Page 1 of Flowers Near Me

CHAPTER ONE

THE SHADOW OF DEMETER

PERSEPHONE

Tonight, Persephone would close the deal of her career. Better yet, she’d do it before Hades could get his slimy hands on it. The contract just needed one more signature, and then all of Olympus would know she was more than her mom’s shadow.

The clack of Persephone’s heels echoed in the glass atrium of Demeter’s Bounty HQ, keeping in time with her racing heart.

“Good night, Ms. Ioulo!” a spry intern called from the front desk, balancing a laptop in one arm and a compostable coffee cup in the other.

“Enjoy your weekend. Don’t stay too late.” Persephone gave a quick nod and smile.

The intern beamed, her eyes wide as she waved.

Pulling her phone from her skirt pocket, Persephone opened the reports her assistant had forwarded minutes before. With her eyes glued to her phone, she used her shoulder to push the main revolving door open and took a deep breath of the evening’s humid air.

Grocery delivery sales outperformed competitors AGAIN,read the email. Her heart soared and a smile bloomed on her face. She stowed her phone into her bag and nearly collided with a man carrying two overflowing cloth grocery bags bearing the wheat emblem of her mom’s company.

She quickly sidestepped to avoid knocking over his things and muttered a brief apology, but didn’t miss the way the man’s face lit in recognition. He replied, “Oh, it’s my fault entirely, Ms. Ioulo. Sorry about that.”

Persephone continued down the city sidewalk, weaving through a sea of fellow mortals. It would’ve been nice if she could magically teleport to her meeting like her mother, Demeter. Blessed with only fledgling magic, Persephone had to arrive on foot.

One shrill ring sounded from her vegan leather bag—a daughter of Demeter couldneverown animal skin—and she answered without missing a step.

“Hi, Mom. I’ve got five minutes.”

“Sephy, I tried to catch you before you left the office. Where are you?”

Persephone’s chest tightened, but she straightened her spine. “I’m headed to a dinner meeting.”

“With?” her mom prompted with a tinge of interest in her melodic inflection.

It’d been a challenge to keep the app acquisition a secret from Demeter, but she wasn’t about to slip up now. “It’s a surprise. You’ll find out soon enough.”

Although Persephone had negotiated deals for Demeter’s Bounty before, this was the first one she’d worked alone and without her mom’s knowledge. Market research, risk analyses, and even fighting off interested investors—she’d handled it all and was closing in on the final step of acquiring a flower marketplace app namedFlowers Near Me.

“Fine,” her mom said, but the flat reply belied Demeter’s annoyance. “Did you read this quarter’s report?”

A smile burst onto Persephone’s face as she stopped at the crosswalk, waiting for the light to change. “I did.”

“Another record quarter. All thanks to the grocery deliveries.” The sound of a cork popping echoed through the receiver.

Persephone pictured her mom standing in the office—her silk ensemble free of wrinkles—with a champagne flute in one hand and phone in the other. Her mom’s golden, waist-length hair would be twisted into an effortless bun by this time of the day, framing her symmetrical face. Delicate strands accentuating verdant green eyes. It was a cruel act of the Fates to give Persephone the dimmed versions of her mom’s best features.

“The grocery delivery app is really paying off then?” Persephone joined the crowd crossing the street.

“Better than expected. This is huge.” Pride coated her mom’s words.

Itwashuge.

Hades may have owned the largest online marketplace—Underworld Unlimited—but now only Demeter’s Bounty grocery chain grew, sold,anddelivered food.A necessity even for the gods,her mom would say.

Persephone enjoyed helping her mom build the Demeter’s Bounty empire, but she was eager to make moves of her own. The secret app acquisition she was moments away from making gave her a real chance to earn the respect of the gods and goddesses of Olympus.

Soon she’d become president of Demeter’s Bounty. Her mom would always be CEO, but overseeing daily business decisions under Demeter was Persephone’s ultimate goal. After that, she could pursue a partner and start a family.

Persephone’s grin grew larger until her mom continued. “Don’t let this win cloud your judgment. We can’t let our guard down even when things are going well.”

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