"So I've been thinking," Marcus started and Mila jumped. She'd fallen asleep on the bus then woke up with him right next to her.

"Bitch, I swear," she muttered grumpily, yawning and standing, grabbing her bag.

She made her way off the bus and Marcus followed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "This is the part where you ask what I've been thinking," he informed her.

"What?" She frowned in confusion.

"Are you all right?" Marcus asked, brows furrowed in concern.

"I'm tired," Mila admitted, adjusting the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "What do you want?"

"I said I've been thinking."

"Good for you?" Mila shrugged.

Marcus sighed in annoyance but spoke anyway. "I think I should come with you to Chicago."

Mila snorted and Marcus sent her a glare. She paused her walking and raised an eyebrow. "Wait, you're serious?"

"Obviously," Marcus said, crossing his arms.

"Why?"

"You have been fretting about Stella and the cold," he reminded her. "Guess who can keep someone warm even in freezing temperatures flying through the air so can definitely handle a car ride and walk to and from cars to whatever place she needs to go?"

"Fretting?" Mila repeated, a smile growing. "Is that your like... Older side coming out? I can't remember the last time I heard someone use that word."

"You know what it means," Marcus clipped. "And you know I'm right."

Mila sighed and started walking again, considering what he said. He had a point. Even bundling up Stella as much as they planned still made them both nervous. For whatever reason, Stella's lungs had a hard time in the cold. She would always start coughing more, have more pain. If she could safely get Stella around for treatments without being terrified she'd get worse, Mila definitely preferred that. She just doubted Terry would appreciate it.

"While I agree with you, my brother wouldn't go for it," she said honestly. "He doesn't like you."

"I'm not too fond of him either but that's not the point," Marcus argued. "The point is making sure Stella stays as healthy as she can."

"You know, you sound like you actually care," Mila asked, looking over at him curiously. "Did my baby sister bring your soul back from hell with her adorableness?"

"Mila, Stella is safer if I come with and don't let her get cold," Marcus said honestly. "You know that's true."

"I do know that's true but you know what else is true?" Mila asked, pausing again and turning towards him. "Terrence doesn't like you. He's not happy you were at the house with Stella, and he is not going to accept me saying, 'hey, let my friend tag along'. This is a serious thing we're doing and we don't let people into Stella's life unless there's a good chance they are going to stay there. She already experienced loss both in death from my mom and abandonment from my dad, we're not doing temporary. Anyone that gets to see her has to be important."

Mila started walking again and Marcus frowned after her. While all of it made sense, he didn't like it. Stella was very sick and Mila barely got along with her brother. The entire trip sounded exhausting in more than one way.

"Fine," Marcus said, coming up alongside Mila. "Make me important, then. Stella already likes me, Terrence is the only one you need to convince so make me important."

"How?" Mila asked, rolling her eyes.

"Tell him I'm your boyfriend."

That got Mila to stop again, for a third time despite she was starting to get worried she'd be late. "What?"

"Tell him I'm your boyfriend and you want me there for moral support," Marcus shrugged. "While I see why you're upset with him, he is desperate for forgiveness. I can see it. He wants you to forgive him and because of that, he won't say no to you, especially if I'm presented as someone important."

"That is insane," Mila said, shaking her head.

"More insane than spending the entire trip worried Stella will catch cold?"

Mila considered it as she started walking again. She was tired, her head was spinning, and she tried to blame those things on why Marcus made sense. She knew firsthand Marcus was capable of keeping someone warm and the forecast in Chicago didn't look great. Snow, wind, chill factor... All the new coats and gloves and scarves and hats in the world couldn't completely protect Stella from the elements, but Marcus could.

"Fine," Mila agreed, giving him a side-glance. "I'll at least try and see how it goes, but I hope you know that if we do this, that means Terry is going to want to meet you again, and probably make you sit through a family dinner or six before he's convinced you're safe enough to bring along. You sure you wanna sign up for that?"

"Please," Marcus scoffed. "Stella is the weak spot for both of you. I don't need to convince Terry. I just need to win over Stella and let her do the convincing for me."

"That... You know, it sounds messed up but you're not wrong," Mila frowned. "She already likes you. Let her put makeup on you and you're in."

"Done."

"Seriously?" Mila asked, looking over at him. "You want to do this? Is this like a manipulation thing where you'll make me feel obligated to you for helping and use that to try to get me to pick a different name?"

"No," Marcus scowled. "It's not about you. It's about Stella."

"Ha," Mila said, a smile forming. "You said Stella is our weak spot and conveniently left your name out of it. Admit it, you love her. You want her to get better."

