Apple from aphrodite, p.1
Apple From Aphrodite, page 1
Apple From Aphrodite
Queens Of Olympus
Arizona Tape
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Epilogue
Also by Arizona Tape
About the Author
Copyright © 2022 by Arizona Tape
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication or cover may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Apple From Aphrodite is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Individuals depicted in the images are models and used solely for illustrative purposes.
For permission requests, write to Arizona Tape at arizonatape@arizonatape.com .
Cover by Vampari Designs
https://arizonatape.com/vamparidesigns
Blurb
As the current Aphrodite, Anastasia has been pretty unlucky in love. When she agrees to appear on her own dating show to find that someone special, she didn't expect to make a connection with her matchmaker instead.
* * *
Helena is honoured to match the Aphrodite and wants to do the best job as she can. When her own feelings get in the way, can she remain objective in finding potential candidates or are things about to blow up?
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Apple From Aphrodite is a fantasy twist on the classic Greek mythology of Aphrodite with a sapphic romantic sub-plot. This story is a standalone.
One
Anastasia
* * *
Five years of being the Aphrodite and I worried about the large golden apple above the entrance falling on my head whenever I entered the studio. One day, I was going to convince the board to take it down or be proven right.
I smiled at the receptionist, waving my ID badge vaguely in his direction. He watched me grow up, he knew exactly who I was.
Hank waved. “Morning, Anastasia. Head’s up, Delia is waiting in your office.”
“Right now?” I grumbled, trying to hide my displeasure. “Anything else?”
“I have your coffee.” Hank handed me a paper cup. “And your blouse is inside out.”
“What?” I patted myself down, groaning when I felt the seam on the side. “Damn it. I’ll go change in the bathroom if Aunt Del is already in my office. Thanks for the coffee.”
With a wave, I rushed to the nearest bathroom. I didn’t want to put my coffee on the floor while I changed in a stall so I put it on the sink and pulled my shirt off in the common area. It would only take a second and there was nobody here anyway—
A toilet flushed and a blonde woman came from a stall, her eyes widening when she noticed me. “Oops, sorry, I didn’t realise someone was changing here.”
I chuckled awkwardly. “My shirt was inside out and I’m in a rush.” My explanation was lame but I didn’t want her to get the wrong idea. I didn’t recognise her but that wasn’t uncommon. The Golden Apple Studio had a lot of staff.
“Ah, yes, I’ve had that happen before,” she offered kindly as she washed her hands.
Our eyes met in the mirror and I felt grateful that her gaze stayed on my face. Not that I minded being checked out by beautiful women, but we were in a bathroom at work so it wasn’t exactly appropriate.
I managed to flip my shirt and pull it back on, feeling instant relief when I was fully covered again.
The blonde woman smiled on her way out. “Have a good day.”
I appreciated the sentiment and with a last look in the mirror to make sure I didn’t commit any other blunders, I hurried out of the bathroom. My heels clicked on the marble floor as I strode to my office and I used each step to gather confidence. I was going to need it if the former Aphrodite was in my office.
My assistant shot me an apologetic look. “Sorry, I tried to stop her.”
“It’s okay, I know what she is like,” I assured her. “Any messages?”
“Nothing of note.”
With a steadying breath, I stepped into my office and smiled at the older woman waiting in the chair. At least she was sitting on this side of the desk instead of mine.
I took my seat and picked up a decorative golden apple from the bowl on my desk so I had something to occupy my hands. “Hello, Aunt Del. What brings you here?”
She gestured to a file on my desk. “Have you seen the numbers for this week?”
“No, because I just got in.” I glanced at my clock. “It’s not even eight.” One day, I was going to muster up the courage to point out that she was no longer the Aphrodite and couldn’t just use my office as she pleased.
Aunt Del crossed her arms. “Well, they’re appalling. They’ve dropped again. More and more viewers are tuning out. It’s not looking good.”
With a sigh, I flicked through the folder but the numbers only confirmed what Aunt Del was saying. I put the file on my desk and folded my hands together. “I’m aware of the issue but I don’t know what else we can do.”
“We’ll figure something out. Anyway, I’m glad you got here because there’s a board meeting.”
“Right now?” I stared at her. “I don’t have anything in my calendar.”
“It’s kind of an impromptu one.” She gently pushed me out of my office. “Let’s go.”
A little dazed, I followed her to the meeting room on the top floor. It was a little strange that I hadn’t been notified about this. While I was only one of many on the board, I was the current Aphrodite and my vote held quite a bit of weight.
