At the breakfast table.

Alice went to get us not long after. She was wearing an apron over her shirt and watched us make out with crossed arms, a furrowed brow and a cute pout.

“You guys are having fun, aren’t you?” she said.

I gave her a sheepish smile. “We, uh…”

Alice sighed and shook her head, her frown turning into a smile. “I guess this is what our mornings would be like, huh?” she muttered fondly to herself. “Okay, go wash up and go to the table. Unless you like cold scrambled eggs.”

“Oh, eww!” Sarah jumped out of the bed and hurried to the bathroom.

With breakfast practically ready, we cleaned ourselves as best we could without taking a shower. That would come after, but at that moment we were all starving.

Diana had a wonderful table set up. Toasted bread, eggs, ham, jam, butter, orange juice, tea, coffee, milk, cereal…

“Aren’t you being too good to us?” I asked her. “You even made us drinks last night.”

“I don’t often entertain guests, but when I do, I do it properly,” Diana said. “I don’t want you to leave thinking I was a cheapskate.”

“Please, we would never!” Mila assured. “Next time we’ll foot the bill!”

“Next time?” Sarah asked. “After the mess we left in her bedroom, I’d be surprised if she ever wants to talk to us again.”

“W-We’ll wash the sheets, I promise!” Noelle said. Then nervously and shamefully, she added, “Um… Anyone know how to use a washing machine? Totally unrelated, by the way.”

“You can use a computer but you can’t use a washing machine?” Alice asked. She sighed and shook her head. “Alright. I’ll teach you.”

Diana chuckled. “Hey, I had a great time, truly. I’d be happy to have you over more often.” She came up to me, cupped my cheek and pecked my lips. “That said, I do expect you to help with the cleaning. And we’ll all pitch in for food and drink.”

I smiled. “Of course.”

“We ARE washing your sheets, though,” Grace said. “So… Alice? Help?”

“I said I would, didn’t I? Now let’s eat. My stomach keeps grumbling.”

We got comfortable and began to dig in. The silence at the table was that that forms when everyone is too busy eating. Morning sex had woken me up better than any cup of black coffee ever could, so I had mine with milk.

The problem with the silence was that it got me thinking again. Last night had been really fun, the morning so far had been… enlightening, in some ways. But as good a time as we were having, there was no more pushing back the topic.

“H-Hey, everyone? There’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you all about. It’s… important.”

Maybe they could sense it in me, but the mood quickly turned more serious. Diana set her mug down and looked at me.

“Is this about Mr. Allen’s offer?” she asked.

“Yeah, mostly.”

“Wait, Mr. Allen? Mr. Luke Allen? The rich guy whose girlfriend you helped?” Mila asked me.

“The same one.”

“What… Huh? Did you meet up with him again?”

“It was a coincidence. Or kind of. He owns the hotel we went to on Valentine’s Day, the one where Diana works. I went there to meet her one day and he saw me. We made small talk and…” Ugh. This was already starting to get complicated. “You girls remember I’m… possessed by a spirit, right?”

“You know, I actually forget sometimes,” Sarah said.

“Yeah,” Noelle agreed. “For as big a deal that is, it’s not something that comes up much.”

“No, I’m still curious about what other stuff you can do with those powers of yours,” Alice admitted.

“Same here,” Grace said. “It’s too interesting to not test more stuff out.”

“Well, you may get your wish granted, you two,” I told the two more interested girls. “Mr. Luke Allen, well known corporate tycoon, is also possessed, only by a different type of spirit. He has powers and knowledge of the supernatural, has deep connections to underground supernatural dealings, profits from it, and… he offered me a job. Kind of. And it pays disgustingly well.”

I could see the confusion in the girls’ faces. Diana was the only one who knew about this, at least in part.

“Alright, so that’s the summary…” Grace said with a wry smile. “Now from the top, Oliver.”

I told them everything. I told them that he figured out I had powers and that he had correctly guessed the nature of said powers. I told them about the first time he made the offer, about Frey’s opinion that we had a lot to gain from it. I told them I met with Mr. Allen again just two days ago again to discuss more details. I told them what he wanted from me… and I told them how much he was offering to pay me.

That last part stunned them for a moment. More than the mention of magic, sex potions and the existence of underground black markets, what gave them pause was the sum I was getting offered to be paid. I guess I was the same. Magic talk felt foreign, but money was something we all understood.

“U-Um… So…” Mila began, stammering. “This guy is… offering to pay you for helping make… magic viagra?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle weakly. “That makes it sound a little more ridiculous, but yes, basically.”

“And you still haven’t given him an answer, right?” Alice asked.

I nodded.

“Yeah, I can understand why you’d hesitate,” Sarah said. “That sounds way too good to be true. Those numbers sound too high to me.”

“I don’t know,” Grace said, shrugging. “I mean, yeah, it’s a lot of money for us, but that sounds close to what my dad’s company spends monthly on equipment and materials. The big players move a lot of money to make even more money. Ask Noelle. She learned that last night.”

Alice chuckled and nodded in agreement. “Yeah, and considering the rarity of what Oliver has to offer and the profit you could make from the product, that sounds like a very reasonable sum. Still…” She grimaced. “An under-the-table deal like this offers you no protection.”

I groaned and rubbed the back of my neck. “The thing is… Call me crazy, but I don’t think Mr. Allen is trying to scam me or something like that. It’s my gut feeling, mostly, but…”

“But your gut feeling tends to be right in this sort of thing,” Noelle said. “Besides, I don’t think it’s fair to just call it ‘gut feeling’, right? It’s more than that, isn’t it?”

Yeah, it was. Thanks to Frey’s powers, I was able to take a peek inside Mr. Allen’s thoughts. He meant what he said and said what he meant. Admitting that he also wanted to profit from what was primarily a personal project made it easier to believe him. The mix of Frey’s powers and my instincts hadn’t failed me so far, at least.

“Then… Um… You should just accept, right?” Mila said. “There’s no reason not to, is there?”

You know, I felt like my own grievances and worries were at least somewhat valid, but finding myself in a place where I had to speak them out loud… I was starting to feel pretty embarrassed about it.

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