See You in Hell (Mel Goes to Hell Series Book 2) (26 page)

Merih cleared his throat noisily. "We all want to thank you for everything you've done. The quality of the coffee. The wording of our laws and policies. The paper-purchasing freeze. The protesters. The training sessions. The CEO's end-of-year presentation. Saving us all from aliens. Saving the CEO from a swan. Mephi and Bob's second honeymoon. And who can forget the chocolates on Valentine's Day? Everything you've touched here is better because you've been with us. We want to thank you in the best way we know how. Now, every man among us wants to give you a good six inches…"

"And the ladies," Ana said under her breath, lifting her six inch stiletto heel.

"Or more!" shouted Nybbas, turning red.

"Or more," agreed Merih, "but we figured we'd give you something just as long and hard that lasts longer than five minutes. Something to remember us by."

He handed her a small, gift-wrapped box, dwarfed by the huge card accompanying it. Mel smiled, thanked him, and opened the card first. It was full of tiny writing – from what looked like all the staff she'd ever met, or given chocolate to on Valentine's Day. Tears sprang to her eyes. "Thank you," she said again.

"Open it!" Gerry hollered. "Ana said what you needed most was a vibrator because you'd never see any action any other way. We all want to see what sort of sex toy fits in a box that small!"

Mel laughed and blushed. "If you insist." She unwrapped the paper with care and pulled out the box. "Ohhh…that's so kind of you. What a lovely surprise. I want to use it right away…"

"Is it a gift voucher for the sex shop on Murray Street?" Ana asked loudly.

"No. Much better than that. It's a beautiful pen," Mel said, holding up the gold writing implement so the light caught it.

"We had your name engraved on it, too," Merih murmured, pointing at the three letters that spelled out her name, to her relief.

Her tears escaped. "Thank you so much."

"SPEECH!" Nybbas bellowed.

"I…I can't," Mel whispered as every demonic eye settled on her. Forcing herself not to run and hide, she tried to clear her throat to find her voice. If she closed her eyes, perhaps she could.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I hope…I only hope I helped."

There was silence as the demons waited for more words – perhaps they wanted something like Luce's long speeches, but Mel had no more.

Clapping started behind her and someone whistled. The room erupted in applause and Mel dared to open her eyes. It was over. Her time in HELL was over.

It hadn't been so bad after all. Who'd have thought?

"Morning, Mel. I need your help. How do I…"

"I swallowed a whole German sausage in front of him and he barely blinked! Every other man in the place offered me a job or a bed, but Luce locked me out of his room! What else do I have to do to…"

"What do I do if…"

"He said I have to wear a scarf over my head for the meeting. He said I can't go unless I cover up. How am I supposed to seduce him if the only skin I can show is my face without any makeup? Help me, Mel, I don't know how to…"

"We had to drink this foul-tasting brown spirit that burned all the way down. I coughed so hard I lost my voice. What should I do tonight so I don't…"

"We're meeting with the Treasury Minister in London tomorrow. I have all the documents prepared, just like you said. Do you really think I should open the meeting with…"

Mel kept her voice calm and kept talking until she knew Persi had understood. "What you need to do is…"

Every day. Sometimes two or three times a day. Constant phone calls, text messages and emails. Persi would panic and Mel was her panacea. Mel longed for the day that she was only a placebo, so she could wean the girl off her blind obedience. She needed so many instructions just to get through the day…

Yet the girl was improving – and she was trying to look after Luce, too. Mel couldn't bring herself to turn a completely blind eye to Luce, even if she only saw him through Persi's panicked perception. Persi made sure he was always on time and immaculately dressed, that he ate and drank, and that his coffee was perfect. She vetted the restaurant menus and presented them to Mel until she learned what Luce liked to eat.

Mel didn't how she'd have managed to do this on top of her daily drudgery at the office, and was doubly glad she didn't work for the HELL Corporation anymore.

Day by day, she wondered when she'd receive Persi's resignation – when would the girl admit defeat? So many of her questions were about how to attract Luce – despite her repeated offers, Luce wouldn't sleep with the girl and he'd threatened to find a new PA if she crawled under the desk or into his bed again.

Luce without lust – Mel couldn't help laughing at the very thought of it, for it was so hard to believe. The demon she knew would have happily taken any willing girl on his desk here in Perth – what had left him so impotent now?

With every phone call, her understanding deepened and Mel wished again that she'd disregarded Raphael's advice and accepted Luce's offer. She'd be holding his soul in her hands by now, instead of having to talk Persi through even the simplest of negotiations. Or offering the girl advice on seducing a man she'd never slept with, and didn't intend to.

