Olivia Chase, a successful woman who sold her soul to the Devil in exchange for a baby, is offered a second deal of a lifetime after her daughter dies: she must harvest Lucifer a series of souls he claims belong in Hell in trade for her daughter's m...
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"Oh, come on! You need to get back out there and socialize. You used to love to show up to our parties! They're always such a train wreck," Shawna pointed out, trying to entice me to attend her law firm's latest we-won-a-big-case shindig as we chatted on the phone. She was right; I had enjoyed going in the past. I'd stay sober, for the most part, and watch everyone else get smashed, then try to predict what events no one would ever talk about again.
What happened at a firm party, stayed at a firm party.
The last time, Sarah, a paralegal, had gotten wasted, announced she was bisexual and declared her undying love for Peggy, Shawna's admin assistant. Peggy, being Peggy, rolled with it, and they'd made out for forty-five minutes in Shawna's office before Sarah had passed out. Peggy was kinky as hell but wasn't into non-consent, so I'd tucked Sarah in on Shawna's office couch for the long haul.
Shawna, bless her heart, hooked up with the cute little Latino boy Peggy had brought along with her as part of her entourage. It miffed them that the couch held a sleeping person, but she later told me the desk seemed to work just as nice.
Sarah, who considered herself to be a modest and virtuous woman, had avoided Peggy for weeks afterward until it became clear no one talked about what occurred at the parties. She went back to being strait-laced, heterosexual, and demure as if nothing had ever happened. Everyone played along, though; I had seen Peggy smirk as she turned away from Sarah on several occasions.
It was like watching a live soap opera, and Shawna and I had gotten hours of entertainment from the parties. "Say you'll come?" she begged.
I was a little interested. I have to start living again sometime. "Okay, I'll go," I agreed.
"Excellent!" Shawna exclaimed. "I heard a rumor Jillian is dating her plastic surgeon. That should be good for something."
I giggled. Jillian was Shawna's boss and a partner in the firm. Jullian was obsessed with her beauty, and she regularly had 'maintenance' done to attempt to look thirty-five for the rest of her existence. "My guess is he's interested in her money," I speculated, then snickered. "I bet they don't get halfway through the night before she's with someone Peggy's brought with her, and he's hitting on Sarah."
"Is that one big bet or two smaller bets?" Shawna chuckled.
"Hmm... let's go with two smaller ones."
"Same stakes as usual?"
"Sounds like a plan." I agreed to our usual stakes. "Whoever loses buys dinner for us at a swanky restaurant."
"Done!"
The deal we struck reminded me of my own with the Devil. The moment I thought of him, a knock tapped on the door. Of course, it was now my apartment door, but since the average person couldn't sneak past security to get up here, I knew it had to be him or a hitman.
