A Devil Boss

Chapter 10.1

Sera had left early that morning after spending an uncomfortable night in a seedy motel. She had written a check after using all her eloquence to convince the owner.

Tired and yawning to herself, Sera drove down the road, looking forward to finally getting home. At least it was the weekend, and she could rest.

However, when she turned on the radio, the newscaster reported an earthquake in Los Angeles that had damaged numerous homes. Fortunately, no people had died.

I wonder if Astarot was all right. Was the company still standing? These were all questions running around in her head, and she decided to park for a moment and ask.

Almost impatiently, she waited for the dial tone and was glad when her boss finally picked up.

"Diabolus," he announced in a calm voice. I wonder if he hadn't recognized her number.

Or he was angry because she had simply left the event. He sounded cooler than usual. "Good morning, Astarot," Sera greeted uncertainly, informing him that she was on her way back.

"Are you all right?" he asked. "There was quite a shake here."

"They didn't get any of that in Phoenix," Sera replied wearily. "Did something happen to you?" she asked anxiously.

"No, everything's fine here," Astarot assured her. "You sound very exhausted, though."

"It was ... not the best night," Sera evaded, meaning that she had written a check. "I ran out of money and ..." she spoke, and suddenly there was radio silence. Puzzled, she looked at her smartphone and cursed. This couldn't be true! Of all things, her battery was dead now!

Furious, Sera started her car again and continued on her way. She didn't get far, though, because the car was making strange noises, and Sera just managed to pull the car over to the side before it gave up the ghost.

Cursing, Sera pounded the steering wheel. Did everything have to go wrong?

Tears welled up in her eyes from anger, but she knew it did her no good. Defiantly, she wiped them away and got out. She probably had no choice but to stop someone.

It was too far to walk, and she wouldn't make it without something in her stomach anyway.

For minutes Sera stood on the side of the road, growing more and more impatient. Why were there no cars coming in the direction she needed to go, now of all times? Was everything really jinxed? At least it wasn't raining, but it was hot.

Finally, she heard something and actually spotted a car heading in her direction. Relieved, she waved and hoped very much that the car stopped.

It was going very fast but slowed down as it got closer. That gave Sera hope, and sure enough, it stopped. The driver rolled down the window. "What are you doing here?" asked Belial in surprise.

Speechless that the lawyer, of all people, was meeting her, Sera lost her fluency for a moment. She had to blink several times and then cleared her throat. "I could ask you the same thing. I'm here because my car conked out," she said with a meaningful hand gesture in her direction.

"Then you're lucky I just got back from a client," he commented. "Do you need a ride?"

Pleased and relieved, Sera nodded. "That would be very kind of you. You're my lifesaver, so to speak because my cell phone has also given up the ghost," she affirmed, saying that she would first get her papers and everything from the car. She would have to see about getting it to Los Angeles. Somehow.

"Should I call a tow truck?" he asked, pulling out his smartphone.

"Do they take checks?" asked Sera uncertainly, having run out of money anyway.

Belial looked at her questioningly. "I don't think so," he said doubtfully. "Are you in trouble?"

"At the moment, yes," she admitted sheepishly, then waved it off. "Leave it there. As soon as I can, I'll hire someone," she assured him and got in Belial's car.

The latter eyed her thoughtfully. "If you say so," he commented, seeming to concede. He probably assumed that if she wanted his help, she would ask.

Sera tried to smile, though she felt more like crying. "How can I repay you for taking me?" she asked, hoping Belial wouldn't get the idea to keep asking her why she was here in the first place.

"I've headed that way anyway," he waved off and started the car. "But you're welcome to go clubbing with me next time."

Sera's eyes sparkled. The fact that he invited her was very friendly, and hopefully, it would give her a pleasant change of pace. "What kind of club did you have in mind? Dance club?" she asked curiously, turning all her attention to Belial. She was trying to cover up her concern for Astarot because although he had assured her that everything was fine, there had been an earthquake, and they hadn't talked about the damage.

Belial seemed evasive. "Not quite," he admitted, "but even that wouldn't be bad for a start."

With that, he piqued Sera's curiosity. "Tell me a little more about it? You know I only know Los Angeles a little better thanks to you," she remarked as he headed in that direction.

Sera noticed that Belial was getting a little nervous. "It's a ... special club," he commented, and then he began to talk a bit. Sera couldn't quite figure it out.

Thoughtfully, Sera tilted her head and looked at him from the side. "I have no idea what exactly you are talking about, but I would love to see it," she said with a smile. Somehow she felt guilty and wanted to give him a little pleasure. Even though she didn't even know if this was really a club.

