With an unhappy sigh, he tossed the trash into the can under his desk and wiped his hands off with the napkin Peri had offered with the gift. Despite his disappointment, his moodhad lifted slightly, and he got back to work with a little less frustration boiling under his skin.
He’d scribbled down a list of things he needed to get done the night before, but looking at it now, he could see his priorities were off. While he wanted to work on the personal project he’d been researching the night prior, he also remembered he had client-requested projects he needed to prioritize first. It took a minute of pawing through his desk to find a notepad but eventually he found it and made an attempt to create a new to-do list based on priority.
In the back of his mind, he knew it was in vain, he almost always forgot about the list by lunch time and got distracted with something else, but it at least meant he got some of the necessities done in the mornings. He made sure to scroll through his email, setting alarms for meetings he had to be at and adding them to the list as well. When he finally finished it, he sighed. Sixteen things on his list, just for today, and only a few of them weren’t priorities. Then again, they all felt like priorities. Except the meetings with the head office. He could take or leave those.
The phone on his desk rang, and he picked it up without looking away from his list, grunting out a quick “Washburne” in greeting.
“Mr. Washburne, I received a call from the Elder Grove coven. They’re requesting an update. Can I put them through?”
He looked around his desk with a grimace. He had the paperwork on that somewhere…
“Mr. Washburne?” Dakota prompted when he didn’t reply.
“Yeah, sorry. I’m just trying to find the file.”
“Let me send someone in to help you. They sounded a bit impatient, I’m worried something happened.”
He gave her another grunt, since it couldn’t be helped, and hung up. She’d keep the client busy or tell them she’d call backin a few minutes while he searched his desk for the paperwork he needed. That particular project was going to be entering the testing phase soon. He just needed to work out a kink in the spell that kept throwing out sparks when it wasn’t supposed to. The project was number three on his priority list. He probably would’ve gotten to it today.
A soft knock on the door just barely caught his attention, and he called out a quick “Come in” without looking up. When he finally glanced up as the door opened, he felt his heart quicken when the little fairy waved and beamed at him.
“Hello, again. Dakota said you needed help finding a file?”
He glanced down at his desk, then back at the fairy, wincing. Of all the people who had to see his desk like this, why did the little fairy feel like the worst case scenario? “Uh, yeah… It should be marked with the coven sigil on the front of it… a crescent moon with vines and a sunburst, I think.”
The little fairy was careful to not get close to the half finished projects Wash had lying around, practically dancing to get to Wash’s desk. Unlike Wash, who was just pushing things around, Peri began meticulously stacking files so he could see each one, finding the Elder Grove coven file hidden between two others near the bottom of his haphazard pile. “This?”
Wash took it, flipping it open to look through it. Thankfully, it was all there and none of the paperwork got intermixed with another file. That happened sometimes when he had more than one open on his desk. Things slid around when he pushed them out of his way, and he often got confused on what was in the files until he figured out things had gotten mixed up.
“This it is, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Peri replied brightly. “Do you want me to organize the rest of this? It won’t take long.”
His normal response would be no. So someone needed to explain to him why his mouth decided to say, “Uh… Maybe later. I have to call them back.”
Peri nodded in understanding, his smile unwavering. “Okay, let me know when you’re free, and I’ll come back. I hope your call goes well!”
He waved and flitted to the door, avoiding the projects entirely, giving Wash another beaming smile as he closed the door behind him. Wash could only stare at the spot he’d been standing a few moments before. How was it possible for someone to be made of pure sunshine? That’s what it felt like whenever he had to interact with the fairy. Like somehow just being around him made the room brighter and the air warmer.
Maybe it was some kind of spell? Wash had worked with fairies in the past, but none had quite the same effect on him as Peri did. If there was something special about Peri’s magic, or if he was using an enthrallment spell of some kind, it would explain why Wash was still staring at the door instead of picking up the phone like he should have.
Frustrated with himself, he opened the file again, spreading it out on his desk so he had all the information right in front of him when he made that phone call. Once he was done, he’d clean up his desk himself. He didn’t need to be distracted right now. He had too much to do.
Five
Between inventory checks, preparing spell ingredients, taking notes for some of the researchers, and picking up lunches for those on the research team who didn’t have time to go get it themselves, Peri was kept busy. Not busy enough to stop thinking about the handsome demon from before but busy enough to keep him from continually going back to offer his assistance. He wanted an excuse to be close to him, but the demon never invited him back to help with his messy desk, nor did he make any other requests for his assistance. It was disappointing, but Peri didn’t have time to pout about it.
While collecting orders for lunch, which he would get from the cafeteria downstairs, he asked a kitsune with pure white tails and laugh lines around their eyes if he should ask the demon for his order as well.
“Who? Mr. Washburne? I mean, you could try, but he’ll likely say he doesn’t want anything. I’m not actually sure when he eats. I’ve never seen him in the cafeteria.”
Another researcher, a werewolf with a cute pink and blue bowtie, shook his head. “He doesn’t eat in the cafeteria. He says it's too crowded, and he’d rather eat radium.”
The kitsune snorted in amusement, those laugh lines pulling a little deeper with his grin. Peri decided he liked him. Anyone who smiled that much was his kind of people.
“If he doesn’t eat in the cafeteria, where does he eat?” Peri queried. He would not be deterred from this. He didn’t want the handsome demon skipping meals, especially if he only did it because he wasn’t comfortable with crowds. Peri could handle crowds. And he’d heard the cafeteria had two sets of counters, one higher for anyone with wings, so he wouldn’t have to get smushed trying to get it all gathered for everyone.
“If he does eat, he probably brings something from home,” the werewolf shrugged. “You’d have to ask him. Though, don’t take it personally if he growls at you. He’s kind of a grump, but he’s not a bad person.”