I gestured toward the stools at the counter, inviting Charles to sit at one. "Would you like some coffee? I haven't had breakfast, so I thought I'd make something to eat, too."

He took the offered seating, lowering himself gently into it as if testing it. Despite the chair's height, he barely had to sit. Me? My feet almost didn't touch the floor when I sat in one. His did, with leg to spare.

"I would love some coffee, yes, please," he replied.

"Eggs? Bacon? Toast?"

He grinned at me. "Yes, yes, and yes." The light reflected off his shiny head, and his smile made his pockmarked hard face much more pleasant.

"So, how long have you worked in Death's office?"

He chuckled. "Don't let the more modern look fool you. I've been doing this since before Laz was Death. Only Nyx and a few others have been doing it longer."

"I take it that you and Laz get along well?"

"Yep. More often than not, we worked together. Nyx... doesn't like men much."

"She seems to like Azza well enough."

He laughed. "Is that what this is about? Yes, the Watcher seduced her properly millennia ago. They were together for some time, but she never quite got over it when he moved on. I suppose that she did something with him today that pissed you off?"

"You could say that. Mostly, she was rude and disrespectful. I thought it best to nip that in the bud."

He nodded and sipped the black coffee I set in front of him. "Yes, Ma'am. Don't let her get away with anything." His eyebrows popped up. "This is amazing coffee! What have you done with it?"

"It's the chicory root. I had it once in New Orleans, and I've been adding it ever since. Are you a big coffee drinker?"

"Oh, yes. Elixir of life... and death." He laughed at his joke.

I giggled along. I liked him and had a feeling that I'd be working with him as much as Laz had. "Okay, what can we do while I cook?"

He swiped his tablet. "There's a personal history form we'd like to have you fill out. As you know, you no longer have a record, so we know little about you before you accepted the Office."

"Okay, let's do that. But, first, let me get my daughter. She'll want breakfast, too." I wiped my hands and stuck my head out the sliding glass door. She was painting, finishing her watercolor, on the terrace.

"Hey, daughter of mine. You hungry?"

"Starving! What's for breakfast?

"Classic fair this morning: bacon, eggs, toast, milk or tea."

"That sounds great! Thanks, mom!" With that, she refocused on her painting. I chuckled. It was amazing how she could hyperfocus on a project, yet she'd forget half of her life if Mrs. Hamilton and Uzza didn't help her keep track of her things.

I returned to the kitchen and arranged the bacon in a large pan to cook in the oven. It was a much easier method than frying it on the stove.

"We heard about the situation with your daughter," Charles said softly. "We are all at a loss as to why He would have set things up this way."

My shoulders slumped, and I paused. "I wish I knew. I know in my gut there's some ulterior motive going on, but damned if I can see it yet."

"We also heard that you're not His creature. Not like Laz."

"No, not like Laz. But, I'm not Lucifer's creature either, not like Azza and Uzza."

"Hmm." he chewed on the end of the stylus. "A free agent. That's rare, and certainly, it's never been the case with Death."

"Right," I continued to cook. "So, what do you want to know?"

He asked me questions about my early childhood while I finished up and plated breakfast. We went out to the terrace and ate with Deirdre. He gushed almost as much as Azza over her painting.

I set her to the task of washing up while we stayed outside and continued the survey. Over an hour later, I jokingly called for a break. "I think you've asked everything but my medical history!"

He looked sheepish and swiped the table, "Well..."

I laughed and excused myself. On the way to the bathroom, Deirdre called after me when I passed her room.

"Mom! Can I go with the Benningtons on the Art Walk again tonight? Then spend the night with Melissa?"

"Sure thing, hon!"

I took a moment to text my loves in a group text.

~

Me: I miss you two.

Lucifer: We miss you, too, love. How is it going?

Azza: We love you. 💖

Me: I love you, too. 💖Charles is very nice. We've been doing a life survey.

Lucifer: Sounds like fun.

Me: Not really, but necessary. 🙄

Azza: Are you close to being done?

Me: I don't know.

Lucifer. Just let us know when you are free, love.😘

~

Uzza arrived a few moments later to accompany Deirdre. He glared out at Charles, who was looking out over the city, then scowled at me.

I rolled my eyes and hugged my daughter as she said goodbye.

Back with Charles, I asked, "What's next?"

"I thought we might go to the office. The staff wants to meet you, of course. We'll call a top-tier meeting."

"Top-tier?"

"Yes, it's the hierarchical structure we have. General reapers are assigned a certain population density. They're the bottom tier. Then, things work up in a management system until the top tier."

"Sounds efficient."

He grinned. "Well, we've had a while to work it out."

