The break room dispute was at an impasse.

  The negotiator was doubling down on the position that Gil owed the company money for the dispute, and Gil refused to accept that blame. Keylynn was pleased to hear that he was steadfast in his demands and followed her advice every step of the way.

  Officially she will be back in the office tomorrow, meaning she can do more than write emails. Tonight she can do what no one else had thought to: figure out what really happened that night, which meant she needed to speak with the floor seven janitorial staff.

  Janitorial blue slimes were happily oozing all over the office when she left the elevating chamber. She found their handler standing by Akzer’s open office door after a quick glance around the office. She walked over to the slime handler, making sure she didn't step on any of the slimes.

  “Salutations, we haven’t been formally introduced yet, but I’m Keylynn.” Looking inside Akzer’s office, she saw two larger slimes oozing around in the office. One was on the manager’s desk, while the other was on the floor.

  The handler kept an eye on the slimes. “No, we haven’t. Don’t get to meet most staff… hold on.” They rushed into the office and scooped up one of the slimes. The large blue slime was attempting to ooze out of the handler’s hold while gurgling in complaint. “What have I said about going into the boss’s coffee cup? They don’t like the taste of slime. Try the carpet and see if they dropped anything. Dean think you can finish the desk?” They set the struggling slime down on the carpet.

  Keylynn watched the other slime, Dean, ooze up on top of Akzer’s desk and start to ooze over everything. How a slime discerned between garbage and not was amazing. She would love to watch a slime training session.

  “Sorry about that. Sometimes it’s like herding gooey cats. I’m Will, the slime handler of the seventh floor. It’s not a glamorous job, but I do get some of the best coworkers.” Will returned and offered his hand to Keylynn. She shook it with a smile.

  “One of my slime moulds was a coffee fiend. As it turns out, they desire energy drinks. Maybe that will help slime Sam,” she suggested softly. She hoped she wasn’t speaking out of turn. Her first stop after departing the train station was a grocery store to purchase several cases of the drink, mostly for slime Eugene.

  “Slime mould? Oh, I know your desk. You’re the new one to join the misfit crew, huh? Yeah, you look like you fit right in with them. Sam used to clean up the break room, and Gil was great. He used to spill coffee and leave dirty mugs just for Sam. It’s been a hard adjustment for the big guy. Once the break room reopens, I have no doubt that Gil will take care of Sam again,” Will answered. The two large slimes finished with the office, and they moved on to the next one. Keylynn wanted to peek inside to see. She remained where she was because she didn't want Will to get the wrong idea of why she was there.

  Keylynn cast a nervous look over to her desk. “I don’t know if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that you know my desk.”

  “The bright yellow slime in the bowl, right? It played well with my slimes, even with Dick, who earned that name. The slimes love your desk; I think the spores taste different,” Will explained as they poked their head into the office. “The HR manager is much nicer about the slimes than the boss.”

  “You mentioned the break room closure; would you happen to have been working that night with your slimes?” Keylynn asked biting her lip. She didn’t want to make the dispute even worse for Gil.

  “I was, yeah.” Will turned and faced her. “Why do you ask?”

  “I am currently helping Gil with the dispute, and the negotiator has decided to place blame on Gil and wants him to pay the company over half a million gold pennies. All they want is to reopen the break room. I don’t think it’s fair that Gil is being blamed for anything because he's the victim,” she explained. A smaller slime started to ooze up her leg. When it reached her knee, she gave the slime a gentle pat and manifested several tall, skinny mushrooms for it to eat.

  “Gerald manners,” Will chided.

  The slime Gerald finished their mushrooms before oozing down her leg.

  “Sorry, he likes to act like he’s starving. Trust me, he’s not. As for the break room, it was the boss. Watched them hiss in disgust at my slimes as they went. They hissed something about slimes shouldn't be seen and should know to keep out of sight.” Will shook their head in disgust. “I apologized and explained they are slimes and have no concept of eyes. They then slammed the break room door behind them. Heard a loud hissing and a bang from the room. They slithered out covered in coffee and shut the door behind them and told me it didn’t need cleaning. I had to wrangle Sam to keep him off the boss.”

