"He gave me his business card." I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it over, glad that I'd thought to take a photo of it first.
Hermes looked at it curiously. "And he was asking you about being a god?"
"He just asked me my name and was insistent that I was Ptah and that I was thousands of years old. I think the implication was that he knew that I was a god and he wanted to expose that." While it had been different in the past, most gods wanted to be left alone now, and that didn't involve being exposed in an article that would no doubt go viral.
Hermes nodded. "Well, we're going to want to make sure that doesn't see the light of day."
"I thought as much."
"Though it likely wouldn't be believed," Hermes said.
"I'd still rather not be the face of gods being exposed to the world."
"Understood. Leave it with me, and I'll make sure that the story is shut down."
"Thank you." I get to my feet and check the time, getting a little worried about whether I could get from here to the god realm in time for my date with Bastet. Hopefully, she'd understand if I was a few minutes late.
Hermes nodded. "I'll let you know when it's done." He set the business card down on his desk.
There was a small part of me that worried he wasn't going to. I knew that controversy would sell papers, or get clicks, or whatever it was that the goal was when it came to Hermes' media empire, but I had to believe that he was reasonable about this. Most gods just wanted to live quiet lives and run their businesses. Hopefully, he was one of those.
I pulled out my phone so that I could message her and tell her that I was a little behind, only to realise that it had died. I cursed inwardly. It wasn't a surprise. I'd been a little distracted to charge it last night, and I hadn't had a chance to charge it since, especially not when I'd been spending most of today trying to figure out who owned the Reporter. I'd been relieved, but not hugely surprised, to learn that it was Hermes, but then I'd spent more time tracking him down. It hadn't left much time for sorting out phone charge.
It wasn't ideal, but if I headed straight to the god realm and the restaurant, then I should be able to explain to Bastet in person, and that would have to do.
I made my way out of the building, constantly keeping an eye on the time as I made my way to the portal. After talking with Hermes, I was hopeful that I wouldn't have to worry about the journalist again, and I could just spend the rest of my evening with Bastet and not have to think about anything else at all.
Chapter 13
Bastet
It was hard to believe I'd never been to the most popular restaurant in the god realm, but I supposed it was to be expected considering I'd spent so little time here in the past few centuries, and it had all been with the foolish idea of avoiding Ptah. Now that I'd reconnected with him, it seemed silly to think that I'd spent so long trying to make sure we weren't in the same place. Then again, I didn't know that he wanted us to try again until a few days ago.
I leaned forward and picked up my glass of water, looking around the restaurant for any hint of Ptah. It was already twenty minutes past the start of our reservation, and I was trying to stay calm about that.
A small voice echoed in the back of my mind with a reminder of what Menhit had said. We'd broken up for a real reason, and this was one of them. Something would come up, and then one of us would be late to a date. Or we wouldn't show up at all.
I pushed the thought aside. Things were different now. This wasn't the same situation as it had been a few thousand years ago. I'd changed, he'd changed, and our relationship was different as a result.
I took a sip of my water. There was going to be an explanation for this. I had no idea what it was, but I was certain he'd tell me when he got here.
All around me, people were happily dining with their companions. I was reasonably sure that I recognised some of them, but I didn't stare, not wanting to make anyone uncomfortable, or wanting to invite the same in response.
I let out a sigh. That could be me enjoying the company of my date. Instead, I was sitting at the table with only a glass of water and some breadsticks.
I pulled out my phone, noticing that it was now half an hour since he was supposed to have arrived. And yet there were no messages from him. I sighed in frustration. This wasn't the perfect second date that I'd imagined it being. I typed out a quick message to Ptah and dropped my phone on the table. I could be annoyed that he hadn't messaged me, but that was no excuse for me not doing the same.
Another twenty minutes passed, and I started to wonder whether it was worth leaving and going home. I was certainly tempted to. But no. What was fifty minutes to an immortal?
That didn't stop my annoyance from building. He couldn't even message to tell me that he was running late?
I was almost ready to get up and leave when the man I was waiting for finally walked through the restaurant door. To his credit, he looked upset about the fact he was late, or that could be about something completely different.
"I am so sorry," he said as he reached the table.
I crossed my arms and leaned back in my seat. "You're sorry?" There was no hiding the annoyance from my voice.
"I didn't mean to be..."
