Page 7

Chapter

Five

LUST

A ydan slapped a piece of paper down on my mahogany desk that was far too colorful for this early in the morning. Had he chosen the bright orange tone just to piss me off? I swore that was part of my punishment—having to work a nine-to-five job like some sort of mortal.

“You’re gonna miss your quota,” his nasally voice reprimanded me.

The urge to strangle the little twink in front of me was strong, but I resisted. If Aydan suddenly ‘disappeared’, I’d be buried even further under useless paperwork and then I’d really miss my quota.

“I’m not saying it’s impossible, but I’m just projecting based on last month’s figures,” he continued, seeing the dangerous look on my face.

I repressed the urge to shiver with repulsion and instead attempted to focus. The bright red part of the graph looked large and imposing. Aydan’s manicured fingernail tapped it emphatically.

“We just need to focus and strategize,” he insisted, the picture of calm, cool, and collected.

That’s why he’d come recommended, after all.

Focus.

Strategize.

“What do you recommend?” I asked, clasping my hands and giving him my undivided attention.

His eyes sparked. He’d been hoping I’d ask just that.

Gods. He probably has a PowerPoint presentation prepared ? —

“If you’ll direct your attention to the monitor on the opposite wall?—”

“SIR! SIR! I?—”

I stood immediately from behind my desk, praising whatever gods took pity on me and the hundreds of bullet points between any kind of action.

Normally I couldn’t stand Thea, but she was my savior in red, her cleavage on full display and her rounded ass fighting for its life in black leather pants as she hobbled into my office in sky-high heels.

Her green eyes scanned the visibly annoyed Aydan and she took a step back.

“Sorry!” she squealed. “The door was open and you said–”

I waved her apology away. “What is it? It’s clearly important.”

I couldn’t help but rake my eyes down her body. She preened a bit, picking up on the attention and clearly enjoying it.

Succubi.

Aydan rolled his eyes.

“What can I do for you?” I asked again.

Thea jolted, as if remembering she had, in fact, stormed into my office for a reason.

“Oh! Right. Diana dropped by?—”

My interest was immediately piqued. The descendant of Aphrodite was a hell of a looker and a good fuck. Whereas Thea was simply...desperate.

“—not sure what you want to do with her.” Thea leaned back and grabbed something, yanking a woman none-too-gently through the threshold of my office.

I tried to focus on the frumpy woman pushed before me, disheveled and irritated. Diana had brought her to me?

Usually she had much better taste.

Though, perhaps more was hiding underneath that large sweater. Her curves were obvious enough—thick thighs in worn jeans, generous hips, messy brown hair piled on top of her head. Brown eyes glared at me from a flushed face. Nothing particularly remarkable or worth a second glance.

A witch.

Unbonded, but her magick was oddly erratic, and familiar to me. Odd.

“You’re supposed to hire her,” Thea supplied helpfully.

My eyes narrowed. “Why?”

Aydan gathered up his graphs and other papers, knowing he’d lost my focus and attention. “To hire her, didn’t you hear?” he snapped.

He pushed past Thea and the new girl, in a proper huff. I’d likely have to make it up to him somehow later, or whatever I’d hoped to save of my quota would be a distant hope.

“Diana said so.” Aydan smirked and made himself scarce.

I burned at the reminder of my indentured servitude to the descendant of the goddess of love—never bet it all in Santa Monica after thirteen shots with the triplet great-great-great whatevers of Dionysus.

“Well, if that’s all...” Thea slunk away, eyeing the new girl like she was fresh meat.

I waited until the sound of her heels clicking down the hallway faded completely, and tried to smile. Judging from the way this new witch slowly blinked at me, that smile probably came out as more of a grimace.

“Sit,” I said, pointing to the single chair in front of my desk.

She stared at me for a moment, then sat primly with pursed lips.

Interesting . Diana had clearly thrown the poor girl into the lion’s den without any kind of explanation on who I was, or who she was. Well, I could have fun with that, couldn’t I?

My mood perked up immediately.

“Miss...” I raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to elaborate. Usually one smolder from me had a woman in a little puddle all over my office.

Her arms crossed over her chest as she skeptically eyed my office. “So...what exactly do you do here?”

My shoulders deflated slightly before I could help myself.

Must be her magick. Haven’t charmed a witch in a while, though typically they weren’t much harder than human women...

“It’s a bit dingy, isn’t it?” she continued, huffing a bit and glancing around the office as though something more grand would suddenly present itself.

Those brown eyes met mine with such calm and challenge that a surge of arousal shot through me harder than a bolt of lightning to my crotch.

Charming .

I sat down faster than I would have liked to hide my little problem. If she wanted to play that way, then the kid gloves were off.

“We are a matchmaking company,” I said simply, folding my hands on top of the desk and leaning toward her.

Her eyes were pinned on a cobweb hanging from the corner of the ceiling as she twirled a lock of hair around her index finger. Rather than being pissed, she wasn’t looking at me or intimidated by me, I couldn’t take my eyes off that damn finger, so close to her plump lips.

“Escorts?” She sniffed. “I don’t–”

“No,” I laughed, not caring to hide how derisive it was. “We do not do that. Though if we did, you wouldn’t pass muster.”

