-old software.
    Behind me, a voice like tinkling bells
laughed, then called out to me. “Wynter, I’m so glad you’re finally
here. We’ve been waiting anxiously all week for you.”
    I spun around and blinked. The voice didn’t
fit the person standing in front of me. The voice was melodious and
sweet. It should’ve belonged to a graceful young woman in
diaphanous clothing—a woman