We stepped into the large room and to my surprise, all the other board members were already there.
“Ah, Anastasia. You’re here,” the oldest former Aphrodite said. She gestured to my seat at the head of the table. “Please sit.”
Why did I feel like a kid being summoned to the principal’s office when I was the principal?
Not wanting to talk back to my senior, I obeyed. “What is this meeting about?”
A former Eros spoke. “As you may be aware, numbers for the Golden Apple Dating Show have been really down in the past years. We need to do something to boost numbers and regain people’s trust in our matchmakers. The simplest way is by having someone prolific and popular and beloved go through the process. Someone that’s younger and that resonates with our target audience.”
“That’s logical but it’s getting harder and harder to find people to sign up,” I said. Maybe it was different in his glory days but these days, most people preferred apps over matchmakers.
Aunt Delia shot me a hesitant smile. “That’s alright because we’ve already decided on a perfect candidate, didn’t we?”
“Who?” I sat in the pregnant silence, the realisation hitting me like a hammer. “I’m not doing it.”
“You’re young, you’re single, if you get successfully matched, we know it’ll renew people’s interest and faith in the Golden Apple Dating Show,” another board member said. “We already voted on this so you’re doing it.”
Anger flared up in me that they were deciding something like this for me. As a celebrity that regularly appeared in the press, nothing was private or just my own. I was used to that but it still came as a shock that my own people wanted to use me in this way.
I glared accusingly at my aunt. She knew how I felt about dating and romance.
“Is there anything else you want to discuss?” I asked icily, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
Everyone shook their heads. “No, this is all. Thank you for your time.”
I stormed out before I said or did something stupid. Besides, it wouldn’t change anything, their vote was final and I’d just have to fall in line. Temple politics were the worst.
“Anastasia!” My aunt chased after me but I deliberately didn’t let up until I was almost back in my office.
I ignored her and was tempted to ban her from the floor entirely, if I thought my assistant would actually listen but I had no doubt about her loyalties to the former Aphrodite.
In my stomp, I almost didn’t notice the blonde woman in the waiting area until my assistant pointed her out.
“You?” Heat flushed my cheeks as I stared at the woman from the bathroom. “What are you doing here?”
Aunt Delia finally caught up with me, her smile unfaltering as ever. “You two know each other already? I thought I requested a matchmaker from after you worked in the department.”
“I don’t know her,” I said quickly, regarding the blonde woman from earlier. That hardly qualified as a meeting.
The blonde woman smiled politely, her gaze still firmly latched onto my face, like she was afraid to let it wander. After my show in the bathroom, that was probably wise.
She held out her h and. “Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Helena, I look forward to helping you find love.”
I refused to take her hand and turned to my aunt instead. “How long have you all been planning this if you already selected a matchmaker?”
“Not that long. Ana, I know we went behind your back but this is what’s best for the temple and it doesn’t have to be a bad thing.” Aunt Delia gently guided me back into my office. “It’s just a few dates to regain the interest of our viewers and who knows, you might actually find love in the process. What do you say?”
I hated that her logic made sense. With a reluctant hum, I nodded. “Fine, I’ll do the dating show but I’m still mad at you for keeping me in the dark.”
“That’s totally fair. I promise I won’t do it again but I did it for you. I hate seeing you so lonely.”
“I’ve been fine,” I muttered, acutely aware that my door was still open and the matchmaker was hearing all of this. I didn’t need rumours going around the temple about how sad and lonely I was, even by my own recognition. Maybe going through the matchmaking process wasn’t such a bad idea after all but I sure wasn’t going to admit that to anyone.
Two
Anastasia
* * *
The last thing I expected when I came into work was to be grilled about my personal life and romantic preferences. At least the first session was off-camera so I didn’t have to worry about how I appeared in that sense.
The fact that the matchmaker saw me in my bra earlier wasn’t helping my nerves though.
Helena smiled from the other side of the couch. “You don’t look like you want to be here.”
“It wasn’t really my decision.”
She put her notepad down. “If you don’t want to do this, you need to tell them.”
“No, they’re convinced this will help the ratings.”
“Having you reluctantly date isn’t going to convince anyone and it’s going to make the matchmaker department look even worse,” she pointed out cleverly.
I supposed that was true. If I was going to go through with this, I had to open myself up to this and give it a real chance. That was my duty as the Aphrodite.
With a sigh, I nodded. “Alright, I’ll do my best.”
Helena regarded me with quiet interest and just nodded. “Cool. You worked in the matchmaking department before, right? So you know all the questions already.”
