Page 26 of Hooked on a Demon
“Thanks.” He turns around and sits in one of the chairs off to the side. The receptionist bounces off to the back somewhere and returns a moment later. “June will be with you in a moment. I’m Bellamy, by the way.”
“Hi, Bellamy. Nice to meet you.”
A little giggle escapes her, and she covers her mouth out of embarrassment, but he smiles back at her, trying to appear friendly but not flirtatious.
Before he has time to pull his phone out of his pocket to start mindlessly scrolling, an older woman emerges from the back wearing dark dress pants, a dark green turtleneck, and a gray cardigan. She brings the glasses that hang around her neck to her face and puts them on, then looks over at him. “Declan?”
He stands, instantly extending his hand to shake hers. “Yes. Hi, you must be June.”
“I am. So nice to meet you, and thank you for stopping by. Why don’t we go back to my office to chat?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
June turns and leads him down a hallway before turning into the room at the very end. As he turns in, he glances into the room across the hall. With the large couch along one wall and the fridge and counter along the back. Staff room. Unfortunately, he doesn’t see Eliana.
“Please, sit,” June says, stepping behind her desk and gesturing to the seat across from her. As he sits, his mind briefly wanders to wonder how many hard conversations have been had with someone sitting here. As the owner of Hellbent Motors, he knows how many he’s had, each one vividly burned into his own mind.
“So, first, I want to thank you so much for your generous offer. We didn’t have any extravagant plans for set design, but with your sponsorship and volunteering, we can do so much more than we initially planned.”
“It’s my pleasure. As an organization, one of our primary values is community support, so I’m thrilled to contribute to what I’m sure will be a great night for the children and families. The staff at the shop are all eager to start building, too,” he says, and it’s not a lie. When he told them yesterday about the offer he included alongside his sponsorship funds, they were practically vibrating with the opportunity to help.
“That’s so good to hear,” she says before handing him a sheet of paper with a long list of materials and a to-do list. “I know this looks like a lot, and it probably is, but with your generous offer, and with the presumed skillset you and your staff will bring, I figured I could be a bit ambitious. The plan for the night is a masquerade theme, and so with that, we wanted to build a sort of ballroom backdrop. Maybe some staircases, structures to hang lush curtains from, etc. Eliana will be able to fill in any other details for you.”
Looking at the list, he agrees she definitely chose to be ambitious. But with his team, he knows it shouldn’t be a problem. “And where will this be hosted? Can I see the space so I know the physical limits we are working with?”
“Absolutely. We’ve booked the main auditorium at the Stanley Theater. I have a class to teach shortly, but…” she says, pausing to look at the schedule for the day, “I can have Eliana walk over with you, as she should be in any minute.” Her eyes catch something behind him. “Wait, there she is. Eliana!”
A slightly rustling sound behind him makes his insides flutter.
“Yes, June?” He turns around. “Oh. Declan. Hi.” Her cheeks instantly pink with that gorgeous blush of hers.
“Hi.” He smiles, letting his eyes flow down her body, hungrily taking in how her tights highlight every delicious curve.
“Ellie, could you take Mr. Grace here down to the auditorium for the showcase? He and his team will be helping to build our sets, and he would like to see the space before they get to work.”
Eliana’s eyes find his. Is that a bit of trepidation he sees in them? Or desire? Whatever it is, it’s gone before he has a chance to work it out. “Yeah, sure,” she answers, her voice slightly shaky.
June claps her hands together like it’s a job well done. “Wonderful. Well, off you go then.”
Declan stands, extending his hand to shake hers again. “I think this is going to be a great partnership,” he says before letting his gaze wander back to Eliana, who still stands in the doorway.
“Me too. I can’t wait to see what you all do.”
With that, Declan turns, stepping away from the desk and toward the whole reason he agreed to do this in the first place—Eliana.
* * *
It doesn’t take long for them to arrive at the theater, and surprisingly, there are no issues getting inside. June wouldn’t have sent them here if they couldn’t get in, but in his mind, there wouldn’t be anyone here, and a trip over would be for naught. Thankfully, that isn’t the case.
Stepping inside, he’s taken aback by the coziness of it all. He’s never been inside, so this is all new to him. Having grown up mainly in the underworld, he didn’t have the opportunity to see productions here as a child, and frankly, as an adult, he can’t say he frequents theaters for anything other than the odd movie. He catches Eliana watching him as he marvels at the venue.
His eyes scan the surroundings, taking in the mood and aesthetic of the space. The walls are a deep red with an abstract black and gold tiled floor. There are plush black and red chairs that sit off to the side, and drapery hanging over entryways that make it feel like you’re about to see something magical.
“Thank you so much, Walter,” she says to the man who now walks toward them.
He extends his arms, wrapping her in a hug, and the demon inside Declan does not approve. He growls internally, ordering Walter to take his hands off.
In the rapidly growing frustration, small tendrils of smoke swirl from his fingertips. Declan turns, steps away, and clenches his eyes tight. He breathes in deeply, centering himself and shoving his demon back down in his box in the process. When he turns back around, Walter and Eliana are staring at him with quizzical looks. “Sorry, thought I was going to sneeze and didn’t want to get it all over you if I did,” Declan says smoothly, hoping they buy it.
