Chapter 12
Ptah
I checked my watch and tried not to feel too impatient about the fact that no one has shown me into Hermes' office yet.
If he kept me waiting much longer, I was going to be late for my date with Bastet, and I really didn't want that.
Even if it hadn't been that long since I'd left her cat sanctuary this morning, I still wanted to get back to her.
I'd spent thousands of years without her, I wasn't going to spend another day.
But it was also important for me to make sure that nothing was going to come of me being cornered in the street by the journalist. It wasn't the first time something like that had happened to a god, but it was better if I told someone with the power to do something about it.
A woman approached and cleared her throat. "He'll see you now."
"Thank you." I got to my feet, checking my watch as I did. So long as this meeting was quick, I wouldn't be late for dinner with Bastet.
I made my way into Hermes' office, not at all surprised by how ostentatious it was. Hermes had always been the kind of man who liked to flaunt his wealth. It wasn't to my taste, but there was nothing wrong with it.
"Ptah," he said as I walked into the room. "This is rather unexpected."
"Likewise," I responded as I made my way over to the chair on this side of the desk.
"How can I help you?" Hermes asked as I took a seat.
"There was an incident earlier," I said. "A journalist approached me earlier."
"Journalists have a habit of asking questions," he responded. "It's how we make our living."
I raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to suggest that you're out on the street finding your own stories?" I found that hard to believe.
"It's been known to happen," Hermes responded as he pushed some of his curly brown hair away from his face.
"Well this journalist wanted to know if I was Ptah and wouldn't take no for an answer," I said.
"Ah. I can see how that would be a bit of a problem," Hermes said. "So, what did you say?"
"That I wasn't," I responded. "That was it. But he wasn't particularly accepting of the truth. He gave me his card."
Hermes nodded. "And you've come here because..."
"He works for one of your papers," I responded.
"Ah. Yes, well that would be a problem," he said. "Which one?"
"The Reporter," I responded. "His name is Joshua Thiens."
"Hmm, I don't know the name." He tapped his chin with a curious expression. "But that's not a paper that I have much to do with. I don't officially own it."
I rolled my eyes, not really caring about Hermes' business interests or when they might end up contradicting one another.
"Do you have more information?" he asked.
"He gave me his business card." I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it over, glad that I'd thought to take a photo of it first.
Hermes looked at it curiously. "And he was asking you about being a god?"
"He just asked me my name and was insistent that I was Ptah and that I was thousands of years old.
I think the implication was that he knew that I was a god and he wanted to expose that.
" While it had been different in the past, most gods wanted to be left alone now, and that didn't involve being exposed in an article that would no doubt go viral.
Hermes nodded. "Well, we're going to want to make sure that doesn't see the light of day."
"I thought as much."
"Though it likely wouldn't be believed," Hermes said.
"I'd still rather not be the face of gods being exposed to the world."
"Understood. Leave it with me, and I'll make sure that the story is shut down."
"Thank you." I get to my feet and check the time, getting a little worried about whether I could get from here to the god realm in time for my date with Bastet. Hopefully, she'd understand if I was a few minutes late.
Hermes nodded. "I'll let you know when it's done." He set the business card down on his desk.
There was a small part of me that worried he wasn't going to.
I knew that controversy would sell papers, or get clicks, or whatever it was that the goal was when it came to Hermes' media empire, but I had to believe that he was reasonable about this.
Most gods just wanted to live quiet lives and run their businesses. Hopefully, he was one of those.
I pulled out my phone so that I could message her and tell her that I was a little behind, only to realise that it had died.
I cursed inwardly. It wasn't a surprise.
I'd been a little distracted to charge it last night, and I hadn't had a chance to charge it since, especially not when I'd been spending most of today trying to figure out who owned the Reporter.
I'd been relieved, but not hugely surprised, to learn that it was Hermes, but then I'd spent more time tracking him down.
It hadn't left much time for sorting out phone charge.
It wasn't ideal, but if I headed straight to the god realm and the restaurant, then I should be able to explain to Bastet in person, and that would have to do.
I made my way out of the building, constantly keeping an eye on the time as I made my way to the portal.
After talking with Hermes, I was hopeful that I wouldn't have to worry about the journalist again, and I could just spend the rest of my evening with Bastet and not have to think about anything else at all.