Chapter Text
“I called this meeting to go over some details for the launch party tonight.”
Vox looked hopefully to his two business partners, sat opposite the desk from him. Valentino barely glanced up from where he was idly scrolling on his phone. Velvette waved hers in the air.
“No need, V,” she chirped. “I’ve got half my team ready for press coverage on location and the other half waiting to boost engagement on anything I post tonight. We’re gonna look stunning.”
Well at least someone was excited. “Perfect. Val?”
Val took a long drag on his cigarette and blew a plume of ruby red smoke in the air. “I’ve got it covered, Voxxy,” he said. “The girls will be there to look sexy and serve champagne and whores doors—”
“Hors d’oeuvres, Val.”
“Whatever,” Val said, flippantly waving his cigarette holder. “Speaking of whores, we could use a few dozen. To, you know… lighten the mood.”
He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and Vox felt himself blush. A part of him wanted tear off Valentino’s clothes right then and there but instead he cleared his throat. “No Val, not tonight. We need to focus on the product.”
“Come on Vox, you know those uptight motherfuckers are gonna need convincing, why not let me handle some of the convincing?” Val leaned forward to rest his chin in the palm of his hand.
Velvette rolled her eyes but gave Val an endearing look. Vox snickered at the two of them and walked around to lean on the front of his desk.
“Not this time Val,” he said, extending a finger and re-lighting Val’s cigarette. “Tonight we need to focus on two things - hyping up the product and promoting it to the other overlords. I know they’re going to love it but we have to pitch it to them perfectly.”
The latest edition of the Voxtek phone had been in development for over two years at this point - the longest of any update on a Voxtek phone. But it had finally been completed a few months prior and it was by far the most advanced and impressive of any model on the market. For regular consumers, the average sinner, it offered the ability to stream media from the other rings, improved GPS capabilities, higher quality picture and video, and of course Voxtek’s signature style of perfection.
But what Vox was mostly proud of was the application designed specifically for overlords. The newest Voxtek phone had a function exclusively for them to keep tabs on their souls; basically, the app allowed overlords to see where every single soul that they owned was at any given time. They could see exactly where they were and exactly what they were doing without the hassle of having to track them down. Nothing new to Vox, of course. He had eyes everywhere through the voyeurscopes. But not every overlord has cameras all over the pentagram, and he knew this feature was going to be a success with the others. Half the headache of maintaining so many souls was tracking them down, it was why Valentino insisted on so many of them living at the tower with them.
A small part of Vox - okay, a big part - hoped Val might make use of this function, so he didn’t have his eyes glued to his whores 24/7. Like they would run away if he so much as glanced the other direction.
“Velvette - your’e on socials. Make sure every overlord who is present is seen across the platforms at least once. If you can get any of them to say something positive about the product that’s all the endorsement we need.”
Velvette just crossed her arms and grinned at him cheekily. “You trying to tell me how to do me job, V?”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, my dear. Val—” he turned to the moth. “I need you smooth-talking the other overlords, especially Carmilla Carmine. You’re the only other overlord who speaks Spanish, so make her feel welcome.”
“Eres sexy cuando eres mandón,” Val provided.
“That’s the spirit! If we—”
“Isn’t this a job for the marketing team, Voxxy?” Val cut in, bored.
“Who better to market a product tailored to overlords than overlords themselves?” Vox insisted. “If we make a good impression, the product sells well, that’s first quarter’s profits in the bag right there.” Not to mention that having a Voxtek device in the pocket of every major overlord came with its own undisclosed perks. They could delve into that later.
Valentino didn’t look convinced, so Vox placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it an encouraging squeeze. Even sitting down he was only just at eye-level with Vox and, for a moment, the closeness made him wish they were alone. When was the last time they had done something together other than fuck?
If the launch party went well - and he knew it would, his products rarely failed to impress - if the night went according to plan, then maybe he could have Val to himself for a few hours. In his arms at least if not in his bed. Just the two of the them, drunk on the heady afterglow of success, celebrating late into the night with booze and drugs and plans for the future, just like they used to. The thought made Vox’s heart leap.
“C’mon Val,” he said in his best salesman voice. “No one on the marketing team is even half as charming as you. I need some real star power here. And who better than the Valentino—” he began smoothing Val’s lapels. “—to make us look good and pull this off?” He leaned in a little closer, reaching up to cup Val’s face. “I need your charisma on this.”
Val smirked at him. “All true.” He grabbed Vox’s tie and gave it a sharp tug, drawing him in even closer. “I suppose I could rub a cock or two.”
Vox chuckled. “It’s ‘rub some elbows’ Val, Satan.”
Val just shrugged. “Eh, I like mine better.”
Vox beamed at him. He wanted to take advantage of the sudden closeness and trap Val in a kiss before he could pull away, but before he could make his move he heard the familiar sound of a camera.
They both turned to Velvette in brief surprise to see her phone pointed towards them. She snapped another photo.
“Adorable,” she gave them a gave them a devious little grin. “Alright boys, let’s go do what we do best - make fucking money.”