Goddess by Chance (Demi-God Daughters Book 2) (4 page)

Chapter Six

There was nothing like a lazy Saturday.  Stretching, Arienne rose from her couch. Her stomach grumbled.
Maybe I’ll step out for some Chinese.
Walking down the hallway to her bedroom, she looked down at herself. Tank top and capris. Yep. It was just fine to run out for a bite.  She grabbed a pair of flip flops from her closet.

“Shoes. Check. Purse. Check. Keys?”

She dug around inside her purse and found her keys. “Success.”

She could almost taste that Chinese. Reaching the front door, Arienne reached up to remove the chain from the door when her cell phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number.

“Arienne Marcos.”

“Ms. Marcos, it’s Herman George.”

Arienne rolled her eyes.
What the hell is Scrooge calling me for?
Herman George was the Director of the Cape Canaveral Library, and he was a grump if there ever was one. Old, white-haired and mean, Herman George was a pompous old windbag. Arienne couldn’t stand the man. She was certain he would’ve fired her a while ago if the library patrons didn’t love her so much.

“Mr. George, what can I do for you?” she asked with false sweetness.

“I wanted to inform you that I will be meeting with a very important person on Monday, so please make sure you are dressed appropriately and on your best behavior.”

Arienne gritted her teeth.
Does he think I’m in grade school or something? Who the hell does he think he’s talking to?
She took a calming breath. “No need to worry, Mr. George. See you Monday,” Arienne said disconnecting the call before her boss could say anything else.

What an asshole.
Shaking her head, Arienne unlocked her door and opened it. She almost walked into a man’s raised fist.

“So sorry, ma’am.”

Arienne backed up. “Me, too.”

“Are you Arienne Marcos?”

“Yes,” Arienne said.

“Then these are for you,” the man said.

Arienne tore her gaze away from the gruff looking man to what he held in his hands. It was a vase filled with red roses.

“You’re sure these are for me.?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Arienne took the vase from the man. “Any idea who they’re from?”

“No. I’m just the delivery guy. You have a nice day.”

“You, too.”

Arienne stepped back inside and softly closed the door. She put the vase full of flowers down on her glass table. A glimpse of white drew her attention. A card. She pulled it from the flowers. There was a flowing script.
To Arienne, From A Secret Admirer.

“A secret admirer?”

She had no clue who the roses could be from. There were no potential suitors in her life. In fact her love life was nonexistent.
I hope me being on the news is not about to bring out the crazies.
The last thing she needed was to be on any man’s radar. She put the card on the table and turned to leave.

****

Triton watched Arienne leave her condo with a smirk on his face. If the girl got that flustered over receiving roses, she was likely to swoon as soon as he put the moves on her. Working his wiles on Arienne Marcos did not seem like it was going to be challenging, but a little more reconnaissance never hurt anyone. He disappeared, determined to see what else he could learn about Athena’s daughter.

Chapter Seven

Arienne drove down the street as her stomach continued to rumble with hunger. She slowed as she approached the yellow light. She probably could’ve made it, but this was a four way intersection and there was no use tempting fate. Arienne slowed to a complete stop, but the yellow Mitsubishi Lancer in front of her floored it, slipping past the light. The Lancer was jackknifed by a blue Dodge Ram, and the impact of the truck hitting it made the small car flip over repeatedly. Frantically Arienne grabbed her cell phone and dialed 911.

“There’s been an accident. I’m at the red light at the intersection of Craig and West Street heading north. A truck struck a car, causing it to roll over. No one seems to be moving inside the vehicle, so please send help immediately.”

Arienne disconnected the call, put her car in park and killed the ignition. Who knew how long it was going to take for the EMTs to make it? Arienne exited the car and locked it behind her. Traffic was at a standstill. A few curious people were looking out of their vehicles, but no one approached the crash site. Sprinting over to the Lancer, Arienne got down on her knees. The windows were cracked so badly she couldn’t see inside.

Do something. For once be Athena’s daughter.

Arienne stood up and glanced around. More people were peeking out of their vehicles, but none came forward. She was going to be seen, but she didn’t have a choice. Taking a deep breath, Arienne braced her hands against the Lancer and pushed as hard as she could. The car started to roll over until it was upright. Quickly Arienne grabbed the tangled mess that was the passenger front door. She pulled with all her strength, and the door came off its hinges. Arienne looked inside the car.   

