Page 9 of Flowers Near Me

CHAPTER NINE

HADES’ NEW PRIZE

PERSEPHONE

“ G ood morning, Miss Ioulo. Please excuse us while we place your things,” said a petite woman with long, jet-black hair.

Persephone looked up from her seat, drawn to the woman’s polished navy dress and sharp heels. It was an outfit she’d wear to the office.

She rose from her seat. “Thank you.”

The woman nodded, a small, polite grin gracing her lips before she turned to direct several staff members carrying Persephone’s bags down a hallway off the main living space.

Dark brown eyes met Persephone’s, and for a fleeting moment, she saw Helena in them. The resemblance softened her, drawing a rare smile to her lips. Would her carefree niece grow up to be this poised? This composed?

“My pleasure.” The woman extended her hand and a delicate gold charm on a thin chain caught the light with the movement. “My name is Charon. I’m your new assistant.”

A sharp twist of unease tightened in Persephone’s stomach. This was too real.

Although Charon introduced herself as Persephone’s new assistant, she looked more like her superior with her graceful movements and impeccable style. Perhaps she could help Persephone get out of the contract? And someone with eyes as sweet as her niece’s had to be kind as well, right? This could be a good ally if Persephone ended up having to serve the full six-month term.

She dipped her head. “Nice to meet you. You can call me Persephone.”

Charon scooted her chair next to Persephone at a long table in the center of a formal dining room in Hades’ home. Connected by a simple stone hallway with golden sconces lining it, the dining room ceiling boasted a vaulted stonework that was the smaller sibling of the one in the main living space. Papers fanned across the obsidian table as Charon reviewed each agreement.

“Wow, Charon, you already look happier now that you’re Sephy’s assistant,” Hades teased as he entered the room.

“Nice to have someone new on the team.” Her focused gaze never left the documents as she replied. This woman hadn’t slouched one bit since she’d entered the apartment.

“I’ll let you two get on.” Hades threw a wink at Persephone as he left.

She took a deep breath. It was a relief not to have him lurking nearby as they went through the contract’s finer details. Unlike the gods, goddesses didn’t perceive her as a thing to be conquered or a threat to be eliminated.

“Charon,” Persephone said slowly. “Please excuse my ignorance, but what are you the goddess of?”

Utterly still, Charon’s eyes flew from the page to Persephone’s face. “Oh no, I’m not a goddess. I’m a psychopomp. A spiritual guide for souls but mostly Hades’ personal assistant these days now that Underworld Unlimited basically runs itself.”

So, a glorified grim reaper turned corporate executive? Psychopomps didn’t have the same power as a god, but they were no mere mortal either. Persephone often wondered if her own assistant, Hermes, was one as well. He was faster than some of the gods.

Former assistant, she reminded herself. According to everyone else, she worked for Underworld Unlimited now.

“Will you need to attend to Hades as well during my time here?” Persephone asked. Was she loyal to Hades? Or could Persephone win her over?

Charon leaned back in her chair with a grin. “Not at all. He was very clear that I see to all your needs and I’m more than happy to oblige.”

Persephone waited several breaths before asking. “Is this agreement legally enforceable given that I didn’t have prior knowledge of who the patent owner was when I signed the contract with Eurydice?”

Charon clicked her tongue. “I’m not the law. Hades is. You’d be hard pressed to get out of this agreement without losing your ability to work in Olympus again.”

“There’s no way out?” It came out like a sigh.

“Best thing for you is to complete the required six-month term. I can appreciate your frustration, but I genuinely believe you’ll do well here and might come to enjoy it.”

I doubt it. Charon might be all-in, but she wasn’t the one who’d been tricked into working for Underworld Unlimited. Yet, there was wisdom in what Charon had said and as much as it pained Persephone to admit it, her only option was to play along. If she tried to continue to fight this, it’d be her career that suffered.

“What other reps have worked for Hades under a contract like this?”

Charon’s fingers rubbed the charm dangling on her long necklace. “Zero before you. We’ve only ever had one face of the company.”

“Hades,” muttered Persephone.

“Right. Yes. And now we’ve partnered with you—a former competitor—we want to do this right.”

Hades had used that same word, partner, when referring to Persephone’s contract. Didn’t seem like much of a partnership if one person’s life changed completely while the other simply gained a new employee/girlfriend. Again, what was she to do but go with the current than rage against it.

