Chapter 5
ELOISE
I wasn't sure what I expected from Hades, but it wasn't the man sitting across from me. He had dark hair, and a Greek nose, but he was skinnier than I expected. Not in a weird way, it was more that he was tall and streamlined, like a runner rather than a weight lifter. But it wasn't his looks that confused me the most, it was his demeanour. I'd expected someone exuding power, and instead he seemed...kind of sweet.
So long as he wasn't looking at Cupid, anyway. The moment his gaze fell on the Roman god, his expression soured.
"Good morning," Cupid said, taking a seat.
"Cupid," Hades responded in a deep voice with a hint of an accent.
"This is Eloise, one of the matchmakers here at Jinx," Cupid said, gesturing to me and smiling. "She'll be your main point of contact."
"Then what are you doing here?" Hades asked, leaning back in his chair. When he did that, there was more of the power that I expected him to have.
"It's standard protocol whenever we have a client of your status," Cupid responded. "This is my department."
"Fine." He crossed his arms. "What do you want to know?"
"What do you want out of Jinx?" Cupid asked. "Are you looking for something serious, or are you just looking for a few dates?"
Hades raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.
Cupid made a note, but I had no idea what he'd managed to get out of the response. I would have to ask him once we were alone.
"Would you prefer a date that was a more intimate setting or one that involves being around more people?" Cupid asked.
Hades shrugged.
I cleared my throat. "If you don't mind me saying, Mr Hades, we're here to help you find the right match," I said softly. "I know our questions might feel intrusive, but they're to help us make the right choices for you."
Hades looked over at Cupid, who didn't say anything, surprising me slightly. I thought he'd step in and imply that I was overstepping or something like that.
"She's right," he said firmly.
Hades sighed. "This isn't something I'm good at."
"That's okay, that's why we're asking these questions." I felt more confident speaking up now, especially when he was reacting favourably. "Once you've told us what you like and what you want, we can match you with someone suited to you. But we can only do that if we have all of the information."
The man opposite nodded. "Fine. Ask your questions."
I tried not to be too obviously pleased with the response, but it was hard not to be when Hades had been a bit difficult up until now. I looked at Cupid who nodded, seemingly encouraging me to be the one to lead the interview. He had said that might be a possibility, but I hadn't actually expected it to happen.
"Would you prefer a date that was a more intimate setting or one that involves being around more people?" I asked Hades, repeating Cupid's question.
"Something lowkey," Hades responded. "I wouldn't want anything that's over the top or about who I am. I would need it quiet and intimate. A dinner, ideally. With good food and some musicians."
"Would you want to organise that yourself, or would you like Jinx to take care of it?" I asked.
"Is that possible?"
"For a fee," Cupid responded. "We'd run everything by you, naturally."
"Then let's do that."
I almost sighed with relief now it seemed like Hades was actually going to answer our questions and not make things difficult for us.
"Do you have any pets?" Cupid asked.
"Just Cerberus," Hades responded.
I had questions I wanted to ask in response to that, but they were mostly for my own curiosity rather than anything to do with matchmaking.
"So I suppose that anyone who didn't like dogs would be out," Hades said.
Cupid nodded. "Absolutely. It's important to us that our matches are made with considerations for our clients' most important and non-negotiable issues."
"Good, good."
Cupid continued to ask questions, while I took some notes and made sure the recording device was still turned on so I could listen back to everything later. The questions weren't that different from the ones I'd filled out on the matchmaking quiz myself. Hades wasn't the easiest client to get information out of, but once he got started, we got enough out of him that we could make a decent start on getting him a good match.
"All right, I think that's everything," Cupid said. "We'll be in contact when we have a potential match for you, or if we have any questions about anything you've told us."
Hades nodded once and got up to leave.
I leaned back in my seat and let out a relieved sigh that the whole thing was over. "Is it always like this with high-profile clients?" I asked.
Cupid chuckled. "No. Hades is just Hades. You get used to him."
"Oh."
"You did well," Cupid said. "Though that tactic won't work on everyone," he warned me.
"I didn't think so, I just thought he'd respond to the reassurance." It had been a gut feeling in the moment, but it had still been a risk.
"Which is all part of matchmaking," Cupid responded. "You need to read the client's wants and desires, especially those that aren't what they think they are. So, what's your take on Hades?"
"Erm..." I looked down at my notes, trying not to think too much about the fact I was in a room with my boss talking about the same matchmaking process that had said we were compatible. There was no doubt that Cupid was my type, athletic but not bulky, and a soft face with piercing sea-green eyes. But that wasn't what the system had matched us on. It was something more than that to do with our desires for the future and our personal lives. I cleared my throat. "What he didn't say, but clearly wants, is someone intelligent and caring. Particularly when it comes to animals."
"He has a strong bond with Cerberus," Cupid acknowledged.
"The three-headed dog?" I'd wanted to ask when Hades had brought him up, but that didn't seem to be the smartest direction in which to take the conversation.
"Kind of, it's not important. What is important is that Hades would never be happy with anyone who doesn't want a dog."
"Right. That makes sense." I looked down at my notes. "And the system takes all of this into account?"
A small smile quirked at Cupid's lips. "All of that and more. Have you taken the matchmaking questionnaire we give out to clients?"
My cheeks flushed red and I searched for how to answer his question without revealing that I'd not only taken it, but it had matched me with him.
"You should, if you haven't already," he suggested, his gaze lingering a little longer than was fully necessary.
"I took it," I whispered.
He raised an eyebrow. "What did you think?"
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, hoping he wasn't noticing the flush on my cheeks. "I thought it was good."
"Good?"
"Yes." I cleared my throat. "It was very thorough, there were some questions on it that I wouldn't have thought to ask."
"Such as?"
"I guess small things, like whether you liked people to wear shoes in the house," I admitted. "That was a good one."
"It is," he agreed. "I prefer shoes to be taken off at the door, otherwise, they just drag dirt through the house."
"Exactly," I agreed. "I can see why it's a useful question for matching people up, but I wouldn't have thought to ask it."
Cupid nodded. "Did you run a dummy search or did you submit yourself to the system properly?"
Was he asking because he already knew the answer, or because he was genuinely curious? Either way, it was better if I didn't lie to him.
"I submitted myself properly, I didn't know that was a problem."
"It isn't," he assured me. "Your contract allows you to make use of the matchmaking services that Jinx has to offer. All of them. So if you wanted to set up a date with anyone you matched with, you can do so. Including the date planning services."
I sucked in a sharp breath. Was he implying that he wanted a date?
"Have you ever used the services?" I asked.
"No. But I've been tempted to recently." He met my gaze and there was something in his eyes that I couldn't quite work out. Whatever it was he was thinking, it had my stomach tied up in knots. "Anyway, think about it. The Jinx services are top-tier." He got to his feet and headed to the door.
"Cupid?" I whispered.
He turned around. "Yes?"
"Do you know?" The moment the question was out, I wanted to pull it back. There was nothing to be gained from knowing if he was aware that the matchmaking system had matched us together, all it was going to do was lead me to disappointment.
"I know," he responded, leaving the room.
I leaned back in my chair and let out a shaky breath. If I wanted to be obtuse about the situation, I could say that I had no proof that he was saying that he knew we'd been matched together, but I knew that wasn't the case. He knew, and he'd basically implied that it was up to me what happened next.
I just wished I knew what to do.