by LJ Baker
“Toby, I can’t go back there. You can’t go back there. After the way you threw yourself all over him, he will definitely remember you.”
“So? I didn’t do anything wrong and I think he liked me. And yes, you can go back there. In fact, you have to go back there. Did he specifically tell you the deal was off?”
“I don’t think so. It’s a little fuzzy, but I don’t remember anything like that.” She shoved a couple more pieces of bacon in her mouth and started to chew. “But it really seemed implied.”
“I don’t think you’re the best judge of what he might have been implying. He didn’t throw you out on your ass. He made sure you got home safely and he made sure your car was returned to you. If he was just being a dick, he could have made you Uber back to get your car.”
“He probably had nothing to do with it. It was the bartender who shoved me into the car. She served me half the alcohol I drank. She was probably just worried that she’d be held responsible if anything happened on the way home.”
“That doesn’t explain your car being brought back. How often do you think someone leaves with someone else, or takes another car or Uber, then leaves their car in the lot until the next day? They certainly don’t hand deliver every drunk their car.”
Amanda shoveled the last few pieces of bacon in her mouth and stole the couple Toby had left. He didn’t even try to stab her with a fork for it. She would definitely have went for blood if it had been reversed. She didn’t deserve such a great friend.
“So he’s a better person than me. That doesn’t mean he’s still willing to do business with me.”
“It doesn’t mean he isn’t either, or that he can’t be persuaded to after a sincere apology, and some good old fashioned ass kissing.” Toby rolled his eyes as she took his last piece of toast and polished it off in three bites.
Amanda shook her head. “You didn’t see the look on his face yesterday. He was done with me.”
“You want this business to work out, right?”
“Of course I do. You know this is the most important thing in my life.”
“Thanks.”
“You know what I mean. And you aren’t a thing, you’re a person. An amazing, patient, compassionate, person.” She stood up and wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, cutting off his oxygen supply in a bear hug.
“I’m not going for you.”
“Come on. You could say we’re business partners and make up some excuse. Oh, I know. Tell him I have a brain tumor and that explains the mood swings. Alcohol would make something like that worse, don’t you think? I feel like it has to. Tell him the alcohol mixed with the brain tumor made me act all loony tunes and beg for his forgiveness.”
“I’m not lying for you. You need to suck it up and face the music. Maybe he will tell you to get lost and maybe he won’t, but either way, you owe him an apology and you’re going down there to give it to him yourself.” Toby pushed Amanda off and stood. “If this business means anything to you, you’ll do it.”
It wasn’t that Toby was wrong. He wasn’t. It was just that going down there and looking Lucifer Morningstar in the face after the way she acted, made her want to crawl into a hole and die.
And she still had to do it.
***
“I hate to say this, but I think you made a mistake this time.” Luc Slumped onto the chair in front of the desk where Harley was doing paperwork. It was unlike him to be anything but in control and put together, but this sin was getting to him.
“Unlikely.” She finished a calculation and looked up. “What are we talking about?”
“You’re quite attractive when you look like a nerd.” Luc straightened up a bit and forced himself to avoid acting like Az.
“Excuse me?” Her glasses slid down her nose and complemented her hair pulled on top of her head into a messy bun. She looked like a sexy librarian. That was something Luc had never done.
“The hair, the glasses, the studious look. It suits you.”
“What are you trying to say?”
Luc knew that look. It was best never to provoke a woman to that look, but too late. “I mean, you always look great. Your usual leather-clad getup is very enticing, but so is this look. It’s just that I’d never noticed before.”
Harley stared at him with a blank expression for a long moment, then blinked a few times. “So what is it you erroneously think I was wrong about?”
“This month’s pick.”
“No.”
“No?” Luc sat forward in his chair. “Just no? That’s it?”
“Yes. Or, no. I wasn’t wrong.”
“You were wrong last month.”
“Actually, I wasn’t wrong about Ronnie Falcon. She was a perfectly acceptable choice. Like you said, the timing was wrong. That’s not my fault. And I’m not wrong this time either.”
“This girl hates me. She wants nothing to do with me. So, I don’t think you could have been more wrong. I think we should scrap this pick and just go to the back up. The month just started. We can start over, or just go from here. It makes no sense to waste more time with someone, who for whatever strange reason, seems to be repulsed by me.”
Harley pushed her glasses back up her nose and stared at him again. “For the King of Hell, you really are quite oblivious.”
Now it was Luc’s turn. “Excuse me?”
Luc had done awful things to people for far worse. Of course, they were all in Hell because they were terrible people, but still.
“You need to stick this one out and give her a chance, Lucifer. She isn’t a bad choice. Get to know her.”
“How exactly, am I supposed to do that? You insist I can’t use any of my powers of persuasion and she hates my guts.”
Harley laughed. “She does not.”
“Her best friend is more into me than she ever will be.”
“Toby. I like that kid. He’s funny.”
“I think I have a better chance of having a match with him than Amanda. And you know I haven’t been into boys in centuries.”
