‘I can’t believe you’ve arrested the chancellor. I don’t blame you, he is a little vile,’ Catherine said, smacking my arm playfully as she threw back her head and laughed. ‘Should have been done years ago!’
‘This can’t be happening,’ one of the other officials said, nudging his way to my side. ‘How dare you come in here and take over?’
The seat I sat in was no longer at the middle of the table. Catherine had led me to the head of the table as soon as we had re-entered the conference room. Her blue eyes sparkled as she ran a hand down her slim figure.
‘Please, take a seat everyone,’ I called.
The others milled for a second before giving in. When they were all seated, I smiled at each one of them.
‘Please know that I have your best interests at heart. You might feel that I let an Avoidable win today but I promise you I didn’t. For a long time, the Perfect government has been fighting against the Avoidables. Isn’t it time we started to use them for our own gain?’
Speaking their language was harsh on my tongue. I swallowed to get rid of the bitter taste. It had to be done. I had to be strong. As an angel, I had never experienced the emotions that ran through me as I sat as the new Perfect government leader.
‘How do you propose we use them for our own gain?’ Catherine purred.
She leant towards me. I fought the urge to scoot back in my seat. Her energy was rolling off her, trying to wrap itself around me. The others watched me expectantly. I almost had to curse them for their ignorance.
‘We get them on our side. If we show them that we’re more lenient on them, we can gain their trust. Then we can get them to do the work we don’t want to.’
It was hard to try and convince a group of people that had previously, or even currently, used Avoidables as slaves to change. By speaking their language, I hoped I could gain their trust first.
‘You have three months to prove you are worthy of being our leader. In that time, I will be looking into who you are,’ one of the men said.
The others nodded their consent before leaving the room. Catherine watched me with her hawk like eyes.
‘They didn’t faze you. That is unusual,’ she said.
Leaning back in my chair, I put my hands behind my head. There was no need to say anything. Catherine would be a handful; I could already tell. She seemed to be the backbone of the group running the city.
‘There is one thing I need.’ I leant forward and took her hand in mine.
She smiled as her eyelids lowered. ‘Anything, William,’ she whispered.
‘I could do with an assistant. Someone that isn’t already a part of the government.’
Her eyebrows relaxed.
‘I was speaking to Jason last night. He seems like a bright lad.’
The smile returned to her face. Her eyes beamed for the first time, which showed me that somewhere deep inside, Catherine had feelings.
‘That would be wonderful. I’m sure Jason will be a great assistant.’
With that settled, I let go of her hand and stood. ‘It’s been a good first day. I think I might go and speak to Jason to tell him the news. What do you think?’
Her cheeks heated as I asked her opinion. It was obviously not something that was asked for often. I assumed Catherine would offer her opinion whenever she felt like it. There was probably no need for anyone to ask her.
‘Yes. You do that. In the meantime, I’ll set up your office. When you come in tomorrow, we’ll brief you on how things are done.’
I winked at her as I turned to leave. She had no idea that things were going to change drastically as soon as I was in power. I had three months to worm my way into the cold hearts of these people. Then I would start to make the world a better place.
‘William!’ John greeted as I came out into the open courtyard.
I waved at him before joining him on the bench by the fountain. The courthouse stood in front of me. I wasn’t quite sure why they had it. There were hardly ever any cases. They executed Avoidables and let any Perfect that committed a crime off lightly.
‘How did you manage that?’
John eyed me as I undid the top two buttons on my shirt. I skimmed my hand over my hair. It was soft and fluffy. I would need to get some product to style it like the other men. John’s mousey hair was gelled in the exact same style as Jason’s. I could see the resemblance between father and son. Although John was a tad taller and a lot stockier. He was head guard, he had to be.
‘I’m not quite sure,’ I replied truthfully.
He shook his head as a chuckle escaped his chest. His phone beeped in his pocket.
‘I’ll need a haircut,’ I said, looking to him to guide me to the best place to smarten up.
He pulled out his phone and read the message that he had received.
‘You want Jason to be your assistant?’
I smiled at him. He frowned at me.
‘I wanted him to join the guard. He’s been fighting me on it since he turned sixteen.’
I bit the inside of my cheek. I had to keep John on my side. If I alienated him, he could play a major part in my failure.
‘I’m sorry. I didn’t realise. I thought he was such a bright lad he could become an official one day.’
I lay my arms over the back of the bench. I closed my eyes as I rested my head and allowed the sun to warm my face. Feigning indifference was the only option I could think of. I couldn’t try and suck up to him. Manipulation was something I had to learn quickly.
‘You think he’s intelligent enough to be an official?’
‘Someday, yes…’
My sentence trailed off as John’s phone beeped again.
‘I’ve been summoned,’ John said, getting up from his seat.
Opening my eyes, I shaded my forehead with my hand. ‘Are you okay with Jason being my assistant?’
He shuffled on his feet as he tucked his phone away. A small smile played on his lips when he glanced at me. ‘Yes. That’s fine.’
Returning the smile that beamed on his face, I waved him away.
‘Oh, John!’ I called when he had taken a few steps towards the office building.
He turned back and waited for my command.
‘Please arrange for a guard to take me back to your house so I can tell your son the good news.’
His smile faltered. His hand went to the gun on his belt.
‘I will take you there myself. You’ve riled Catherine up enough to want me to go to her and…’ His sentence trailed off as a smutty grin spread over his face. ‘I only need five minutes.’
Nodding once, I watched his retreating back. It was straight and proud. His hand was never too far away from his weapon. A true guard at heart. The man had a soft touch. I had witnessed both his true nature and his Perfect nature.
If only more Perfects were able to soften their hearts, they would be able to experience so much more.
Jason was key to my mission. He was the one man that could awaken the Perfects to themselves. I couldn’t wait to start working with him. All he needed to do was meet the other person crucial to our plan. He was a Perfect but he was special too. He just didn’t know it yet.