"I'm so glad you accepted my proposal, Lhori," said Diavolo while he led her through RAD halls to the office area. "For now, you'll work alongside Lucifer, just until you get used to things. Then, of course, you'll get your own office."

"That's fine, Diavolo. I don't really care about such things," she said shrugging.

"I'm glad you are reasonable. I'm sure you and Lucifer will make a great team!" He opened the door and gestured her inside. The office wasn't big. Most of the space took a big mahogany desk that obviously belonged to Lucifer. He was sitting in the big, comfortable-looking chair and there were piles and piles of documents littering all surfaces of the desk and also some covered the floor.

On the other side of the room, facing Lucifer, was a smaller, more modest desk, already with stacks of documents on it. Lucifer looked up from his place, put down his pen, and stood up.

"Lhori, Diavolo," he nodded and come out from behind his desk.

"Lucifer, can I leave Lhori under your care now?" asked Diavolo with a sly smile.

"Of course, we will start right away," replied Lucifer with a smirk.

"That's wonderful. Have fun you two!" he said and moved to the door. "Oh, and Lucifer? Please try to not overwork her too much, ok? I want to see her working here during the whole project, all right?"

"I'll do my best," Lucifer smirked. "So..." he said once the door closed. "Please sit at your desk and I'll show you what to do." He took a small chair and move it to sit next to her. "First, those are all the application forms from the human world. As you can see, there is a lot of them." He gestured for a huge pile. "We need to go through them and choose the most suitable candidates. You need to select around 80 of them, those we will present to Diavolo, who will make a final decision. Here you have a role model, it's more or less what we are looking for in our candidates. It's just a guide, so if you think someone will be suitable make a note with your justification... are you following?" he asked looking at her.

"Yep, it's not rocket science," she shrugged. "Do you have an electronic version of all those applications?"

"Electronic?" he asked confused.

"You know, the one you can use on a computer...? Guessing by your look I take it as a no," she sighed.

"Then, after we select the candidates," he continued ignoring her eyes roll, "we will have to send a welcoming letter and the list of requirements to all of them. I suggest you started writing it as soon as possible, there will be 30 copies of them, so it would hurt your hand to write them all in one day..."

"Write them?" she asked baffled. "You mean, handwrite them?"

"Yes."

"Thirty letters that are exactly the same, except the name?"

"Yes," he said annoyed. "Do I not speak clearly?"

"I'm not going to do this," she huffed.

"What do you mean you're not going to do this?" he asked baffled.

"OMG, and I was always wondering why are you so busy all the time," she said looking at him with pity. "That's because you are not working smartly!"

"Smartly?" he asked frowning.

"Oh, I'll show you soon. Ok, for now, applications. I will go through them, and then we'll take care of the rest, ok?"

"That's fine. If you need anything from me, just give me a shout, ok?" he said and moved back to his desk. She sighed and took the first application from the pile.

The next day she entered the office with Beel carrying a big box in his arms. Lucifer raised his brows.

"What is this?" he asked suspiciously.

"Good morning to you too, Lucifer," she said cheerfully. "Beel, put it here, next to my desk, please. Thanks for your help! The lunch is on me today, ok?"

"You've got it Lhori!" Beel replied with a grin. "See you at Hell's Kitchen at 12!" He waved at Lucifer and left.

She unpacked the box and plugged in her machines. Lucifer was still looking at her suspiciously.

"What are you doing, Lhori?"

"I'm working, Lucifer. I told you, I refuse to do unnecessary manual work. All those report that you are doing..." she weaved over piles of papers on his desk. "You will do at least twice as fast on the computer. Here, I brought one for you too." She put a sleek black laptop on his desk. He looked at it and then on her again.

"I don't need it. Diavolo like the reports to be handwritten."

"Did he ever said that to you?"

"Well no, but..."

"Have you tried to use the printer for multiple copies?"

"No, but..."

"Then try first," she said with a sweet smile. "If he rejects it, you can go back to handwriting everything. But think how much time will you save if he actually accepts it!"

"Ok, I give it a try," he said with a heavy sigh.

"Great, you will love it, you'll see!"

***

A few weeks have passed and they only got more and more work every day. When she came back from lunch one day Lucifer was still at his desk with the same frown on his face working on his documents. She put a takeaway paper bag on his desk. He looked at her surprised.

"What is it?" he asked in an annoyed tone.

"Your lunch," she replied. He picked up the bag from his desk.

"Don't put it here, it could soil the documents!"

"Well, you're welcome," she said rolling her eyes and getting back to her desk.

"I didn't ask you to bring me lunch."

"Did you have your lunch?"

"No."

"Were you planning to go somewhere?"

"No."

"Then, you're welcome."

"You don't have to bring me lunch."

"If you faint here from hunger I will not drag you home," she huffed. "So, please stop your whining, and eat your damn lunch!" He looked at her with annoyance.

