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"You look amazing," he said.
"Thank you. You look good," I said, making sure to be just as thorough in my appraisal. Two could play at that game, and playing it was just what I intended. "Nice tux, definitely looks like you bought it after the nineties."
"Was that in question?" he asked.
"Not for you. Now for Horus..." I turned in time to see the god enter the room.
"Ah, now I understand," Damien responded, following my gaze to see that the man in question was wearing a truly hideous suit. And the fact I could tell was a real issue.
"Yep, that was what I was worried about. I need to sort this out before any of the guests see. Are you okay with the greeting?"
"I've done this before," he reminded me. "I'll be fine."
"Great, thanks." There was a small urge to lean forward and press a kiss against his cheek, but I didn't do it. I wasn't sure precisely what it was about him, but he certainly put me at ease. Maybe it was because he wasn't treating me like I was about to explode every time something went wrong. That was a rarity in itself.
I headed over to where Horus was standing awkwardly. Or as awkwardly as a god could. It probably wasn't noticeable to anyone other than me.
"This way," I said.
He raised an eyebrow. "Is something the matter?"
"Your suit is the matter."
He looked down at it and for one dreadful moment, I thought he was going to argue with me about it, but instead he just shrugged and followed me back through the staging area of the party to where a rack of suits was waiting for him.
"Take your pick," I said. "This is Franz, he'll tailor you."
"This really isn't necessary," Horus responded.
"Trust me, it is. Today is about convincing people to part with their money so you can support your sanctuary, and that means you have to look the part. Please trust me on this?" I really hoped I wasn't going to have to keep having this conversation with him.
"Fine. But I won't be around long, one of the newly arrived monkeys is sick and..."
"Two hours, Horus. That's all I'm asking. Just make yourself known at the party and don't spend the whole night talking about monkey-born diseases or just where your hand was this afternoon."
"My hand wasn't anywhere weird," he protested.
"Your version of weird and my version of weird are two very different things," I said. "So just no talking about the bodily functions of animals, just focus on how sweet and cute they are, and how much they need everyone's help and we'll be good."
"All right, fine," he murmured.
"Great, thanks. I'll leave you with Franz, but let me know if you need anything."
He nodded and headed into the room with the suits. The door shut behind him, giving me a brief moment of reprieve.
I leaned against the wall and took a deep breath. That could have been worse.
Equally, it could have been better. Maybe two hours was too much for him, and maybe it would be too much for all of the people who had to listen to him talking about what he did day-to-day, but the reality was that I needed Horus in the room to convince people to part with their money.
At least he was the biggest liability for the event. Having worked on the set-up with Damien all day, I was strangely confident about that part of things. It was a shame I didn't think I'd be able to convince him away from his position at Jinx to come and work for me, I could use someone with his skill set.
I took another breath, feeling a lot steadier than a moment ago and ready to face whatever was waiting for me at the party. I smoothed my hands down my dress and pushed away from the wall, heading back towards the cacophony of voices.
Relief flooded through me as I realised people were already milling around and talking to one another while looking at the various displays we'd set up earlier. Between the donations that were bound to flow in from those, and the cover charge for the party, there should be some decent funds heading Horus' way by the time this was over.
I plastered a smile on my face and started doing the rounds, pleased to see that many of the gods and elite paranormals from the city had made their way out to the event, I'd been worried that the drive from the city would have put them off.
"Aphrodite, it is you!"