  Keylynn nodded and hoped her brown slime mould heard everything. “Has anyone asked you who caused the mess?”

  Will shook his head. “You would be the first. I heard the rumours that there was a big blow-out about the break room. Told some of the other handlers what I saw, though. They told me to wait for the negotiator to reach out. Never did.”

  She narrowed her gaze. “May I use your eyewitness account?”

  Will nodded. “Anything to help Gil.”

  “Thank you, may I get your email then? I’ll be sending you the official eyewitness forms. Once you fill them out, please send them back to me.” She explained as she pulled out a small notebook and a pen.

  “Absolutely.” He took the notebook and pen and wrote down his email quickly.

  “Thank you for your help, Will. I’ll be sure to leave some tasty snacks around my desk for your slimes. They are marvellous at their job.”

  In the morning she rushed through the sleepy streets of Glimmerhold. She had a wonderful idea of how to both help Zukyov and end the break room disruption while she was meditating on her loamy soil floor. She wasn’t sure when the Cup Stop opened, but she did have to beat Tiv to the RADAWC office building.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  It was the only building on the street that was lit from the inside. Keylynn let out a sigh of relief as she knocked on the windowed door almost frantically. She may have had a Lonster with Eugene before she began her meditations, but that doesn’t matter.

  Tiv, with a surprised expression on her face, unlocked the door and gestured for Keylynn to come inside. She locked the door behind her. “What are you doing here so early? You should be sleeping and then getting ready for work.”

  “I was meditating when I had an idea that can solve Zukyov’s problems and the break room dispute! Are you looking for a chef? I thought I remembered you mentioning wanting to expand the menu.” The words rushed out of her mouth.

  Tiv nodded, walking Keylynn to the serving counter and gesturing for her to take a seat. Keylynn sat on one of the stools.

  “You’re going to tell me everything over coffee and breakfast,” Tiv stated and started to make coffee. She deftly turned knobs and flipped buttons, bringing the machine to life. First it ground fresh coffee beans before releasing a plume of steam in a big hiss.

  “I did mention that I wanted to expand the menu to cover lunch. Biscuit is a fantastic baker, the best in the city if not the realm, and I keep them plenty busy. Some of your office mates mentioned needing lunch, and as tasty as my pastries are, they just aren’t the same as lunch.” Tiv poured two mugs of fresh steaming coffee before pouring freshly steamed milk into each mug. She disappeared in the back and reappeared with two plates, each bearing a large spiralled cinnamon pastry.

  “I have a feeling that you know someone who can cook.” Tiv asked, giving Keylynn a knowing grin.

  She took a bite out of the pastry, and it was the perfect blend of robust, earthy cinnamon and sticky sweet icing. “That is because I do. He happens to be exceptionally miserable at his current job. Cooking is his passion.” She paused to have another sip of her coffee. “His family is garbage, and he dreams of opening a restaurant one day. A baby step is to cook in your cafe.” She paused to take another bite out of her pastry. “This is divine. Please don’t tell Gwen I said so. It will crush her heart.”

  Tiv slid the coffee cup slowly away from Keylynn. “I don’t think you need any more of that. You have my word that I won’t break the puppy’s little heart,” she said solemnly. “So, you were talking about your miserable coworker?”

  “Yes, I was. He is exceptionally talented. He can make old, stale adventuring rations taste good, and he’s talented with soup. Are you willing to interview him?” She asked, hoping for a yes. All Zukyov needed was a small push in the right direction.

  “I’m intrigued by the chef who can take rations and make them edible, let alone taste good,” she said thoughtfully. “As things stand currently, I can afford to add someone to my payroll. That will free up Biscuit when I take the cart out, and I can add a lunch menu. I can even make lunch coupons to bring in foot traffic.”

  While Tiv mulled things over, Keylynn picked Pebble up from her shoulder and set them down on the counter beside her plate. She broke off several small pieces of the pastry for her little rock to try. She didn’t plan to leave the little mimic home all day, because it was far too young to handle that, and some of her fungal colonies were in a mood.

  “You haven’t steered me wrong yet. Bring him by tomorrow midday at the earliest, and I’ll be ready for him. If he is as good as you say, he has the job.”

