Love and the Intern

Chapter 1

Chapter 1Renée set out to get royally smashed.

That was before she realized she’d lose any chance of showing true decorum if she got plastered.

So, instead of crossing the room toward the bar, she headed for the refreshment table. If she couldn’t drink herself senseless, she’d eat some chocolate. Anything to take the bitter taste of a decade anniversary out of her mouth.

And here she went again, thinking about Jenny, even by association. She and the lovely pre-med student had been planning to get married until Jenny broke it off. Renée hadn’t cried in eight years and she was certainly not going to start now.

She was distracted briefly from her single-minded search for chocolate by the music. The SearchLight compound here in Tampa, Florida sure knew how to throw a party. They mixed up rhythm and blues with hip hop, rap, golden-oldies, and even some traditional music from around the world. So far, every time that latter type of music came on, the floor cleared. Now, the French melody being played pulled Renée to the floor. She was the only one there, but she didn’t care. She danced, swaying her hips to the beat and undulating her body to the melody’s plaintive call. This was one she’d grown up with. Even though her mother was from England, it was France where at least half her roots were firmly planted. Her father, a SearchLight agent, had retired before she was born. A tracker, he’d retired early and helped her mother and that whole side of Renée’s family protect the brownies and other “lesser” magical creatures who might not be able to defend themselves.

She closed her eyes and imagined her father dancing with her. The song made her happy but also homesick.

When the song was over, people applauded. Blushing, but pleased, Renée left the dance floor.

Now, after she’d gotten some of her nerves out of her system, and in a pleasant way that didn’t involve imbibing, she still wanted chocolate.

One of her fellow interns waylaid her. He was about five feet ten, blond-haired and blue-eyed. As far as Renée knew, he was the only genie working for SearchLight. Unlike herself and the rest of the interns, Luke Morrison didn’t stay in the large house on the SearchLight compound reserved for interns. He stayed with his lover, Agent Tavery.

Renée thrilled to even think that name. In less than three months, if she could survive the boredom of the archives, she’d be working with Agent Tavery, the head of Negotiations in the Department of Dragons.

She smiled at Luke, who looked like he was going to burst with some sort of news. “What is it?”

“I had no idea you could dance like that. You’ve been holding out on everyone.”

Renée beamed. “Thank you.” From what she’d heard, Luke was at least several centuries old, so if he was impressed, well…“Where’s, um, Agent Tavery?”

“Mark’s working late,” Luke said on a sigh.

“But I thought all employees were required to attend the Winter Solstice festivities.”

“And Summer Solstice,” Luke agreed. “But there have been some rumblings in the dragon community up in Canada…” He shrugged. “That’s all I’m allowed to divulge.”

She smiled to reassure him. Luke didn’t like keeping secrets, that much she’d deduced in the first couple of weeks she’d known him at SearchLight Academy. Even though he’d been accelerated through some of the classes because of his knowledge and ability to pass the tests, she’d come to know him a little. He hadn’t been in SearchLight the requisite three years plus one year of interning, but apparently, he couldn’t skip the final step, which was to serve in three different departments before nine months of working, still as an intern, in the one he’d originally chosen.

She realized she didn’t actually know where he wanted to work. “Will you be joining Agent Tavery in the DOD?” This was shorthand for Department of Dragons.

“If I have my way, I’ll be staying away from all dragons, except my Mark, for the rest of my life. I’m slated to work in the MMCD.”

The Miscellaneous Magical Creatures Department. Renée had enjoyed her own time in that underrated group, although she couldn’t imagine spending her whole career being given nothing but scraps. The MMCD managed with little more than the most basic computers and old, creaky filing cabinets.

“Not that working with dragons is a terrible thing,” Luke went on. “That’s where you’re headed, right?”

She nodded. “What is it about the—”

A short, mildly curvy, and elegantly dressed black woman appeared at Luke’s elbow. “I’m on a mission,” she informed him. “Mark’s done with his project, I think, but I’m pretty sure he’s stalling coming out here. So, will you join me and get him to move his ass?”

Luke laughed. “Sonya, this is Renée, another intern like me.”

