Page 5 of Rescued By the Dour Demon

“Not as much as I worry about you, sweetheart,” Granny said, caving. “Fine. I’ll go. You go. We’ll all go.” She flapped a hand. “So go.”

Rowan checked her phone, noting that the notification buzz had been for a meeting later this morning. She didn’t remember scheduling anything. A frown flickered over her face as she tried to recall what it was for or who it was with. Her calendar only gave a time and address. While she thanked Past Ro for adding it to her calendar, she cursed Past Ro in the same breath for leaving out the details. Her memory sucked, which was why she wrote everything down and religiously used her online calendar. Mentally, she shuffled things around so she could make it to her mystery meeting. If everything timed out right, Granny should be done and back at the shop before she had to go.

“I’ll see you after your appointment.” She gave her grandmother another hard look.

“I already said I was going, Little Miss Bossypants,” Granny grumbled. “And don’t go moving anything around in my store. I just got it all exactly where it’s supposed to be.”

Rowan snorted. “I know the rules, Big Miss Bossypants,” she said, scooting out the door before her grandmother could respond.

4

LEITH

“How’d the deposition go?” Stan, Leith’s office assistant and sole employee, asked.

A lanky, cheerful white guy in his late 30s, Stan ditched a high-paying tech job in Charlotte a few years back and moved to Stonyburn to take advantage of the hiking trails and other outdoor activities in the area. Though it had nothing to do with his expertise and the pay was less than half of his tech salary, Stan had happily taken the job of office assistant in Leith’s law firm of one.

When Leith asked why he wanted the job, Stan said, “Just need something that pays the bills. Plus, thirty-five hour weeks, Fridays off, and a month of PTO, all without burning myself out? I’m in.” Then he’d given Leith a serious look. “I want to live life my way, and the corporate world doesn’t fit my vibe, you know?”

He did indeed know. His reasons for moving Earthside and away from the pressures of the demon realm were similar. Of course, Stan wasn’t a demon, just a plain vanilla human. But it showed how similar they all were.

Leith leaned into his office and tossed his messenger bag on the floor by his desk before turning to Stan with a smug grin.“Went even better than expected. Guy flat-out lied about those assets he thought he’d so sneakily stashed away. Thanks for that.”

An unexpected benefit of having a trained computer nerd on staff was Stan’s ability to sniff out even the most carefully hidden secrets, including property purchased through a series of shell companies. They were going to take his client’s cheating soon-to-be ex-husband to the cleaners after that stunt.

“Hey, no problemo, boss. You know I get a kick out of helping expose those scumbags, especially since my hard work comes with both a bonus and extra paid time off.” He glanced at the schedule on his computer. “Speaking of, you mind if I take off a little early or you want me to wait until your new client, one Rowan Burnay, arrives? You know, give her a good impression, prove you’ve got a thriving business that can afford an assistant?” He smirked.

“Funny.” Riding high on the thrill of the win for his divorce client, he’d almost forgotten about the meeting he’d scheduled with the lovely Rowan. Almost. The woman herself had left quite an impression, one he’d never be able to erase, not even if he wanted to. The nascent mate bond might be fragile, the connection tenuous, but it was still there, a shining silver thread connecting his soul to hers. “No, you can go. See you Monday,” he said absently, his brain racing as he considered the best approach to take with his reluctant new client.

“Bright and early,” Stan said with a cheeky salute. He grabbed his backpack and insulated cup and bolted for the door before Leith realized it was only Wednesday, and Stan weaseled an extra half-day out of him. “Good luck with Ms. Burnay.”

The door clicked shut behind him, leaving Leith alone in the empty office.

An unexpected and rather unwelcome burst of nervousness swept through him. She was coming here. Into his space. He hada home — the quaint two-bedroom apartment above his office was his temporary abode, though he had his eye on a gorgeous Victorian with a wraparound porch in need of restoration that was about to come on the market — technically, he spent more time and energy here.

It was a well-appointed office, if he did say so himself. He, like most demons, enjoyed the finer things in life and had the funds to acquire exactly what he wanted.

Large frosted windows flooded the reception area with light while providing a modicum of privacy from anyone walking down the street. Thick, blue-patterned area rugs softened but didn’t hide the wide, hundred-year-old pine floorboards. Stan’s desk was a smaller version of his, both handmade creations of reclaimed burled wood and recycled metals, complete with ergonomic chairs. Comfortable seating in shades of blues and greens and an oval coffee table that always held a bouquet from the weekend farmer’s market rounded out the reception area.

Leith’s office also had a long wall of shelves filled with the requisite legal tomes as well as a collection of books of all genres. Any title or subject that caught his interest, really. A long, deep ocean-blue sofa resided beneath another large frosted window, dark blue velvet drapes pulled to the side.

At the moment, stacks of files and loose papers, printed photos from the private detective he’d hired, crumpled documents destined for the shredder, empty pizza boxes and water bottles, and other detritus from a week of intense preparation for the case and this morning’s deposition spilled across every available surface.

“Well, shit,” he said, scrubbing a hand through his hair as he took in the mess. He checked the time. Less than thirty minutes until their appointment. If she came. With a shake of his head, he dismissed the doubt. She’d come. If nothing else, she’d betoo curious to skip an important meeting, even if she didn’t remember setting it.

But it wasn’t enough time for him to return his office to the level of clean it needed to be. He tugged at a horn, his glamour flickering. He didn’t really want to do this, but since his office was an unacceptable pigsty, he needed help. A growl rumbled in his chest.

“Erwin, I summon thee,” he said, snapping his fingers three times.

A very naked, wet imp popped into being in front of Leith, carrying a sharp tang of brimstone in his wake. About the size of a chubby corgi, Erwin looked like a goth cherub, complete with maroon skin, curly black hair, and tiny black wings that struggled to keep him aloft.

“Who the actual f… uh, Leith,” the imp stammered, his coal black eyes widening when he realized who summoned him. He glanced at the back scrubber he was holding and tossed it away. It disappeared into the aether. “What can I do for you this fine day?”

Leaning a hip against the edge of his desk, Leith raised an eyebrow. “Bad time?”

The imp blinked. “Depends on what you want.” With a wave of his hand, he whisked away the water and summoned a green silk robe with pumpkins embroidered on the cuffs and along the hem.

“I’m calling in a favor.”

---