  Keylynn smiled and wrapped her arms around Tiv and hugged her tight. “You are the best muscular person I know!”

  Tiv chuckled and patted Keylynn’s back. “And I don’t think you should finish that pastry.”

  “You don’t mean that. I’m just excited. I have an opportunity to throw one stone and strike two birds, a nearly impossible venture. I have known hunters to use the feat as a requirement for marriage. The biggest wedding occurred when two hunters accomplished it to impress each other.” The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them. It couldn’t be the pastry. She was simply excited for her plan.

  Tiv slid her coffee mug back over. “So what’s this plan of yours? And how does it involve my cafe?”

  While Keylynn finished her coffee and breakfast pastry, she explained her plan. She was going to end the break room dispute and help Zukyov out of his job without his father’s interference with a pinch of blackmail. She was going to approach Akzer and demand they terminate Zukyov in such a manner that a director cannot interfere with. She will also demand that they end the break room dispute and ensure the company replaces the broken coffee machine and issues an apology to Gil. It was a perfect plan. If they played their cards right, Akzer can use the break room dispute as the means for Zukyov’s termination. Ensuring a job for Zukyov was the first step that she had to arrange. Once Zuykov has the job, she just needs him to agree with the rest of her plan.

  “That can end terribly for you,” Tiv commented thoughtfully.

  “A risk I’m willing to take. I have grown tired of accepting things as they are, and I can make a difference. Besides, I’m his team lead. It’s my job to help my team reach their best,” she answered determinedly.

  “Well, you lose your job. I’ll hire you. I’ve been wanting to experiment with mushroom coffee,” Tiv teased with a grin.

  “The tea that is made from mushrooms that emulates coffee, yes?” Keylynn asked curiously.

  “That would be the stuff. I had someone mention how it was strange I didn’t serve it already.”

  “Really? Well, I can make you some now if you like,” she offered with an excited smile.

  “We have time, and it might help relieve your excitement.”

  Keylynn nodded and summoned a dirt clod from her kitchen that she uses to grow her tea mushrooms. All three are mushrooms—dragon’s mane, feather plume, and ochre milk cap mushrooms—that lack magical qualities but have been proven to boost wakefulness and concentration. Carefully she harvested the amount of each mushroom that she needed. The quantities that she used made a creamy, robust flavour that was akin to a latte.

  Carefully she dried the mushrooms by running a warm breeze over them as she removed the water from them using her magic. Once they were dry, she crushed them into a fine powder and mixed them together. She deposited the fine powder into a clean empty cup.

  “I’m not sure how to make the tea without my magic, but I’m sure mushrooms can be dried and powdered easily without. As long as you don’t rip the hyphae, the mushrooms should grow back. If you like, I can make you a small mushroom garden if the tea is a success,” she explained, feeling like she wasn’t much help to her friend at all. She just made it without telling her the amount of each mushroom she should use.

  “I will have to look into food health and safety standards for where they fall on mushroom cultivation.”

  Keylynn scooped two small spoons of her mushroom mixture into Tiv’s empty mug and summoned boiling water in the mug. She waited five minutes before lifting the mushroom particles in the air, cooling them down with a gentle breeze before depositing them back on the clod of soil they originally came from. Some liked to drink it with the powder still in the mug, but Keylynn didn’t like a chunky tea.

  “And here you are, a fresh cup of mushroom coffee. It doesn’t exactly taste like coffee, but it’s still good.” She set the steaming mug in front of Tiv. She fiddled with her fingers, waiting for the orc to take a sip.

  Tiv blew over the surface of the tea and sipped it. “Oh, that’s different.” She had another sip. “It’s almost creamy, like a latte that cuts through the bitter earthy tones and melds with the delicate mushroom flavour nicely.” She gave Keylynn a toothy grin. “Thank you, I will finish this while I finish my coffee cart prep. Would you like to join me? I can even walk you to work.”

  “I would be honoured. I have never seen the back room of the Cup Stop, and now is my chance.” She smiled and scooped up Pebble. “And I can tell you all about my assessment of Ody’s Journey and how I acquired my little Pebble.”