I couldn't help the laugh I let out at his answer. My soul! How cliche can this guy get?

"You want my soul? No way!" was the answer I gave him.

"Oh come on, Jess!" he rolled his eyes at me. "Do you even know what your soul is? What it does? Do you use it on a daily basis? No! Of course not. Look, I'm trying to help you, to give you what you've always wanted. A life with Jacob, him adoring you and loving you, and you don't want that, all because you'd be giving something up that you're not even sure what it is?"

I bit my bottom lip, trying to think about my choices on this. "My soul?"

"Just a measly, little soul in exchange for three wishes that will change your life forever," he said, as he put his car in park.

I thought about it. About Jacob and I and how we could be in love and how I could look like a new woman...a better woman.

"Alright. I'll do it," I smiled over at Michael.

"Great!" He snapped his fingers and suddenly we were in a large office with a desk sitting in the middle, a chair on each side.

"Where are we?" I asked.

"My office," He grinned. "We need to sign the paperwork, of course."

With that, a stack of paper dropped from the ceilingand into my lap as I sat at the desk. "It's a little hefty," I said, picking up the twenty pound contract and setting it on the desk. I lifted the first page up to find that the writing on each of the pages was small enough that I couldn't even read it with my glasses on.

"Yeah, well I can give you the gist of it. It just goes through what I've already said. Three wishes in exchange for your soul, yada yada yada...you know, the usual," he said, his voice still pouring over me like honey as he sat perched on the desk in front of me, his snug jeans tightening due to the position he was sitting in.

"Ahem," he cleared his throat, and my eyes which had been admittedly staring at his crotch, looked up to lock with his.

I felt my face blush to the extreme, the heat even spreading down my neck. "Sorry," I whispered the apology before looking away.

"Don't worry about it," he chuckled. "It is, after all, how I got my job." He let out a sigh and it seemed as if he was thinking about something not so pleasant.

"You got your job because of..." I trailed off and looked away with an even deeper blush as my finger pointed toward the crocth I had been admiring earlier.

He barked out a laugh. "No! Of course not," he continued to snicker. "She wishes."

"She?" I asked, not really following.

"The Devil," he explained with a shrug of his shoulders.

"The Devil's woman?!" I asked, surprised. Whatever happened to the cloven hooves and horns on a red face?

"Of course she's a woman. Can you think of anything more tempting than a beautiful woman?" he asked, his eyes roaming up and down my body as I looked away but still felt as if he was staring right through my clothes. "I can't," he finished, his voice suddenly a bit lower and huskier. The simple sound of it, made me shudder.

Funny I should shudder in the presence of one of the Devil's assistants, and not because I was scared or about to give up my soul, but because the sheer lust I was feeling for him traveled through my core like I had never felt before.

"So, back to business," his voice was smooth velvet again.

I bit my lip, looking from the contract to Michael and then back again. "What should I do?" I asked. "Is this really a good idea?"

"I don't think I'm the right person to be asking," he smiled gently, sadly, at me.

"You're the only one I have," I admitted and watched the smile melt away from his face.

Suddenly, his features were even more beautiful as he looked at me earnestly as if he had cared for me for the longest time. As if we were the most intimate of lovers rather tahn strangers in a business negotiation.

"If you sign that contract, you will be giving up a little piece of yourself. But, in return, you can have the hapiness you've never even dreamt of. If I had been given a choice, if I was in your position right now, with a contract staring at me in the face, I would give up anything I had for a chance at hapiness."

He had been leaning closer and closer towards me as he talked and his voice became a solemn whisper, as if this was a secret he could trust no one with but me. It wasn't until he stopped talking that I realized our lips were only a breath away from each another's.

I watched as his piercing brown eyes looked from my green ones down to my lips and I let out an unsteady breath.

"Okay," I whispered as my heart pounded in my chest.

"Great!" he clapped his hands and was immediately on the other side of the desk and in his chair,  a cocky smile placed on his lips as his feet rested on the desk. "Now, just sign the bottom."

"That's it?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's it," he smiled back.

I picked up the blood red pen and pressed it against the paper before scribbling my signature across the contract.

"Now, if you could do and be anything you want, what would it be?" he asked, standing up and coming back over to me.