Harley rolled her eyes. “Lucifer, you have to stick this out. You gave me your word that you would play by the rules. I put a lot of effort into picking her, so give her a chance.”
“I think that’s precisely the problem.”
“What is?” Harley tilted her head, almost interested in what he was saying.
“You put so much effort into it, that you can’t see how wrong she is. Look, I know you tried, but this one is a dud.”
“Who’s a dud?” Azrael sauntered into the office and hopped up onto the desk, sending some of Harley’s papers fluttering to the floor. She hissed at him and he moved to a chair without a word.
Harley said “no one” and Luc said “Amanda” at the same time.
“I like the girl. She’s feisty and she sure can drink.”
“She drinks a bit too much maybe.” Luc got up and paced across the room.
As much as he wanted to call the whole thing off, he was baffled by the fact that this woman didn’t want him. That never happened. Sure occasionally a woman didn’t show interest, but usually it was her own denial, or some other reason. It was never because she just didn’t find him attractive. Although, she did say he had a perfect body last night, so maybe the attraction wasn’t the issue.
Luc shrugged to himself. She could think he was attractive and still not want him. It was infuriating and incomprehensible, but he supposed it could happen. In all the time he’d been around humans, this was the first time, but statistically, it had to happen eventually. Didn’t it?
“Since when are you the one to judge anyone else for how much they drink? If you were human you’d be an alcoholic.” Harley snorted. “You both would.”
“You drink more than us both,” Luc said and walked back across the room. “Do you think she’ll come back here… about the contract, I mean?”
Harley raised an eyebrow. “About the contract, I don’t know. I guess that depends on how important that business of
hers is to her. And I’m guessing it’s damn important because she seems to have it as her sole focus in life.”
“Seems like she has a lot of fun.” Az pulled out his phone, checked a text, and put it back in his pocket. “In fact, if you don’t want her, I wouldn’t mind giving her a spin.”
“Never say you want to give a woman a spin, in front of another woman, dickhead.” Harley glared at Az. “You two morons realize I’m trying to work in here, right?”
Az was about to argue, or say something he thought was funny, or some other stupid thing that would incur Harley’s wrath, but Luc grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the office before he could piss her off more.
Two steps into the bar and he saw her walk through the door. It was still early, so the bar was nearly empty.
Her hair was pulled back into a braid that sat over one shoulder. She licked over her scarlet lips and looked around nervously. There was something different about her, something frightened. His anger and irritation with her melted away and he thought about turning around and leaving. If she saw him, he feared her face would change, that she would revert back to that uninterested, venomous creature that detested him so much. Instead, he took a breath, and walked in her direction.
“Ms. Mitchell. How are you this afternoon?”
“Well, thank you.” She twisted her finger around a bracelet that dangled on her wrist.
“I assume you found your car safe and sound at home?”
“I did, thank you. You didn’t have to go out of your way to return it to me. That was very kind of you.”
“It wasn’t a bother. I didn’t want you to waste the money to get back here to pick it up.”
“Oh.” Her eyes dropped to the floor and she took a step backwards. “I shouldn’t have come, but I… I just wanted to apologize in person and thank you for getting me home safe.”
“Both seem like reasonable reasons to come in. Why is it you think that was a mistake?” Luc sat down at the bar and patted the stool next to him for her to join him. Her eyes widened and he thought for a moment that she would shake her head, or bolt, or tell him to get lost. Instead, after she found her bearings, she inched over and slipped onto the seat.
“It’s just that I know I screwed things up with you, with the contract, and you probably didn’t expect to see me here. Or maybe you just hoped you’d never have to see me again. Either way, I know I messed up and you deserved a face-to-face apology. Now I’ve done that, so I’ll get out of your hair.” She attempted to slide off the barstool, but Luc grabbed her wrist.
“Please stay.”
Her nose scrunched just the tiniest bit, which made Luc smile. He wondered what other quirky faces she might make when she wasn’t in defense mode.
“Why?”
“I thought we could go over these numbers.” Luc pulled a folded contract from his jacket pocket and held it out to her. She stared at the papers, then at Luc, but made no move to take them. “We never did get to that yesterday.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Did you change your mind about doing business with me?”
“Did I… no, I assumed you… after what happened… why would you even consider working with me now?”
Luc enjoyed watching her stumble over her words and thoughts. Her confusion brought out a vulnerability in her that he hadn’t yet seen, and to be honest, he very much enjoyed it on her.
“I never said I didn’t want to work with you.”
“But after yesterday, and the way I behaved, the things I said, why would you not just wipe your hands clean of me?”
Luc set the papers down on the bar, since it was clear she wasn’t about to take them from him, and placed one hand over the other on his thigh.
“I’m not sure what I did to make you dislike me so deeply, or what happened to you in your life to make you so closed off. I’m also not sure why you turn to alcohol, in such large quantities, to avoid dealing with things that make you uncomfortable. But I do know that no one is perfect and we all make mistakes. I also said some things I regret, and I apologize as well.”
