Page 5 of January Blues
Damon handed me some fancy-looking hair product as soon as I buckled in. Seat belts were necessary with how he drove. He was like a race car driver, whipping the car into the smallest of gaps and driving well over the speed limit. Usually, I just closed my eyes until it was over, but I had my hair to sort out.
We got to the office in record time, somehow beating the early morning traffic and getting me to the meeting a few minutes early. I turned to Damon, who was grinning at me from the passenger seat. “I think I love you! Seriously, you saved my job!” I leaned into his space and pecked him on the cheek.
He reached for me and cupped my face in his big hand. “If only you could fall in love with me, cutie.”
“Just give me time and I might.” I winked at him. “Either that or I’m going to become a spoiled brat.”
“Never! You’re much too sweet for that. Knock ’em dead, darlin’. I’ll pick you up later on.”
“I’ll just get a ride share or something,” I offered as I climbed out of the car.
“No chance. I’ll be here.” He pulled away with a kiss in my direction and I turned to face my day.
The Mars Acquisitions office loomed over me. I hurried into the reception area.
“Oh wow! Cody, you look fabulous! Love the new look. Where’d you get that suit?” Jacqueleen asked. I loved her. She was always so nice to me. Most of the time, she offered style advice or tips on what to do with my unruly brown hair. Jacqueleen guarded the entrance of the building and only the worthy got inside.
I paused, waiting for her to give me my pass to the upper floors where the meeting was. Looking down at myself, I frowned. This was quite different from what I was used to. My suit pants were pin-striped and sharply tailored. They looked like they had been made especially for me. The matching jacket was cut to show off my lean torso. Overall, the effect of the three-piece suit made me look taller, more sophisticated. A pale blue shirt completed the look, making my lightly tanned skin look golden.
“Oh… um.” I stalled. Then it came to me. Damon. “My friend had this made for me. He knows a great tailor.” I’d question how he got all my measurements another time.
“I have to say it’s working for you, honey. That five o’clock shadow makes you finally look your age, too.” She laughed, but it wasn’t unkind.
“Thanks. I better get going.”
“Oh, that’s right. Big day. Austin is already up there, so don’t let him take over. This promotion is yours, Cody. You’ve put in the work for it.”
“Thank you, Jacqueleen. I’ll see you later.”
She handed me my pass for the elevator and called a “good luck,” to me as I headed for the doors.
I caught a few people looking at me approvingly as I exited on the right floor. Though the thing that brought a smile to my face was the look on Austin’s.
January 3rd
Toth
Failure.
Shame, unfamiliar and hot, filled my blood at the memory of how spectacularly I’d failed at even causing a minor inconvenience to Cody, my target, the day before.
I just had to up the ante. There was no failing at this. No more minor inconveniences to make him late for work. I had to make him look incompetent, no matter how much I hated this task.
While the assassin friend whisked away Cody to work, I’d undone the magic on the heating and hot water system so that when the landlord came to check on it, he would find nothing wrong with it. I’d also fixed the alarm clock, removing all traces of my demon magic. Let him waste some witch’s time by checking it over.
My goal was to make him look paranoid. To have him not trust the people or things around him. Soon he wouldn’t trust himself.
Except it hadn’t worked. The landlord had found a problem while checking the system over and had insisted that Cody stay elsewhere on his dime until it was sorted. Flustered by the ordeal, Cody had forgotten the damn alarm clock when he’d grabbed his essentials on his way to the hotel the landlord had booked him into. The same one I was conveniently staying at. I’d made an excuse to have a room change, and now my room shared a wall with Cody’s.
Using my magic, I’d opened a window into the next room. It had been easy to see Cody stretched out on the bed, safe in the knowledge that the window only went one way.
I’d spent hours listening to him chat to Damon about what had happened and getting to know my target. The more I knew about his habits, the easier it would be to ruin him.
Guilt had prickled up my spine as I’d watched him sleep. I hadn’t wanted to infect his dreams, but slipping through the window I’d made had been all too easy. With a touch to his temple, I’d brought him fear.
Cody’s whimpers had followed me back to my room.
As an upper demon, I didn’t need to sleep much. Basil hadn’t tied me to the human realm, but he had locked my castle to me. Technically, as my master, he owned all of my property. It was an unknown demon law that I was grateful he wasn’t aware of. While a contract was in place, I had no home in the demon realm.