The woman was attractive. But, as always happened when Renée thought some other female was cute, she was invariably straight. Or poly, which so wasn’t Renée’s thing. Or just plain too much work. And Renée was too heartsore right now to think about flirting.

Sonya smiled at her. “Pleased to meet you. Forgive my butting in like this but Mark promised he’d be out here. If I have to stand around and make idle chitchat, so does he.” She had what looked like a firm hold on Luke’s arm. “Will you excuse us?”

Luke gave Renée a mock look of suffering. Then he said, “If you want, I’ll bring Mark over later.”

Had her inner fan girl shown? Renée hoped not, but she couldn’t resist answering, “Sure. That would be great.”

Luke and Sonya disappeared into the crowd, which left Renée with the task of seeking out chocolate.

She made her way toward the refreshment table again. It was long, that thing, and had several satellites dedicated to veggies, various meats, and, ooh, yes! Chocolate.

When Renée was about three feet from the table, someone with honey-colored hair stepped in front of her to raid the table’s contents. Normally, this wouldn’t have been a problem. But this woman’s shape, hair color, and perfume sent Renée’s heart down the rabbit hole.

That’s not Jenny, she told herself as she backed away slowly. If she didn’t do it cautiously, she was afraid she’d flee like that poor bunny in the story. When she was a good distance away, she turned and walked, stiff-legged, toward the liquor. She wouldn’t get smashed; not tonight. But she needed something to steady her nerves.

After she’d taken a shot of something that the bartender suggested, she headed for the dance floor again. There was a large group of women all dancing together. She hesitated but one of them waved her in. She slipped to the very middle of the cluster, needing to feel others around her. They weren’t dancing as lesbians might dance, with touches and the like, but their energy was cathartic.

* * * *

Jenny felt a tingling on the back of her neck. Her short hairs rose and Jenny knew someone was looking at her. She didn’t whip around and stare wildly; after years of working at SearchLight, she’d learned to trust that feeling but not give into it. If somebody was really trying to get her attention, they’d either come up and tap her on the shoulder, or they’d…

Oh, but the feeling intensified. The staring person felt something strong about Jenny. Usually only negative emotions carried to her one trustworthy psychic sense.

She turned slowly, scanning the crowd as she moved, lifting a piece of chocolate cake to her mouth as if she actually cared about the treat now that what her family called her “prey” feeling had been triggered. “Prey” because, as a quarter fae, Jenny would have been prey to other fae in centuries past. Right now, sheltered by newly-developed propriety and the statutes of SearchLight, the fae didn’t feed on their weaker members. But still, someone was feeling something strong about her and she wanted to know who had such ire.

She saw no one.

She ate the bit of chocolate cake. She didn’t like thinking of these as “brownies” because those were her distant kin. Very distant since she was only a quarter fae and that quarter was grand fae, dryads. But “common” though brownies might be, they were still treated with greater respect than Jenny. The only reason she’d been allowed to live was because she was mostly human and her aunt was a powerful member of SearchLight. Besides, her parents loved her.

Even if they were the tiniest bit judgmental about her nonexistent love life, her chosen career, and her refusal to live in their household under their constant protection.

She scanned the immediate area again, spotted no one she knew, and decided that whoever had been staring at her had either mistaken her for someone else, figured it out and wandered off, or was only mildly annoyed with her, not enough to stand and make their case. She did not doubt her feelings. She’d been having them for too long to discount them or mistake them for anything else.

Jenny walked toward the dance floor, keeping clear of a large group of females, probably mostly human, who were gyrating together. She didn’t want to be part of such a huge crowd. Instead, she found her fellow medtech, Tom, and asked if he wanted to dance. He knew she was a lesbian and had never pursued her as some straight men did, with the hopes of being part of an eventual threesome. She loved him for that.

“Bored, ducky?” he asked, teasing her by using the nickname she used on people she was annoyed with. “Sure, I’ll dance.”

Jenny punched his arm lightly and laughed when he bopped her one right back. Gradually, as the night wore on, she forgot about the weird feeling that had precipitated her leaving the refreshment table.