Pride (Living In Sin #1)

Chapter 9

Pry

"I was right; he is a human. And he doesn’t know of the supernatural."

Chef looked up from his preparations. It did not surprise me to see him surrounded by food. He was always cooking or eating. Or watching others indulge. He wasn't the manifestation of Gluttony for no reason.

"I don't think that's something you're supposed to be happy about, Older Brother."

I ignored his teasing to grab a muffin from the pile. We didn't need to eat, but after so long being amongst humans, keeping with appearance meant it was now a hard habit to break. Chef was also fantastic at his work, so eating his food was no chore.

"He signed the contract with barely a question. No one who knew they were walking into a supernatural owned club would do such a thing."

Raspberry muffins. My favorite. Was Chef trying to butter me up? It was hard to say. Aside from Ace, Chef was the most laid back of us all. It was just as likely it was what he had felt like making. But it wouldn't hurt to be cautious.

"Did you actually interview him? Or manhandle him into signing?" He scowled, dicing something. Food didn't look like usual in Chef's hands. It always seemed like... more. I was sure it was a tomato, but it was just like it was more than that.

"I didn't think it would be a problem if I did. But no. He wanted the job and has signed on his own." We were demons, after all. Signing contracts was part of our daily routine. Though, when I thought about it, I couldn't quite remember the last soul I had signed a contract with. Nor could I remember that of the others who stayed close to the club.

The thought gave me pause before thoughts of the young man a few rooms over pushed them out of my mind, and I chuckled. "The only thing he really took issue with was a kiss on his hand. It was inappropriate."

At this, Chef looked up again, but a smile grew across his face before he let out a large belly laugh. "Oh, that poor Lamb! He's going to be floored when Des gets here."

At that, I could only nod, joining in with the mirth. Our younger sibling would certainly run circles around Alec. It would be amusing to watch the Demon of Lust do what they did best. I ignored the stab of a strange feeling to my chest, rubbing absentmindedly at it.

"What will we do if the spell has messed up? Maybe this human is not meant to be a part of our... gang?" Chef cringed at the use of the word. It sounded like something Envy or Ace would say.

I shrugged off his concern. "I think we at least have a better chance at surviving with him being here; don't you?" Chef cringed again, this time his eyes not meeting mine. Even though it was never said, as the oldest of our tribe, the burden of running Club Midnight fell to me. And even though it was not a burden I minded baring usually, it had become too bureaucratic over the last few decades. At this point, only my pride kept me from wandering too far.

One day soon I would no longer care and it would all fall apart. It wasn't like any of my family would be interested in keeping the day to day running either.

"Perhaps someone who does not know our world is just what we need."

Chef shrugged, and I knew I'd have no arguments from him. I had no doubts that some of the rest of the family would have opposing opinions. But I could handle most of them without a problem.

I also had to admit, I was glad Crave and Fury had gotten bored with the earthly plane right now. They would enjoy butting heads with me just for the fun of it. By the time they heard the news, I was confident I would have talked the rest of the family around. And if there were five of us against their two, better odds were in my favour.

Bored now with demon politics, I left Chef to his preparations and sauntered back to the offices, stopping by the bar to get two soft drinks. What I hadn't mentioned to my brother was how intriguing I found this entirely innocent human. That was ammunition Chef didn't need to have.

Alec was just what we needed even if the rest of the family didn't realise it yet. Not only would he be able to help with the boring paperwork, but I had the feeling there was a lot more to this magic than we knew.

When I got to the door, I expected Alec to be waiting meekly. He was not. His laptop was open and on and he already had a pile of my paperwork transferred to his desk that he was shifting through. Yes, he would make a good fit whether or not Chef thought he would.

"You can get a look at all that later. Come and check out the room."