The line wound down halfway down the street for Tiv’s coffee cart. Keylynn walked along the line, noting several porcelain coffee to-go cups in hand with the Cup Stop logo on them. Several of the cups had a cluster of mushrooms sprouting out of the cup of the logo. She waved at Tiv before walking into the office building.

  Keylynn: Hello Tiv, this is Keylynn. I noticed some of the to-go cups have mushrooms on them.

  The office was empty, which gave her a few minutes of respite before the office-wide morning meeting. She glanced at Pebble nestled on her shoulder. “Would you like a spot on my desk?” Pebble didn’t respond. That was a no. Communication with Pebble was simple; they changed their colours for a yes and did nothing for a no.

  Eugene also wanted to stay with her. Ever since she discovered their love of energy drinks, their behaviour has been widely different. She felt as if she was always learning about her fungal colonies, even when it came to her brown slime mould. They never thought about having a name before, but the idea of one delighted them. As to what sort of name she would give them, she had no idea. Soil wasn’t a good name for them at all, and she learned her lesson about naming her slime moulds after people.

  With thoughts of slime mould names circling around her head—most of the name options were names of coffee drinks—she stepped into the meeting room. Keylynn took her seat in the middle of the front row. Many of her coworkers walked past her with Cup Stops in hand, many of which bore mushrooms. No one glared or scowled at her. Instead, they raised their mushroom cups in appreciation.

  When her comms device chimed, she pulled it out to read the message quickly.

  Tiv: Oh, those! Yeah, I had them made as part of my mushroom discount! If they have the mushroom cup, they save 10% on everything on the menu, and once per day they can get a free refill.

  She slid her comms in her pocket before Akzer slithered in and saw her. They had a strict no comms device during the morning meeting policy, and she didn’t need to draw any attention to her.

  They cast a cold amber glare at her as they slithered by. They stopped at their small podium and adjusted the stack of papers they always had during their meetings. Unlike everyone else in the meeting, they never brought any coffee or pastries. They turned their cold gaze to anyone who dared shuffle in after them.

  After a minute of silence, they began to inform everyone about last week's efficiency numbers and how the floor can improve them. She tuned out their droning voice as they said nothing of importance. Part of her wanted to tell everyone who the break room disruptor was so she could watch them sputter. It would be satisfying to watch, but she can’t. She has a plan, and she can’t falter from it. Nor can she release the bees. That would have been satisfying too.

  They praised their teams with the highest efficiency and admonished those that reduced the floor's overall efficiency score. Keylynn didn’t know how they determined these numbers daily. She didn't understand how the numbers were useful measures of work performance. The endless list of numbers seemed like a waste of time.

  Every team was mentioned except for hers.

  When they ran out of numbers, they dispensed the week's assignments. Her team wasn’t given an assignment. Several carrion flies manifested around her. For a brief moment she wished they were bees instead.

  When Akzer slithered out of the meeting, it dawned on her that her team wasn’t mentioned at all. The results from their recent assessment weren't even mentioned, and she made sure to send them copies of everything they submitted for their assessment, as per protocol. Granted, it led to an ongoing investigation, but it was still a successful assessment as far as her team is concerned. Lark made his preliminary ruling to shut down the quest so that he can overhaul its management. The quest had a good backbone that, in the right hands, could make for a worthy quest.

  Her team proved that they were more than capable of tackling assessments. Dauven agreed with her appraisal of her team. Even Riv wrote up a report on Demetra’s talent for math wizardry, and he never writes optimal reports.

  Keylynn was fuming when she and her team returned to their desks. She was going to give Akzer until noon before she stormed into their office demanding an explanation.

  “That was total bullshit, you have to admit it,” Demetra muttered, giving her a dirty look.

  “I will speak with them at the midday bell. It is entirely possible they are behind on their paperwork,” she answered, shooing carrion flies away.

  Demetra gave her a skeptical look. “Right. And those flies appeared because you really think that.”

  Keylynn let out a sigh. “Fine, I agree that meeting was bovine fecal matter. Happy?”

  “Elated.”

  She turned to her computer and turned her attention to the only current assignment her team had: file digitization. It truly was dull work. She struggled to keep herself on task, let alone her team. She decided today she will let things slide; they had their hopes smashed by Akzer.

  Keylynn spent most of her morning creating the perfect rock garden for Pebble. First she found a shallow dish that could house the rocks, and then she started to summon each smooth stone. She had to be careful when it came to the colour of each stone because if she wasn’t, Pebble would stick out like a mimic whose transformation ability included one colour for their form. She doubted that she would be allowed to have a mimic in the office, but a rock in the office wasn’t that strange at all. Especially if it was part of a rock garden. She added small mushroom cultivations to grow in the gaps between the rocks, ensuring that the rock garden blends in with her desk.

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  “I’m going to lunch early,” Ragna announced.

  Keylynn looked at the time; he was half a bell early. “It would appear better if you stagger your departures leading up to the midday bell.” She pretended to care about a collection of personnel paid time off requests from two years ago. Pebble was happily finding and eating every mushroom that she hid in the rock garden.

  Ragna gave her a nod before he left.

  She didn’t know why she was bothering to digitize the paid time off requests. It's been over ten years since the protocol stated that all time-off requests were made digitally. Paper copies were to be retained only for five years, just in case, as per company policy.

  “You know I’m more frustrated with myself for believing that you could change things,” Demetra muttered under her breath.

  Keylynn didn’t know what to say to that. She gave her team a shred of hope, and just like that, it was gone. They were all working together as a team on the assessment, and for once they were enjoying their jobs. They went from making a difference on an assessment to coming back to a useless job.