"Of course I want her to get better, she's a child for fuck's sake," he said, narrowing his eyes. "Don't make it a thing, I'm still a demon, I'm just not a complete asshole."

"Well good because my boyfriends are not allowed to be," Mila shrugged, grabbing the door for her building and walking in. "So you'll have to be on your best behavior as my pretend boyfriend."

I can't promise best behavior for the entire time, Mila, what fun would that be?

The words filled her mind like he was right there but when she looked around, he was gone. Trying to ignore the way that comment sent a tingle up her spine, she made her way to the elevators and decided she really needed to get used to the fact he could disappear and appear as he pleased. Especially because there was no way he was going to start listening to her and actually give her a heads up before doing it.

All the coffee in the world did not help the level of tired Mila was once she got to her desk. She was so tired, her brain so done with the lack of proper rest, that it almost convinced her it was a perfectly good idea for her to lay down on the floor at work and sleep. It wasn't, but she almost convinced herself it was.

Hoping she got the last of her incessant yawning done, she composed herself outside Kayla's office, took a deep breath and walked in with a friendly smile and a cup of coffee the way Kayla liked it. "Good morning."

"Morning," Kayla said, not looking up from the stack of papers on her desk. "You can leave it on the desk."

Mila's smile faltered but she put it back up. Kayla wasn't her normal boss but Aliyah was on extended vacation and Kayla was the one picking up a lot of the slack. So temporarily, she was kind of Mila's boss. And Mila hated to admit she was a little intimidated by the woman.

"Is there anything you need that you don't have?" Mila asked, setting down the coffee and clasping her hands together. She was nervous for what she had to ask but she still had to ask it.

"No, actually, I wanted to say," Kayla said, looking up at Mila for the first time all morning. "Excellent work on those reports. I don't suppose you can clone yourself and work for me and Aliyah both?"

Mila laughed, surprised to hear a compliment from the woman. "If only. I'd definitely appreciate the money."

Kayla shrugged and nodded, picking up the coffee. Her eyes fell back to the paperwork and Mila stood there, wringing her hands together. She wasn't normally so nervous but she knew she'd already taken a lot of time off for Stella this year and she wasn't giving as much notice as they liked.

"What is it, Mila?" Kayla asked, turning another page.

"I just... Wanted to make sure you saw the request for time off I left on your desk."

"I did."

Mila waited for more, for an answer, any inclination of a hint about getting it approved. There was no more. That was it. Kayla continued working and it didn't seem she intended to elaborate.

"Was my response unsatisfactory?" Kayla asked, looking up at Mila again.

"Well... Uh... I was hoping for an answer,' Mila said honestly.

"So my response left you wanting more information," Kayla said, leaning back in her chair. "Yes?"

"Yes," Mila said, her brows furrowing.

"That's how I felt when I read your request for time off," Kayla said. "You have no explanation of why, it just says urgent. I'm not trying to be a bitch, Mila, but I've seen your employment record. You take off more than anyone else. If you have a good reason, then you do, but when I have an employee asking for that much time off in one year, I start getting suspicious about whether or not they actually need it."

Mila shifted uncomfortably and shrugged. "Aliyah knows why and she doesn't have a problem with it."

"Aliyah's not here," Kayla shrugged, refocusing on her work and not sparing Mila a glance.

Mila blew out a breath and braced herself for it. She hated telling people about Stella, not because she was embarrassed by it but because she hated the look people gave. It was a look that made her blood boil, that made her want to scream, a look that sentenced Stella to death with a pitiful, sympathetic smile while she was still alive. At least, that's how it felt. A sad smile that said 'oh poor thing, she's going to die soon'. Mila hated that smile but it's what everyone gave when they heard how sick Stella was. Regardless, she needed the time off and while Kayla wasn't the friendliest, she was fair.

"My little sister has lymphoma," Mila explained, swallowing. "I need the time off to drive her to Chicago for special treatments. I can get a note from her oncologist, if you need it."

Kayla's eyes shot up and Mila braced herself for the look she hated. It started to form but Kayla wiped it away before it actually got there. She nodded in understanding, reached over and picked up the paper. Clicking a pen open, she signed at the bottom for approval and held the paper out for Mila. "Give it to HR, tell them they can call me if they have an issue with it."

"Thank you," Mila said, breathing a sigh of relief and taking the paper.

She turned to leave but Kayla spoke up again. "Mila?" Mila paused and glanced back. Kayla held her gaze a moment, a frown tugging on her lips but at least it wasn't the sympathy smile. "If you need more time off for this, don't be shy. Put it on the top of my stack and I'll approve it."

