Page 12 of Dragon Her Heels

For now. “Count me in. I like living, so I’m being selfish, of course.”

The Devil burst into laughter. “Are you even capable of being selfish?”

“I’m sure I could master the art if I try.”

My new boss snorted. “I’ll come pick up those papers you signed tonight along with the deed for your new home in my many hells. Do yourself a favor: start entering your horse in stake races. That’s a good start to mastering the art of selfishness.”

I narrowed my eyes. Lucifer’s tone indicated he doubted I’d ever be capable of selfishness but he humored me. “Alligator Bait loves racing. I just do it for her.”

“That’s not doing a good job of being selfish. Try again.”

I sighed. “I spent her purse money upgrading their stalls. I guess I could use more purse money to upgrade their barn.”

“Once again, that is the exact opposite of selfish.”

I muttered curses. “It’s close enough. Can you at least tip me off on when this dragon is going to show up?”

“Whenever he wants,” my boss admitted. “I’ll try to at least convince him to make an appearance even if he isn’t ready for the castle yet. But hey, at least you’re being paid well to have your career put on hold for a while, right?”

“I’m honestly not comfortable with being paid to be lazy,” I confessed.

“Be selfish,” Lucifer ordered. “If you don’t show me suitable selfishness, I’ll be forced to give you a raise for doing nothing.”

The threat baffled me. “Are you insane?”

“Yes. Thank you for noticing. I’ll check in on you in a week or two to see if you have begun indulging in acts of selfishness. I’ll give you a tip on how you can dip your toes into acts of selfishness. Go buy a new phone. Yours works, but it’s old. It’s time to upgrade. Giving yourself unnecessary bells and whistles counts. You can afford the splurge.”

I could handle that assignment; with my upcoming work, I would need it. “Okay. I can do that. Thank you, Lucifer.”

“No, thank you. I don’t know what you’ll do, but because of you, there’s hope.”