Page 4 of Flowers Near Me

CHAPTER FOUR

THE BETRAYAL

PERSEPHONE

S everal slices of dark chocolate cake later, Persephone sank into the deep-seated couch beside Helena, the hum of the television lulling her into a rare sense of peace. Laura clattered in the kitchen, packing up leftovers, and for the first time all evening, Persephone let herself believe that tonight would end quietly.

A commercial for Demeter’s Bounty’s grocery delivery app played loudly on the screen. Lifting the remote, Persephone muted the TV then turned to look at her niece fiddling with a beaded bracelet.

“Where did you get that?” Persephone pointed at the accessory in Helena’s hands.

“I made it in school today.” Helena held out the bracelet like a precious relic.

“You made this?” Persephone ran a gentle finger over the beads, admiring her niece’s handiwork. “It looks like something from a boutique.”

“I did!”

“It’s very well crafted. And I love the blues and purples you picked.”

Helena beamed.

“What’s been your favorite part of first grade so far?”

Concentration etched Helena’s angelic face. “Um… I like my teacher. She’s nice. And she has two cats.”

Persephone chuckled. “Really? Did she show you a picture of them?”

“Yes! One’s named Pancake, and the other is Butter!” Helena’s big almond eyes and thick lashes stared expectantly at her aunt.

“I love those names. Do you know how old they are?”

“Uh… I think she said they’re six.”

“Just like you?”

“Yeah!”

Helena’s toothy grin stirred warmth in Persephone’s chest. If she had a child that was even a fraction as sweet as her niece, she’d be in heaven. A family of her own—someone to come home to, someone who loved her not for her last name, but for who she was—felt like an impossible dream. And if she let herself want it too much, it would only hurt more when it stayed out of reach.

Although envious, she wasn’t jealous of Laura’s life because she knew how hard her sister had worked for it. Both Laura and Persephone wanted to have thriving careers before building families of their own. For Laura, it meant becoming a trauma surgeon before having kids. For Persephone, it meant becoming president of Demeter’s Bounty before having a serious relationship.

Lowering her voice to a whisper, Persephone asked, “Do you want a cat?”

Helena nodded.

“What did Aunt Sephy say?” Laura’s voice startled Persephone as she and her husband, Peter, entered the room.

Giggling, Helena scooted forward on the couch.

“I asked Helena if she wants a cat.” Lips pressed in a devilish smile, Persephone kept a challenge in her eyes.

“Oh.” Laura sat and glared at Persephone. “Will Aunt Sephy be coming over to care for this cat?”

Peter’s muffled laugh sounded from behind his wife.

Persephone replied, “I can’t. You know the estate is too far from here.”

Helena said, “You could live here.” Persephone laughed, about to tease her niece—until Laura nodded seriously.

“Moving to the city makes sense. Everyone knows you’re Demeter’s daughter now. And Mom wants you to take on more responsibility at the company anyway. Stay with us while you’re apartment hunting.”

Persephone swallowed. “If it were to be closer to you three, I’d do it. But we all know there are other obligations that would take over.”

“Your mom?” Peter asked.

Persephone pointed her finger at her brother-in-law. “Her and all her allies and enemies. I’ve avoided her politics, and I’d like to keep it that way.”

“Well, you might’ve rocked the boat tonight,” said Laura.

Peter leaned forward in his chair and looked at Persephone. “What happened?”

Persephone cocked her head and pinched her brow at her sister. “You think the flower app is a mistake?”

“Gods no. I just think your little run-in with sworn enemy number one could come back to bite you.”

Peter’s incredulous face went from his wife to Persephone. “Hades? How?”

Concern pricked at the back of Persephone’s mind as she considered Laura’s comment. “He dropped in on my meeting at Narcisi. I didn’t think the demon himself would show up.”

“What did he do?” asked Peter.

Persephone and Laura exchanged a brief look before both glancing at Helena. The little girl had unmuted the TV and stared at the screen.

In a hushed tone, Persephone said, “He tried flirting.”

Confusion coated Peter’s expression. “What do you mean, he tried? ”

“He said a few discreet pickup lines, winked at me… kept a confident air, then left abruptly.”

“He sounds like Poseidon,” said Laura.

“I’m certain he’d hate that comparison,” Peter remarked.

“Hopefully it’s my only run-in with him. If someone snapped a photo—just one—Mom wouldn’t care about context. She’d see betrayal and would never let me forget it.”

Laura cut in, “I think you should flirt back next time and use it as leverage against Mom. You can threaten to date her nemesis.”

Laughing, Persephone said, “You and I both know she’d flip. She might force me to live with her in the penthouse. And I can’t promise I wouldn’t try to push her out a window.”

“Yikes,” Peter whispered, but Laura laughed along with Persephone.

“Who are you talking about?” Helena’s sweet voice asked.

“Yaya,” Laura replied without hesitation.

Helena leaned on Persephone’s back, craning her head past her aunt’s shoulders. “Noooo. Who’s the other person you’re talking about?”

“What do you mean?” Peter asked.