The front windows rattled ominously thanks to yet another strong gust of wind. Mel paid little attention to it – her windows had withstood sixty years of such storms and the glass was only a little loose in the frames. She was more worried that she'd lose power before the kettle boiled for her cup of tea. She'd developed quite a taste for her floral tisanes and she wanted her drink in hand when Persi called again.

The rain pelting on the tin roof drowned out all other sound for a few minutes – she only knew the kettle was ready because the light had switched off. Dropping one of the tiny pyramid teabags into her cup, she tipped the kettle to pour her tea. The smell of jasmine steam made her smile as she closed her eyes, simply enjoying the scent. Even angels were allowed guilty pleasures such as this. She lifted the cup and took a small sip.

The downpour desisted and Mel heard the rattling again – this time, both her windows and the front door. That was unusual – for a wind gust to swirl through her carport and reach the door, it would have to move around corners.

"Mel!" she heard a voice sob. "You have to let me in. I don't know who else to turn to. Please help me!"

The door shuddered in its frame as Mel realised it wasn't just the wind knocking at her door in the storm.

"Please, Mel!"

She sighed and set down her tea. No one should be out in such a storm – especially not someone who knew her name and address.

She turned both locks and swung the front door open.

"Oh, thank God. Please let me in, Mel. I'll do anything."

She couldn't see his face in the carport shadows, but pity drove her not to care. She unlatched the screen door and swung it out into the darkness. "Come in. You must be soaked."

He stumbled on the steps and she held out her hand to help him. His wet fingers closed gratefully over hers as he stepped over the threshold.

Mel stood back to stare. It had been weeks since she'd last seen Luce and those weeks had not been kind to him. His suit sagged from his shoulders under the weight of water it held, the smell of wet wool overpowering the delicate scent of jasmine tea. His hair, plastered to his head, dripped down his face, highlighting the dark circles beneath his eyes. He folded his arms across his body, trying to stop the shivering. "Thank you," he said.

"What happened?" she asked carefully. She suspected she knew, but that didn't explain how he was here, in her house.

"She…that devil woman…took everything. Slowly at first and then…I had no control any more. Do you know she has a halo on her…on her…and she wanted me to…" His eyes widened in horror, yet the horrors could only be in his head.

Mel noticed the puddle forming on her carpet at his feet. She touched a cautious hand to his back. "You should get out of those drenched clothes and into something warm and dry. How about you take a shower while I see if I have anything that might fit you." She guided him to the sunny yellow bathroom and closed the door.

Pressing her lips together, she headed for the guest room, where she kept the clothes Raphael had left at her house – he could certainly spare them. Particularly if it was his fault there was a man in her house who needed them. With the weight Luce appeared to have lost, he'd have no trouble fitting into Raphael's clothes.

She took a shirt, pants and a sweater to the bathroom, rapping on the timber door with her knuckles. "I have some clothes for you," she called. She couldn't hear the water running, so she cracked the door open a little and passed the pile of folded garments through the gap.

Luce's hands covered Mel's briefly before he took her offering. "Thank you."

Once her hands were empty, she quickly pulled the door closed. "Let me know if you need anything else. Use as much hot water as you like. The towels are clean – I brought them in from the line just before the storm hit." She waited for the hiss of the shower starting before she strode to her bedroom with grim purpose.

Picking up her phone from the charger, she noticed a missed call from the one person she needed to speak to, timed to match the beginning of the downpour.

The line rang twice before it was answered. "Hell—"

Mel cut her off. "How goes your assignment?"

Persi giggled. "Mission accomplished. I now have control of all his interests in the HELL Corporation."

"At what cost?" Mel ground her teeth.

"Almost nothing. It felt too easy, Mel. I barely had to do anything – I didn't even have to sleep with him in the end. It was like he just gave up."

"What was his price?" Mel asked urgently.

"Just your phone number and home address. Nothing!" Persi insisted. "He's powerless now, Mel. It's not like you have to answer, talk to him or even let him in. He doesn't matter any more."

Mel thought of how the demons in the office had responded to Luce – like marionettes to a puppeteer. He could sign over everything in the world to Persi, but he was still the unchallenged master of Hell and all it contained. It was both his strength and his curse. "You're wrong. He does matter." Mel heard the water in the shower stop flowing. "Report to Raphael. Tell him your assignment is complete – earlier than expected, too. Convey my congratulations to you both on a job well done. I'll finish up here." She terminated the call, taking a deep breath to strengthen herself. She had a damp demon to deal with.