Seventeen
Eshim
I t'd been a week since Martin was fired, and after his stunt trying to punch me, Kat had told him he could have either the extra pay or the good reference, and he'd picked the reference, which might be the only smart thing he'd done of late.
The office had become a much calmer place since his exit, and the other employees were friendlier with me now. It might have something to do with the fact that I went to the downstairs breakroom at least once a day and spent a few minutes gossiping—or exchanging delightful information, as I liked to call it—with them. I knew all about the latest work romances now, and they got to hear me gush about how wonderful Jerry was.
After we'd talked with HR, Jerry had stopped trying to hide our relationship. He still wasn't up for PDA at work, which I understood. Even Archer and Lux kept the touchy stuff contained to Archer's office, and being professional wasn't a bad thing.
My phone buzzed just as I was about to tell Jerry it was time for lunch, and I almost ignored it before deciding to give it a quick look. It was Reece, one of the three rulers of Otherworld and the man who'd recently saved my not-life.
Reece : Hey, Eshim. We're having a meeting at 4 to share updates. Please be there.
Damn. I'd have to leave Jerry—and work—early.
Me : I'll be there.
Knocking on Jerry's door, I waited until he'd glanced up and smiled before stepping inside. "Come on, Mr. Workaholic. Lunch time."
"Just a minute."
I walked over to his desk, then crossed over to his side and leaned my ass against the edge of his desk, watching him as he typed away on the keyboard.
"I'll have to leave early today," I said, and he glanced up, fingers coming to a halt.
"Why?"
"Meeting with the other demons. I have to go to Otherworld."
"Oh. Will Fressia and Lux be joining you?"
"Yep. It's a general meeting, so everyone will be there."
"Ah, okay."
"It won't take too long. I'll be back before dinner."
Jerry nodded, then clicked his desktop off. "Let's go have lunch."
Grinning, I stepped away from the desk, and we headed out to the diner across the street. We usually ate there when we had the time for a proper lunch.
Once we were settled in a booth and had placed our usual orders, Jerry gave me a worried look. "Are you sure you'll be okay? Last time…"
"It's just a meeting, and I won't be anywhere near the dark souls. All we're going to do is talk about everything and try to see if we can suss out what they're planning to do next. I'll be completely safe."
"You promise?'
"I promise. I'll be back before dinner, and I'll be completely unharmed," I assured him, wishing there was more I could do to relieve his anxiety.
Jerry nodded, then pulled his phone out of his pocket when it buzzed. A smile curved his lips, and he typed something back before putting his phone away and glancing up at me.
"Kat, Archer, and I will be at her place after work, so you three should come there once you're done."
"Sounds good to me," I said, glad he wouldn't be alone. Jerry was a worrier, and I didn't want him to drive himself mad thinking about what-ifs.
He did have more questions about Otherworld, though, so I spent lunch telling him everything he wanted to know about the realm. I understood his curiosity. Most human religions were built upon the idea of afterlife, and he was one of the few humans who got to know what actually happened. I'd be surprised if he didn't have questions.
After lunch, we returned to the office, and I arranged everything he'd need for the rest of the day, made sure he had notifications going to his phone about every reminder I'd have given him, including when it was time to stop working. I even bribed Tanya to deliver some coffee to him while I was gone.
Once I was sure there was nothing more to do, I turned off my laptop and checked the time. Five minutes to four, perfect.
"Hey," I said as I stepped into Jerry's office, and he glanced up at me.
"Is it time?"
"Yeah. Here's everything you need to look over before you leave. Don't stay past five, okay? I'll be back soon."
"Yes, Eshim," he said with a smile, then stood up. "Can I get a kiss before you go?"
Grinning, I walked around his desk, pulled him close, and claimed his lips. He hummed, his arms binding tightly around me, as if he had no plans of letting go. I ran my tongue over his lower lip, teasing at it until he opened for me.
We kissed until the counter in my head went off, and I pulled back so he could breathe. It'd taken me a while to get the hang of it, but I was an expert at kissing him now, including making sure I gave him enough breaks to breathe.
"Okay, I should go now," I murmured against his lips, and he nodded, though he didn't loosen his hold around me. "Jerry?" I ran my palm over his arm, and he pulled it back, his cheeks heating up.
"Sorry."
"It's okay. I'll be fine—I promise."
Jerry nodded, and I placed a kiss on his lips before taking a few steps back.
"See you at Kat's," I said, and he smiled.
"See you."
Weaving my magic into the right direction, I let it take me to Otherworld, and hoped we'd come up with some kind of plan to get Mammon and the others under control soon, so I could focus all my energy on making Jerry happy.
Jerry
It was strange.
I'd only known Eshim for a short time, and yet I felt his absence so damned strongly. He'd only been gone an hour, and yet I felt like it'd been days since I'd seen him.
"Oi, pack up. It's time to go!"
I jumped, then realized it was just Kat.