I gigglesnorted. "Okay, let's do it."

He whipped a phone I hadn't noticed from his back pocket and texted furiously. "Meeting called in an hour."

"So, do I have that power? The hide-a-phone power?" I asked. "That shit is handy!"

He roared and taught me how to use it. "You just have to keep in mind that you're in public much more than we are. Now, let me take you to the office?

"Yes, of course. I don't know how to get there."

We moved inside, and he waved a purple-rimmed portal. "Oh! Purple! Good color! Laz's was blue." He exclaimed as we stepped through.

The room was an ultramodern office, which, given how Laz had decorated his loft, didn't surprise me at all. The wall of windows overlooked a night-time city skyline I didn't recognize.

"Where are we?"

"Jerusalem. It's one of the few things that Laz kept all through his tenure."

"It's a beautiful city, but can we move? I'd like an office with a beautiful landscape view. I can see a city at home."

Charles was texting furiously as he nodded. "Of course. Where do you want to go? What kind of landscape? We have offices everywhere."

"How about a garden? Something that's pretty all year round."

More texting. He held up a picture of an enormous mansion located in the center of one of the most beautiful gardens I'd ever seen. "We occupy the top floor of this mansion. The bottom floor is part of the public gardens, and the main floors are for the family that owns the estate."

"Yes! There! I want that office!"

"Excellent choice. And, you just made Amir very happy. He's been tenured there for some time and has wanted to return home for centuries!"

I beamed. "When will it be ready?"

A portal opened to my left, and a portly, brown man stepped through wearing a bespoke suit and flashy gold watch. He stepped into the office, placed his hand over his heart, and gave me a slight bow. "Death. It is very good to meet you. I wanted to say thank you for allowing me to come home!"

"Amir. It's good to meet you, too. Thank you for giving up your beautiful garden view."

Amir stepped out of the way, and a line of people filed out of the portal, setting boxes and small pieces of furniture off to one side. They began to box up what I assumed were essential papers to take back with them. Charles had me choose what I wanted to take, which was very little, and, in under an hour, we were stepping into an opulent office with fifteen-foot ceilings. Warm paneling covered much of the room, and beautiful pattern fabric covered the period furniture. I gasped when I saw vast acres of elaborate flower gardens out of the expanse of windows.

"This is stunning! Where are we?"

"The mountains of North Carolina," Charles shared. "Now, come this way to the conference room. Everyone is ready to meet you."

My head was spinning after meeting the dozen people in charge of death's well-oiled machine. I pinched the bridge of my nose, a headache coming on. Charles noticed.

"Had enough for the day?"

"Yes, I think so. It's all rather overwhelming." I sat in a chair at my new desk heavily.

"Laz will help. He's the one who will teach you to be Death. This is all just the background noise." He waved his hand, indicating everything around us. "There is one last thing to do. Can I add numbers to your phone? You will have mine, Nyx's, and the top tier. I'll annotate each one with the information you need to help identify them."

"Yes, thank you." I handed over my phone for him to add whatever he wanted. What I wanted was a nap with my Fallen Angels.

He held my phone next to the tablet for a moment before handing it back.

"That's it?"

"We're very high-tech here," he chuckled. "When you're ready for a new phone, let me know. We can get you a much better one."

I clutched my phone to me, grinning. "Over my cold, dead body!"

He laughed so hard, I thought he was going to fall out of his chair. After he calmed, he stood. "I will leave you alone. Just wave a portal whenever you want to go home."

"Thank you, Charles."

He waved over his shoulder. "Text me any time, day or night!" He swept out of the door, and I was alone. Fucking Hell, that was a day. I watched the tourists roam the gardens for a while, enjoying the peace and quiet before waving a portal home and texting my Fallen Angels.

Immediately, Lucifer's portal opened, and the two of them stepped into the living room. Azza snatched me up. "I'm so sorry about this morning, Olivia. I know you'll see Laz later, but let me show you I love you before you go? Let me have you in the shower? Please?"

I smiled at him and tugged on his hair. "You know I love it when you beg, Azza."

"Please, Olivia," he pleaded, his voice breaking with need. "We can do anything you want, just let it be in the water."

Lucifer pressed himself against my back, and I hooked my hands behind Azza's neck so that I could lean into Lucifer. "I will help," he whispered in my ear. "I want to watch Azza have you, love. Do you want me to beg, too?"

I turned so that Lucifer could kiss me, and Azza groaned, bulging against me. "I want you, Olivia. Let me love you."

Breathless from Lucifer's kiss, I turned back to Azza. "Yes, Azza, you can have me in the water. The shower is big enough for three."