Page 64 of Demon's Desire

“Oh.” He was right, surprisingly. “I mean, yeah. I would. But I don’t want you to think… I mean, I’m not embarrassed because of you. I mean, it’s not you. It’s not anything. It’s just… I barely know you. You’re a stranger. And you’re a demon. And I was emotional after the fire–”

“I know.” He smiled at me.

“Huh. You’re taking this rejection very well,” I pointed out.

He laughed and nodded, tugging on my hair again. “That’s because it’s not a rejection. Not a real one, anyway. You feel this way now, but sooner or later, you’re going to fall for me.” He winked. “And I’ll be very glad when you do.”

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out. I honestly wasn’t sure what to say. I was thinking for a lot longer than I’d like to admit before my phone vibrated. When it did, I used that as an excuse and grabbed it. “Hold on.”

He chuckled and turned back to look at the TV, not pressing the subject. I was grateful, but I also wondered why. I mean, did he like me that much if he wasn’t going to keep pressing? Did I want him to like me that much? Why did I?

Mia, thanks for your email. Hundred will be closed for a while for renovations and safety inspections, but I own a few other bars that are short-staffed. If you’re available this evening, I’m going to be at Hundred taking care of things all day. I should be done around eight. Let me know if you can be here then, and we can do an interview. Hudson Bosch.

“What?” I reread the email quickly, then gasped. “Oh my gosh! Soul! I got an interview!”

“You did?” He leaned over and read my phone. “Mia, congratulations!”

He kissed the top of my head. I blushed a bit when he did, but I looked down to try to hide it. “Um, it’s tonight at eight. I’m gonna let Kelly know and see–”

“Let Kelly know what?” Kelly asked as she came into the room, setting her coffee down on the coffee table and sitting beside me.

“I got an interview!” I smiled and showed her the email. “It’s from the owner of Hundred. He says they’re going to close for a while, but he has some other bars he could use staff at. I’m going to go to Hundred tonight at eight for the interview. Do you want to come with me?”

“Oh, damn.” Kelly frowned. “I would love to, but I’m meeting Molly at seven. Will you be okay by yourself?”

“She won’t be alone,” Soul corrected her. “I’ll be with her.”

“Well, you can’t exactly walk around with her,” Kelly reminded him. “I don’t want her out by herself that late.”

“It won’t be a big deal,” I promised. “Soul will be with me if anything weird happens. But nothing will. I’ll Uber there and back. It’ll be fine.”

“All right…” She seemed skeptical, but she still gave me a hug. “Well, safety concerns aside, I’m so excited for you. This is great! Whether you get the job or not, it’s progress.”

“Thank you!” I returned the hug, grinning to myself.

The three of us spent the day relaxing and watching YouTube videos and episodes of Real Housewives. I reviewed a few cocktail recipes, but it had been about two weeks since I stopped bartending, so it wasn’t as if I was out of practice. I was pretty confident in my abilities. I’d only been doing it for a year, but I knew what I was doing.

Late that afternoon, I started getting ready. I wore my dark red sneakers, nice black jeans, and a gray sweater. It was a bit more casual than professional, but it still looked nice. At seven-thirty, Soul and I climbed into an Uber to get to the bar. Not that the Uber driver knew Soul was there, of course.

“Are you nervous?” Soul asked.

I looked over at him and tensed, glancing at the driver.

“He can’t hear me.” Soul laughed. “He can hear you, though. So you can just nod, I suppose. Are you nervous?”

I relaxed at his explanation, but I nodded and held two of my fingers about an inch apart to signal ‘a little.’

“You shouldn’t be,” he said. “You’re intelligent. You’re fun. You’re gorgeous. You’ll get the job.”

I blushed when he said that and pursed my lips. It was hard not to reply to him. Still, I managed to stay silent.

When we got to the bar, I got out of the Uber, lingering with the door open so Soul could get out without drawing attention, then waved at the driver. I took a deep breath as we headed for the door.

“You promise you won’t cause any trouble?” I raised an eyebrow. “Just not tonight. If I get the job, you can be as chaotic as you like, but right now, I need this job.”

“I promise.” Soul chuckled. Right before I grabbed the handle to the door, he put his hand on my shoulder and turned me to look at him. “You’re going to do well, Mia. I know it.”

I paused, then gave him a small smile. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

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