One

Marie

First impressions are established within the first seven seconds of an encounter.

Marie Xiao had learned this from her father as a child entering grade school. All she'd wanted to do back then was fit in with the rest of the kids in class, be a part of the games on the playground. Back then, those lessons in how to blend in had been about having fun and making friends. They'd been a foundation for a lifetime of survival, building a life as a successful woman and a witch.

Three decades later, she'd refined her understanding of what an impression actually was. She'd also become much more intentional about what kind of impression she wanted to give, adjusting for timing and circumstance. There hadn't been a whole lot she could control in the early parts of her life, but she was making up for it now.

She strode into the grand foyer of the brand-new high-rise, projecting confidence with every step. Her custom-tailored two-piece suit was a conservative cut blazer over a fitted sheath dress. The hem hit two inches below her knees, allowing her to maintain the standards of even the stuffiest propriety when she sat. It was the color and fabric that caught the eye.

The Thai silk had been a gift from her new friend Peeraphan, otherwise known as Punch. The fabric held color the way few other materials could, wrapping her in the deepest iridescent blue, almost indigo, the color of the night sky just before dawn.

Paired with nude stiletto heels, the outfit made Marie feel powerful without being ostentatious. Eye-catching without being gaudy. It gave her the confidence she needed to accomplish anything she set her mind to.

Perfect for today.

The young guard at the security desk blushed slightly as they greeted her and asked who she was there to meet.

She gave them a serene smile. "Rosemary Xiao, consultant. Here to meet with Tobias Mancini."

Minutes later a bear of a man—not literally, but she'd encountered those too—came barreling out of the elevators and headed straight for her. He was still a dozen steps away as he held his arms open and greeted her in a booming voice, "Miss Ex-igh-o! Let's take a walk."

The man continued to hold his arms out, like he was herding her forward. She turned toward him and caught his right hand in her own, giving it a single, firm shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Mancini."

Brown eyes flickered with surprise, then narrowed as the man smiled. "Of course." His right hand tightened around hers. "Call me Toby."

She kept her smile, but brought her left hand to join her right in their handshake and returned the pressure of his grip with her own. "You're too kind. My family name is pronounced a bit more like sh-ih-ow. I appreciate you making the effort."

He laughed and the sound came out in a series of barks, like a sea lion making himself heard. She just continued to smile until he eased his grip on her hand and she let the handshake drop on her own terms.

When he swept his left hand out ahead of them, indicating the direction in which he intended for them to walk, she fell into step beside him. He did not place his hand at the small of her back as he'd initially tried to do, before she'd maneuvered him into acknowledging her with that pointed handshake.

It was all posturing, and in those few seconds, they'd both established their impressions of each other. She knew exactly how to handle him, and he was aware she wouldn't be the kind of business associate he could steamroll into doing whatever he wanted.

So far, so good, as far as she was concerned.

He led her to the far end of the foyer, where a set of stairs curved up to the second floor. The building had an airy, open design, and a portion of the second floor looked out over the foyer below.

"As you can see, Miss Xiao," he began with slightly improved pronunciation, "our building is a recently completed construction. We had plans to enhance certain areas with greenery, but we weren't happy with the designs proposed by the original builder. We heard you're the best in the Pacific Northwest, so when we decided to contract for the job, you were at the top of our list."

Well, at least he was making some effort to respect her, and she wasn't immune to compliments, especially when they were in regard to her expertise and not her looks. She could probably work with this person.

"Many top employers around the world recognize the benefits of gardens in the workplace. They become places to provide a bit of respite, build camaraderie, encourage collaboration, and improve morale." This part of the discussion flowed easily for Marie, mostly because she believed in what she was saying. "Designed properly, people love where they work, even if the work they do is challenging. Environment could make the difference between high-performing employees flourishing and unhappy workers burning out."

Toby nodded, grinning broadly. "Exactly. Yes. What you said. Glad we're on the same page. We need our people at the top of their game. We're not just making potato chips here."

He laughed and she gave him a brighter smile so he'd feel she appreciated the joke. Personally, she placed a lot of value on the people who were a part of the process of making potato chips. Trying new flavors from across the globe was a hobby of hers. She had a snack-size bag in her shoulder bag of Thai miang kham–flavored chips, her favorite. Maybe she should offer him some.

They continued walking as he showed her the common spaces she would be including in her design. They took the elevators to a few different floors, as well as the roof, then returned to a different set of elevators to reach the subterranean floors.

"This area is where our research and development happens." He led her out of the elevators to a security checkpoint. "The original builder left a lot of plants in one of the storage rooms down here to be used in the greenery design. Waste not, and all that."

She nodded, offering her visitor badge to the camera as she stepped into the revolving door. It locked in place as she stepped in, holding her while security confirmed her identity and visitor status. While she waited, she glanced around, mildly entertaining herself with calculating the chances she might catch sight of an umbrella logo. Really, they could do anything to her in here—gas, lasers, flooding. The possibilities were disturbing.

After a moment, a voice sounded from somewhere above her. "Please step through."

The revolving door turned, letting her out on the other side. She'd done freelance consulting for a lot of companies, and only one or two big pharmaceutical companies had this kind of extra security inside the building.

"It's a fuss, I know," Toby said as he joined her, tugging at his shirt cuffs. "But the storage room has lights and all, so it's a good place to keep the plants alive until you're ready to move them to the rest of the building."

"It's no problem." Or at least, it wouldn't be so long as security had the appropriate notification to allow her to come and go as needed.

