Meanwhile, Derek kept smuggling books to her desk.
“’Principles of Infernal Contract Law,’” she read from the latest spine. “Light bedtime reading?”
“Chapter twelve covers soul subdivision.” Derek perched on her desk, stealing her pencil to doodle in the margins of her legal pad. “Apparently you can mortgage a soul in installments.”
“Like a payment plan for damnation?”
“Very popular in the eighties.”
Victor appeared in her doorway. Derek nearly fell off the desk.
“Ava. A moment?”
She followed him to his office, noting the tension in his shoulders. The careful way he didn’t quite meet her eyes.
“The Morrison deposition,” he began without preamble. “You’ll need to take it alone.”
“Alone? Why?”
“I’ve been called to testify in an unrelated matter.” He handed her a thick folder. “Everything you need is here. Don’t let Morrison intimidate you with his true form.”
“His true form?”
“Think of a snake. But with more legs.”
“Comforting.”
“You’ll be fine.” His voice softened slightly. “You handled Lilith.”
“Lilith wasn’t trying to eat me.”
“Neither will Morrison. The paperwork would be excessive.” He moved around his desk. “Derek will accompany you.”
“Victor.” She stopped in the doorway, unsure what she wanted to say. The week had been strange. Dancing aroundeach other. Pretending Tuesday night hadn’t shifted something between them. Pretending she hadn’t spent every elevator ride thinking about the almost-kiss in the car.
“Yes?”
She turned back. He was watching her with an expression she couldn’t read.
“We’re not excellent at this fake dating thing.”
“On the contrary. Everyone believes we’re together.”
“But we’re not acting like it. Not when it’s just us.” She gathered the Morrison files. “I think we need practice. A shopping trip, dinner that doesn’t involve other demons. Normal couple things.”
“We’re not a normal couple.”
“No. But we’re supposed to look like one.”
Neither of them broke the silence.
“Tomorrow,” he said finally. “Breakfast, shopping, lunch. The full experience.”
“Really?”
“Unless you’d prefer to explain to the senior partners why our arrangement seems strained?”
Not the reason she wanted. But she’d take it.
