“So you’ll put some kind of protective spell on me?”
“No.” Victor straightened his already perfect tie. “We’ll need something more visible. More binding.” A pause. “At least in appearance.”
“What kind of binding?”
“A romantic relationship.”
Ava laughed. Sharp. Disbelieving.
Victor didn’t smile.
“You’re serious.”
“A public romantic relationship establishes my claim. Any demon who challenged that would be challenging me directly.” His dark eyes held hers. “Even Lilith isn’t that reckless.”
“You want me to fake-date you. A demon. My boss.”
“I want to keep you alive, Ms. Feng. The method is incidental.”
Ava stared at him. This was insane. This was absolutely, certifiably insane. She’d come here expecting what? A confidentiality agreement? A stern warning? Not a proposal to pretend she was dating her immortal supervisor.
But the alternative was Lilith. And whatever “accidents” befell humans who knew too much.
She processed this. “How long?”
“Two months. Long enough to establish legitimacy, short enough to end naturally without suspicion. After that, you’ll have passed probation. Full protection under firm policy. We can put this behind us.”
Ava sank into the chair she’d refused earlier. “What would it involve? Specifically.”
“Public appearances. Arriving and leaving work together. Social functions.” He pulled something from thin air, literally,the paper materializing between his fingers. “I’ve drawn up terms.”
Of course he had.
She took the contract. Neat paragraphs, precise language. Her eyes caught on paragraph nine.
“’Physical displays of affection as necessary to maintain credibility.’ That’s vague.”
“Intentionally. We may need to be convincing.”
“How convincing?”
“Depends on the audience. Demons can smell deception.”
“And you think you can fake genuine affection?”
A muscle twitched near his eye. Gone before she could read it. “I’ve had centuries of practice controlling my emotions, Ms. Feng. I think I can manage two months of pretending to find you charming.”
“How flattering.”
“You wanted specifics.” He sat across from her, all business. “This arrangement protects you while allowing you to pursue a career you’re clearly suited for. Unless you’d prefer to forget everything and walk away?”
“No.” She set the contract down. “But I have conditions.”
“Of course you do.”
“First, clear boundaries. Whatever physical displays we need, nothing beyond what’s necessary.”
“Agreed.”