“Who flirted with Aunt Sephy?”

Persephone, Peter, and Laura exchanged a quick glance. Busted.

“Oh, ha… just some god who thinks he’s special. And how do you know what flirting is?” Persephone leaned back on the couch, and Helena hopped over her to sit on her mom’s lap.

“I don’t know. Why does he think he’s special?”

“Because he’s rich,” Laura answered, and Persephone shrugged with a nod.

“Aunt Sephy, aren’t you rich?”

“We all are, but it’s not polite to talk about it,” Persephone said.

Helena, seemingly satisfied with her aunt’s answer, crawled off her mom’s lap and went back to watching the TV.

“Sorry,” Persephone mouthed to her sister and brother-in-law.

“She understands more than we know,” whispered Laura.

Persephone glanced at her niece behind her and smiled. “She gets that from you.”

When Peter took Helena up to get ready for bed a couple of hours later, Persephone followed her sister back into the kitchen to tidy up.

“Do you think it’s weird I happened to run into Hades the same night I bought the app?”

“Oh no, not at all,” Laura said as she slid onto the suede bar chair by the marble island. “It was only a matter of time before you two were in the same place.”

Persephone pushed the dishwasher closed and the buzz of the machine sounded. “There’s more. It seemed like Eurydice and Hades knew each other. I didn’t push the issue with her, but now I’m wishing I had.”

“Do you think they’re together ?”

“If they are, then he’s worse than Mom says. She looked uncomfortable around him so maybe she knows him from the technology sector? They didn’t seem like former lovers. And I think she’s too smart for him, anyway.”

They each huffed a laugh.

Persephone continued, “But I don’t like that he showed up right after I signed the agreement. I trust our lawyers and they know anything that remotely touches Underworld Unlimited is a nonstarter, but how does Hades know Eurydice? I’m concerned it may have something to do with the app.”

“Ask her Monday. If you just signed with her, then I’m sure she won’t mind telling you how she knows him.”

Persephone nodded then pulled off her hair tie and started fussing with the strands.

Laura asked, “Why would he be interested in the app?”

Persephone hummed a low note. “There’s IP he wants.”

“IP?”

“Oh, intellectual property. Like a copyright for the tech, but don’t you quote me on that because I’m certain there’s a more accurate way to phrase it. There are predictive location tracking capabilities that a company like Hades’ would love to have. It could help their e-commerce platform.”

Anyone would want that IP.

Laura’s phone lit up, snagging her attention. “Sephy, what’s the name of that app again?”

“ Flowers Near Me.” Persephone watched the concentration on her sister’s face, waiting for her to look up. When she didn’t, Persephone prompted, “Why?”

Laura frowned as she held out her phone. “Look.”

The phone screen showed an article titled Underworld Unlimited Smells the Roses and You Can Too.

The date of publication was today’s date.

The timestamp on the article mere minutes ago.

Persephone scanned the text, skipping from paragraph to paragraph hoping for a clue that would discredit her budding fear.

Rising tech star, Eurydice… hit the jackpot with her debut app, Flowers Near Me…

Users can search, order, and sell flowers from anywhere…

Thanks to Underworld Unlimited’s recent acquisition, all users of their online market can add fresh flowers to their shopping lists…

Persephone looked at her sister’s concerned face, then reached for her own phone. With furious fingers, she punched in the words, “Flowers Near Me” and “Underworld Unlimited.”

The results made her body go cold. Recent posts all confirmed that Hades did indeed own the Flowers Near Me app.

How? Was the contract she’d signed with Eurydice now void? What was going on?

“Is this a joke? Who did this? Did Peter design this? Because bravo… you’ve scared me shi?—”

Shaking her head, Laura cut her off. “Oh no, Sephy, it’s not a joke. I get search alerts anytime your name shows up online.”

Persephone couldn’t believe it. If he had already bought the app, then how did Eurydice sell it to her mere hours ago? And why was her name attached to his announcement?

She scrolled down the page and saw a photo of Hades and Eurydice shaking hands and smiling at the camera. Both were wearing the same clothing they’d worn at dinner. Based on the lighting in the background, it’d been taken outside of the restaurant after she’d met with Eurydice.

Persephone stopped breathing when she spotted another photo. One of Hades and her looking extra cozy on the bench together. She knew her polite smile was wary, but a reader wouldn’t. They could’ve been a couple enjoying a romantic dinner.

“Oh, Fates, kill me now.” What kind of ploy was this?

Persephone’s face flamed hot as she read:

“When asked about the app, Hades said, ‘It’s a joy to bring Flowers Near Me to our customers looking for an easier way to buy and sell flowers. Eurydice promises to be a force within emerging tech and e-commerce. If that wasn’t exciting enough, I’m also pleased to welcome the brilliant and incomparable Persephone Ioulo as our newest partner in bringing Flowers Near Me to the world. We’re elated to have her represent this new brand and I can’t wait to begin our partnership.’”

She finished reading the last sentence of his quote when an insistent notification covered her screen with one name.

Mom.