Chapter 7
ELOISE
The latest episode of The Great Sculpting Challenge played on the TV, while the remnants of dinner with my best friends lay out on the coffee table, but my mind was barely on it as I thought about Cupid. It wasn't like me to be completely distracted by someone, but I hadn't been able to stop thinking about what he'd told me there was no company policy against dating other employees. If I wanted something to happen with Cupid, it could. Nothing stood in our way.
"Oh, look at Daisy Chains and Thor making eyes at each other again," Laila said. "I'd bet good money that the two of them are hooking up after the cameras stop rolling."
"There'll be contracts in place to stop that from happening," Ivy responded.
"Hmm, I wouldn't count on it," I murmured.
The two of them looked at me, curious expressions on their faces.
"What makes you say that?" Ivy asked.
"Oh, just, it's the Muses who run this channel, and the show is sponsored by Jinx." I was willing to bet that if the employment contracts didn't include anything about dating other employees, then contracts for a TV show would be the same.
"And Eloise should know, she works for Jinx now," Laila teased, her dark eyes glinting with amusement. "How's that going?"
"Erm, good." I picked up my wine glass and swirled it around.
"You don't sound as convinced as when you first got the job," Laila said. "What happened?"
I sighed and ran a hand over my face. "It's nothing bad. The job's great, I just...have found myself in a bit of a predicament."
"Ooh, that makes it sound like you've hooked up with your boss or something."
I choked on my wine, trying not to think about just how accurate that is. "It's not that." But only because I hadn't done anything about the match yet. "One of my co-workers suggested I put myself in the system and I was matched with someone at work."
"Slightly scandalous," Ivy said. "Is that even allowed?"
I nodded. "Yes."
"But you've not done anything about it?" Ivy checked.
"No." I took another sip of my wine and considered what I was going to say.
"But you're thinking about it," Laila said, a triumphant expression on her face.
"What? I didn't say anything," I defended myself quickly. "You're jumping to conclusions."
"I think it's because you have the expression on your face like you did when you were sneaking around with whats-her-name at university," Ivy said.
"Bethany." Laila clicked her fingers. "That was her name."
"Wasn't she a teaching assistant of some kind?"
I closed my eyes and groaned. "She wasn't my teaching assistant. But all of the fun went away when it came out in the open."
"Yes, that's exactly the face you're pulling. So, tell us about this co-worker?" Laila prompted.
I sighed. It would be good to talk to someone about what was going on between me and Cupid, though I had no plan on telling them who it was. "The system matched us. Ninety-two percent compatibility."
"And for those of us who aren't into matchmaking, is that good?" Ivy asked, grabbing the bowl of crisps from the table and munching on them.
"It's really good. We don't match anyone under eighty percent if we can help it, but we try to keep it higher."
"All right, so this person is a good match for you," Laila said. "But you're not going to do anything about it?"
I sighed. "I shouldn't."
"Wait, are you serious? You're actually thinking about going for it, aren't you?" Ivy guessed. She'd known me for so long that she could see right through my hesitance.
"I want to," I admitted. "But I'm worried about it. I don't know them that well. What if it makes working with them strange to date them? What if it ends badly and we still have to work together?" Which was even worse when I considered that Cupid was my boss. So it wasn't just that I'd be working with an ex, I'd be working for one.
"You should go for it," Laila said, reaching out for wine and accidentally knocking it over, spilling red liquid all over the floor. She let out a string of curses.
"I've got it." I summoned magic to my hand and sent it out along the stain. Within seconds, it had vanished.
"Eurgh, being a witch is so useful," Laila said, flicking her long dark hair over her shoulder.
"Because you don't have any advantages," I responded.
"True." She smiled, a little bit of her fae nature glinting in her eyes. I didn't know too much about how her magic worked, but I knew there was something about it. And she was long-lived, which was something I couldn't exactly claim.
"Anyway, back to what we're supposed to be talking about. Your match," Laila responded. "Tell us more about them. You haven't given us anything to go on."
"Maybe that's on purpose," I murmured. It wasn't that I didn't trust my friends, or that I thought they'd tell anyone from work about the match and my thoughts, I just wasn't ready to admit that it was Cupid who I'd matched with.
Or that I was tempted to pursue more with it. Everyone knew the gods were complicated to mess with, and yet here I was considering doing just that. It would be easier if I knew him better, but I realised that one of the reasons for going on a date would be to get to know one another better.
The more I thought about it, the more I knew what I wanted my answer to be. I hadn't dated much in the past year or so, mostly because I'd been focusing on my career. But now it was starting to feel as if the timing was right. And this was just that.
"She's thinking about the mystery person now," Laila said to Ivy.
"Mmhm, she's so obvious when she has a crush," Ivy responded.
I rolled my eyes. "I am not . And I don't have a crush."
Ivy raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?"
"It's too early for that," I said quickly. "But I'm not saying that it can't lead to something, I'm just nervous about the work thing."
Laila shrugged. "You can always find a new job."
"I like my job, I'm not going to leave it because of anyone," I responded. Though I had to admit that wasn't enough of a reason not to pursue something I wanted either. Life was for living, and sometimes that meant taking a chance on the unknown.