The Devil's Assistant (Watty Awards Finalist 2011)

Devil's Assistant [6]

Chapter 6

As promised someone called around the next day with the contracts. I was more surprised at the fact that the person buzzing at my door was Lucius. Upon seeing my startled look he grinned at me and pulled out a huge wad of papers from his bag.

"I just wanted to check that you weren't backing out." His tone was smug as he spoke undermining his words; it was as if he knew I wouldn't reject the deal. It was almost too good to be true and was my only option of getting Danny and myself out of this flat and into a better area.

With a sigh I led Mr Satani into the living room, placing a finger to my lips as we passed Danny's bedroom so that he would keep quiet. I didn't even want to think about the hassle it had been to get Danny to sleep; I was exhausted as it was because Danny had been up all night. I had only just managed to close my eyes when the door buzzed so I'm sure I looked like hell right now. If Lucius noticed my less than great appearance, well he was actually chivalrous enough not to comment on it, instead he looked rather aloof as he walked past me handing me the pile of contracts.

I gestured for him to take a seat and was somewhat relieved that I had made sure to put away all of the laundry so that I wouldn't embarrass myself again. Though, I added as an afterthought, I hoped he didn't need to use the bathroom any time soon because my underwear was strung up on a drying rack in there and that is not something I want him to see. Cursing myself at my lack of forward thinking I slumped down onto the armchair and eyed the stack of papers I clasped in my hands. I didn't even want to think how long it would take me to read them.

When he saw my wide eyed look, Mr Satani started laughing. "You do realise there are three copies of the contract there. One for you, one for my office and there is one for human resources." I didn't miss the glint in his eye when he said human resources but sure enough as I flicked through the pile I saw that it was divided into three separate documents.

 Removing two from the pile I put them on the arm of the chair as I pulled back the cover of the contract and began reading. I was never any good at these things but I knew I would have to pay attention, especially when I was being offered so much that there had to be a hidden clause in here somewhere. I got about halfway through the first page when I got really annoyed and picked up the remote from the cushion it was wedged beside and tossed it over to the man who was boring holes into the side of my face. My lips let out a little chuckle when I heard him grunt in pain before cussing rather loudly. I lifted my head and shot him a glare. "One no swearing and two, stop shouting, you'll wake my son up and then I will be really annoyed and trust me, you do not want to see me mad. Now take the remote and watch some TV." Out of the corner of my eye I watched as he rubbed his nose a few times where the remote hit and then proceeded to click the buttons on the remote control so that the TV flared to life. He was lucky for the digital switchover or he would have been stuck watching Antiques road show or something equally boring. My mum and gran always loved those shows but I always found it incredibly monotonous, seriously, how many people truly find some fancy vase in their attic worth two grand, no one, the whole show is a fix if you ask me.

Lucius cleared his throat after two minutes of watching the screen blankly. His gaze bored into mine as I glanced up from the papers with a resigned sigh. "Do you think I could get a drink?" He asked as he brushed off his trousers to remove invisible flecks of dirt. Putting the papers to the side I started to stand up but he held out a hand to stop me. "Just point me in the right direction and I'll get it myself."

I nodded placing the papers back in my lap and pointed to the door which led directly into the kitchen. "Can you grab me one of whatever you're having?" I questioned turning my attention to a paragraph that was full of legal jargon that in my sleep deprived state was making absolutely no sense at all. I didn't hear any reply, just the distinct squeak as his weight shifted off of the sofa and the padding of his retreating footsteps. Trying to concentrate was taking all of my effort but this sentence before me was weird. "Any things seen or heard within the building cannot be told to any third party unless permission for a senior member of staff has authorised the sharing of information."  My lips formed the words whilst my brows furrowed. Why would it matter what was seen or heard within the building?