My rep would take a serious hit if word got out this massive whale of a Demon made me jump.
“Would you mind coming with me?” she asks, giving Xavi a wary look briefly before turning her attention back to me.
“I’m busy. Can it wait?”
“Hmm, I suppose, but I’d rather get it out of the way,” she replies.
“Ugh, fine,” I grumble and wait for her to disappear first.
Xavi takes my hand and says, “I’ll come too, if that’s okay?”
“’Course,” I mutter and flame us out to Roberta’s office, where she is waiting seated behind her huge desk with a stack of files.
I sit in the uncomfortable chair on this side of the desk, Xavi stands behind me with her hand on my shoulder. “Okay, I’m here. What is it?”
She clears her throat. “You’ve been in power for six months now and your father wanted me to see how you were doing.”
“I’m great, thanks,” I say and stand up.
“Hang on, Your Majesty, that wasn’t an inquiry,” Roberta says. “We did an assessment.”
“We?” I ask, sitting back down with a fierce frown.
“This office conducted a review on you with all of Hell,” she states.
I blink at her.
“Excuse me?” I snarl at her after a beat. “Are you being fucking serious?”
“Quite,” she clips out and shoves a stack of the folders at me. “These are the ones that aren’t all that enamored with you and your rule, but the top one is the worst by far.”
“Oh, really?” I bark at her and snatch the top folder, flicking it open with a death stare at Roberta for this betrayal.
I scan it briefly. It is a load of bullshit in my opinion. She doesn’t get this job at all. ‘I’m too harsh’; ‘I don’t give enough attention to the newbie Demons’; ‘I’m too cold and unapproachable’; ‘I’m a big slut’; ‘she could do this better’.
The list goes on and on.
“Who wrote this?” I ask, taking a deep breath through my nose.
Roberta smirks at me. “A newbie Seductress Demon,” she says, trying not to laugh at the irony of the slutty remark.
“Oh,” I say, also trying not to laugh now. “And she thinks this will what? Get my attention? That I’ll make her my best friend so I can ask her advice? It’s pathetic. Does she have any idea how hard this job is? I’d love for her to take a day in my shoes and deal with shit like this. Silly bitch.”
“Glad that you have that attitude, Your Majesty,” Roberta says. “She may be a silly bitch, but she is bringing in more than her quota and I’d hate to lose her.”
“Uhm,” Xavi interjects and leans down. “I could give her gonorrhea if you like,” she says with a small laugh.
I look up at her in amusement. “You’d do that for me?” I ask, hand on my heart.
“I would do anything for you,” she murmurs. “Just think, she will go back to Earth and spread it around…” She sighs with happiness at the thought of a rampant outbreak of an STI.
I look at Roberta, who shrugs. “That is up to you,” she says. “I just wanted to bring you in here to tell you that for the most part, you are doing an excellent job. Your father would be proud.”
The choke that threatens to come out catches me off guard. The pang of pain over having him so close yet so far hits me hard.
I look back at Xavi. “Do it,” I say. “Show this bitch reviewer just who she is messing with. Go to town. Give her crabs as well. Let her spread the joy around.”
Xavi snickers and snaps her fingers. “Done,” she says.
I raise an eyebrow at her efficiency.
“Her name is on the folder,” she says with a laugh.
“I think I might just be falling for you,” I say without even thinking about the words as I return her laugh.
She blushes. “Anything for you, Mistress,” she murmurs, heating me up from the inside out.
Roberta clears her throat loudly. We both look at her, having completely forgotten she was there.
“Right,” I say awkwardly, grabbing Xavi’s hand.
“One more thing,” Roberta says. “The lockdown…”
“Lift it,” I say, feeling bright all of a sudden. “The snow has stopped. Sure, the sun is out, but it’s not so unusual as to start causing chaos. I think everyone is quite aware of what will happen if they stand against me. Besides, I don’t want to give Darius any more opportunity to nearly kill Aleister.” It reminds me that Roberta was