“Nowadays we do everything digitally,” I said. “The mark still signs a contract, but now all they have to do is click ‘I agree to the above terms’ before they sign. It’s up to them if they read the fine print.” I spoke mostly to my puddle of lunch, only looking over at her once.

“Which he didn’t,” Trey said. “Because I got him really fucking drunk. Ego sucking and whiskey, hombres. It works every time.”

Everyone clapped, and I felt Cal redden next to me. All that blood in her face made my shoulder warmer.

“Hey, sorry. KQ can be a bit of a hard-ass,” I said when the meeting ended, my notebook blank and dripping. “Cal, right?”

I put out my hand, and she looked at it like she thought it might bite her. Anything is possible here.

“You’re not going to go with ‘Squeaks’?” she asked, eyeing me.

I laughed. “My name is Peyote Trip,” I said. “I’m not exactly one to judge. I’ll call you whatever you want.”

“ ‘Cal’ is great,” she said, and she took my hand.

“How are you liking our beloved Deals Department so far?” I asked. I was being sarcastic, but her face lit up.

“Oh, I love it. I’m so happy to be here. I was on Third before.”

I caught my surprise in a whistle. “Yikes.”

Deals was on the Fifth Floor, second highest. For Hell, it was the dream job. But, just like on Earth, it’s easy to forget to feel lucky here.

“Well, you must be doing something right to get sent up here.”

She blushed again. Once you’ve seen the insides of so many bodies, it’s hard to think of blushing as anything other than the presence of blood. Her face looked bloody to me. But still, I didn’t hate it.

“Why do you have so many pens?” she asked, looking at the bulging zipper on my case.

“They didn’t tell you? You need at least fifteen here. Did you not down there?”

“We didn’t use pens.”

I forgot that pens were an upper-level treat.

“Right,” I said. “It’s been a while since I was on the bottom floors. Well, the first five pens you try won’t work, but, you know, you’ve gotta try them anyway.”

“Wow,” Cal said, throwing her pen in the trash. “Thanks for the tip!”

I stood up and paused, unsure if I should walk away or wait for her. As she started gathering her things, I lingered, pushing my chair in farther than it needed to go. I would stay and help out the newb. Courtesy was stark in Hell.

She tried to pick up her binder, but it toppled from her arms and landed on the floor.

“I’ll carry it for you,” I said, picking it up and tucking it under my arm.

“Oh . . . okay, thanks. Thank you.”