"Thank you," he muttered, but he put the bag on the floor and got back to his work. She scoffed. He was impossible. She didn't know what was up with him lately, but he was in a really bad mood. She was not going to ask him again what's wrong. She took out her headphones, put on music, and got back to her work.

After some time she felt something soft hit her head. A small paper ball was rolling off her desk. She looked up to see Lucifer looking impatiently at her.

"What?" she asked taking her headphones off.

"Can you please not wear those in the office? I was trying to talk to you for over five minutes now."

"Well, you could just get up and come up here," she replied with a sweet smile. He rolled his eyes. "What's up?"

"There is a functional meeting today at Diavolo palace. It's a kind of party. The celestial delegation will be there. Diavolo wants you to be there too. We will be discussing the exchange program."

"Is it someone important?" she asked.

"Yes, there will be Archangel Michael himself..." Lucifer replied, his face contorted in a scowl, even though he was trying to hide it.

"Oh... that's why you were in such a bad mood the whole week?" she said with a triumphant smile.

"I have no idea what you are talking about," he scoffed.

"Yeah, sure. I bet this archangel is your best friend then, no?" she teased. 

Lucifer sighed. "Ok, I hate the guy. That's what you wanted to hear?"

"Yeah, more or less. So... why do you hate him so much?"

Lucifer put down his pen and massaged his temples. "Back in the celestial realm, we were of the same rank. There was always... competition between us. When we rebelled... things got really ugly. He was the first one who condemned Lilith..."

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I didn't know."

"It's fine. And you are right. I've heard about his visit last week and I'm in a bad mood ever since. I just can't wait to get it over with. It seems you know me pretty well," he said with a smirk.

"It seems so, yes," she replied with a smile.

"Lhori... please be careful around him, ok? He can be very charming and friendly, but he is a very cold and cunning creature inside. To be honest, I didn't want you to come to this party, but Diavolo insisted."

"Why didn't you want me to go?" she asked surprised. 

"I..." he hesitated. "I'm afraid he can be aware of the fact that you are... dear to me, and can try to use you to get back on me."

"Am I?" she asked quietly. "Dear to you? Still?"

"You know you are. And always will be," he replied with a sad smile. "Just... promise me you'd be careful, ok?"

"Don't worry, I'll be careful. It's a promise."

***

She heard nervous padding on the keyboard. She looked up at Lucifer raising her brows. He was mashing on the buttons hard.

"Lucifer?" she asked. "Are you ok there?"

"Do I look ok?" he replied looking at her with annoyance. "This stupid machine is not working! It's just freezing and I can't do a thing! I told you it was a bad idea!"

"Oh, it's probably nothing serious, just let me take a look." She moved over to his desk, stood next to him, and lean over the laptop. It was all frozen. She quickly tapped a few buttons to open the task manager. She reached for the mouse, but Lucifer was still holding it, so she grazed his hand.

"Oh, sorry," she muttered and looked at him. Just then she realized they were so close, that she could easily lean in and kiss him if she wanted. She quickly averted her gaze. "Can I have a mouse for a moment, please?"

"Sure," he said taking off his hand. She clicked through processes killing frozen apps. "You smell nice, is that new perfume?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, yes..." she admitted feeling her cheeks going red. "It was a gift from Asmo. He's good with this stuff."

"He certainly is, it suits you."

"Ehm... thanks. Ok, that's all fixed now," she said straightening quickly and taking a step back. Lucifer looked at the screen and then at her again.

"Thank you, Lhori. You're quite good with computers, aren't you?"

"Not really, it's just basic stuff, all human knows it. You know, we don't have demon powers, so we have to improvise using machines," she added with a grin.

***

She was ready to head out when she heard a knock on the door of her apartment. Surprised she opened the door and saw Satan standing there with his knowing smile.

"Hi, Lhori. Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, just let me grab my purse. Why are you here? I don't recall we were supposed to go to the palace together?"

"Well, I thought it would be fun to get there together. Those functional meetings could be such a bore, you know." He gave her his arm. "Shall we?"

 They were walking at a steady pace towards the palace.

"Lucifer asked you to do this, didn't he?" she asked after a moment.

"Well, you were always sharp. I'm glad you didn't lose that quality."

"Why? I'm perfectly fine on my own," she said irritated.

"Oh, don't be angry! You know him, he was always overprotective. And aren't you enjoying my company? I'm wounded!"

"You know I do, Satan. I'm glad you're here. So... The celestial delegation, hm? How are the angels? I only ever met Simeon and Luke."

"Most of them are quite different from those two. More pompous and looking at everyone down their nose. They are quite annoying, to be honest," Satan said with a frown. "Let's just keep each other company tonight, hm? I bet that way we at least enjoy Diavolo's wine together."

"We can certainly do that."

