“I’ll . . . uh . . . have to think about it.”
J.R.’s face fell.
“Yeah. Sure. Well, you know where to find me when you make up your mind.”
He turned and strode off down the street without looking back. It was silly to feel bad about not fulfilling an offer I didn’t have to make, but I did.
“Well, I guess it’s time for us to head back to the hotel . . . right Skeeve?” Kalvin chimed in.
I had botched the job with J. R., but I resolved that this one I was going to do right.
“No,” I said.
“No?” the Djin echoed. “So where are we going in stead?”
“That’s the whole point, Kalvin. We aren’t going anywhere. I’m going back to the hotel. You’re going back to Djinger.”
He floated up to eye level with me, frowning as he cocked his head to one side.
“I don’t get it. Why should I go back to Djinger?”
“Because you’ve filled your contract. That means you’re free to go, so I assume you’re going.”
“I did?”
“Sure. Back in the alley. You used a spell to sober me up before I had to fight those goons. To my thinking, that fulfills your contract.”
The Djin stroked his beard thoughtfully.
“I dunno,” he said. “That wasn’t much of a spell.”
“You never promised much,” I insisted. “As a matter of fact, you went to great lengths to impress me with how little you could do.”
“Oh, that,” Kalvin waved his hand deprecatingly. “That’s just the standard line of banter we feed to the customers. It keeps them from expecting too much of a Djin. You’d be amazed at some of the things folks expect us to do. If we can keep their expectations low, then they’re easier to impress when we strut our stuff.”