Chapter 1

Annabeth's necklace had always been cold. Ice cold, in fact so cold that she always had to wear a shirt that came up high enough. She had tried to take it off over and over again. She knew the chances of her finding her soulmate were slim if it was that cold. She guessed he was somewhere on the other side of the world, Europe or Asia maybe. So, instead of spending her life like every other twenty-something year old in the country, she spent it working. Some may say she was a workaholic, but she just thought she was dedicated. A smart business woman, who at the age of twenty-seven had gotten the job of CEO at Allure Architectural in New York City.

The necklaces were the world's way of stopping divorce. Divorce hurt children's psychology, which in turn hurt the productivity of the next generation, which then meant less money. United Nations came up with it about 200 years ago. When your necklace was cold, you weren't anywhere near your soulmate. When warm, you were within about a hundred miles, and when it gets to the point of it burning you, he or she is right in front and the necklace snaps off. Most of Annabeth's friends had had warm necklaces in high school. Piper had found Jason a few years ago, Hazel found Frank about six months ago. They all had grown up in the state of New York, but Annabeth never envied them. She was just on a different path in life. A path in which today was full of boring paperwork and calls from contractors who couldn't get the job done.

"Hello, this is Annabeth Chase." Annabeth juggled her coffee and phone, trying to sound professional at the same time as hailing a cab. "Yes, hi, I can meet at 10 today to take a look at the progress on the building?" She paused, waiting for a response. "Okay great, I'll see you then." She got in the taxi, "370 7th Ave."

"Yes ma'am." The driver swerved over and started their drive. Fifteen minutes later, even though it was only five blocks, they arrived. She paid and stepped out answering another phone call while taking a sip of her strong black coffee.

"Hello," She wallowed in the warmth of the drink, "Yes, Amelia, I'll be right there, my taxi driver wasn't the fastest."

"Your meeting starts in ten minutes!" Amelia answered frantically. Annabeth rolled her eyes. Yet another assistant she'd have to fire. She had yet to find one that didn't crumple at the sign of any stress.

"And I prepared at home, I'm completely ready. I'll be up in 5." Annabeth ended the call, not wanting to hear anymore. It was a cold, but sunny December Monday, about 10 days from Christmas. Monday's meant board meetings, which Annabeth ran. The elevator dinged and she stepped out, her heels clicking on the floor. "Ms. Chase." and "Hello." echoed through the lobby. Not bothering to step into her office, she pushed open the doors of Conference Room C and started her day.

—

Paperwork was one of Annabeth's least favorite things. Architecture had a lot, more then she realized before she became CEO. It was a constant stream of release forms and confidentiality forms and lawsuit forms. She absolutely hated it. Just as she was knocking out her last one (it was around 2 at this point) somebody knocked on her door.

"Come in," She said, rather absentmindedly.

"Ms. Chase, you had a phone call from Zeus. He'd like two homes, one in Europe and on here in New York. He wants you and Mr. Jackson to communicate and build them together. He's arranged for you to fly there, as he wants the one in London built first. You leave on Wednesday." Amelia said, her voice steadier then it had previously been.

Annabeth looked up, slowly. "What."

Amelia interlocked her hands, twitching nervously. "Um, Zeus wants new ho-"

"I heard what you said. I cannot just pack up and go to Europe for god knows how long!" Annabeth threw her pen down. "Tell him I can't do it. I don't care that we're related, I'm not doing it on such short notice."

"Well… that's the problem." Amelia hesitated.

"What?" Annabeth snapped.

"Your mother already told him yes. Zeus wasn't asking, he was telling."

"Great, that's fucking awesome." Annabeth sighed. "I'm sorry, it's not your fault. Get my mother on the line please."

"Yes, ma'am." Amelia scurried out of her office.

Annabeth picked up her work phone. "Mom."

"Annabeth, hello. Did you hear the news? This will be huge for the company." Athena said, without any cheer in her voice.

"I'm not going." She stated.

Athena laughed. "Don't be ridiculous. You'll do as I say. Don't forget this was my company before yours."

"I worked hard to get here. I cannot just up and leave for who knows how long?!"

"It will be fine. Malcolm will do a good job while you're gone. You and I both trust him. This discussion is over. You're going and that's final." Annabeth rolled her eyes and hung up without a goodbye. Annabeth hit her desk in frustration, her sweaty palms leaving a mark on the finished dark wood. Her mother had retired young, leaving the company to Annabeth, but it would never be hers completely until her mother passed away. Their relationship had always been a working one, and both Malcolm and she weren't close to Athena. Even when they were little, not even five, they were being prepped to become the next big CEO of Allure Architecture. Annabeth won her mom's competition between the two of them without even knowing it. Lost in her thoughts, her phone rang. Piper.

"What's up?" Annabeth asked.

"Hey, have you had lunch yet?" Piper asked.

"No, and I could use a distraction. Jade?" Annabeth asked.

"Sure, I'll meet you there in 10." Piper said. Annabeth hung up, grabbed her long, tan trench coat and headed out the door.

Their banh mi sandwiches and salad rolls came quickly, and they both dug in.

"You will not believe what I have to do this week." Annabeth said as she took a bite of her sandwich. "Zeus, you know, my mom's brother," Piper nodded, mouth full of salad roll. "He wants me to go to London to build him a home with Percy Jackson."

"You mean your rival Percy Jackson?" Piper asked.

"Yes, oh god, I didn't even think of that. How are we supposed to work together? Our two companies hate each other." Annabeth sighed. "Who knows how long I'll be over there. Could be two months, or two weeks."

"Let's go together." Piper suggested a small smile on her face. "With Hazel and Frank and Jason."

"You guys can't just uproot your lives like that. It's Christmas in ten days! Besides, you and Jason are getting married in less than six months! What about wedding planning?"

"Annabeth, we have nothing going on. We all have minimum wage jobs that can easily be quit and found again when we get back. I'll talk to Hazel and Frank. When do you leave?"

"Wednesday." Annabeth said. "If you really can go, that would be awesome, but don't make it a priority please, I'll be fine on my own."

"Of course. I'll let you know as soon as I can." Piper smiled. "It'll be fun, we can rent a house in the countryside, drive into the city and go shopping…"

Annabeth laughed. "Yeah, while I make the money to support that."

Piper rolled her eyes. "Hey, we're doing you a favor by going."

Annabeth laughed again. "Whatever." They split the bill, and both hailed cabs.

Piper waved, "Bye! I'll call you and let you know, but I'm sure it'll be a yes."

"Okay, I'll see you later." Annabeth got in her taxi and leaned back sighing. "Um, 157 West 57th Street please." She decided to go home and get work done there, after everything that had happened today she couldn't go back to the office right now.

"Yes, ma'am." The driver said, and sped off into Manhattan traffic.