Sirenz - By Charlotte Bennardo Page 0,68

reviews, and the orders,” I pointed out.

“Then where are they?”

Slowly, we made our way through the elegantly papered hallways. Only the scuffing of our feet on the plush carpeting could be heard. Everything was open. Lights were on, computers were running, there was even a steaming coffee cup and a brownie with a hasty bite taken out of it on Reynaldo’s desk.

“They’re here. Or they were.” Shar took off her coat, but kept her scarf tied firmly around her lower face. “But where are they now?”

“Let’s check the king cobra’s nest.” I pointed in the direction of Arkady’s office.

The doors at the end of the hallway were shut as usual, and a sliver of bright light cut across the purple carpet. As we got closer, we heard muted voices.

“The meeting today isn’t supposed to start until nine thirty,” said Shar, slipping out the folded schedule we’d printed out previously. I peeked at the paper; nothing was supposed to be going on during this early time slot. Shar looked at me as if she expected an explanation, but all I could do was shrug.

At that moment, Reynaldo burst through the door, slamming it behind him. He bustled down to his office, his hips swinging. He didn’t seem to notice us skulking off to his right.

I cocked my head at Shar and we followed him at a discreet distance.

“Find out what’s going on,” I whispered.

Shar knocked on Reynaldo’s door. He was in the midst of shoving the rest of the brownie into his mouth and nearly choked when he saw us standing there.

“Oh!” He plopped what was left of the brownie back on his plate. “What are you doing here?”

“We work here,” Shar said through her scarf. “Did we miss the meeting?”

“Oh no no!” Reynaldo laughed—no, giggled. Whatever was going on in Arkady’s office had put him in a good mood. I wondered what type of treatment could make him that jocular? I could use some.

Reynaldo shoved some papers into a briefcase then drained his coffee. He put on his coat and grabbed his Euro-bag.

“Where are you going?” Shar demanded. “What about this morning’s meeting?”

“Oh, it’s been canceled. I have to run, chicas!” Reynaldo waved at us and floated away.

Arkady’s door opened and shut again, and then it sounded like Jeremy was on the phone.

“Stay here and see if you can find anything in Reynaldo’s office about what’s going on,” I said excitedly. “I’m going to talk to Jeremy. With Reynaldo gone, that’s one less person we have to deal with. This might be easier than we thought.”

I scurried down the hall, but slowed down as I got near the door to Jeremy’s office. I stopped in front of it and sidled my head around the door frame with trepidation. Jeremy was sitting in front of his computer, his eyes moving back and forth quickly as if he was scanning the screen in front of him. He looks normal. I let out a breath and he looked up. My stomach did flip flops.

Was he still entranced?

A smile spread across his face when he saw me and his eyes softened, but they weren’t glazed over.

“One sec,” he said, tapping a few things into his computer that I couldn’t see. “Oh this so great, Meggo, I think we’re going to actually spend some more time together. Looks like things are going to slow down here—at least for a little bit.”

He remembered me! And he seemed like himself. But I wondered what he meant by slowing down. I didn’t like how that sounded.

I chanced one word. “Why?”

He jumped up and hugged me.

“You’ll never guess what just happened!”

I pulled away slightly, cocked my head at him, and creased my brows.

“Oh, how could you know? Mr. Romanov called an early meeting to let us know that he’ll be doing some traveling. But”—and here his whole face lit up—“I don’t have to go with him. You have no idea how awesome that is!”

Oh, I think I do. You do NOT want to go where he’s going. But what did he mean, Arkady traveling? And when?

I grabbed a paper and pen and wrote where, when, and why?

He leaned in close. “Apparently there’s this really wacky treatment for skin renewal or something like that. They only do it in Europe. Switzerland, I think.” He made a disgusted face. “It’s totally sick. Involves sheep placentas. Anyway, as soon as he heard about it, Mr. Romanov insisted on going.”

Jeremy shut off the computer. “Wait, it gets better. I’m not sure how long