Free Unfinished Muse by R.L. Naquin Page B

papers. I had a lot of learning
ahead of me. I wouldn’t be able to half-ass this the way I’d done
at the call center. Or the bank. Or the dry cleaner.
    A hand dropped to my shoulder, and I jumped.
Spinning around, I found Polly standing behind me.
    “Ready?”
    I nodded, though I wasn’t entirely sure if I
was ready for anything. “Sure.”
    She gave me a lopsided smile. “You look
terrified, Wynter. This will be fun. Trust me.”
    A gangly redhead in outrageously tall high
heels appeared behind Polly. She eyed me up and down as if I were
last year’s coat hanging from a clearance rack. A brief look of
distaste crossed her face before she settled on a polite smile.
“Hey.”
    Oh, she was going to be an absolute freaking
delight. I could already tell.
    Polly stepped aside and held her hand out to
indicate the new woman. “Wynter, this is Audrey. She’s going to
take you out and show you the ropes.” She gave me a reassuring
smile and pat on the arm. “I’m not in the office a lot, but
Audrey’s been here a long time. If you have any questions at all,
she’ll be happy to help. Right Audrey?”
    The redhead folded her arms across her chest
and leaned against the wall. “Of course. I’ll take good care of
her.”
    Polly patted me again as if I were a flight
risk. “Okay, then. I’ve got work to finish up before my next
meeting. Good luck!” She darted away and disappeared into her
office.
    Audrey sighed and rolled a chair over to me.
She dropped into the seat and held out her hand. “Give me your
folder, first of all.”
    I handed it over. “I’ve been reading it for
nearly two hours. I don’t understand a damn thing.”
    She licked her index finger and rifled
through the papers, then pulled a chunk of them out. “These are
totally bogus. You don’t need to waste your time on them.” She
dropped them in a recycling bin next to her. “And this whole
section on dress code is so outdated it’s ridiculous.” She dropped
it into the bin with the rest.
    “What should I wear, then?” I tried to keep
my gaze on her face and away from her skyscraper heels. I couldn’t
possibly walk in those things. And Trina’s skirt had been so tight,
I’d never be able to sit down without ripping it if I wore one like
it. I was doomed.
    Audrey snorted. “Whatever the hell you want
to wear. You’ll be invisible. Nobody cares.” She closed the folder
and handed it back to me. It weighed considerably less.
    A woman with tanned skin, braids, and almond
eyes walked past, then stopped and backed up. “This her?” She gave
me the same once-over Audrey had given me.
    Audrey nodded. “I was just giving Wynter the
lowdown on the dress code.” She waved her hand. “This is
Kayla.”
    Kayla didn’t smile. “Welcome.” She folded
her arms and leaned against the same spot Audrey had.
    “Thanks.” I swallowed. For people whose job
it was to be inspirational, they didn’t seem very friendly. “Have
you been here very long?”
    She shrugged. “About six years. Most of us
have been here awhile. The rest…” She shrugged again. “The rest of
the slots have a higher turnover rate.”
    I frowned. “Slots?”
    Audrey and Kayla exchanged an amused look,
then Audrey cleared her throat and returned her attention to me.
“Nine muses, right? You know that much?”
    I shifted in my seat, and a stab of pain
throbbed up my leg, reminding me that I’d been through worse things
than a couple of condescending coworkers in the last week. “Sure.
Nine Greek Muses. I just didn’t know the department kept with that
tradition.”
    “Well, we’re mortals, not gods, so there are
three slots per original Muse. So, twenty-seven Muses per region.”
Audrey rose and pushed her chair away. “Grab your stuff, Snow
White. I’ll take you to the supply room and get you set up, then
we’ll take a ride.”
    Kayla smirked. “Have fun, Snow.”
    It was like being in high school again.
Except, I hadn’t put up with it in high school. I’d