There were two teenage boys in the front, and neither of them had on seatbelts. The blond-haired boy in the passenger side was bleeding through his shirt. She grabbed him and carefully lifted him from the car, laying him down on the asphalt. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see people emerging from their vehicles. Turning back to the vehicle, she reached in and tore out the console, throwing it in the back seat. Carefully she eased the driver out of his seat and closer to her. His forehead was bleeding rapidly. As she moved him out of the car, he groaned in pain.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

Thank goodness he was alive. She laid him beside the other boy and looked up. Three men were busting into the Dodge to check on whoever was inside, and the sounds of sirens filled the air.
Time to make a speedy exit.
Arienne ran back to her car.

“Hey! Come back!”

“She flipped the car over by herself.”

Arienne ignored the yells of those around her. She didn’t want to be recognized. She’d had enough notoriety to last a lifetime. Safely enclosed inside her Optima, she started the car and glanced around searching for an escape. The streets were blocked almost completely except for on her right. If she drove over the sidewalk she could go around the cars stopped and escape the curious mob coming towards her car.

Putting the car in gear, she drove slowly over the sidewalk and down the street. Glancing in her rearview she saw two ambulances slide to the stop.
Finally.
Exhaling a breath, Arienne glanced at the dashboard clock. She’d missed the lunch special, but after what just happened she wasn’t sure if she even had an appetite anymore.

****

Well, well. Seems like that girl can actually surprise me.

“She’s something else, Sis.”

Athena frowned. “Aphrodite, what are you doing here?”

“Just observing your daughter. She’s pretty amazing, but then in my experience those Demigod Daughters usually are.”

“Aphrodite, don’t be delusional. She’s just a mortal.”

“Athena, you never could lie worth a damn. I applaud your efforts to use a cloaking spell to hide her from us, but that doesn’t work on me.”

Athena turned to glare at her sister. “How are you able to see through the spell?” Athena asked.

“I guess her love life will soon require my attention so the spell lifted from her. I recognized the power signature as soon as I got close to her.”

“Of all the gods, why did you have to be the one that found out?”

“Nobody buys that lie you and Artemis have been perpetrating about being virgin goddesses. Everyone knows Artemis was screwing Apollo and Orion, and as for you, we’ve all heard the rumors you had a love child with Odysseus.”

“Odysseus was married.”

“That didn’t stop Circe and Calypso.”

“I would never sleep with a married man, but now that you’ve insulted me, can I trust you to keep my secret?”

“Why are you hiding her, Athena?”

“My reasons are none of your concern.”

“Perhaps not. But if you’re laboring under the delusion that gods and mortals will care that you’re not a virgin, let me disabuse you of that notion.”

“Are you going to keep quiet about Arienne or not?”

“You don’t have to worry about me, but keep in mind if your daughter were to ever fall for a god, he’d see right through your little cloaking spell.”

Athena waved her half-sister away. “The chances of her falling for a god are almost nonexistent. My headstrong daughter wants nothing to do with our world.”

“Things change.”

“Not that and now since you’ve given your word, I have nothing to worry about. Nobody knows about her.”

“Can you be sure?”

“Aphrodite, if you know something, please spit it out. Otherwise go away.”

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you. Now if you’ll excuse me. I’m going to visit Cameryn and my new namesake. Later, stick-in-the-mud.” Aphrodite disappeared in a puff of pink smoke.

Her older sister annoyed her to no end. Aphrodite, Apollo, and Persephone had always been Zeus’s favorites, but at least one good thing had come of the recent war: she no longer had to seek her father’s approval. Watching the mortals scramble around, she mused over Aphrodite’s ramblings. Was it time to set aside the lie she’d been living for the last twenty-six years and openly acknowledge Arienne as her daughter? The girl wanted it more than anything, though she tried not to show it. Athena had to think about it, but right now she had more pressing matters to attend to.

The wars in the Holy Land were about to heat up again. She needed to be there to influence some level headed people to counter the raging bloodlust Ares would soon spread. Arienne would be fine until she got back. Athena pushed Aphrodite’s warnings from her mind and disappeared from the street, her daughter’s heroism already forgotten.

****

Trust Athena not to listen to anything anyone else had to say. Aphrodite was right to warn Athena, but the warning was too late. Arienne was Athena’s secret no more, and what happened next would be all the goddess’s fault.