It all sounded so ambiguous and somehow also shady. Whether this was really something for her remained to be seen.

They talked about it for a while before they talked about the earthquake. What this had done, they would only see when they were in the city.

When they reached Los Angeles, it was clear that the earthquake had caused some significant damage to some of the buildings. Firefighters and city residents were helping to clean up the mess, and Sera hoped that Astarot's apartment hadn't been too severely affected.

She told Belial the street, and when he drove in there, Sera got scared. This place didn't look good at all, and when they arrived at her apartment, she suspected something terrible. The windows were partially broken, and probably it had damaged some things.

Even the gate was damaged and bent when she opened it.

The closer they got, the more uncomfortable Sera felt. How was she going to clean all this up? I wonder if the employees had already started. Or had they gone to safety?

Then she noticed Astarot, who came up to her with quick steps and even took her in his arms. "Are you all right?" he asked, visibly concerned.

Overwhelmed by the whole situation and Astarot's sudden closeness, she nodded. "I think so," she murmured, unable to bring herself to break away from him. She hadn't expected her boss to be here when she got home.

Astarot exhaled with relief. "I was beginning to think you were caught on the way away," he sighed, then raised his head. She could feel him fixing Belial. "But good thing someone drove you here."

Smiling, she looked in Belial's direction. "Yeah, it was a good thing he happened to be on his way back," she admitted with relief. Without him, she'd probably still be in the same place. The fact that Astarot suddenly ducked her she ignored. It probably came out of concern, which she could understand.

"So you're her boss. Well, I should have guessed that," Belial remarked soberly as he approached Astarot. The latter let go of Sera, and both men extended their arms to each other in a familiar gesture.

"Thanks for bringing me here, Belial," Astarot replied, which earned him a waving-off gesture.

"Your car broke down. I assume you'll take care of it?" he asked, and Sera's boss nodded.

Had she known, after all? The two knew each other. Silently, she watched them both and then sighed. "Thank you for your help. Will you write to me when they are thinking of going to the club?" she asked hopefully. There was a lot of work waiting for her inside, and she wasn't yet aware of what was really in store for her.

"Of course," Belial replied with a smile. "I'm looking forward to it."

Gratefully, Sera shook his hand and then turned to the house before sighing. Everything was going wrong, and it would take her days to get the house clean again.

When she opened the door, she found that cleaning wasn't the biggest problem.

The furniture had fallen over, some of the windows were broken, and unfortunately, a wall had been broken as well.

"For heaven's sake," it escaped her, and she had to hold on to the door frame to keep from falling over.

"Do you want me to help clean up?" asked Astarot, stepping up next to Sera.

Hopefully, she looked at him. "Would you? But don't you have a day off?" she asked uncertainly, wanting to know if nothing had happened to the employees.

"The employees are fine, and tomorrow is the weekend. So I can go ahead and help," Asatarot assured her. "Besides, it would be better if you stay away from the broken glass."

Sera tried to smile. Of course, he remembered; after all, it had been only a day ago when she had cut herself and fainted. "Can I try? Where do you want to start?" she asked, rolling up her sleeves.

"I'll clean up the pieces," he explained. "So stay away from that for now," he said and began to open his cuffs and roll up his sleeves as well.

It was going to be difficult because the glass shards were all over the place. Nevertheless, Sera nodded and started cleaning up in the hallway since there were no splinters to be seen here. As they worked doggedly, Sera apologized to her boss for the sudden breakup at the event, but also because of her dead battery.

"I really hope it wasn't too serious," Astarot said as he worked the splinters with shovel and broom.

"I'm afraid it was," Sera muttered as she swept up the soil from the overturned flower pots.

"Would you like to talk about it?" he asked, retrieving a bucket for the splinters.

Inarticulately, Sera mumbled that it was family trouble. To distract from that, she informed Astarot about the check she had written. "I swear to you that I will pay you back the money."

Her boss eyed her. "That sounds like huge financial problems," he said thoughtfully.

Sera paused and looked into the living room, where Astarot was still removing the splinters. "It was unforeseen," Sera admitted dejectedly.

"Let me know if you need any help," Astarot said, wholly absorbed in his work.

"An advance of half the month would be fine," she murmured. At least that way, she could buy something to eat and pay back the money.

Astarot raised his head and eyed her. "That can be arranged," he said but looked thoughtful.

"Thank you," she said with relief and made her way back down the hall.

It was quiet for a few minutes, and Sera hung her thoughts as she cleaned up. Her hands were full of dirt when she felt a burning sensation. "What?" she asked herself and was about to clean up the ground when she saw a red stain and immediately fainted.