The young man shot a startled glance toward Nix, his glasses glinting under the fluorescents.
It was Nix’s turn to startle—the human’s eyes were two different colors. One brown, one green. It was striking, even behind the layer of his glasses.
Nix was quick to compose himself. It was rude to stare, even if it was for nice reasons. He gave the stranger a smile instead. “Well, aren’t you lovely?”
He would be too, if he was polished up a bit. He’d be, at the very least, a very fine cutie.
The young man immediately looked down at his feet again. “Uh—”
The elevator arrived, saving him from coming up with a reply.Nix shot him a wink as they stepped in together. He wanted to ask the man’s name, but the anxiety rolling off him would have been palpable even if Nix hadn’t been a demon.
He was shy, to say the least. Shy to the point of real apprehension.
And he’d hit the button for the top floor, so they were both heading for Ivan’s office. Nix would find out who he was soon enough anyway.
Nix gave a little bow when the elevator stopped. “After you.”
The man shuffled in front of him, shooting him a glance every now and then over his shoulder. He was acting stiffly enough that Nix might have thought him a threat, but there was no malice coming off him. He was just a naturally nervous little creature.
Cute butt though.
Nix darted in front of him right when they got to Ivan’s door, waltzing through so he was the first thing Ivan saw.
He was at his desk, predictably, his tie gone and his top buttons unbuttoned. Nix could immediately sense the Book in the room. The demonic energy was now radiating out from one of Ivan’s desk drawers.
Ivan looked up with a scowl, though he didn’t seem too surprised to see Nix. “What are you doing here—”
“You have a visitor,” Nix interrupted. He stepped aside with a flourish to reveal his new friend behind him.
Ivan’s scowl dropped, his expression neutral once more. “Cooper,” he greeted, not seeming surprised to see his new guest either.
Ah. The cousin. Nix turned to Cooper with new interest. It was hard to see any family resemblance, and the darker coloring was only part of it. Ivan closely resembled his father—maybe Cooper was connected to the mother’s family?
Cooper stared down at his own feet, even as he addressed Ivan.The anxiety radiating off him thickened. “You needed me?” he asked, barely above a mumble.
Ivan tapped at his desk with one finger. “We have two people who need identification.”
“Fake IDs?”
“Not enough. We need thorough documentation of their existence. Enough for travel, residency…whatever they might require. And it needs to come from nothing.”
Cooper looked up from his feet then, apparent interest breaking through his reserve. “Social security cards, even?”
Ivan nodded. “Can you do it?”
“Uh, sure.” Cooper tugged at the strings of his hoodie, biting his lip in thought. “I need approximate ages. Photos.”
“I can get you those.” Ivan pushed the pile of ledgers on his desk toward them. “And I need these digitized.”
Nix came closer, stepping between them and watching as Cooper gathered the ledgers. He knocked his hip against the desk drawers, catching Cooper’s attention. “You missed one.”
“Oh. Um, thank you.” Cooper grabbed blindly, adding the last of it to his pile and hugging them against his chest.
Ivan cleared his throat. “This is Nix, my new assistant. He’s one of the ones needing ID.”
Cooper met Nix’s eyes fully for the first time for the briefest instant before he looked away again. “You, um, have a preference for your birthday?”
What a sweetheart. Nix winked at him. “Whatever you think best, Cooper, darling.”
