That stone in her stomach was suddenly heavier. Shutting herself in Demetri’s office was like walking right back into her mother’s greenhouse—anxiety built, and she felt fear at the thought of being punished. Her skin grew hot and uncomfortable, her throat constricted, her tongue thickened...she was going to suffocate.
This is it. She thought. He is going to fire me.
She found herself frustrated that he was drawing it out. Why invite her to sit? Act like it had to be a conversation?
She took a deep breath and sat on the edge of her chair.
“What did you do?” she asked, glancing at the pile of newspapers. “Pick one up on every block?”
“Couldn’t help it,” he said, smirking. “The story was fascinating.”
Persephone glared.
“Did you need something?” she asked finally, hoping to change the subject—hoping that the reason he called her into his office had nothing to do with this morning’s headlines.
“Persephone,” Demetri said, and she cringed at the gentle tone his voice had taken. Whatever was coming, it wasn’t good. “You have a lot of potential and you have proven you’re willing to fight for the truth, which I appreciate.”
He paused and her body stayed tense, preparing for the blow he was about to deliver.
“But,” she said, guessing the direction of this conversation.
Demetri looked even more sympathetic.
“You know I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t have to,” he said.
She blinked, brows furrowing. “Ask what?”
“For an exclusive. On your relationship with Hades.”
The dread crawled up her stomach, and spread, sizzling in her chest and lungs and she felt the heat abruptly leave her face.
“Why do you have to ask?” Her voice was tight, and she tried to stay calm, but her hands were already shaking and squeezing her coffee cup.
“Per—”
“You said you wouldn’t ask if you didn't have to,” she stopped him. She was tired of him saying her name. Tired of how long it was taking him to get to the point. “So why are you asking?”
“It came from the top,” he answered. “It was very clear that you either offer us your story or you don’t have a job here anymore.”
“The top?” she echoed, and paused for a moment, searching for a name. After a moment, it came to her. “Kal Stavros?”
Kal Stavros was a mortal. He was the CEO of Epik Communications—which owned New Athens News. Persephone didn’t know much about him except that he was a tabloid favorite. Mostly, because he was beautiful—his name literally meant crowned the most beautiful.
“Why would the CEO request an exclusive?”
“It’s not every day the girlfriend of the God of the Dead works for you,” Demetri said. “Everything you touch will turn to gold.”
“Then let me write something else,” she said. “I have a voicemail and an inbox full of leads.”
It was true. The messages had started pouring in the moment she published her first article on Hades. She’d slowly been sorting through them, organizing them into folders based on the god they criticized. She could write about any Olympian, even her mother.
“You can write something else,” Demetri said. “But I’m afraid we’ll still need that exclusive.”
“You can’t be serious,” was all she could think to say, but Demetri’s expression told her otherwise. She tried again. “This is my personal life.”
Her boss’s eyes dropped to the stack of papers on his desk.
“And it became public.”
“I thought you said you would understand if I wanted to cease writing about Hades?”
She noted that Demetri’s shoulders fell, and it made her feel better that he was at least a little defeated by this, too.
“My hands are tied, Persephone,” he answered.
There was a stretch of silence, and then she asked, “That’s it? I have no say in this?”
“You have your choices. I need the article by next Friday.”
That was it—she was dismissed.
She stood and made her way back to her desk and sat. Her head spun as she thought of ways to get out of this situation, other than writing the article or quitting. Working for New Athens News had been her dream since she’d decided to go into journalism her Freshman year of college. She believed completely in their mantra of telling the truth and exposing injustice.
Now she wondered if all of that was just a lie.
She wondered what Hades would say if she told him that the CEO of Epik Communications had demanded a story on them, but also recognized that she didn’t want Hades to fight her battles. She also despised the fact that she knew they would listen to Hades because of his status as an ancient Olympian and not her—someone they presumed was a mortal woman.
No, she would figure this out on her own and she was certain of one thing—Kal would regret his threat.
Persephone didn’t look up from her computer after leaving Demetri’s office. Despite how focused she appeared, she was aware of their curious stares, they felt like spiders skittering across her skin. She focused harder, combing through hundreds of messages in her inbox and listening to voicemails from people who ‘had a story for her.’ Most were about how Zeus and Poseidon had turned their mother/sister/aunt into a wolf/swan/cow for nefarious reasons, and Persephone found herself wondering how Hades was related to these the two.
Lexa checked in during lunch, sending a text.
You doing okay?
No, things got worse, Persephone texted back.
????
I’ll tell you later. Too much to text.
Wanna get drunk? Lexa asked.
She laughed. We have to work tomorrow, Lex.
I’m just trying to be a good friend.
Persephone smiled and admitted, Maybe a little drunk, then. Plus, we need to celebrate YOUR first day with the Cypress Foundation. How’s it going?
Amazing,” Lexa replied. “There is a lot to learn, but it’s going to be amazing.
Persephone managed to avoid Demetri for the rest of the day. Helen was the only one who engaged her in conversation, and that was to tell her she had mail, which included a pink envelope. When Persephone opened it, she found it full of crudely cut paper hearts.
“Did you see who put this in my mailbox?” she asked Helen. There was no return address and no stamp. Whoever sent it hadn’t mailed it.
The girl shook her head. “It was there this morning.”
Weird, she thought, tossing the mess into the garbage.
At the end of the day, Persephone took the elevator to the first floor and found the crowd still outside. She considered her options. She could just exit through the front and brave the mob. Security would give her escort, but only as far as the pavement, unless she called Antoni for a ride. She knew the cyclops was willing enough, but his loyalty to her would wane if he saw these people were still waiting for her to leave work, and she really, really didn’t want an Aegis. There was also the slight chance that her magic would respond if challenged, and she wasn’t willing to risk exposing herself, which also ruled out teleportation. That left her with only one other option—finding another way out of the building.
There were other exits, it was just a matter of finding one that wasn’t being stalked by rabid fans. She sounded paranoid, but she was informed. Admirers of gods would do anything for a glimpse, a touch, a taste of the Divine and that included their significant others.