"Good morning Esperanza," Raylin greeted me as I walked through the office's front door.
"Good morning Raylin," I returned eagerly. Her smile was sparkling today which made me feel even better. I walked over to Milo's desk. "Morning Milo."
"Esperanza, I see you're in a good mood today," he observed.
"Yeah well, it feels like a good day today," I smiled. He looked amused.
"You get to go alone on an author run today," he told me.
"Really!?" I gushed.
"Really," he assented.
"Yes!" I cheered in delight. "Who am I seeing?"
"Maximus," he answered. "He lives just about two minutes away from the Immediate Murder Professionals building."
"Oh wow," I smiled cheerfully. "Text me the address and I'll finish prepping the paperwork you need for the day."
"Don't screw it up newbie," Milo warned with a grave tone of voice. I nodded and swallowed, my smile disappearing from my face. I made a move to the copy machine and started working on making copies of everything Milo would need for his workday. The bulk of the forms were updates and schedules for publishing. Grimworth was strict about meeting deadlines.
I did my best to remain calm despite my growing nerves and excitement. I would be handling an author on my own. This was significant progress from just filing forms and other menial tasks. Once the copies were made I calmly placed them on Milo's desk. "Better get going or you'll be late."
"Yeah ok, Milo, I'll see you later," I told him with a little wave. I eagerly walked out of the building. I'd have to catch a bus to make it to the address according to the GPS." While waiting for the bus to arrive I was on my phone, checking the EarthNews. Something caught my eye about a missing woman in Boston, but I didn't think too much of it as there was no name of the victim or many details about it.
Once on the bus, I looked outside and saw some homeless imps and other creatures begging for change. That kind of sight made Blitzo laugh. I frowned thinking about how humans had been involved in their last encounter on Earth. I could only hope my protection spell did something to help them out.
When I got off at my stop, I saw a large wooden building that stood out amongst the other buildings. Maximus had Earth-like tastes just as Pearl did. His home was a dismal gray, but it was a sight to behold. I unlocked the fence door and approached the front door. I swallowed before ringing the doorbell.
A woman answered the door. Her eyes were blood red before they flashed white. "What do you want?"
"I'm here to see Maximus about his book. I'm from Lucifer's Wonderous Prints."
"He's been expecting you," she nodded gesturing for me to come inside. I followed her in and was dazzled by all the impressive artwork inside the house. Many of the works had water in them, such as the beach, a lake, a waterfall, and more. I wondered where he bought such Earth-like art from. I hadn't dreamed of being in the equivalent of an art museum in Hell.
"Hello my dear," a male voice greeted.
"Hello sir," I answered back. "My name is Esperanza. Milo sent me to get a copy of your last 3 chapters of the Hellstorm of Davy Jones."
"I'll go ahead and hit print," he replied easily. "Would you like some tea?"
"Yes I'd love some," I smiled.
"Just have a seat anywhere you'd like." I looked at the green couch and took a seat. It offered a nice view out the window to the street. I watched as several demons walked past the house without a care in the world. "So you're a new employee at Lucifer's then hun?"
"Yeah," I nodded.
"Things haven't been the same since Welmont left. I received an offer from Bloody Pages and I'm seriously considering," he stated. I frowned at this.
"What is Bloody Pages offering that we haven't?" I asked to understand.
"Well for one Welmont. And they are offering a third more money than Lucifer's Wonderous Prints. And they are giving me more perks like author-only parties and art gallery passes."
That wasn't good at all. Lucifer's Wonderous Prints couldn't afford to lose even more authors. "Let me talk to Milo about how we can improve your contract with us. I'd hate to lose another author on the team."
He raised an eyebrow, "You're determined for someone on a dying horse."
"Lucifer's Wonderous Prints will have its comeback and it'll be even bigger than its glory days," I told him with way more confidence than I felt.
"I'd like to see that happen," he smiled handing me my tea.
At the office I approached Milo's desk. "Milo?"
"Yes ," he looked up at me.
"Maximus is considering a publishing deal with Bloody Pages after he finishes his contract with us," I told him.
Milo simply sighed, rubbing his face with his hands. I watched the frown form on his lips. "Well we can only wish him the best then."
"Can't we change his contract to make it more appealing?"
"We're stretched thin on what we can offer authors."
"There must be something we can offer. Maximus mentioned tickets to art galleries and exclusive parties. Why don't we do anything like that?"
"We lost a big amount of our budget when Welmont left. Authors started resigning by the dozen. We have who we have to get by. You'll just have to accept that Esperanza."
"Maximus mentioned exclusive parties for authors," I brought up.
"Bloody Pages is famous for its annual Author Convention," he sighed. "Every year's afterparty is the talk of the publishing world. New authors are always dying to get in and get noticed."
"Oh," I frowned.
"We'll be attending. For the sake of reporting it in the company blog. I know you want to do your best at retaining the authors but I wouldn't worry about it further."
"Ok," I nodded walking away from his desk.
"Good job on getting the manuscript. Have it edited and on my desk by next week." I stopped in my tracks at those words. Another one-up task. I smiled in delight.
