Chapter 2: The In Thing
"Did you say you are meeting Cole today?" Paige asked Phoebe before she went out the door for work.
"Uh, don't remind me," Phoebe looked for her car keys in her bag.
"You know, it's not a bad idea," Paige nodded.
"What? Meeting Cole? Don't tell me you're on his side now. Okay, I can understand you stopping him leave if it was about me living under the ocean forever, but we should actually encourage him to remember that he was packing to go away!"
"Yes, I'm on it. I did some research on Diane. It's exactly as Cole said, she hasn't lived in the underworld for the last seventy years and although she made a fortune by using her shimmering to steal things, she didn't hurt a fly, which is probably as good as any demon gets."
"So what are getting at Paige? I still don't understand. Since when did you become a legal representative of demons?"
"I didn't. I just had a little thought, mind you. You want Cole to stop mulling over you, right? This dazzling demon woman has a crush on him and he doesn't completely seem to mind. On top of it, she not a threat, the most we would have to do with her is tip Darryl about her, if we need to. She looks as if she prefers to live by the rules of our society than anything else. Point is, a right push in the right direction could convince Cole that Diane is a better choice for him. On the top of all, if it pays off, it still keeps Cole on the side of the good, even with a demon by his side."
"You think? I mean would he be willing to sign the divorce papers?"
"It might open his eyes where he should look for his happiness," Paige nodded a bit uncertainly herself, "it's worth a shot, don't you think?"
"And what do you think I should do?" Phoebe crunched her forehead, "I can't just tell him that, it will never work. He is still hoping I will be able to trust him one day."
"Ask him to spy on Diane for us, say we're not sure about her and that she's a good demon. The institution of a good demon itself. That's true, isn't it? That would make them meet and also make Cole feel he is in the same situation as Diane. At the same time, I'll orb to Diane, make sure she takes a direct approach. She does want him after all."
"You're a whiz kid, Paige. But even if it will work, it will be a slow process you know that?"
"Better later than never."
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Cole tried to blur in somewhere close to Diane to see what she was up to, just as Phoebe requested. Although he doubted the charming demoness would have done any jobs for any of the leaders of the fractions of the Underworld lately, he wanted to acquire some evidence, since he knew that the Charmed Ones would vanquish first, ask questions later. The alleged meeting between Sitri, the head of the necromancers and Diane about the abduction of some first quality bodies was supposed to take place at that moment, but maybe Leo got it wrong, because Cole couldn't hear anything. Could be, the whitelighter was rather vague and confused regarding the whole subject. Nevertheless, when Cole tried to make himself corporeal, he found himself outside Diane's earthly home, at the gates of sized mansion set in the middle of English gardens, with the entrance overlooked by marble balconies with a rich mosaic dome, under the drizzling rain of the typical British countryside. She must've gone up market since he last met her. The house was magically protected, that was the only reason why he couldn't blur in, and Cole cursed as he realised that, but he was going to achieve what he went there for. He manually pressed the doorbell, at least to have a chance to talk to the master thief. In a couple of moments' time, he felt the irritating sensation of once again, being magically identified, then an instant later, Diane opened the door to see Cole looking as if he was uncomfortable.
"Hey, come on in," she said. The cerulean half see-through dress made her black hair looking more shiny. She didn't ask him why he came. But then again, there was a time, not even a decade ago, when he used to turn up at the her house uninvited, and she would never ask, just touch him and shimmer him upstairs just the way she did now, tempting him to action with her big chocolate eyes, "settle down on the carpet and take your clothes off. I'll be here in a minute. I just have some business to finish."
Cole found himself confused. He didn't feel like laying down on the floor, especially because of the memories it would've evoked, but if he refused her right now, he would be thrown out and wouldn't find out about her plans, "don't be too long," he complied, but in the same time ordered her with his best Belthazor voice he could still master, one that most demons came to honour.
Diane simply walked over to the adjacent room, not even intending to hide anything from him where in fact, she was only talking on the phone, "I'm here...yes...so I would like to lay emphasis on my ownership of the asset, as agreed by legally binding verbal contracts previously undertaken amid the two affected parties. I hereby remind you of your contractual obligations. Failure to do so will result in severe action being taken against you, maximum penalty would be the removal of all your ownership of the prize. To confirm our agreement, please sign my letter and fax it over...yes...I look forward to it. Bye," she walked back into the room, undoing her magnificent thick hair locks that could work as clothing if required.
"Problem? Maybe I could help?"
"Are you offering you legal services? I'm more interesting in you other services, my golden purrty," she called him by his old nickname she found him because of Belthazor's somewhat catlike appearance. She then dematerialised, but just so she can encircle him all over with her particles, going under his underwear mischievously, fondling his thigh and teasingly threatening to glide higher, "did you miss that?" She materialised to talk, but without her dress.
"Yes. But not nowadays," he decided to play straight, mostly because of the implications of not doing so. If he wasn't going to find out this easily about her plans,
he'll just have to follow her around more without her knowing, "knock it off. I came with a business proposition."
"So? That never meant we can't have fun. Not even when the Source wanted you to hurry up."
"No."
Diane didn't like to be rebuffed, especially when she was trying to seduce people, "I don't understand you," the woman's voice was composed, with a potentially lethal undercurrent to it.
"If you don't remember well, you poisoned me before just to conform to some contract of yours?"
"And? No big deal, amongst demons at least."
"We're not amongst demons. At least we're not trying to be. Or do I know wrong? You back with them?"
"That's really funny Belthazor. In the past you tolerated me as an outsider when you were the Source's right hand and now that you live among humans the same way I do, you don't put up with me? What's more, you're a pretence! The Charmed Ones don't trust you and you play the not trusting game with me? You know what? I'll tell you. I was given the job of stealing the book of shadows. If someone can, I am the one, you know that. But I didn't. I didn't even try. They didn't try vanquish me the moment they found out who I was and that was enough for me not to go against them. See? I have changed. In some ways, I wouldn't do much for money, because, well, I have tonnes of the stuff. I missed you..."
"I'm married. I can't."
"Come on Cole, she wants a divorce. She wanted to know for sure I will try to seduce you."
"What?" He asked with exasperation.
"She set you up Belthazor. Paige came here to tell me you were coming," she let her clothes finally materialise and fixed a drink for herself.
Cole followed her example, then parked himself in one of the large seats in the room, opposite the one she was sitting on. They were quietly sipping their alcohol, staring at the parapet.
She looked up at him first, "it could make it easier for you if you would tell me all about it," she said with considerable sympathy.
That was what made him allow himself to spill his guts to the woman, "I can't go one day without her, Diana. It's distressing me every minute of the day and all the hours I turn around in bed, that she doesn't care about how isolated I am under the circumstances that she created herself as the man she made me be..." He started.
tbc