Toby reached for a door. "Here we go. We've also got diagrams and blueprints you'll need for the areas of the building we want you to set up with garden things. If you have additional recommendations beyond those, we're open to your proposals, but we'll want estimates on budget and time required. We'll need to approve your designs as well, before you get started."

Marie didn't step into the room, taking in the rows upon rows of cuttings under plant lights. Some specimens were in buckets of water and others were in seedling pots. The life energy of these plants was faint, yet there was a determination there, in the way nature tended to persist. She could help these plants flourish. Would enjoy it. It was one of the reasons her mundane day job complemented the not-quite normal aspects of who she truly was.

"There are some unusual specimens here." She let a little awe creep into her voice.

Toby's chest puffed out with pride. "Of course. Can't have those glass balls over on Seventh Avenue be the gold standard for innovative urban workspaces. We want you to be sure to incorporate these plants into your designs."

Marie stared at one plant, then looked around at several others. None of these were native to the Pacific Northwest, but one or two of these in particular had no business in this part of the world. Even more interesting, at least one was mislabeled. An easy mistake to make, but she didn't think it was by accident.

She turned to Toby. "If you have an inventory list of what's in here, I'll be sure to include all of these in my designs."

"Ah. Ahem." Toby cleared his throat, handing her a flash drive. "I don't know if there's an inventory list in there, but the diagrams you'll require are. If you need to, you can come back to do an inventory yourself after you show us your first draft."

Obviously, he hadn't put whatever files were on the flash drive there himself, or he'd have known if they included an inventory list. Not a surprise. People as high-placed on an org chart as Tobias Mancini tended to focus on strategy rather than tactical details. He'd probably left the task to an administrative assistant. It wasn't a particularly good or bad sign. She ought to avoid making him feel awkward about such things in the future, though. Independent consultants got the best repeat contracts from clients who felt comfortable working with them.

"Of course." It cost her nothing to be agreeable.

This particular contract gave her plenty of time to confirm exactly what varieties those plants were. Besides, she needed to figure out if anyone at this company knew what they might have down here in their storage room. Because at least one of those plants could induce a mental state that was absolutely not what would be considered safe for work.

"I'll look forward to it," she murmured, and it was true. This contract had suddenly gotten a lot more interesting.

If no one at this company realized what they had, she could always propose to swap the plant samples out for something that looked similar and cost less. Clients usually agreed, and she had peace of mind that her designs incorporated plants with far less potential danger to anyone or anything coming in contact with them. Too often, people underestimated plants, choosing them for appearance or scent without understanding what a plant was capable of.

They returned to the hallway. Toby shut the door to the storage room and turned to her, opening his mouth. Before he could say anything, someone came through the security check and brushed past them.

Marie stepped back quickly, managing to avoid both the man in the lab coat and Toby.

Toby, on the other hand, let out a disgruntled huff and called after the man. "You. Who is your supervisor?"

The man kept walking.

Toby followed after him, catching up in two or three ground-eating strides, and grabbed the man's arm. "I asked you who your supervisor is."

The man turned, blinking down at Toby's grip on his upper arm and then up at Toby, his gaze resting finally on Toby's employee badge.

"Oh." The man removed an earbud from his ear. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear you."

"That doesn't explain why you just blew by us in the hallway," Toby snapped. He proceeded to give the man an earful about common courtesy and recognizing the executives in the company anywhere, anytime.

Marie let most of it wash over her, since it wasn't directed toward her anyway. The man's lab coat opened wider, and a flash of gold caught her attention.

The man was wearing a serious piece of jewelry, intricately carved with accents of blue and green and yellow. The central stone was an unusual green-tinged yellow, carved into the shape of a beetle. Maybe a scarab? It definitely had an Egyptian feel to it.

She had several friends and acquaintances who wore amulets and carved pendants, either for fashion or for faith. This was possibly the biggest she'd ever seen, though, as big as her open hand with fingers spread wide. It seemed large enough in height and width to be impractical for someone working in a lab—more like a chest plate. But then, who was she to say what someone ought to wear? Fashion choices weren't her business.

The amulet had her attention for reasons other than fashion.

The man extracted his arm from Toby's grip and straightened his lab coat, hiding the amulet from view. He glared at her, and she kept her features schooled to an expression of polite curiosity. She might have even widened her eyes a little to lean into the cute, clueless appearance.

"I'll be having a word with your manager," Toby was finishing up. "Be glad I don't speak with HR about your attitude."

Honestly, she wondered how often HR got feedback about Toby. The man was too tactile in general. She had avoided it today, but she thought the way he'd stopped this employee was crossing a line.

She made a mental note to include it in her feedback at the end of this contract. She didn't want to walk away from this project yet.

After another minute or so of listening to Toby, the man in the lab coat was able to go on about his business.

Marie made sure to study his features, his build, even the way he walked. She wanted to be able to recognize him again, even if she couldn't see his face right away.

"Sorry you had to witness that." Toby didn't sound at all apologetic. "People don't have common decency these days. Rudeness in the workplace is just not acceptable. Doesn't make for good team building. I see behavior like that, and it's like waving a red flag in front of a bull."

She only offered a pleasant smile in response and allowed him to usher her back up to the grand foyer. As she left, she assured him she would be in touch by the first draft deadline or before. Then she left the building at a brisk pace, her heels clicking across the floor in a staccato beat.

She had research to do. There were plants in that room that shouldn't be allowed anywhere outside Egypt, and there'd been power coming from that amulet. Old magic. Either one would have warranted her returning to deal with them.

The presence of both? Probably not a coincidence.