Luc paused, giving her a moment to absorb what he’d said before continuing. “I also believe that everyone deserves a second chance. I liked your pitch and what you have to offer. I think we can move past all this unpleasantness and have a good working relationship.” Luc picked up the papers again and held them out to her. “That is if you want to give it a try.”
After a moment longer of staring at the papers, she gave Luc a small nod, and accepted them. “I’d like that.”
“Normally, I’d suggest we toast to it, but in this case, I think maybe we should skip that.”
Amanda shot him a cheeky half smile. “I appreciate the second chance, and again, I’m really sorry about everything.”
“No more apologies. Second chances need to start off on a clean slate. You don’t need to repent. Let’s just make this work. And to show my appreciation, I’d like to invite you and your friend Toby, back here tonight. There’s a little acrobatic troupe, the Cirque Mystique, that will be performing and they’re amazing. I’m not sure if that’s your thing, but I do think your friend would enjoy it. You can bring anyone else you wish.”
“That’s very generous of you.”
“I’m a generous guy. Also, I like my distributors to have a good feel for the clientele so they can anticipate the kind of products to bring me. You have an open invitation, for as long as we work together, to my club.” Luc wanted to add, and for as long as she stopped treating him like a rat carrying the plague, but he left it at that. A clean slate should be just that.
Amanda nodded, without making eye contact, and opened the folded papers. He watched her as she scanned over the numbers and updated terms.
“So?” Luc had a lot of patience, but for some reason, with this one female, he was at the edge.
“This looks more than fair.”
“So you’ll be by twice weekly, minimum, to take orders, see about stock, and deliver new product?”
“With the volume you get here, I was thinking three times would make more sense. Unless you think that’s too often?”
“Not at all. I’d have you here every day if I thought I could convince you.” Luc winked, but reigned in any further flirting. He was already on thin ice with this one and he didn’t want to fall through a crack.
“Let’s not push it.” She smiled and looked around the bar for something. “Pen?”
Luc pulled one from his inside pocket and handed it to her. “It’s my lucky contract pen.”
“Lucky pen huh?” She furrowed her brow. “You don’t seem like the superstitious type.”
“Luck and superstitions aren’t necessarily intertwined. I believe that sometimes, people are put into our lives for a reason. Those reasons might turn out to be good, or bad, so I prefer to tempt the universe along in my favor when possible.”
“Hence the lucky pen.” Luc nodded and she smiled. “Well then, I guess I’ll stay on the side of you and the universe.” She scribbled her signature onto the paper, took a deep breath, and handed them over to him.
“You look as if you’re signing away your soul.” Luc certainly knew that look.
“Maybe a part of me feels like I am.”
“It’s just a business contract, Ms. Mitchell. One that is very favorable towards you, I might add.”
“Maybe, but it feels like more, for some reason.” She shrugged and hopped off the barstool. “I better get going. I’ll see if Toby wants to stop by tonight for the show. Thanks again for the invite.”
“My pleasure.” It was likely the only pleasure he’d be getting from her this evening, but it was a start. At least she wasn’t yelling at him, or looking at him like he was a piece of rotten meat.
Not today, anyway.
Or, not yet, today.
There was still time.
CHAPTER SIX
“Where have you been hiding lately, brother? I haven’t come home to find my apartment trashe
d and you playing video games in weeks.” Luc undid his tie and slid into a chair across from where Az was waking from a nap on his sofa.
“I thought you’d be happy to have me out of your hair.” Az sat up, yawned, and scratched his head. “You did change the alarm code on me twice in the past two weeks.”
“That was quite amusing.”
“Well then, you should be happy I’ve been scarce.”
“I didn’t say it didn’t please me. I just wondered what mischief you've been getting into while no one is looking.”
“How's the gluttony girl going?” Az was changing the subject. He only moved the attention off himself when he had something to hide, which was rare. Az tended to be an open book, as well as an attention whore, so it was a rare occurrence for him to avoid the spotlight.
“One small step in the right direction this afternoon. Any new women in your life, brother?”
“No.”
One word answers were not Az’s style.
“New men, perhaps?”
Az furrowed his brow. “Uh, no.”
“Because if you were interested, Gluttony’s roommate is an interesting character.”
“I'm not looking, but thanks for thinking of me, brother.” Az scrubbed his hands over his face, stood, and stretched his arms in the air. “What was the small step?”
“She signed the contract.”
“That's a very small step. It's interesting that you're having such difficulty with this one. I never expected that.”
“You're telling me. I'm pretty sure Harley made a mistake with this one, but she wouldn’t ever admit it.”
“Nah. I like her. You just need to find a way in.”
“It really doesn't matter if you like her, brother. If she can’t stand to be in the same room with me for more than five minutes, that's a bit of a hindrance to getting to know her. And finding out if she might be my soul mate does require getting to know each other.”
“You must be so frustrated.” Az chuckled. “I didn't think a female existed that didn't fall at your feet. You could just use your powers to help her come around.”
“No, I can’t. That's against the rules and we both know Harley would find out if I did that. Besides, if the girl hates me, I don't want to force her to like me. How does that help me find the right one?”