Triton hated to admit it, but there was more to Arienne Marcos than he thought. The girl definitely wasn’t lacking in bravery or compassion.
She sure didn’t get that from Athena.
He was sufficiently intrigued now and glad it was almost time for a direct approach. Triton wondered if Cerceis was having any luck with the girl’s father. He hoped the nymph would be able to come through with her part of the plan. If not, he was fully prepared to go it alone. Arienne would never see him coming.

****

Arienne was curled up on her sofa, watching an episode of
Mob Wives
on the flat screen mounted on her wall. Through every commercial, she glanced at the vase of red roses on her glass table. She still had no idea who could’ve sent the roses. But regardless of the circumstances, Arienne couldn’t help feeling just a tad bit flattered. Maybe having a secret admirer wasn’t so bad. There was a first time for everything.

Chapter Eight

Arienne couldn’t believe how quickly the weekend had passed. After the craziness of saving those boys from the accident she hadn’t done anything else but veg out in front of the TV. Sunday had brought much of the same until she’d had dinner with her dad. Raymond had made her favorite,
la bandera
, and even surprised her by making stuffed
arepas
.

She’d told her father about the mysterious bouquet she’d received. He’d been pleased and confident that her secret admirer would reveal himself soon. Arienne still wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Pulling into the library parking lot, Arienne noted that there were more cars than usual for a Monday morning. Taking a deep breath, Arienne killed the ignition and exited her car, locking it behind her. She walked up to the glass doors, and a note stuck to the door made her stop short.

THE LIBRARY WILL BE CLOSED THIS WEEK. SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE. WE WILL RE-OPEN NEXT WEEK. HERMAN GEORGE, LIBRARY DIRECTOR

“What the hell is this all about?”

She tried the door and found it unlocked so she went inside. Her co-workers were already seated at a round table, and her boss stood staring at the clock. The elderly man was wearing a blue suit and tie. The white tufts of hair around his ears stuck out wildly. His too small square shaped glasses made him look like Scrooge McDuck from
Duck Tales
. Herman George was a pompous ass full of his own importance.

“Good morning. Nice to see you all here on time,” Scrooge said.

All of the women remained quiet. Herman’s eyes rested on Arienne as she took her seat.

“I’m sure you’re all wondering what this meeting is all about. Well, in light of the recent situation we experienced there are going to be some changes around here. Additionally there will be a press conference here this morning about those changes. Now the TV stations will be here soon, so let’s get this place in order. And somebody bring the podium from the back storage room.”

Arienne rose from her seat without a word. The other women followed suit. She moved in the direction of the back storage closet.

When did catering to the media become a Library Director’s job?

Arienne opened the door to the closet and her eyes fell on the dark, wooden podium. Picking it up with one hand, she closed the door behind her and made her way back to where the others were.

The glass doors opened, and a barrage of people entered. Some of them had cameras. Scrooge immediately rushed over to them. Arienne walked over to one of the tables that had been pushed out of the way and took a seat. Leaning back in her chair, she watched the news people set up their equipment. Scrooge moved the podium.

Why am I not surprised?

As more people started to arrive, Arienne’s attention was drawn to one man. He walked through the glass doors with an air of confidence. He was wearing a dark, navy suit. A white shirt peeked out underneath, open at the collar, showcasing his slightly sun kissed skin.

From where she was sitting, Arienne couldn’t make out his eye color, but the slant of his dark blond eyebrows, aquiline nose, and chiseled jaw were attractive enough. Not to mention his lips.
Arienne, you’re eyeing that man like a horny teenager. What’s wrong with you?
She’d definitely like to know the answer to that herself. She couldn’t remember looking at a man like this in … ever.

Arienne fanned herself as she watched the golden-haired man. He moved with a suave grace, as if he was well aware of himself. The news people immediately turned their attention on him. Microphones were thrust in his face. With one hand he waved them away. Arienne was impressed when the media backed off.
He must be important.

Arienne remained silent as she watched Scrooge walk up to the handsome stranger. Arienne was surprised when the man didn’t blow her boss off.
I guess that answers my question. He must be the wealthy patron.
She watched as the two men conversed, and then Mr. George stepped away.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we’re about to start.”

The media people sprang into action. Scrooge came over to where Arienne and the other ladies were.

“You all stand behind me at the podium and leave all the comments to me. Let’s go, ladies.”

Scrooge turned and walked away. Arienne rose from her seat, waiting to see exactly what their illustrious boss had to say.