Deadly Magic (6 page)

“
He’s only been a product manager for a month.” Maria asked in disbelief. “Are you firing me?”

Straker didn’t answer.
Instead, he addressed Allen. “We’ll have a meeting next week to discuss any new ideas you may have. Be creative. I want you to be edgy. Do something different. Something exciting.”

Maria stood up.
“I have given you ten years of my life.”

Grace lean
ed back in her chair and looked at the ceiling wondering what it would be like to not dread office meetings. By the time she was done fantasizing, Maria had left, slamming the door behind her.

“
What about my department, Franklin?” Sidney asked from the end of the table. “Surely, you have no intention of eliminating me.”

“
Absolutely not. The Straker Magic Shoppe, toy store and our doll line are practically the only things keeping us afloat. You keep doing what Lily hired you to do. I have no intention of changing a thing.”

Sidney lean
ed forward. “Nothing?” He glanced at the young man sitting next to him. “I thought you were eliminating certain positions.”

The young man in question
crossed his arms and glared at his supervisor. His face flushed red, but he remained quiet. Harcourt made no secret of his contempt for Michael’s abilities or his shock form of magic.

“
Oh, no. Nothing’s going to change in the Magic Shoppe. We’re going to leave it just as Lily had designed. It will stay a part of the Straker Toy Company as long as I’m in charge.”

Michael thank
ed Straker. Leaning back into his chair, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Harcourt’s smile disappear
ed. “What about my position?”

“
Hmm?”

“
Lily was the brand manager of the Magic Shoppe. What are you going to do with her position? You know, the one I’ve been handling since she left for Europe half a year ago.”

“
I’ve decided not to fill it just yet.”

Unable to stand it any longer
, Grace blurted out a rather plaintive, but certainly not whiny, “What about me?”

“
Which brings us to our next item on our agenda. I have a surprise for all of you. We have a new addition to our company.” They watched as he stood up and opened the door. To everyone’s surprise, Belle Dragovich walked through the door.

“
I’m sure everyone knows Belle. She is Ilya Dragovich’s daughter. What you may not have known is that she was also Lily’s goddaughter. She will be joining our little happy family as of today.”

Most of the table was too shock
ed to do anything, but stare. Sidney Harcourt, on the other hand, stood up. They watched as his face and hands turned purple. “I’ve worked here for . . .” Grace leaned her head back against her chair as she tuned the rest of his speech out. She turned her mind to the task of mentally decorating her office. Perhaps a pale blue would look nice. A cotton candy type of blue. So focused was she on her fantasy she almost missed Louisa’s outburst.

“
How can you do this?” Louisa’s voice shook with anger as she looked from her father to Belle. Daniel quickly shushed his wife. Before she could say any more, he pulled her out of her chair and out of the room.

Stra
ker was now standing in front of the conference table. He looked happier than he had in a month. Grace wasn’t surprised. He usually was the only one happy at these meetings.

Harcourt was still standing on the other side of the table.
Apparently, not having quit just yet.

“
How could you give her Lily’s position? She’s not even a magician. She’s only been an assistant for a couple of years now. She knows nothing of what we do.”

“
That’s not true,” Belle countered, sliding into the seat Louisa had just vacated. “I’ve watched my father for years. Many of his illusions he designed himself.”

“
And where did he get the hardware? What about the crystal chest? He didn’t design that. I did.”

Straker sat down
, smiling. “Enough you two,” he said laughing. “Harcourt calm down. Belle’s not taking Lily’s place. I already told you, I'm leaving that position open for the time being.”

“
Am I to compete with her?” he asked aghast.

“
No. She’s not going to be involved with the Magic Shoppe. She’s going to start at the bottom and work her way up.”

“
I didn’t want to work with you,” she said testily. “After Lily’s . . . death, I want no part of magic, magicians or anything to do with them. I want to do something else with my life. When Mr. Straker heard that I had quit my father’s show, he offered me a job here.”

Glaring across the table at Straker, Harcourt ask
ed, “Where is she going to work, then?”

“
With Grace.”

Reliev
ed, Grace leaned forward. Since she hadn’t been mentioned when he was handing out job duties she had been half-afraid she was about to be fired. “And what exactly will I be doing?”

“
Didn’t I mention?”

Grace shook her head.
“No. You didn’t.”

“
We’re going to have two design branches. In addition to our doll branch, we’ll tackle games. Specifically, games for teenagers. We’ve been stuck in the past for far too long and the future has passed us by. It’s time to catch up.” He looked up as Daniel re-entered the room and took his place next to Belle.

Grace
eagerly sat forward. Straker had resisted video games for years now. Insisting that they were nothing more than a fad that would go away with time. Grace knew he would have to give in eventually, which is why she had been taking night courses in graphic design for a couple of years now. In six months, she’ll have her degree.

“
We’re going to do something new. Board games.”

Allen
flashed a bright smile in her direction.

Grace ignor
ed him. “Not video? Sir?”

“
No. We’re not doing video. Good old fashioned board games.”

“
But didn’t we have a board game division that you eliminated five years ago because it was a money drain. You fired everyone on that team.”

