Page 15 of Flowers Near Me

The car’s interior exuded the now-familiar, bewitching scent of leather and cedar. Warm lights glowed along the floor, but Persephone was too tense to appreciate the luxury.

Once the door closed, the intoxicating smell of his cologne begged her to come closer. She closed her eyes, wishing her body wouldn’t react like this. He wasn’t just one of the Olympus elite, he wasHades, her vicious rival who’d stop—hadalreadystopped it seemed—at nothing to do what he pleased. And she’d do well to remember she was a bug under his leather loafer.

“Tell me what you know, and I’ll fill in the rest,” Hades said, his voice a smooth command.

Persephone clenched her fists. “I signed an acquisition agreement with Eurydice to buy her app andsomehow, you now own the patent of that app.” Frustration sharpened her words.

He leaned his forearms on his thighs and studied her face. “You did sign an agreement, yes, but here’s the thing: you’ve signed on as a spokesperson to promote an app that was already owned by me. So, for the next six months you’re my employee who’s agreed to be the face ofFlowers Near Me.”

She stared back, unable to process what he meant. Was she in shock?

Noticing her confusion, Hades added, “You should know that if you don’t fulfill the terms of the contract, you’re stuck in a twenty year non-compete which prohibits you from working withanycompany in Olympus.”

Her heart stopped. “Evenyoucan’t do that.”

“Oh, I can.” He straightened in his seat. “You signed an agreement with techI own. Now Underworld Unlimited’s contract terms are in play, and I have a strict and comprehensive noncompete.”

Fates. She’d walked right into one of his traps.Don’t break.Not in front of him.

The deep timbre of his voice pulled her attention back to his face.How could someone so ruthless have a voice that divine? Only a god, of course.It wasn’t fair.

“Your mom’s team missed a clause,” Hades continued, eyes gleaming. “My retroactive terms kick in immediately, binding you to my company and its spokesperson requirements, which include an honor code to protect brand integrity and a handler to be assigned to you.”

Persephone couldn’t believe it.Wouldn’tbelieve it.Mom just needs more time for the legal team to reverse this.She’d never let her fall into Underworld Unlimited, alone. That level of cruelty might come from others, but never her mom.

And if there was one lesson Demeter had drilled into her, it was how to outsmart a vicious god.Don’t provoke them but guide them gently to your desired conclusion.She simply needed to have him see how terrible of a plan this was and that he was better off releasing her from the agreement.

Persephone pressed her fingertips to her mouth before asking, “How do you see things playing out if I’m the app’s spokesperson?”

He glanced out the window before looking back at her. “Perfectly. There’s no one better thanOlympus’ newest sweetheartto promote a flower marketplace app.”

Cocking her head to the side, she asked, “But why not a respected figure? Sort of undermines the app if it’s me, doesn’t it?”

His brows furrowed. “How do you mean?”

This is good. He’s listening.“Think about it. If I left Demeter’s Bounty after working there for well over a decade, forsakingmy own momto do business with our main competitor, how do you think that looks?”

“It looks like the app is too good to pass up.” He smirked.

She leaned back and pursed her lips. “So you’re saying that if a child of Zeus went off to promote a competitor’s product, you’d assume the product wasthatgood.”

Hades shrugged. “Probably. I’d be curious enough to download the app and see what all the fuss was about.”

“Okay, but what if the product had nothing to do with his kid’s expertise? What if everyone saw it like a distractible child going from one shiny object to another?”

“Then I’d want to see the shiny object. It’s like I said. I’d want to see what the fuss was about.”

This wasn’t going how she wanted. How could she convince him? What did he value?

“How could having me as the spokesperson benefit your bottom line?” Was it about the money or was it about getting back at Demeter’s Bounty?

“The people of Olympus adore you. If you’re selling it, then they’re buying.”

Gods, she wanted to wipe that pleased look off his face. Maybe with the back of her hand flying at a high rate of speed.

“I’ve never been the face of a brand. And I’d never trust my enemy’s daughter with a new product.”

He simply crossed his arms and smiled like she’d said something cute.

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