"To be the opposite of what I am right now," I said and saw his face fall a little.

"Okay, so, just wish for it and it will be granted."

"I wish..."

"Wait!" he yelled, putting his hands up in the air. "I almost forgot. Now, if for some reason, your wish doesn't work out the way you wanted it to, just take this," he said, pulling out a red cell phone and handing it to me, "and dial 666 and it'll bring you right back to me."

"Sound's easy enough," I smiled.

"Good! Now you can wish away!"

 "Alright." I closed my eyes as I visualized how I wanted to be. "I wish I was an important and respected woman. I wish to be really smart and most of all, want Jacob to love me."

I let out a sigh as I opened my eyes to look at Michael.

"Have fun," he winked.

                ----------------

I was in a large office, looking out a window that seemed to be on the top floor of some type of skyscraper. I truly was in a gorgeous office, with a dark mahagony desk and room enough to fit my entire apartment into.

"Wow," I whispered to myself.

I was dressed in a gray pinstripe jacket and matching skirt, my hair in a tight bun atop my head and high heeled black pumps on my feet. Apparently I gained fashion sense along with my new, respectable job.

There was knocking at my large double doors before a head poked inside the spacious room.

"Hi, Stephanie," I smiled; glad that I recognize someone from the former life I'd lived.

She stopped, mid-step, her eyes growing wide as she looked at me. "You called me Stephanie," she breathed out as she held tightly onto the clipboard she was carrying.

"Yes, isn't that your name?" I asked as I looked her over again. It certainly looked like the Stephanie Stanley I used to work with at IT Corp.

"Why...why yes, Miss Parker, It is. But, you've never called me my name before. It was usually Stif or Steefy or Stephan, sometimes even George," she said meekly. She certainly was different than how I remembered her. Almost as if she was afraid of me.

"Well I'm sorry, Stephanie," I smiled gently at her.

"It's alright, Miss Parker. I just wanted to remind you that Mr. Black will be coming by in ten minutes."

"Oh!" I replied, shocked. "Alright, thanks for reminding me, Steph."

She bowed out of the room, never turning her back to me and I sighed before starting to rummage around in my desk drawers, looking for a mirror so I could make sure I was presentable for when Jacob arrived.

Ten minutes passed a whole lot faster than I thought they would as I searched for something to see my reflection in, and Jacob strolled into the room, wearing a suit that made him look like a million bucks.

"Jessica," he smiled at me. HE SMILED AT ME! I wanted to scream and let everyone know that he actually knew my name.

"Jacob," I tried to sound cool and collected as I rounded my desk to find Jacob walk toward me with his arms outstretched for a hug.

"I've missed you!" he said as he enveloped me into his big, strong arms. I sighed in content and laid my head against his chest. "But I'm so glad you agreed to this." He pulled away a bit to look at my face. "You know I love you and there's no one else I wanted to do this."

I had no idea what he was talking about, but really, could it be that bad if he said he loved me and was holding onto me for dear life? My insides were doing a victory dance, one I desperately wanted to join in on, but I would not lose my cool in front of Jacob.

"Oh, we'd better get going or we'll be late!" he exclaimed, looking at his watch.

"Late?" I asked, wanting to get any information  I could from him. "Late for what?"

"Dinner," he said, staring at me in confusion for a moment. But then that confusion melted away and he smiled widely at me and laughed. "Jessica," he chastised playfully, "don't tell me you forgot about our dinner reservations!"

"I'm sorry Jacob, it's just been a really long day. It must've slipped my mind," I told him with a sheepish smile.

"I understand how your work can get the better of you some times. Remember I, too, am a partner in a law firm," he nudged me shoulder.

Oh...so that's what I did. Hey, points to Michael. So far it seemed that I had gotten my wish right on the first try. Stupid cell phone could stay in my pocket for years to come and I would never have to dial those three sixes.

"Yes, well, you know how devoted to my job I am," I laughed, hoping that I was in fact devoted to my career.

"Indeed. Now, we need to get going so we can get to the restaurant and go over wedding plans," he continued, going to my office chair and retrieving my coat for me before helping me put it on.

Holy crap!! I was going to marry Jacob! I wanted to dial the 666 just to hug and kiss and thank Michael for giving me this amazing life!