  “I made a promise, and I intend to keep it,” Keylynn whispered. She promised Lark that she would try, and she did. She promised her team she would get them active fieldwork. She was going to succeed.

  “Whatever, I’m going for lunch.”

  Keylynn stood up and walked to Akzer’s office door and knocked. She wasn’t at the point of throwing common decency out the window. Yet.

  “Enter,” they hissed at her from their desk.

  She stepped in and took a seat in the chair in front of their desk. She saw their ‘Realm’s Best Boss’ mug and hoped Sam the slime cleaned it. They deserved to taste slime all day and not know why. She wanted to take the mug and encase it in one of her slime moulds; it's what Akzer deserved.

  “We both know that I’m not your favourite employee, but that doesn’t give you the right to take it out on my team! They did a wonderful job on a very difficult assessment. You said they needed experience. They have it now. They also have support from Dauven’s team should they need it, not to mention my support. I fail to see any rational reason that you have to refuse to give them an assignment,” she fumed at them. As she spoke, carrion flies appeared and buzzed around her head while her corpse flower mushrooms caught them.

  They narrowed their cold amber eyes at her. ““Becaussse they were behind in the work I had previousssly asssigned them. Why would I give them any new work when they can’t accomplish the sssimple tasssksss I gave them?”

  Before she could tell them that she knew all about the broken coffee machine, her corpse flower mushroom bloomed. The aroma of rotting flesh filled her manager's small office as spores floated down around her. She thanked her fungal colony for saving her from saying something she shouldn’t have.

  “When we finish our mind-numbing digitization, we will be given a proper assignment?” She asked calmly. She’s not above biological warfare.

  “Remove your noxiousss fumesss from my office.” They glowered at her.

  She feigned remorse. “My deepest apologies, the corpse flower mushroom rarely blooms, and I didn’t want to miss it. I forgot that when it blooms, it releases an attractant for insects to draw near enough that it can consume them.” She remained where she sat, waiting for an answer to her question. She will not fail her team.

  “If you leave, and your current asssignment isss finished I will give your team an assessment,” they hissed, eager for her to leave.

  She nodded her head with a soft smile and stood. She hoped the trail of spores that she left behind would continue to fill their office with the pungent aroma that they deserve. She felt a pang of guilt as she walked through the office with her corpse flower in bloom. She was grateful that most of the office was empty for the midday bell. She sat at her desk thanking her colony for their beautiful bloom and asked they put it away.

  After logging into her computer and pulling out her email, she drafted the following email to Lark:

  To: Lark

  From: Keylynn

  Subject: Return to Office Strife

  Salutations, Lark. I do hope your investigation is going well. Akzer has refused to give my team any substantial assignments, stating that benign digitizing work holds priority. I should also note that Akzer is the one who broke the coffee machine and ordered the sanitation staff to not clean up the mess in the break room. I do intend to use this information in a couple of days to help Zukyov free himself from a job without fear of his father, a director, interfering. At present they are unaware that I know it was them.

  I plan to tell my team that there is an ongoing investigation of Akzer and will ask if they wish to contribute their words to it. They have been wronged by him, so I don’t anticipate them giving me much resistance. I will send you their reports and my own upon their completion.

  Right, my corpse flower mushroom chose to bloom while having a small midday conversation with Akzer, filling their office with the lovely aroma of rotting flesh. So you may hear something about that.

  Keylynn.

  One by one her team trickled back to their desks, each trying to cover up their discomfort in the corpse flower’s aroma. It was stubborn as fungal colonies go.

  “I spoke with Akzer, and I was informed that a proper assignment will be given to us just as soon as the digitization job is complete. We all know this is a lie, and they will continue to add to it, ensuring we will never complete it,” she informed them. They didn’t look all that surprised.

  “Well, at least you tried,” Ragna mused, raising his flask.

  “And I’ve made note of it to add to my report regarding Akzer as a floor manager. Would you like to contribute a report? All reports will be forwarded to the lead auditor, who is investing them currently,” she answered, glancing at them. This gives them something that they can do to enact change. They can choose to accept the status quo as she had so many times, or they can join her.

  “Wait, you’re part of an investigation on the boss?” Tsunami whispered, leaning in closer to her.

  “That explains so much, doesn’t it? She brought us to the field," Inferno added.

  “It explains her well for unending optimism that things will change,” Ragna answered.

  “Is there a deadline for these reports?” Demetra asked, surprising Keylynn. She wasn’t the one she thought would be the first to want to work on a report.

  “The sooner the better, but I understand if you would prefer to get drunk instead. I’ll also allow you all to leave early today. I will work on file digitization so you won’t get in trouble. It’s my way of saying thank you for all of your hard work on the assessment.” She could think of better ways of spending her time, but if she could show her gratitude to her team, then she will. She also hoped it would help them see that things will change for them.

  “Writing a truthful report shitting on my boss? Oh, I’ll happily work late for that.” Demetra smirked and, for the first time that day, turned on her computer.

  “Where do you stand on my flask?” Ragna asked, holding it up for her to see.

  “As long as no one in the office notices that you are drinking fermented fruit juices, I care not. Should you get caught, I will not save you,” she answered simply.

  “So an office party to condemn the slithering boss!” Tsunami whispered his excitement.

  “I wouldn’t call it a party, and please don’t falsify anything.”

  “You are so old,” he groaned. “No, this is work we are happy to do. The boss sucks dicks.”

  “I don’t see how their sexual preferences matter here, but I do appreciate your motivation.”

  Tsunami looked like he wanted to say something, then thought about it and shook his head.

  She smiled as they got to work on their reports. They had a common goal again. She was making changes for the better. Her team worked together, and they won’t be accepting the status quo anymore.