The angels were... beautiful, majestic, and perfect as statues. She couldn't take her gaze away from them. They were radiant. And yet, there was an aura of silent resentment around them, when they were looking around at other party-goers. Diavolo was all smiles as usual mingling around participants. Lucifer was at his side, his handsome face a mask with a pleasant smile, but his eyes were cold when he was scanning the room. When he spotted her and Satan he just nodded.

After a while, Diavolo approached them with a tall, handsome man. He had bright blond hair, his eyes were as blue as sapphires his jaw strong and masculine. The white suit perfectly underlining his muscular body.

"Oh, here you are Lhori," said Diavolo cheerfully. "I thought you got lost on the way! I wanted to introduce you to someone. This is Archangel Michael, he is supervising the program from the Celestial realm side. Michael, Lhori is our human ambassador." Archangel stepped forward gallantly took her hand and planted a kiss on it, while looking into her eyes with a piercing gaze.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lhori. If I wasn't told otherwise I would be sure you are one of the divine creatures." Lhori felt her cheeks gone red.

"Nice to meet you too..." she said lamely. He was still holding her hand, his eyes never leaving hers. Diavolo grunted and she gently took away her hand.

"You remember Satan, don't you?"

"Oh yeah," he finally took his eyes away from her. "Long time no see, Satan."

"Not nearly too long," replied Satan coldly. Michael narrowed his eyes.

"Well, I believe all introductions are done now," Diavolo interjected quickly. "Why don't we move to the dining room for a feast? I believe all is ready."

They all sat at a long table, Diavolo and Barbatos at the top, on their right side Lucifer and next to him a beautiful female angel. Her blond hair spiraled in perfect locks and her emerald eyes were big with long dark lashes. She was all smiles and talking all the time to Lucifer. Next to them sat Simeon and the rest of the angels' and demons' delegations. On the left side sat Michael with another angel and then Satan and Lhori next to them.

"Ariel, I'm thrilled you agreed to come to us as celestial realm ambassador," said Diavolo to the lady next to Lucifer.

"It's my pleasure, Diavolo," she replied, her voice as sweet as honey. "I couldn't miss such a wonderful opportunity to work on our realms relations. And I really missed Lucifer!" she added putting her hand on Lucifer's forearm. "It's been ages! We have so much catching up to do! Right?"

"Indeed we have," replied Lucifer with a small smile. Lhori felt a prickle of jealousy so she averted her gaze and drank her wine.

"Woah, you can drink fast," smirked Satan. "Be careful, otherwise I will have to carry you home."

"Oh, that wouldn't be a problem for you, would it?" she replied with a sweet smile. "You are such a strong demon after all!" 

He laughed. "Of course. But then I might have stayed with you for the night. You never know what might have happened then," he winked and she laughed thankful for his distraction.

"Diavolo, I'll be staying in your kingdom for a few days," said Michael. "I would love to see more of it."

"Certainly, Michael. I can arrange a sightseeing tour for you and the rest of the angels," said Diavolo.

"That won't be necessary," archangel interjected. "I would prefer a more personal tour... Why not ask Lhori to show me some nice places?" Suddenly all conversation stopped and all eyes fell on her. She put down her wine glass gently and looked at the archangel who was smiling broadly, sparks dancing in his sapphire eyes.

"Me...?" she asked surprised. "I really don't think I'm qualified to make tours around Devildom. I'm just a guest here after all. I'm sure someone local could show you more."

"Oh, but I don't want a generic tour. I want to see a Devildom in the eyes of an exchange student, to know what our people can expect. I believe you are just a perfect person to help me." She didn't know what to reply to that, but then Lucifer said in a stern voice.

"Lhori is very busy right now with the preparation for the exchange program. She can't possibly waste her precious time on idle tourist tours."

"Oh, Lucifer, you are such a demanding boss!" Archangel looked at Lucifer, his smile turned feral. "I'm sure that a girl can use a break. She's not your slave, you know." Lucifer's eyes narrowed and fury danced inside them.

"Oh-oh", she muttered to Satan. "That doesn't look good."

"Oh, on the contrary, I think this is quite entertaining," he replied with a smirk.

"Of course she's not. She is a respected member of Devildom society," Lucifer replied through gritted teeth. "And I don't think she has to jump on any whim of the archangel. This is not a celestial realm."

"That's harsh! And here I was thinking we were working on improving relations between our worlds. Maybe I was mistaken. Maybe this whole exchange program was doomed from the beginning..." Lucifer opened his mouth to replied, but Diavolo's booming voice stopped him.

"Lucifer, that's quite enough!" Lhori felt the hair on her neck is raising. It was not often that the Demon Lord showed his power. "Michael, I would be obliged if you refrain from agitating Lucifer for the sake of our good cooperation. As for your request. It is true that Lhori is very busy, but I'm sure she can find time for one afternoon to show you some nice places, isn't that right, Lhori?"

"Of course," she replied quietly.

"Then it's settled. Let's talk more about your candidates then!"