Chapter 9
CUPID
As much as I wanted to make sure that the Jinx Valentine's Party went well, I didn't want it to be at the expense of time spent with Eloise, especially when things had just been about to get interesting. I didn't want to push Eloise, not when I was her boss, and she'd been about to say something about our match and what she wanted to do about it, a conversation I was very willing to have, and certainly hoped would go the way I wanted it to. She had said she wanted to talk about it before we were interrupted.
Damien cleared his throat, reminding me that I currently had much less pleasant company in my office. He was nice enough, the choice of dating Aphrodite aside, but that didn't mean I wanted to spend hours with him going through all of the details of the party.
"I think that's most of what I had to cover," Damien said. "The menu, cocktails, invites, and decor. Is there anything in particular you require for the event?"
"I don't believe so." It wasn't as if I had any particular feelings about Valentine's Day. "No cherubs, wings, or anything like that."
"I don't think Aine would have signed off on that anyway," he assured me.
"Good. And no drawing attention to the fact I'm the one hosting."
Damien raised an eyebrow. "I think that defeats the point."
"Everyone will know I'm the one hosting, it's fine."
For one moment, I thought he was going to argue with me about that, probably from some kind of marketing angle, but then he nodded. "Very well. I'll send the final menu over to you for approval."
"Thank you. What about the venue?" I asked, realising I had no idea where the party was actually being held. Perhaps I should feel bad about the fact I didn't know much about it, especially when I was the one hosting, but I had warned Aine that I wasn't the right person to be hosting the Valentine's Day party, and we had a lot of things going on in the matchmaking department at the moment. Considering how important Hades and his successful match might be to Jinx in general, I was sure Aine would understand that my attention might not be fully focused on a party.
Or maybe not.
"There's a hotel Aine is thinking of buying that we've hired. She wants to check it out with an event."
I nodded, not even surprised to discover that Aine had plans to buy a hotel. It was the next logical step in her plan to dominate the dating market for gods and paranormals.
"I can organise a tour if you want to see it first," Damien offered.
"That's not necessary. If it's what Aine wants, then I'm sure it will be perfect."
"All right, if that's everything, then I should get going," Damien said. "I should have emails for you to look over tomorrow."
"Great, I'll look out for them," I said, trying not to think too much about the real reason I was distracted.
Damien made his way out of the room and I leaned back in my chair. A quick check of the time revealed that I only had a quarter of an hour before my next meeting, which was a little bit of an issue when what I really wanted to talk to Eloise about was going to take a little bit longer than that.
I sighed and got up, heading out to where the coffee machine was. I consulted the list to see how Eloise liked it, glad someone thought to make a list of how everyone in the office took their drinks. It only took a few minutes for it to be ready. I picked up the mug and made my way over to Eloise's desk, only questioning whether this was a good idea when I remembered there were other people around too.
I dismissed it. I'd just make a comment about us working together on Hades' matches and it would cover up everything.
She turned around as I approached, surprise flitting over her face, though it was quickly followed by a smile.
"I brought you some coffee," I said, setting it down on her desk.
"Thank you." She looked at the mug with a strange expression on her face.
"Maybe I should have made one for everyone," I murmured.
She laughed. "No one's noticed. They're counting down until lunch."
"Ah, fair enough."
"Did you want to go through Hades' matches?" She gestured to her screen.
I shook my head. "I have a meeting, the conversation with Damien ran longer than I expected it to. We'll have to go through all of that tomorrow."
"Oh."
I checked to make sure no one was paying any attention before continuing. "I was thinking about the other thing we were talking about."
"Yes, I've been thinking about that too," she responded. "It's something I'd like to revisit, when you have the time."
"I was actually wondering if you wanted to get dinner."
She raised an eyebrow. "Dinner?"
"Yes. Dinner."
"Tonight?"
Was I imagining things, or did she sound hopeful?
"If tonight works for you," I responded. "Or another night."
"Tonight is good," she said softly. "Is it like a date?"
"Not like a date, it is a date," I said. "If you want that."
She nodded. "A date sounds nice. Where?"
"The Cedar at eight?" I suggested.
Surprise crossed her face. "That's an upscale choice."
"We can go somewhere different if you want?"
"No, I've always wanted to try it there," she said.
"Then I'll see you at eight." I smiled at her, pleased to get one back.
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, I should get back to work. My boss said that I need to be ready to talk through options for one of our clients tomorrow." Her eyes sparkled with something that suggested she was teasing.
"Mmm, I hear he's a strict one."
"He's all right," she joked.
One of the others looked over to us, and I cleared my throat, reminding myself that we have an audience and we can't really talk about it more here. "Until later."
"I'll see you then," she said softly. "And thank you for the coffee." She reached out for the mug.
"You're welcome."
She met my gaze and lifted the mug to her lips, making me think she was doing it on purpose. I stood for a moment, transfixed and wishing we were alone and I didn't have to wait until tonight to see her again. But my meeting wasn't going to wait for me, and I needed to get going.
I pulled myself away, heading towards the door and thinking only of what tonight was going to bring.