I chuckled. “Yes. That’s part of the Aphrodite training. I worked in all the departments.”
“So you’re good at everything?”
“No. Well, yes. I was good at everything but not the best. That’s kind of the parameters for the Aphrodite. Jack of all trades, master of none.” I felt a little flustered answering the question, wishing I didn’t feel insecure about the situation. Being the Aphrodite was an honour, yet it always felt like a bit of a backhanded compliment.
Helena smiled. “Well, then this should be easy for you. We’ll start wide and then we’ll slowly zero in on specifics. What’s your age range, do you have a gender preference, and are we looking for one partner or multiple?”
Even though I knew the questions by heart, it still felt weird to voice them out loud. “I guess age-wise, I’m open to five years above or under but I’m not strict on that. Let’s just say mid-twenties to mid-thirties. I’m looking for women and my preferred number would be zero but this is a dating show so one.”
“That’s a good start,” Helena chuckled. “Alright, let’s pretend you find someone that you like. What do you want from life? Career-wise, family-wise, children, that sort of thing.”
“I don’t know and that’s one of my issues, I think. I don’t know what I want from a partner or even what I want from our life together. It would all depend on who I’m with. I like my career so I suppose I need someone who’s okay with me being Aphrodite and being in the public eye.” I considered her question a little longer. “I guess I want someone who’s open to possibilities. I don’t think I could date someone who has a set idea of the future and is just looking for someone to fit into that. It would always make me feel like they just wanted someone like me, not me. Does that make sense?”
To my surprise, Helena nodded. “It does. You want someone who wants to grow with you and see where life takes them. Some people are like that, some people are the opposite.”
“Which kind are you?” I asked, not able to stop my curiosity.
“This interview is about you, not me.” Helena smiled, her warm eyes shimmering with amusement.
“It would make me feel more at ease if I wasn’t the only one who was baring their soul.”
“You know that’s against the matchmaker rules.”
I was aware of the code but I didn’t feel like behaving. “I’m technically your boss,” I said, keeping my voice light so Helena knew I was only joking.
Helena chuckled triumphantly. “Your aunt said you would use that on me and she gave me permission to ignore it.”
I raised a curious eyebrow at the other woman. It wasn’t often that people defied me but I welcomed it. There was something incredibly infuriating about people trying to please and appease me because I was the Aphrodite so whenever I met someone who could see beyond that, it always delighted me.
“Let’s get back to my questions.” Helena averted her gaze, a little smile playing around her lips. “And if you must know, I’m the first type. Anyway, let’s talk about deal breakers and non-negotiables.”
“Cheating.”
“That was a very quick, firm answer,” Helena remarked.
“I think cheating just shows someone has no respect. For me, it’s not even about them having feelings for someone else or wanting to act on it, it’s the going behind your back and lying about it later. It’s selfish and I think it shows that the foundation of the relationship has crumbled.” I realised I was rambling and chuckled awkwardly. “Sorry, I know this isn’t therapy.”
Helena’s full lips lifted into a cheeky smile. “I’d be charging you a lot more if that was the case.”
I patted the leather cushions. “This couch isn’t comfortable enough for that either.”
“Well, you’re the boss so that’s your fault.”
“I’m not the boss right now, you said it yourself. This crappy couch is not on me.”
Helena snorted and shook her head at me. “Now you’re just trying to make me laugh so I’m distracted from completing the questionnaire.”
“Are you sure you’re not a therapist? You’re very insightful.” She was also managing to actually get some real answers out of me, something that I hadn’t expected. I’d have to let her supervisor know so she could get a promotion or raise or something.
“Let’s get back to the questions.” Helena tapped her notepad, somewhat authoritatively. “How would you describe yourself in three words?”
“Light-hearted, naive, and stubborn.”
“Interesting, two negatives?”
“Now I want to hear your three words.” I shot her a charming smile, or what I hoped was charming. “I was a matchmaker, I know we’ve all thought about this.”
“It’s still not my interview,” she reminded me with a slight smirk.
“Pfff, lame. I’m guessing now you want to hear three qualities I’d value most in my partner?”
"You know the drill.”
It wasn’t a hard question to answer. “Kindness, drive, and humour.”
“Interesting. Humour is a common one but I don’t hear kindness often.”
“I know. Most people say honesty or loyalty or compassion but I think kindness encompasses all that. Kindness means seeing people for who they are and being able to be honest about it, but also frame it in a way that’s positive. I think it’s a fantastic quality.”
