Page 25 of That’s My Orc, Tusk Off

“She’ll be handling parts of it, yes,” I said. “I’ll need the support.”

“Of course. Support.” Drogar’s grin widened. “Is this about the filing system she fixed?”

“She didn’t fix it,” I said. “She modified one drawer.” I’d noted the difference yesterday morning when I stopped in to make sure I’d returned my label maker to its correct place. It was there, and I had not made any new labels.

Though I’d wanted to.

“If I know you,” Drogar said, “you’ll modify the files back before today is through.”

“I’ll restore them to their intended drawers.”

“While she’s at lunch, I bet.” Drogar’s eyes sparkled. How could he find humor in everything? “I almost want to watch you do it. You’ll keep looking at the door, waiting for her to arrive and catch you.”

“I’ll be ensuring consistency. There will be no need to hide.”

“I bet you’ll hope she notices.”

Brovish watched our exchange with a gleam in his eyes that almost matched Drogar’s.

“He’s been labeling things that don’t need labeling,” Drogar told Brovish. “For you, with Laina, it was alphabetizing everything. For Traig, it’s labeling.”

“I’m always labeling things,” I said. “Why does everyone think my actions are related to Willa?”

Drogar lifted his eyebrows.

“I label things that require clear identification,” I said.

“You labeled the label maker.”

“For inventory purposes.”

“It says Label Maker on the label maker.”

Brovish chuckled.

I wanted to leave.

But I also needed project approval, which meant staying.

CHAPTER FIVE

TRAIG

Krem appeared in the doorway behind Drogar, his clipboard in his hand. “Don’t we usually hold the meetings in the conference room?”

“We’re not having a meeting,” I said.

“Traig wrote a proposal,” Drogar said. “Last night.”

“Excellent.” Krem stepped inside and flipped to a fresh page on his clipboard, tugging the pen from where he’d tucked it beside his ear. He was always documenting something, though I’d never been sure what. “What are we proposing?”

“An educational partnership with the school,” Brovish said. “A year-long project. Traig will manage the development while Willa will handle the human side of things.”

Krem wrote this down.

“Willa’s an excellent choice,” he said without looking up. “She has strong people-talking skills. The families will respond well to her.”

“That’s what I suggested,” I said.