“Poor thing,” Ryan says, and I hold back my eye roll. He looks down at his watch and groans. “Honey, I need to keep this short. I’ve got a closing I need to get to.” I hate when he calls me honey. I’m not sweet. But I haven’t really shown him that side of me, have I? He places two twenties on the table and kisses the side of my head as he takes his food to go. “I’ll call you tonight with the details for dinner with my dad.”

“Sounds good,” I say as he walks away. I take a sip of my coffee as the waitress comes back out and starts cleaning up her mess from earlier.

“I’m so sorry about this,” she says, and I roll my eyes.

“Sorry for touching my boyfriend or sorry for making a mess of yourself?” I ask, and she gapes at me with wide eyes. I place another twenty on the table, because you should always tip your server no matter what. “Be careful next time.” I tell her as I put my black sunglasses on and walk to my car.

As I’m walking down the cobblestone path, a rumbling of an engine distracts me. I watch as a large figure rides a motorcycle down the willow lined streets. It must be hints of Ryan’s signature clinging to me from just being around him, but I swear it’s like I just got splashed in the face with cold water with the magical notes I’m picking up. I shake my head and continue my walk to my car.

Chapter 2

This is Hell… literally. Meetings in Hell are monotonous and tend to drag on for what feels like eternity. You would think we were at a Hilton conference room and not the fiery depths of despair. The walls are off white, there’s a long obsidian table in the middle of the room with multiple leather wingback chairs for guests to sit. Lilith sits in the corner, her blonde hair in a high pony as she takes notes. Does Lucifer really need meeting notes? Milcom is also in attendance, his enforcer of sorts. I wonder why he’s here and not on Earth searching for the demon.

Lucifer sits at the head of the table. He nods his head in greeting to both of us and starts the meeting. You would probably think of Satan as a big red evil being, but you would be wrong. He’s actually quite handsome and charming. As far as bosses go, you could do worse. Life in Hell isn’t terrible, but living freely among the mortals is so much more fun. But demons need rules, or else there would be complete chaos. My job is to make sure that these rules are followed.

I look across the table at Asmodeus. He’s such a pompous prick. He’s in his human form, as am I. We were both blessed by Satan himself to have corporeal, unaging mortal forms. It’s nice not needing to possess some poor fucker when we’re land side. While he looks like a college douchebag frat bro, my meat suit is one that demands respect. I’m so caught up in my thoughts about having a partner for this mission, I didn’t even hear the question Lucifer just asked.