Third Person P.O.V
Maggie reluctantly sat down as her body made its way to the Lust Ring. Alastor insisted that Agatha's ex-angel lover was now living there as an imp. On the way there Maggie looked at a happy couple making out. Agatha was watching them intently, her longing sensed by Maggie.
Love was something strange. It had amazing powers over the human body and mind. Maggie was reflecting on this as they arrived at the station. She didn't bother interacting with Agatha, she was still fuming about the foolish offer made to the Radio Demon.
Agatha on the other hand seemed thrilled at her silence. It meant zero distractions from her mission. Finding Alex was her only priority. Maggie was just a means to get there. As she walked down the streets of Lust she nervously looked at herself in the reflections of the shop windows. Her demon form was attractive but this body was borrowed. Agatha wondered what he would think of her real body and her true demon form in death.
"He'd probably be disgusted that you're so fake and desperate," Maggie added to the thoughts.
"Shut up," Agatha huffed. She hadn't realized Maggie intruding on her private thoughts. Sharing one mind was proving very annoying. She gritted her teeth and tried to remember that this was all a means to an end. And that end was Alex.
"You obviously didn't think this through. How are you going to find him?" Maggie questioned. Agatha ignored her and kept walking. Maggie noticed the happy couple. They were approaching a club of some kind. Agatha was headed there too much to Maggie's surprise.
"Keep your fat mouth shut and let me handle the looking," Agatha growled to Maggie.
"I'll do as I please," Maggie hummed defiantly. She took slight control of her body again and stepped in the opposite direction Agatha had intended to go. The rebellion was short-lived as Agatha quickly regained control and proceeded forward towards the club.
Maggie felt magic flowing through her in a way that had never happened before. It was strange, mystic, and something she never dreamed of ever happening. Beside them was a male demon holding onto her hand. They walked into the club.
There were streams of couples sitting down and eating dinner. The happy imps from the elevator were sitting down now. "I love you, Millie," the male imp declared. Maggie sighed internally and felt herself sit down beside the conjured demon. The conjuring wasn't that great or strong as the demon didn't speak. It simply sat and Agatha did the talking and ordering. Agatha's eyes wandered the entire club.
"Our little opening act is a fresh one," a robot on stage announced. "Coming at us from the Wrath Ring, Give it up for Moxxie." Everyone began to clap. Maggie sighed internally as Agatha eye's looked at the stage. An imp in a tux appeared on stage and began to sing. Maggie recognized him as the imp who was making out with his wife. It was sweet that he announced it was their anniversary. Agatha thought so to, as she watched him sing transfixed.
Unfortunately for the imp, Ozmodeous and the robot Fizaroli didn't think his song was so nice. They made a scene, exposing their desire for lust. Maggie cringed for the imp on stage. While the commotion was going on Agatha walked around the club, eyeing everything around her. Maggie sighed as she moved towards the kitchens. There were many workers, but none of them were Alex.
With great haste, Agatha left the club, leaving her conjured demon behind. Maggie walked down the streets of lust with her, not sure what to think. Alastor provided an image of Alex, it did seem like he worked in the entertainment and hospitality sector based on his outfit. The uniform he had on was similar to the one at Ozzie's.
"Fucking hell," Agatha cursed, kicking a nearby trashcan. It fell over and Agatha's tears fell just as the rain began to trickle down.
First Person P.O.V
When I got home Loona was there. We had dinner together before she got a text from Tex, another hellhound, inviting her out to a party. I was happy she got to go out. She left a note on her door for her dad, which was one of those small Loona signs that she cared. I took the Hellstorm of Davy Jones manuscript to my room and started working on editing it.
Maximus was a very skilled writer. He didn't make many grammatical mistakes much to my relief. There was mostly nothing to circle or change other than a few wording choices here and there.
The door slamming made me jump. I poked my door open slightly, observing through the crack. Blitzo was home. He tore the note off Loona's door and made his way to the couch. I opened the door fully, ready to talk to him.
The sound of sobs made me pause. Blitzo was crying, actually crying. Something horrible must have happened to make him cry. It was strange. "Blitzo?" I called out.
"I just want to be alone right now," he replied back. I frowned but kept approaching the couch. I took a seat beside his curled up body.
"I want you to know I'm here if you want to talk," I told him earnestly. I gave his foot a small pat before getting up.
"Wait," he whimpered.
"Hmm?" I hummed sitting back down. He dove into my arms and cried into my shirt. I patted his back and started making small circles on his back with my fingertips.
"I followed Moxxie and Millie on their big anniversary date at Ozzie's," he admitted.
"Did they get mad at you?" I questioned. It was still weird that the M&Ms had enough power to make him cry.
"I was humiliated after trying to defend Moxxie's cringy singing. Stolas was embarrassed by me," he explained.
"I'm so sorry," I whispered into his ears. I pulled him closer to me, giving him a tight squeeze. "You deserve to be with someone who isn't embarrassed by you. You'll be ok in time. I promise you'll be ok." It was a promise I didn't know how to keep but made anyways.