I smiled, a little sad that the promised drink wasn’t going to be sooner than that, even though I knew it wouldn’t mean anything and was just that. A drink. “No worries. I’ll get these sorted for you, I can’t wait to see the sharks.”
“And I can’t wait to hear about which is your favourite photo.”
“I’m not supposed to have favourites,” I said.
“But you do.” He smiled. “I’ll see you later.” He pressed the green button on his phone and answered the call.
I sighed and picked up the memory card, turning it over between my fingers as I did.
“Watching you two attempt to flirt with each other is my favourite sport,” Anise said as she came over to join me.
I groaned. “That went even worse than usual.”
“Nah, he’s clearly into you.”
“No, he’s not. He just likes what I do with his photos.”
She scoffed. “You only think that because you don’t see his face when he realises that you’re not in. That man is smitten. I’d almost wager that you put a love spell on him.”
I rolled my eyes. “I did no such thing.”
“Mmhmm.”
“Oh shh.” I swotted at her arm. “It’s nothing. Are you all right if I go into the back and develop these?” I held up the memory card.
“Be my guest, try not to drool over them.”
“They’re photos of sharks,” I pointed out.
“Mmhmm, that your crush took, I wouldn’t put it past you.”
“We need to find you a new sport to watch,” I muttered.
“You can try, we’re going out on Wednesday night, you should come.”
“All right, I will,” I agreed, but only because I wanted something to take my mind off Baal and his charming smile. Otherwise I was going to end up completely obsessing over a man I barely knew, and that wasn’t me.
Except that all of the current indicators said that it was.
I pushed the thought to the side. It could never happen anyway, so it wasn’t something that I needed to worry about. A night out with Anise would definitely be the distraction I needed.
CHAPTER 2
Baal
I knocked on Horus’ office door and cursed at him for the fifth time since I left the copy shop. The man certainly knew bad timing. And just as I was finally managing to talk to Chelsea about going for a coffee. I wanted to talk to her about an opportunity that had come up, but in all honesty, I was hoping that one coffee would lead to two and I’d finally get some time away from the copy shop with Chelsea.
“Come in,” Horus called out, pulling me back to reality.
I stepped inside and took a seat at his desk. “This better be good,” I muttered.
“Have I caught you in a rare bad mood?” he asked, looking up from his desk with a bemused expression on his face.
“Yes.”
He chuckled and leaned back in his seat, pushing his hand through his short curly hair. “What’s got you all stressed, Baaley?”
“For one, you calling me that, you know I hate it.”
“Almost as much as Seth hates it when I call him Uncle. He hates it even more when I point out that’s what he is.” Amusement danced over Horus’ face, just like it always did when he talked about infuriating his uncle.
“It’s still a sore spot that everyone thinks he killed your father and left you half-blind,” I pointed out.
“Complete rubbish, I’ve clearly got both my eyes.” He gestured upwards.
“And your father is walking around in broad daylight. But you know what rumours are like. Seth only just started coming to the underworld again, don’t ruin it for him.” It was nice having my old friend back, I didn’t want him chased off.
“He has? I didn’t know that,” Horus mused.
“Oh, yeah, he’s dating Menhit. I’m not entirely clear how they met, but they’re sweet together.”
“The fact that anyone managed to catch his heart after Nephthys broke it is surprising,” Horus responded. “But enough about my uncle, believe it or not, I didn’t bring you here to talk about non-existent family feuds.”
“I assumed you brought me here to talk about something like the calendar you want me to shoot. You were very vague on the phone the other day.” Though that had been enough for me to start planning on asking for Chelsea’s help.
“I was, wasn’t I?”
“Cryptic doesn’t suit you, Horus. Just come out with it.” I folded my arms across my chest and waited for the other god to explain.
He chuckled. “All right, fine. I want you to shoot a naked calendar for me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You realise that I normally photograph wildlife, right?”
“Now you do, but we’re both well aware that you’ve shot a lot of other things in your time too.”
“That’s fair. Though I’ve never done a naked calendar before.” Though now he mentioned it, I had to admit that it sounded like a good challenge, and no doubt Horus was well aware that I’d still do it, especially as I’d already agreed.
“And there’d be wildlife involved this time too,” Horus assured me.
“Is it a naked calendar you want, or an animal one, you’re going to have to make up your mind.”
Horus chuckled. “I want both. Naked people with either their animal forms or their pets, it’s up to them.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You realise I can’t photograph someone in their animal form at the same time, right?”
“That’s what photoshop is for. Or they can get out some of their features while in their human bodies, I know you can do that with your horns.”
“I can...” I said slowly.
“So there you go. I’ve got some names already for you, but there are a few more people I’m waiting for responses from.”
“Where are you wanting me to shoot? Are you offering up part of the sanctuary for me?” I’d always wanted to do a shoot here, but there hadn’t been an opportunity yet.
“Absolutely not, that would be far too stressful on the animals,” he responded.
“Of course.” Which made sense, but was a little frustrating in terms of actually organising the shoot. “Have you talked to Menhit?” I asked, an idea springing to mind.
“No, why? Do you think she’d take part?” Horus asked.
“Almost certainly, but I was actually thinking about her oasis as the place for the shoot. It’s in purgatory, so it would definitely help with keeping things private and making sure that no humans see anything they’re not supposed to, and it’s beautiful, there are lots of different places to take the photos we need.”
“Hmm, I’ve never been.”
“It’s worth asking her. And knowing her, she won’t charge you for it if you say it’s for charity.” I wasn’t completely convinced she’d charge anyone, but the charity angle definitely helped.
Horus smiled. “I like your bargaining skills.”
“She hasn’t said yes yet,” I warned him.
“No, but hopefully she will.”