Chapter 9

Candace Walters, Dominique Destine's personal secretary, looked up from her desk as she heard the elevator doors ding.

Her eyes widened as she looked at the woman stepping out of the elevator. Though she had darker skin, brown, almost black, hair, and brown eyes, the woman dressed in black leather pants, and wearing a black leather jacket over a purple shirt, bore an uncanny resemblance to her employer, Dominique Destine.

"Can I help you?" Candace asked, as the woman took several steps towards her.

"Yes," the woman said with a smile. "I'm here to see Ms. Destine."

"Do you have an appointment?" Candace asked. The secretary should know if there was one, but she was only human and could have forgotten to make a note.

The woman shook her head. "No."

"Then I'm afraid that I can't let you in to see her," Candace informed the woman.

The woman raised an eyebrow and asked. "Could you give her a message then? If she doesn't want to see me after that, I'll leave and set up an appointment"

Candace was silent for a moment. That certainly wouldn't hurt. "What's the message?"

The woman smiled and said, "Puck and Angela."

Confused by the short message, Candace pressed the intercom button on her desk. "Ms. Destine," she called.

A moment later her boss's voice replied, "What is it Candace?"

"There's a woman here to see you."

"Does she have an appointment?"

"No, but she said to tell you 'Puck and Angela.'"

There was no response back, and Candace was about to press the intercom again, when the door to Ms. Destine's office flew open and her boss stood in the doorway, looking t the other woman with a shocked expression on her face. "Angela?" Ms. Destine asked softly, softer than Candace had ever heard the woman speak.

"In the flesh," the now named Angela spoke with a smile on her face.

Ms. Destine then shocked Candace with a real smile. This was a shock, because while the secretary had seen her employer angry and even smirk in triumph, she couldn't remember a time when the woman actually smiled. The redhead looked over to her, then turned to Angela. "Come into my office," she instructed, before turning back to her. "Candace, clear my afternoon."

"Of course Ms. Destine," Candace assured her employer, before the two women disappeared into the office.

Just who was this woman to cause such a reaction in her boss?

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The first words out of Demona's mouth when she closed the door behind her was, "What did Puck do this for?"

Angela turned and smiled at her mother. "He didn't actually do it," she explained. "I got this gift from another source, but I couldn't think of anything else to say that would get you to see me, without informing your secretary of our relationship." She smirked. "After all, with your apparent age, you certainly don't look old enough to be my mother."

Demona smiled. "True. So what are you doing here anyway?" she asked as she sat down at her desk. "And what does your father think about your new ability?" she added, gesturing for Angela to sit down across from her.

The younger woman grimaced as she sat down across from her mother. "Father doesn't exactly...know. And I'd like to keep it that way," she added. "We haven't exactly been getting along well lately."

Demona frowned. "What's wrong?"

Angela shook her head. "I don't really want to discuss it Mother. As for way I'm here," she smiled, "I have a...proposition for you."

The older woman's eyebrow arced in curiosity. "Really, and what would that be?"

"As I've explained, Father knows nothing about this," she gestured to herself, indicating her human form. "Which gives me a way to spend time with you, which we both know you would like. So I propose this, I am willing to spend time with you, in both forms, provided you cease all attempts to wipe out humanity and stop attacking Father, the Clan, the Xanatos, and Elisa. But if you break either of these agreements, I will break off contact and will not try reconciling for a while, if ever."

Demona's eyes narrowed and she was silent for a moment. "I'll agree, with two conditions of my own," she said.

"What?" Angela asked nervously.

Demona smirked. "I get to spend time with you in both forms, and you become my personal assistant."

Angela's eyes widened. "I can agree to the first, as that was my idea. But I don't know that I could be your personal assistant. It's not that I'm not willing, but I don't know that I could do the job," she admitted.

"It's not that hard. Basically, you would be in charge of keeping me appraised of my schedule and making appointments here at work, taking notes during meetings, running errands, and giving me your opinion and recommendations on various topics when I ask for it," Demona explained.

"I suppose I could do that," Angela said with a faint smile.

"Good. Now," Demona looked at her daughter's choice of clothing, "we need to get you some work appropriate clothing. And I need to know what name you're working under?"

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"So how did it go?" Kat asked, as Angela approached the pick-up parked on the curb

The gargoyle-turned human smiled as she climbed into the cab. "Good. Though I have to be back here at one, Mother's decided to hire me. Which means that she's taking me shopping for more work-appropriate dress."

Kat chuckled. "Doesn't like my look huh?"

Angela raised an eyebrow. "Yes well, as much as I enjoy your look, it's not exactly appropriate for the business world. Now lets get going, I want to enjoy lunch with my mate before Mother drags me shopping."

"Your wish is my command," Kat said as she pulled into traffic.

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"Candace," Demona said from her office door.

Her secretary looked up from her work. "Yes Ms. Destine?"

Demona handed the woman Angela's application, "Run this down to HR, and tell them that I've already hired Ms. Ann Nolava as my personal assistant. She's starting nest week and I want everything prepared by then."

"Yes Ms. Destine."

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