"Give me a minute," I said as I started shutting everything down. It wasn't like I'd been getting any work done anyway.
Once everything was closed up, I grabbed my laptop bag and stepped out of my office.
"Ya!"
I grinned at the voice, and turned to find my favorite nephew giving me a wide, gummy smile.
"Hey, Gungun! It feels like ages since I've seen you."
"Here," Archer handed him over to me, and my eyes widened as I adjusted him in my arms.
"Oh, boy. You've grown up, huh?"
"His first birthday is coming up," Archer said as we headed toward the elevator, and I shot him a wide-eyed look.
"Really? Already?"
"Yep."
"How's Lux doing?" Kat asked with a grin as she pressed the call button, and Archer rolled his eyes, a fond smile on his face.
"He's already planning the party, obviously. Stop sending him those Pinterest boards."
Kat snickered, and I shook my head as we got into the elevator, making a face at Gunner. "Your dadas are gonna give you a great party, aren't they, kiddo? Even though you won't remember it at all."
"Dada," he agreed with a serious nod, and I chuckled. He was one adorable baby, and a damned good distraction.
Once downstairs, we decided to just take Kat's car since our demon partners could get us home from Kat's. We'd just have to get to work before the others tomorrow—which we usually did anyway.
It felt good to hang out just the three of us—plus Gunner—and we caught each other up on all the little things in our lives over the next few hours.
Archer told us about all of Gunner's milestones, and how Lux had started volunteering at a community center, and how he'd even convinced Fressia to help out every once in a while.
Kat, of course, spent every weekend traveling with Fressia, and told us all about the places she'd been to.
"What's the point of having a girlfriend who can teleport if you're not gonna ask her to show you the world so you can fuck her all over the map?" Kat asked with a waggle of her brows, making Archer groan and me laugh.
I was so glad we were friends first and exes second because my life would be so much worse if I didn't have Kat in it.
Hanging out with my two best friends, it was easy to push my worry about Eshim to the back of my mind.
I couldn't stop worrying completely though, because the last time I was here like this, Fressia had dragged in a bleeding and half-dead Eshim. We hadn't been anywhere as close back then, and I didn't want to imagine how I'd feel if something happened to him now.
"He'll be fine," Archer said, pulling me out of my thoughts. Then Gunner grabbed my hair and tugged at it to make sure I wasn't worrying about Eshim anymore. Now I was worrying about getting a bald patch.
"Yeah, I hope so."
"Have you been to the demon realm yet?" Kat asked, and I shook my head.
"He took me to a cabin in the woods for our long weekend, but we haven't been anywhere else yet." We'd been too busy at work to think about going anywhere.
"Well, whenever you do, it's a wonderful place. Like kinda gothic but also very cozy."
"No fire and brimstone?" I teased, and she snorted.
"Nope. The flames are blue, though, and every demon has their own private suite."
"Makes sense. I look forward to seeing it."
"You've seen his true form, though, right?" Archer asked as he took Gunner from me. My hair thanked him.
My cheeks heated up at the thought, and Kat broke into chuckles.
"Look at him. He's more than seen it."
"Shut up."
"Don't worry—you're not alone. Fressia is sexy as fuck in her true form too. She usually only puts on the human illusion when we have guests or we're going out."
"Lux too, though that's mostly because Gunner loves playing with his tail."
"How did you react? The first time you saw his real form?" I asked, and Archer winced.
"Not well. In my defense, he was between me and Gunner. My dad instincts were going haywire."
I winced in sympathy, and reached over to pat his arm. "I'm glad you guys figured things out. Lux is good for you."
"Eshim's good for you too. He makes you leave work at work, and he's been talking you up all over the office."
"He's what?" I asked, surprised.
"Oh yeah. Rita told me he goes down to the design floor everyday and chats with everyone. Spends the whole time singing your praises. I think he was annoyed the others believed Martin's lies and wants to set the record straight."
"Oh."
No one had ever done something like that for me. I knew I wasn't very good at letting people in, and I usually didn't care what they thought of me. But to think Eshim didn't just care but wanted everyone to know what he thought of me...
"I think you broke him," Archer said, making Kat snicker, and breaking me out of my musings.
I rolled my eyes at him, and snatched Gunner away from him, making him laugh.
"You're my best friend now, Gunner. I know you won't tease me."
Gunner immediately grabbed a handful of my hair and started tugging, which made them both start laughing again.
Sighing miserably, I pulled Gunner close, letting him cuddle on my chest as he continued tugging my hair. I hoped Eshim's magic allowed him to repair human hair, because I had a feeling I'd need it.
"How about we freshen up a little and then order some takeout? We can all eat together when they get back, and then you can leave so I can fu—" her eyes fell to Gunner, "—n my girlfriend."
I snorted. "You want to fun your girlfriend?"
"You know what I mean," she grumbled, making my grin widen.
"I don't think so."
"Shut up, ex of mine."
I laughed, and hoped Eshim would be back soon. I missed my sweet demon.