Damien

I heard a knock at my office door.

“Come in.”

I glanced up as my assistant lead a woman into the room. I inhaled quickly as I caught my first glimpse of her. She was stunning, and I actually caught myself gaping. I quickly shut my mouth before she looked up at me.

Her pale skin flushed a pretty pink, and she smiled. The dimple in her cheek made heat blossom in my chest. I rubbed at it absently, still caught up in the sight of her. She glanced behind herself nervously and I saw that her hair was long and lush, just slightly brushing the top of her ass.

“Um. Hello. I’m your new nanny. My–my dad told me that you agreed to hire me?”

She tilted her chin up slightly, as if trying to bolster her courage against me. I had to give her credit. I knew that people were intimidated by me. In fact, it was an effect that I worked hard to encourage. If I was seen as “approachable” or “nice”, then every demon in the Underworld would be complaining to me about their issues. It was the Underworld, after all. Things were not comfortable here. Nor were they supposed to be. Only the strongest of the strong survived here.

“Yes, I did. You must be Joseph’s daughter.”

Looking at her closely I could see that she was nervous, but also that she didn’t want me to know it. She obviously had a stubborn streak in her. That would most likely serve her well here. As long as she didn’t use that stubbornness to try to get her way with him. Her eyebrow arched slightly, making her light green eyes almost sparkle. Her lips tilted up into an almost smile. I could see that she wanted to say something, but then thought better of it. I had the feeling she almost teased me. Apparently, I wasn’t as intimidating as I thought. It made me want to growl at her and kiss her at the same time.

“My name’s Alexis,” she said with her hand out. I stood from my desk to shake her hand and dismissed the soldier. I couldn’t help noticing her skin was soft, and when she pulled away, I missed the heat. Something was definitely going on. Hell didn’t have cold shifts. “You can call me Damien.” Nobody called me Damien. Not even my mother.

“Oh no,” she said, flushing. “I couldn’t, sir. Something else, please.”

“Just D then. We’ll work our way up to Damien.”

She smiled widely, showing her beautiful white teeth and her dimple. “I can work with that.”

She was still standing in front of my desk with that heavy looking bag. “Let me get that for you. It looks heavy.” She tried to say no as I took it from her, but I grasped it firmly, taking control of it.  “What do you have in here anyway? It’s huge.”

“Oh, just some paperwork, a notebook in case I have to take notes, and some games in case I need something to play with the kids.”

She was prepared. I liked that.

I decided to start the tour immediately. “Wow. This place is huge,” she said. The ceilings were thirty feet high and painted with murals of heaven and hell and what I could remember of our history. The Demonical Bible was much different than the ones humans believed to be true, but they suffered from a lack of knowledge. Under my reign, I made sure that the beings of the Underworld knew our true history.

“Who painted these?” She continued staring up, turning in a circle, in awe of the artistry. Considering I’d lived here for over a millennium, I had basically forgotten about them. I rarely looked up. There was always something to do. Chaos to overrule, demons to induct, angels to slay, paperwork, paperwork, paperwork. Being the Devil wasn’t as fun as everyone thought it was.

“I did,” I said, looking up trying to see the murals through her eyes.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, almost as if she was out of breath. My work made her breathless. I suddenly wanted to make her breathless in other ways.

“Um. Thanks.” I wasn’t used to getting compliments.

“What did you use?” she asked, squinting as if it would make her somehow closer to the art. I listened to her list all kinds of materials found only in Hell and then some from Earth. When I didn’t answer, she finally looked away from the art. “Um, D?”

I was enchanted by her. What had she asked me? Oh right. I rubbed the back of my head a little, embarrassed to admit this. “To be honest with you I don’t remember. It was too long ago.”

She nodded and looked up again. “How could you forget creating that?”

By her tone, I could tell it was a rhetorical question, but it made me wish I could remember.

“Let me show you around.” Together we climbed the sprawling staircase in the middle of the foyer. “My wing is on the right,” I said pointing.

“Why? Because you’re always right?” Her cheeky smile let me know she was joking, and I laughed. Most people were too uptight or nervous to joke with me.

She glanced nervously at a nearby soldier. There was one posted at the end of every hall, protecting my family and my home in the event someone infiltrated the mansion. They stared ahead like they were trained to, ignoring us as we walked by. They looked like statues, but I knew if anything were to happen they would quickly dispatch the offender. That was something she was going to have to get used to if she was going to work here.

“As a matter of fact, yes,” I said, laughing as I guided her to the left. “This wing belongs to the kids. Their bedrooms, playroom, library, pantry, nanny room, and bathrooms are over here.”

“Nanny room?”

“Yes. This is a live-in job.”

Her face scrunched in confusion before paling suddenly.

“I have to live here?”

“Yes of course. I am not in residence very often. You’re expected to stay here with the kids, tutor the boys, and watch the girls.”

“I see,” she said, glancing nervously away from me.

“Is that going to be a problem? Maybe I should speak with your father again?”

“No!” she vehemently responded, seeming to startle herself with the intensity of her response. “That will be fine. I’ll just…send for my things. I’m sure my housekeeper can pack some things for me and have them brought over.”