Page 73 of My Demon Assistant

"There you are! This was a great idea, Eshim. We should make this a regular thing," Kat said as she pulled me into a hug, and Fressia groaned.

"Don't you get enough of them at work?"

"That's different, honey," Kat assured her, making Fressia huff.

"Hey, little guy." I walked around the table to Gunner's stroller, then tapped his nose, making him laugh.

Waving toward Kat and Fressia, he said, "Aans!"

I blinked, then whipped my head to stare at the two women. "Did he just call you aunts?Did he?"

Kat grinned, and even Fressia looked a little proud.

"He's a smart mini-human," she said, and I sighed, then turned to Gunner.

"Well, I'm your uncle, Gungun. And so is he," I said, pointing to Eshim.

"Aans!"

I turned to Archer. "I'm borrowing him for the weekend. I'll give him back once he learns to call me uncle."

Archer laughed, as if I wasn't completely serious, and Eshim tugged me into a chair. Deciding to bring it up later, I focused on the drinks menu Eshim handed me.

Conversation, drinks, and then food flowed around the table as the evening passed, and I realized the triple-date was one of the best ideas Eshim had ever had.

While I was on the same floor with my friends every weekday for work, it wasfor work. We didn't really get much time to chat. Getting together every once in a while to catch up was a wonderful idea, and I was going to make sure we did this regularly.

"Hey, can we borrow your cabin sometime?" Kat asked, and I glanced over at Eshim, who shrugged.

"Sure. Just make sure to bleach it after."

"Ha ha. You're hilarious, Jerry. Absolutely hilarious."

"Can we borrow it too?" Lux asked, sitting forward in his chair as his eyes lit up.

"Not at the same time," Eshim chimed in. "Unless that's something you want to explore."

The look on Lux's face made me crack up, and Eshim joined in, leaning into my side as he laughed.

I realized this moment was pretty damned perfect. I was surrounded by the people I loved more than anything in this world, and it felt like nothing could ruin my day right then.

Of course I should know better than to jinx myself because that was the moment a familiar face approached our table, his eyes on me as he said, "Excuse me."

Everyone's eyes turned to Martin, and he visibly shrank back.

"What do you want, Martin?" Kat asked, her tone curt, but Martin straightened up, and didn't back down.

"I wanted to apologize to Mr. Cohen," he said, and I blinked, honestly surprised.

Turning to me, he gave me an earnest look, none of his usual arrogance anywhere to be found. "I'm sorry about everything, Mr. Cohen. I'd developed feelings for you, and instead of dealing with them like an adult, I took it out on you and Eshim. It was unfair to you, and I never should've done it. I'm so sorry."

I was lost for words, but Kat wasn't. She always had my back.

"If you think doing this will get you your job back..."

"No, not at all. I have a job, though it's nowhere near as challenging," he said, in a tone that implied challenging was a good thing. It was to him, and I knew that. He'd been one of my best employees, work-wise. It was why I'd struggled to let go of him when I knew I should've. "I just wanted to say I was sorry. I'll let you get back to your meal."

"Thanks," I said, then watched him walk over to a table on the other side of the room, shaking my head.

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