“
Yes, that was a good day,” he said smiling in fond remembrance. Refocusing, he waved his hand dismissively. “But I have confidence that you’ll be able to reinvent the board game landscape. It’ll be great. Teenagers love board games. Remember, be edgy and creative. Hey, I have an idea. Why don’t you put your criminal justice degree to good use? Design a mystery game. That would be fun. You like mysteries, don’t you?”

Daniel
looked at her sympathetically.

Straker pointed to Belle.
“Belle will work with you. You can teach her the ropes.”

Allen
raised his hand. “What about Grace’s assistant?”

“
Oh, Grace needs an assistant.”

Grace breath
ed a sigh of relief. At least she wasn’t losing Ellen.

Allen raised his hand.
“But Ellen has been in the doll department for so many years.”

Straker nodded.
“And that’s where she’ll stay. Grace can get a new assistant.”

Allen
leaned back in his chair, grinning from ear to ear.

“
Okay,” Grace said reluctantly. “I’ll draw up a job ad, but couldn’t Ellen stay with me until we hire someone else.”

“
No. We don’t have enough time for you to hire someone from the outside. Besides, this is a family business, Holliday. What do I always say about my employees?”

Grace look
ed around at the blank faces sitting around the table. Reluctantly, she repeated the last thing she had heard him say about his employees, “We’re just placeholders until a super race of robots can be created.”

Allen
snickered, causing Straker to glare at him. Once Allen was appropriately cowed, Straker turned back, “My employees are like my family. I care for all of you. It hurts me when I lose a member of the family. And like any good father, I want my children to grow and advance.”

Heads around the table began bobbing up and down.

“We promote from within in this company.”

“
But, you fired all of the designers,” Grace pointed out. “How can we promote from within?”

“
Simple. Go downstairs to the toy shop. Take someone from there. Belle can go with you. Since you two will be working together, you both should have a say in who gets promoted.” He smiled as he looked around the table. “Well, that’s it for today. Everyone get to work.”

Daniel hopp
ed to his feet and rushed out of the room. More than likely to find Louisa, Grace thought watching as the door slammed shut. Michael and Belle reached for the door handle at the same time. Grace noticed the small smile they exchanged as they fumbled with the door and walked out of the room. Only Straker, Harcourt, Allen, and Grace remained.

When the door clos
ed behind Belle, Harcourt walked up to Straker. “I don’t need any help.”

“Geez
Sidney, how many times do I have to tell you? Belle isn’t going to be working above, with or under you.”

“
I’m not talking about her. I’m talking about the boy. He’s completely incompetent. He’s not a true magician. He doesn’t study his craft. No, he goes for shock value. I’d almost prefer Belle. I may not like her father, but he at least knows what he’s doing.”

“
Michael stays.”

Allen
, who’d been pretending to leave, came back inside and quietly sat down next to Grace. He leaned over and whispered into her ear. “You need to tell Mr. Straker that board games are not a good idea. Ask him for some time to do some research. Do some feasibility studies. Teenagers just don’t spend a lot of time with board games, anymore. He likes you, he’ll listen.”

Grace glanc
ed out of the corner of her eye, surprised that Allen was actually attempting to be helpful.

Allen
stood up and left as soon as Harcourt walked out.

Seeing Grace still sitting there, Straker ask
ed, “Do you need something, Grace?”

“
About the board game . . .”

“
I knew you would love it.”

“
I do. Really, I do,” she lied, “but couldn’t we try at least one video game. Kids just aren’t playing board games like they used to.”

“
Nonsense. Mystery games are fun. I figure you would jump at this chance to put your degree to good use.”

“
It was just one class. In my sophomore year. I didn’t really do that well at it.”

“
Well, now’s your chance to shine. If you have any issues talk to your brand manager.”

“
Where is Sara?” she asked, dreading the answer.

“
She decided to move on,” he said simply, as he stood up and walked to the door. “We’ll only have one brand manager from now on. If you need anything talk to Daniel.”

Allen was waiting outside. As soon as Straker waked away, he ducked his head back in the room.
“Did you tell him what I told you to say?

“
Yeah.”

“
And?”

“
It didn’t work.”

“
I knew it wouldn’t. Why did you waste your time?”

♣ ♦ ♥ ♠

Numb, Grace walked toward her office. She passed by Valerie who was just emerging from her office. “So, how did it go?”

“
We’re heading to the future, Val. To the bright future of 1965.”

“
Why? What do you have to do?”

“
Board games.”

“
What about them?”

“
That’s what I’m designing. Board games.”

“
What about your interstellar doll design?”

Allen
walked out of her office carrying her dolls out. “Hey look at this one,” he said, holding up Major Venus Bell, a pretty doll with flowing lavender hair and green eyes. “What do you think about adding tentacles? Or gills?”

When they didn’t
answer, he happily walked away, calling to Ellen over his shoulder. “Just make sure to pack it all up, El. I need everything.”

“
Oh Grace, I’m so sorry. It could be worse. At least you have a job. Franklin fired Mae this morning.”

“
Why would he fire Daniel’s secretary?”

Valerie shrugg
ed. “She was twenty minutes late today. He never seemed to mind before.”

Grace look
ed at her friend thoughtfully. “Have you noticed that he’s fired or gotten everyone who wasn’t at the magic show to quit? Absolutely all of them.”