Her cheeks flushed red at my brief appraisal of her physicality, and inwardly I grinned with victory. Finally, a reaction of some kind.

Don’t be such a dick, Lust. Diana’s voice was in my head, reprimanding.

Ugh, well that was one way to make my boner disappear.

Fucking bitch.

“Then what am I to do?” She shot back, recovering quickly.

I raised one eyebrow.

“You may walk right back out that door you came from,” I drawled, feeling a rush of excitement as her lips thinned further, and her fingernails gripped into the leather of her chair.

Her eyes narrowed, her chin quivered for just a moment, but then she stood and whipped around, storming out my door. I smugly watched her ass through the designer jeans—no doubt supplied by Diana.

Or I tried to watch. The moment her foot crossed the threshold of my office, my chest seized in agonizing pain. A strangled wheeze left me before I could stop it and she whirled around.

“Are you–”

Her eyes widened in concern as I hunched over my desk, my palm ineffectively grasping at my chest.

With her back in the room, the pressure vanished.

This had something to do with Diana. Was it part of her curse where I had to work for her, including hiring this...stray? Or was it something else.

“S-sorry,” I managed. “Down the wrong pipe.”

I pounded on my chest again for emphasis, offering a shaky smile. Her head tilted to the side, wary.

“Apologies for earlier. Things are...tense. We could use help,” I offered diplomatically.

Her eyes narrowed.

She took a step over the threshold of the door.

Hot, white agony shot through me again, and I couldn’t stop the grit of my teeth or the groan of pain that involuntarily left my lips.

She stepped back in. Was that a ghost of a smirk on her lips?

I hated what that action of hers did to my dick and resisted the urge to shift to get more comfortable.

“Help with what?” she asked, finally meeting my eyes.

I grit my teeth. “I don’t know if you heard my assistant, but I am in danger of missing my monthly quota. My boss demands a certain number of successful matches and happy customers with glowing reviews.”

Reaching down to open my top left drawer, I grabbed a large stack of folders, all black.

“Each folder is a client that has yet to find their ‘happily ever after,’ ” I nearly gagged saying the trademarked phrase, but Diana insisted. Always. “And there are many, many more, but these will do for now.”

The witch’s eyes lit with a mild spark of interest as her hand twitched toward a folder.

“Go ahead,” I encouraged, picking up a red folder.

“As you see, the folder contains basic demographics, likes, dislikes, etc. of all our clients and what they’re looking for.”

I yanked open my top right hand drawer, with a much smaller pile of pink folders. Black and pink. Aydan was hilarious. “This is our current stable of available women.”

She eyed the large, disorganized pile of black folders, then the neat, tidy, few pink ones.

“Seems...balanced. Perhaps that’s the reason you’re not meeting your quota.”

I didn’t want anyone’s opinion on why I was falling behind...least of all someone who just walked in my door minutes ago.

But I wasn’t my brother, Pride. I wouldn’t look a gift horse—or witch—in the mouth.

“I need ten couples before the month ends in ten days. Want to split them?” I asked.

Her lips parted in surprise.

“Split? I’ve only just got here! I don’t know your policies or procedures, and?—”

“Ten thousand dollars.”

The folder she’d been holding fell to the ground, spilling its papers everywhere. A heavy-set, red-headed woman with a homely face stared back at us from the floor, her expression resigned and miserable.

That poor woman’s chances of landing a guy were about the same as me pulling off this quota—nearly impossible.

The woman’s eyes also hovered on the photo as she bit her lower lip, considering. I reached for the folder.

“Fine. I’ll do it.” She scooped up five of the pink folders, including the one with the red head. Not that I would fight her for that one. Some people were just...harder to market.

I blinked, remembering my roles.

“Fantastic,” I managed, flashing a brilliant grin. “Swing by the second door on the left, Marguerite will set you up with everything for HR.”

She stood, grasping the folders tightly in her arms. She glared at me as though I’d said something offensive.

“Great. If that’s all the instruction I get...”

I took great care to offend people constantly. I’d know if I’d have said anything to merit such a look, and I hadn’t.

I think.

I nodded and sat, rifling through the black folders to pick my five lucky men to work on.

“You’re such an ass,” she shot out, turning around and giving me a great view of hers as she stalked out of my office, her hips swaying in her righteous indignation.

She paused in the hallway, whipping around and staring at me hopefully.

I held out my arms. “Nothing.”

Her lips pursed and she stormed off.

I grinned.

She could be as pissed as she wanted at me if it made her walk like that.

The same pain flared into my chest, but more of an ache than a full punch to the solar plexus.

Frowning, I wondered what that was about.

I’d done what Diana wanted and hired the chit, hadn’t I?

Perhaps there was something deeper at play?

I was overdue to visit my eldest brother anyway. I could ask his opinion, and maybe con another one of my brothers into helping me meet my quota.

As I sat back behind my desk, I realized I didn't even know the new girl’s name.

Maybe that’s why she’s pissed.

Oh well. I was Lust; if I learned everyone’s name, nothing would ever get done.

I smashed the button on my intercom. “Marguerite, I’m taking an extended lunch.”

I didn’t wait for an answer before I shifted away, the world around me dissolving into nothing.