"Thank you," Mila said, offering a small smile before leaving and heading to Lindsay's office.

She stepped inside and Lindsay pretended as if she wasn't just reading a magazine but sighed in relief when she saw it was Mila. "Oh thank God, I was worried I was getting caught."

"Your secret's are safe with me," Mila said, sliding the form across Lindsay's desk. "Request for time off."

"When do you leave?" Lindsay asked, looking up and giving that smile Mila hated. Mila took a deep breath and reminded herself it was coming from a good place, she just really fucking hated that look.

"Two weeks."

"I'll keep you guys in my thoughts," Lindsay sighed, taking the paper.

"Thanks," Mila said, giving Lindsay a wave before walking out of her office, her eyes going wide when she saw Callum standing at her desk, next to and speaking to Marcus who was sitting on the edge of her desk as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Mila picked up her pace, wondering what the hell that demon was up to now. She plastered a smile on her face as she reached the desk and Callum greeted her with a warm smile. "Hey, Mila, I didn't know you had a boyfriend."

Mila froze, blinking a few times. Eventually she managed a nervous laugh but was unsure what to say. "Marcus," she said, focusing her attention on him, speaking through her teeth and wanting to smack him. "I didn't know you were coming up here."

"Well, I had to bring you your favorite," he said, gesturing to the paper bag from her favorite bakery. Her shoulders slumped and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Got a thoughtful one, Mila, good for you," Callum said, giving her a smile she swore was laced with sadness. "It was nice to meet you, Marcus," Callum said, nodding to Marcus. "Take good care of her, she's a sweet girl."

"Oh I will," Marcus said, waving Callum goodbye as Callum made his way to his office.

The moment Callum was in his office, Mila elbowed Marcus in the ribs hard enough to make him groan. "What the hell?" She hissed.

"What?" Marcus asked innocently. "You said we were going to do the pretend relationship thing."

"In front of Terry," she said, smacking his arm. "I repeat, what the hell?"

"I don't know how you expect to sell it if only one person knows about it," Marcus shrugged. "What if your brother goes asking your coworkers about me?"

"Oh my God, whatever," Mila sighed, plopping down on her chair. "He wouldn't, the circles don't cross, and don't lie to me. That's not why you did it."

"Then why did I do it?" Marcus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You tell me, devil-boy," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Are you jealous that I find Callum devastatingly sexy?"

A muscle in Marcus's jaw twitched and it shot excitement through Mila. He was jealous, and knowing that made her more excited than she wanted to admit.

Marcus got off Mila's desk and leaned down, bracing his hands on the armrests of her chair and tipping it back, his lips inches from hers as he leaned in. "So what if I am? You mean to tell me that if I didn't find your little blonde friend sexy," he said, tilting his head back towards Lindsay's office. "You wouldn't be jealous?"

"Of course not," Mila said, trying to keep her expression neutral. She hated the idea he would look at Lindsay over her but she wasn't about to admit that.

"Hmm," Marcus hummed, sliding one hand down to the end of Mila's pencil skirt and up her thigh.

Mila inhaled sharply, looking around but everyone seemed to be too busy and the view was blocked by her desk anyway. Marcus's hand ascended up high on the top of her thigh, stopping inches from where a warm pool was gathering. "One more question."

"What?" Mila asked, trying to focus on her breathing because it did not escape her or Marcus's attention that her chest was rising and falling quickly.

"Did you forget again that I can smell a lie?" Marcus asked, sliding his hand up just a little higher, squeezing her thigh, digging his fingers into her skin with a tight, possessive hold. He leaned in even closer, his nose skimming along her jaw before reaching her ear. "Or do you just like being a brat because you want to see what I'll do about it?"

Mila swallowed and Marcus pulled back, slowly withdrawing his hand and straightening up. "I'll see you at home, girlfriend."

He walked away from her desk and Mila seriously considered throwing something at him but simultaneously realized that meant she'd have to get up and pick it up afterwards. She was too tired. So instead she just glared at him as he made his way to the elevator.

He hit the button and the doors opened. He stepped inside then turned around, his gaze meeting Mila's as his voice floated into her mind again. Don't forget about the paper bag.

Mila flipped him off but he seemed unaffected. Chocolate did seem wise for how tired she was so she grabbed the paper bag and opened it up, her eyes going wide when she saw a vibrator inside, decorated with devil horns and a note that read for when I'm not there for you to watch. She looked across the office to the elevators where the doors were starting to close, but she didn't miss the cocky smirk on his face before they shut.