Gathering the papers together on the table, Charon grabbed a folder and tucked the signed copies inside.

Persephone nodded, then accepted the newest stack of papers from Charon’s hand. She read from the paper in front of her. “ ‘Required to dine together for at least one meal a day?’ Why?” Throwing a hand in the air, Persephone continued, “Surely he doesn’t intend to enforce this. I understand the need for a rep to maintain a certain public image, but now I’m concerned you’re about to tell me which toothpaste brand I can use and how many circles I need to make as I brush my teeth.”

Charon gave a light chuckle. “Oh no, your toothpaste choices are yours alone. Same with all food and drink. There are no stipulations regarding those things. Think of this more about where you’ll be seen and with whom. ”

It continued like this for the next hour as they went through the contract. Charon politely reframed each one of Persephone’s complaints. There was no getting past any of it. Truth be told, if the living arrangements were removed from the contract, it wasn’t that different from the brand rep agreements Demeter’s Bounty used.

Skimming through another clause, Persephone joked, “You’d think I was marrying the god. This is absurd.”

Next to her, Charon stiffened. Persephone snuck a side-eyed glance at the straight-backed assistant. “Charon.” Persephone’s fingers curled around the edges of the contract. “This isn’t a marriage contract, is it?”

With her hands folded on the table, Charon turned to look directly at Persephone. “Would you like it to be?”

“That’s not an answer.” Persephone’s tone was firm.

“No, it’s not a marriage contract but it shares similarities to a pre-nup.”

Pinching the bridge of her nose, Persephone drew in a slow breath.

“Why?”

“Why what? Why is it similar to a pre-nup?”

Persephone nodded.

Charon tilted her head. “Shared assets mostly. This is the way of the gods. They protect what is theirs.”

Persephone leaned one arm on the table to turn to face Charon. “I’m failing to see how I’m the threat here. What would I take? I could do as much damage as an inmate could to a high security prison. Beyond trying to escape, there’s no real harm I could cause.”

Charon tapped her fingertips on the paper. “You’re the asset. If you walk away, you’d be taking the one entity he wants.”

Persephone buried her face in her hands, trying to massage her temples and banish the ache blooming there. Lack of sleep was now catching up to her. She almost asked, Why didn’t Hades approach me outright? But she knew the reason. She’d never agree to work with him willingly. But why did he want her and not someone else?

“No offense, but he has no idea whether or not I’m an asset. I’ve never worked with anyone from Underworld Unlimited before.”

Charon’s gaze went to the ceiling. She counted with her fingers as she listed, “We know you oversaw the successful rollout of the area’s first grocery delivery service. Within the first six months as operational director you increased DB’s logistical efficiency by 300 percent. Every new system you’ve implemented enterprise-wide was fully functional at least ninety days ahead of schedule with minimal operational impact. You’ve brokered contracts with Olympus’ most difficult gods and goddesses when they’ve refused to work with anyone else, and you’ve exceeded profit projections every quarter regardless of which department you oversaw.” Charon shrugged at her. “You might as well spin gold, Persephone.”

Somehow this psychopomp assistant knew more about Persephone’s resume than her sister did. “How do you know any of this?”

Charon gave her a confused look. “There aren’t many secrets among the gods.”

Shifting forward in her chair, Persephone pondered Charon’s comments. “So why am I the spokesperson and not Chief Product Officer?”

Charon smiled widely. “Would you accept the position of Chief Product Officer for Flowers Near Me ?”

Not so fast. This was Underworld Unlimited. She had no idea how they handled a position like that one, and she wasn’t about to take on more responsibility here to help Hades. “Spokesperson sounds fine for now.”

Time passed with relative ease given the circumstances. Charon patiently explained the terms whenever Persephone had a question. Perplexed by Charon’s calm demeanor, Persephone studied the psychopomp’s mannerisms and decided Charon was too skilled to show a hint of concern. In fact, the only sign that Charon may have found any of this odd was the way her fingers kept brushing the small torch charm hanging on her necklace.

After placing the entire contract into a thick folder, Charon said, “I think this will be too easy for you.”

Persephone stilled. “You sound awfully sure.”

Charon’s fingers lightly traced the small charm at her throat. “Let’s just say… you wouldn’t be here if Hades thought you couldn’t do it.”

A casual statement, one that made Persephone’s stomach turn.

Then why do I feel like I’ve already lost?