I ignore him and keep going. If security is the reason the elevators won’t go above floor fifteen, then I bet they’ll descend from here. They’re keeping people out, not in. My exit won’t be marred by having to take a breather on the stairwell and praying to the gods that no one stumbles on me. My pride won’t be able to handle it.
“Cassandra.” He’s closer. Damn it, I should have known he wouldn’t let this go.
I sigh and stop. It’s beneath both our dignities to have him chase me down the hall in front of Ares.
Apollo stops next to me, his longer legs having covered the distance easily. He pauses. “Thank you for bringing this. If you’ll hold on for a few minutes, I’m just wrapping up. I’ll give you a ride home.”
The temptation to say yes nearly makes my knees buckle. I’ve shared enough rides with him on the way from one meeting to another over the years. I know exactly how it will go. He’ll slump back against the seat and loosen his perfect black tie. Not a lot. Just enough to drive me to distraction. Then he’ll pull out his phone and leave me to my thoughts.
Apollo never prattles on the way some people do. He’s not one of those strong, silent types, but he doesn’t feel the need to fill quiet moments with inane chatter. The car ride will be comfortable and lovely, and I absolutely cannot say yes to it. It’s one thing to have those moments during the workday when I can tell myself there’s no avoiding them. After hours?
No. Absolutely not.
“I’m fine.”
He searches my face as if he can tell I’m being stubborn for the sake of being stubborn, but Apollo is a man who respects boundaries so he just nods. “Keep the cab-fare receipt and expense it.”
I hate how weak I get at the simple thoughtfulness he continually demonstrates. Apollo is too savvy not to know how tight money is for me—his entire job is information, after all—and he also understands me well enough to guess I won’t take charity. Not from him. Not from anyone. Not when it’s never really charity and always comes with strings attached.
But a business expense?
My pride can handle that.
“Fine.”
“See you tomorrow, Cassandra.” The warmth in his tone almost brings me up short before I forcibly remind myself that this is just how he speaks to people. He can get tense from time to time, but Apollo really took that old saying about flies and honey to heart. Especially when it comes to me, as if he can smooth my sharp edges with pure charm.
It’s nothing personal. It’s certainly notinterest.
My unfortunate attraction is one-sided and that’s just fine with me.
It’s only a matter of time before I get out of this cursed city once and for all. The last thing I need is to get entangled with one of the Thirteen—anotherone of the Thirteen—before I do.
2
Apollo
I have to fight not to stare at Cassandra’s big, perfect ass as she stalks down the hall away from me. It doesn’t help that she favors pencil skirts and heels, which only serve to showcase her generous curves further. I can’t ask her to change her style simply because I want her. It’s my problem, not hers. If I’ve taken more than my fair share of cold showers since hiring her five years ago? Well, that’s a small enough price to pay for lusting after my employee.
That’s the crux of the problem.
I hired her.
She works for me.
Letting her know I’m interested would be highly inappropriate. Even without the employer-employee power dynamic, I am one of the Thirteen and that skews things too far in my favor. If I asked her out and she felt she couldn’t say no…
I shake my head and turn back down the hall. Which is right around the moment I realize I’ve been staring after Cassandra in front of the new Ares. She gives me a wide-eyed innocent look that I don’t believe for a moment.
“She’s got quite the mouth on her, doesn’t she?”
Even though Iknowshe’s baiting me, I can’t help defending Cassandra. “Wouldn’t you after everything she’s gone through? People in this city treat her like getting too close will poison them, too.” The worst part is that they’re not entirely wrong, if not for the reasons everyone believes.
Twelve years ago, Cassandra’s family was one of the most powerful in the city…until, almost overnight, they weren’t. As far as the greater population is concerned, her parents did something to anger the last Zeus and were set to be exiled. They died in a car crash before he could enact that punishment.
The truth is far more sinister. Her parents attempted to exploit an ancient, barbaric clause in Olympus’s laws and were removed as a result.
The clause states that if someone manages to assassinate a member of the Thirteen—exempting the legacy titles of Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon—then that person will take the title. Our history is filled with black holes where information should be, but best I can tell, this immutable clause was added to protect the city if one of the Thirteen turned corrupt beyond all reason.