CHAPTER 6

"Aren't you a little too old for him?''

She feigned a fake gasp and placed a hand over her transparent chest. "Old? Madam Zenin, you have broken my heart."

"The boy just turned eighteen."
"Isn't that a good enough age in your realm, madam?"

"Rhael, you're a ghost who's over five hundred years old, and he's a very handsome lad who, I suspect that has a girlfriend."

She raised a curious eyebrow. "Will this said girlfriend be joining him at the hotel?"

"No Rhael." I was trying my hardest not to laugh. "His supposed girlfriend will not be joining us at the hotel."

"So you admit that his having a girlfriend is a probability?"

"Rhael.....'' I was cut off by my own laughter. "I need you to get to work and stop swooning over my guest."

She swung her red hair and let out a dreamy sigh. "Oh madam. If I'm being honest, I can't wait to meet. She trailed off and peeked at the file again. "I can't wait to meet Jamal," a childlike giggle escaped her lips as she spun around in mid-air, then stopped and bowed. "I'll leave you to work, madam."

"That would be highly appreciated, Rhael. Thank you.''

She picked up a few files and made her way out of the office. Just as I normally do with Martin, I watched her every move, including her phasing through and out of my office door with a few files in hand. I had always been fascinated with Rhael from the very first day that we met.

Ghosts and paranormal beings were things that I had always been interested in as a teenager, and having an actual spirit as my personal assistant was another one of the pleasant surprises that I had come to encounter at the hotel.

Another reason that I was so fascinated by my assistant was how she was able to touch physical objects as well as phase through them. I always attributed that skill to the powers of the hotel, since it was not something that was meant to happen without Rhael expending most of her energy. This hotel and all that dwelled in it were as amazing as advertised, but the only thing that could make it complete for me was if Ayoki was here more often.

I glanced at the framed picture of Ayoki and me sitting on my desk and reached over. I held the photo and stared at it longingly. The day we took the photo, I was dressed in a blue sundress, and Ayoki wore an ugly shirt and cargo shorts. It was the first time that I didn't look like I was rich enough to buy an entire bloodline, and it felt liberating. Everything with Ayoki felt liberating. That fine Saturday morning was the first time we had ever gone to an outdoor event without our security detail following every step and ruining most of the fun.

The carnival was so loud and lively, with an explosion of color and sometimes confetti. Nobody knew who we were and treated us the way they would if they had run into us at a local coffee shop. It felt good to be addressed as just another person and not a billionaire heiress with an appalling amount of money.

I wondered, then, if Ayoki had me on his mind the way I had him on mine. Martin had assured me that my husband had programmed himself to have eyes for only me and I didn't have much of a reason to be bothered about where his loyalty stood, but two weeks of no contact was enough to have me concerned.

He spent most of his time with celestial beings, and the goddesses,high-ranking or not, were extraordinarily beautiful. I was certain the ugliest of these beings would stand head and shoulders above the most beautiful human woman. It was an interesting irony, as most gods seemed to have their eyes caught by human women.

I took another look at the framed photo and was about to dive into an old memory of my darling and me when the sound of arguing from just behind the door dragged me out of my progressive slumber. I recognized one of the voices to be that of Rhael and the other to be that of a woman that I was not familiar with.

As I made my way to the door after trying and failing to get the attention of my assistant who was much too engrossed in her word exchange to notice me calling out to her severally I could hear what they said to each other.

"I have to see Azul Zenin immediately!"

"You can see the madam when you book an appointment like everybody else," Rhael shot back at the person who I was truly hoping was not a goddess.

''You will let me into the office right now!" "Then go in yourself, almighty one!" Five hundred years of existence, and she still didn't understand that you didn't get into an argument with a goddess. You don't even get into an argument with anyone whose name starts with a 'G'.

"You dare to mock me?"

"You can't get in without me or the madam giving you permission. Nobody can. However, if you're that desperate to meet the madam, then do try to step right in, and once you're done trying and failing, do well to set up an appointment."

"How dare you speak to me like that? I shall make sure that you are."I threw the door open in that moment, interrupting what was to be a torrent of threats and curses.

"Is there a problem, ladies?" I looked at the woman that Rhael had been addressing, and I was immediately stunned. The woman was over six feet tall, had beautiful,black, long hair, and had the most maternal eyes I had ever come across. She looked like a typical Eskimo woman and dressed accordingly, and the more I looked at her, the more I believed that if I fell over, she would cradle me and sing a lullaby to put me to sleep.

I bowed to the goddess. "My lady." I turned to Rhael. "What is going on?"

"Apparently, the rules do not apply to certain people."

"Show some respect, Rhael." I disliked using that tone on her, but it was always best to remind workers of their place, regardless of how familiar they had become with their superiors. Besides, it showed the goddess that I do have control over the attitude of my staff members.

She sulked a little. ``My apologies, madam Zenin. The goddess Akna here has refused to set up an appointment and insists that she sees you immediately, which is clearly against the instructions you gave me.

I turned to the goddess and smiled. "I truly apologize for how my assistant may have offended you, my lady. How about you follow me into the office and we can find a way to sort it out?"

The goddess scoffed and looked Rhael up and down. "I know a few gods in charge of the underworld that would be interested in a soul that's wandering around the wrong plane of existence."

As pale as she already was, I saw Rhael grow even paler, and I knew that she understood the implication of the backhanded threats of the goddess, as did I. With one free hand, I threw open the office door, my smile unwavering. "Do come in so we can have a discussion and sort all this out."

The goddess cast one last contemptuous look at my assistant and walked into the office, and I followed after her. I offered her a seat and sat next to her as she settled down on one of the chairs. All beings have a certain type of impossible and, most times, intimidating demeanor and appear differently. Sometimes these appearances depict their numerous attributes.

This goddess looked like a middle-aged mother who was popular among children in a neighborhood for being much nicer than their own mothers. I concluded that she most likely played a role in the maternity area, but I had no idea who she was.

"Again, let me apologize for my assistant's behavior. I assure you that she isn't usually like that.

"Oh, that's water under the bridge, my dear." The goddess, much to my relief, seemed less belligerent and was now returning my smile with an even wider one that seemed more genuine. "How long have you been working here?"

"About two years now, my lady."

"And how do you find it?"

"It's been very good." I tried my best not to glance at the photo on the table.

"Are you happy, child?" She seemed to be studying me. "Is there anything that you would like to talk about?"

I didn't answer immediately and thought about it for a minute. I wasn't sure that I was happy, and I didn't see the point of lying to the goddess, and for some reason I couldn't quite understand, I just wanted to tell her the truth.

"I am not happy. But I have a job to do, and that is all that matters."

The goddess smiled, cast a look around the office, and nodded her head appreciatively at the range of books,record tapes, and paintings that covered most of the room.

"Who is your godmother?"

The question caught me off guard since I expected an attempt at trying to lift my spirits. "Pardon?"

"Your godmother, little one. Who is your godmother?"

"Oh, that." I leaned back on my chair and shrugged. "I don't have a godmother. I do have a godfather, though." She seemed very curious. "And who might that be?"

"Lord Apollo"

Her lips formed a small 'oh' and she smiled. "It's not easy to get the Greek god to bless a child. He must have really liked your mother.""Or my father."

She gave me an odd look. A look that said, 'Come now, dear, we both know this has nothing to do with your father, but when she opened her mouth, she instead said, "They must have really made an impact on him if that's the case."

I cleared my throat as I suddenly