Office Party

Levity peered around the conference room that she and Tippy had spent half the day decorating for tonight's party. Swoops of glittering gold and sprays of silver. Plastic champagne flutes and party store top hats. With this and that, they hadn't been able to swing an office party before Christmas, so they were going all out with a New Year's theme.

Angelo, their cameraman, said, "I heard the Parsnip staff rented out a bougie place on the wharf for their year-end party."

Mick snorted. "You really want foie gras and uni?"

"What's uni?"

"Lump of yellow goo they pull out of sea urchins. It's roe. Their eggs."

Angelo had his phone out, and he was making a face. "Guess I might try it if Levity and her sister made me, but this is better. This is us."

The guys clinked their plastic flutes of fizzy apple juice. Neither of them drank alcohol. Mick because, after a couple of decades on his beat, he'd needed to stop. Angelo, who had three little ones at home, because he didn't plan to start, given his family history. They were good boys, and Levity loved them like pack.

"Keep eating, everyone!" Becca ordered, waving her phone. "Six more boxes just hit the elevator. Hot and fresh!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Angelo answered, shoving half a slice of pizza into his mouth.

"You're a damn fine woman, Chief," rumbled Mick.

Levity had been the one to suggest the rolling orders from Yuu and Mia, the gourmet pizzeria on the ground floor of the building across the street. According to Divinity Highstreet, prima donna of the foodie magazine with offices upstairs, everything on their menu was gorgeous . Tonight, the staff of the Perspective aimed to see if her professional opinion held up to scrutiny.

"Where's Murph?" Levity asked.

Angelo shook his head. "He was here earlier."

"It's Murph," said Mick. "Where else would he be?"

Becca, their editor-in-chief, said, "I made him swear to stay until midnight."

Tippy rolled closer and gently pointed out, "That just means he'll work until midnight."

They weren't wrong. Levity was already on the move. "I'll bring him back."