Page 35 of Flowers Near Me

Persephone stepped behind the corner desk, admiring the large screens and brand-new laptop sitting on the marble desktop. She ran a finger across the floral notebooks stacked on a nearby shelf.

“Bit excessive for a spokesperson, don’t you think?”

Charon laughed as if Persephone had made a joke.

Hades knocked once on the door, drawing their attention before stepping in to join Persephone and Charon. “How do you like your office?”

Deadpanned, she replied, “It’s sufficient.” She snuck a wink at Charon who returned the gesture with a lopsided grin and exited her office.

Hades threw Persephone an amused look, clearly not buying her feigned nonchalance. “You know, if you like it here, you can stay as long as you’d like.”

“What do you mean?”

Hades walked to the windows and looked out over the city. “After your current contract expires. If you wanted to stay on with Underworld Unlimited, you could.”

What was he trying to do? There was no way he actually wanted her to stay with Underworld Unlimited. Maybe this was his way of getting her to drop her guard. “I didn’t apply to work here, remember? You bought the patent rights of an app that I was supposed to acquire.”

He sat in a chair on the other side of her desk. “You didn’t need to apply. Your work speaks for itself, and I don’t let talent go to waste. So why wouldn’t I want the best?”

Nothing stroked Persephone’s ego like a compliment to her professional prowess. If Hades were a mortal executive paying her tribute, she’d be melting. Especially with how good he looked in that suit. And if she had to guess, this office was meant for a C-suite partner and not just any Underworld executive. The gesture was incredibly flattering, andFates, it was making her soften towards him.

“I think whoever this office belongs to will want it back after I’m gone.” She distracted herself with her phone in an attempt to shake off these unwanted feelings of appreciation.

Hades stood with a smile. “Come on. Allow me to introduce you to the team.” Holding the door open, he waited for Persephone to walk through.

It felt incredible to be back in an office building, meeting a new team of marketers and developers. Hades personally introduced her to each employee, remarking howluckythey were to havesomeone of her caliberjoin the app’s launch. She held back her smile, not wanting to seem too eager—or let Hades see she was happy and think he had something to do with it.

“Think about all that she’s done in the e-commerce sector and imagine what she’ll do here,” said Hades to the fresh-faced communications team gathered around long conference table.

Expecting to see eye-rolls and hear muffled scoffs, she almost stumbled in place next to Hades when the group smiled back at her.

Later, when she was walking back to her new office alone, a woman around the same age as her stopped her, whispering, “I shouldn’t admit this, but I use your new grocery delivery service all the time. I love it.” Her eyes darted past Persephone.

“Glad to hear it,” said Persephone who smiled as the woman rushed off.

She settled into her cushioned desk chair, powered on her new laptop and started the initial setup. After a few minutes logging into her email, calendar, and shared drive, Hades entered.

“You look right at home here, Sephy.” There he was, using her nickname again. Had it been some other handsome man saying it, she’d think it cute for someone to give it a try and not be afraid to flirt with her.

“When we’re in the office, you should call me Persephone.”

He let the doors close behind him, stalked towards her and leaned to sit on the side of her desk. “Why? Do you not like it?”

Was that any of his business? Even if they would be faking a relationship soon, he didn’t need to be so over the top with the endearments. “Only a small group of people call me it and not a single one of them has ever tricked me into working for them.”

He smirked. There was playfulness in his tone as he asked, “Really? Not even your mother?”

Persephone stared back at him, sitting up straight in her chair. The god was imposing with his dark suit and tall frame, but his relaxed shoulders and gentle expression put her at ease.

He lifted his hands in surrender. “Fine. I’ll stop using it in the office. It can be our special thing when it’s just the two of us.”

No. He wasinsufferable.Unfortunately, he was pleasant to look at. It’d be easier to stand firm in her distaste if he was ugly. Right now, her stomach did flips as his gray eyes bore into hers. To have someone look at her as if she were a work of art was thrilling. Too bad it was him.

“Did you need something from me?” She meant to busy herself with emails, but her treacherous laptop was still loading an update.

Adjusting his cuffs, he said, “I’ll make this quick. I have to go across town this afternoon for a meeting, but I’ll see you for dinner tonight at the apartment. Try not to miss me too much.” He stood, tapping two fingers on the edge of her desk.

“I’ll see you later then.”

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