VII. Olympinis

We all returned to work and Hayden continued to bury himself in work, until my workday was over. I sat in my seat for several minutes, just trying to find a way to let him know that I was done with the filing and that it was 7pm.

“You can go Miss Lockwood. I know you have plans. You can finish the filing tomorrow.” He said not lifting his head from his work.

“I already finished.” I smiled as he looked up at me impressed. “Goodnight sir.” I added on as I collected my things and left the office, returning to my room.

I barely had time to change, before a knock landed on my door and it was Sylver with a girl I hadn’t seen yet. Her hair was beautiful white and long. She wore a short dress barely covering any skin and a flower crown.

“This is Penelope. What on Underworld are you wearing?” He laughed and Penelope just stared in awe. I’ve heard of Penelope before, she was Hayden’s niece, but I never imagined her to be so beautiful.

“Jeans?”

“What’s that?” Penelope asked and I nodded my head turning around and walking back into my room to change. “Let me help.” Penelope followed me and began digging through my bag and throwing my clothes all over the bedroom floor. “This looks okay.” She pulled out a white, skin-tight dress with red roses printed on it.

“I can’t wear that.”

“Yes, you can, and you will.” She shoved the dress into my hands and left, waiting behind the door with Sylver. I put the dress on and let my wavy hair hang over my shoulders. I refused to wear heels, so I wore my white converses and smeared some light, red lipstick on my lips. I stepped out of my room and locked the door behind me.

“Much better.” Penelope smiled and Sylver nodded, not saying anything and just staring.

“Let’s go.” He spoke up and we left.

I had never really been to a bar even while on earth, so this was a brand-new experience.

“Penelope, who’s your friend?” My dress was catching everyone’s attention, even though I tried to blend in.

“This is Evelyn.” Penelope smiled introducing me to Apollo. I’ve heard of him before.

“Nice to meet you Evelyn.” He grabbed my hand and planted a kiss on top of it.

“Get in line Ace.” Penelope took my hand and walked me to the bar, sitting me down on a stool and ordering us a drink.

“What is wrong with everybody?” She said shaking her head.

“Drink up.” Sylver cheered his glass at us, but Penelope seemed distracted by something else.

“Uncle’s here.”

“What?” I asked confused.

“What?” Sylver followed.

“I thought you said he was a workaholic?”

“He is, but Phoenix is very convincing.” Penelope explained and we continued to drink. I could feel Hayden’s eyes glued to me, but I continued to pretend that I hadn’t noticed, thought the butterflies in my stomach were making it very difficult not to look at him. They began to play music a lot lounder and everyone began to dance. I wasn’t much of a drinker or a dancer. Penelope and Sylver both stood up to dance, but I continued to stay glued to my seat. The bartender continued to serve drinks even when I wasn’t ordering any. By 11pm I had more than enough, and my head was spinning. I pushed through the crowds trying to get to the bathroom, but things were blurry, and I could barely find my way around, until I walked into Hayden.

“Hi, having fun?”

“Uhm…”

“Are you drunk Miss Lockwood?”

“I think I’m going to be sick.”

“The bathrooms just over there.” He walked me towards it, and I ran into one of the stalls, throwing up all my stomachs contents. I wiped my head and my mouth with some water and walked out of the bathroom, looking for the nearest exit. As I approached the exit door, I felt somebody standing behind me.

“Need a ride home?” Hayden was standing behind me and I couldn’t even speak. I nodded my head and he led us to his car. He opened the car door for me, and I smiled sitting down. He walked over to the other side and got in.

“Not much of a drinker, are you?”

“I haven’t ever really drunk more than a glass.”

“There’s a meeting early in the morning, perhaps you should skip it and get some sleep instead.”

“No, no, I’ll - I’ll be fine.” I replied leaning my head on the window and closing my eyes.

I awoke the next morning to my alarm blaring in my ear. My head was pounding, and I still felt sick. I couldn’t remember how I got home or in bed. I was still wearing the dress from the night before and my makeup had run down my cheeks. I quickly jumped into the shower and got ready for work, downing a large glass of water with 3 Aspirins. I left my room, running into the elevator, not looking at who was already in it. Finally gathering my things, I looked up and realised I was standing beside Gus.

“Nice dress last night.” He said smirking and I felt like throwing up all over again.

“Please don’t talk to me.” I replied taking a step forward, so I’d be closer to the door.

“You missed me really Eve.” He walked closer behind me and I could feel his pitched trouser touching my ass. I felt my body heat up and rage take over.

“Get away from me!” I turned around, pushing him away and making him hit the back wall of the elevator. The doors suddenly opened, and I immediately stepped out, taking the stairs. I walked into Hayden’s office as he was about to leave for the meeting.

“How are you feeling Miss Lockwood?” He laughed as we both walked over to the meeting room.

“Fine sir.” I replied tense and continued to walk in silence. We got to the half empty office and I took a seat between three empty chairs. Following us, Phoenix and Gus sat down beside me, leaving a chair empty on my right. I moved as further away from Gus as I could, but it was too late for me to change seats as the meeting began.

“First I would like to introduce our 2 new mortal starters Miss Lockwood and Mr Dolan. Miss Lockwood will be working under me and Mr Dolan under Phoenix.” Hayden began his meeting. He spoke about the workload, which needs to be completed by the end of the week. He spoke firmly, calmly. He looked strong and professional. You could see the others respected him. Looking around the room, I realised Penelope wasn’t here. I could see Hayden look over to an empty seat beside me and then the clock on the wall, also wondering where she is. Within both our thoughts Penelope ran into the room, out of breath.

“So-sorry to interrupt, but there is something that needs your immediate attention.” Hayden nodded his head agreeing. Penelope quickly signalled me to come with and I collected my things, leaving the meeting room.

“Phoenix, could you finish the meeting please.” Hayden said leaving the meeting room and followed Penelope to the Olympus office.

“We have a problem.” Penelope said, turning the laptop which was sitting on the table and on its screen, we saw a still image of Zeus! My heart dropped to my stomach and the image began to move and I realised we were on video call with the most powerful God in the world.

“Rory. To what do I owe the pleasure?” Hayden asked pulling up a seat by the table and offering me one.

“I have a matter that I need you to deal with. It’s Tatum.” Rory spoke firmly. I was pretty sure that Tatum was one of his children.

“What happened?” Hayden asked. Rory didn’t seem to have even noticed that I was also sitting in the frame of the screen.

“Tatum invited some of the Gods for dinner. Myself, Dhara, a couple others. Once we got there, we realised he had murdered his son Panos by cutting him into pieces and cooking him with the rest of the food.”