Page 65 of Flowers Near Me

“I told Eurydice it could’ve come from one of them.”

“It’s a shame. I thought our vetting process was airtight, but whoever paid the tester did a good job covering their tracks.”

“Who do you think sent them?” As soon as she said it, the obvious answer,her mom,popped into her head. “Sorry. I have a guess.”

Charon gave a light laugh. “Honestly, Demeter is only one among a long list of people who might want to discredit an app Hades is backing.”

That was probably true. Besides, why would Demeter want to hurt something Persephone was promoting as well.

“Anyway… tell me about your lunch,” said Charon.

“Food was incredible. I think the pictures turned out well so overall, it was a success. I’ll post the picture I took with Hades on my account later today.”

With a nod, Charon said, “The photos looked so good that I’m wondering if you two might actually be in love.”

Persephone’s chest tightened, and her face heated. “I think you’re underestimating Hades’ acting ability.”

“Oh no. When you’ve worked with someone as long as we have, you learn all their tells.”

Persephone laughed as she pictured the way Hermes would bite his bottom lip when he was excited. Usually, it happened right before her mom was about to rip into a contractor who failed to meet a deadline or whenever the legal team got a little snippy. Goddess of the Harvest and queen of clap-backs, Demeter’s retorts never disappointed.

If Charon knew Hades half as well as she knew Hermes, could she discern what Hades’ true aim was when it came to Persephone? Would Charon’s loyalty to him as an employee trump any loyalty she felt towards her? Or was Charon just as complicit in his act and Persephone was the latest toy Hades planned on discarding as soon as he felt it expired?

“Penny for your thoughts?” Charon asked.

With a weak sigh, Persephone said, “I’m worried I’ll be one of many that Hades has chewed up and spit out.”

Charon cocked her head and her eyes softened. “Why do you think you’ll be chewed up and spit out?”

With an exasperated look, Persephone replied, “All you have to do is a simple image search of Hades and you can find the carousel of women he’s dated. Anyone with internet access would know this.”

“Ohhhh…” Charon’s brows lifted. “You’re here thinking he’s dated all the women he’s taken to different events.” Right then, Cerberus’ nails clattered across the floor as he rejoined them.

“I mean, come on. You’ve seen those pictures. Did you compliment those women each time and tell them how cute they looked together?”

Charon’s eyes widened and her lips parted. “Oh Fates, no. Not like this.” She scooted forward in her seat. “He’s never had a lasting interest or legal contract like he does with you.”

Persephone wasn’t sure at what point she’d started trusting Charon, but she did. There was some comfort in knowing that her situation with Hades was unique.

“I’m sorry, Charon. I’m out of my depth here. I worked in distribution and operations. Those don’t involve fake relationships and glamorous parties. It’s efficiencies… facts, figures. You know. Normal executive responsibilities, not dining out with my pretend boyfriend. It’s degrading and now my thoughts have turned childish.” Persephone’s gaze dropped to her lap.

A small, warm hand caressed her shoulder as a fluffy head nudged her leg. Charon said, “I’m sorry you feel degraded. That’s terrible. Maybe I could shed a little light on the situation?”

“Sure.” Persephone dragged her hand over Cerberus’ side as Charon sat back down into her chair and took a slow breath.

“Where to start…” She met eyes with Persephone. “Let’s look at some of the photos.”

Persephone opened her browser’s most recent page. “Here.”

Charon took the offered phone then pointed at the screen. “That’s Merope and this picture was taken the week before her art collection debuted in one of our event spaces.”

Persephone went to sit on the arm rest of Charon’s chair, and Cerberus scurried off towards the kitchen. “That makes sense. Just like I’m the spokesperson for one of your apps; he wants to be seen with me to help get my name out there.”

Shaking her head, Charon said, “No. Here’s what you’re missing. Look at their body language. They’re both standing straight as an arrow.”

“High praise coming from someone with the world’s straightest posture.”

Charon’s porcelain cheeks reddened. “Oh. Thank you.” She zoomed into the photo, focusing on where their sides almost touched. “See here. They’re not cozy. It looks like they are because they’ve got their hands around the other, but you can’t see their hands because they’re on each other’s back.”

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