by Riley Storm
“What’s up boss?” she asked, taking a seat at a gesture.
Cheryl waited for the others to arrive before responding. They came in soon after. Soon enough that she realized they must have been waiting on this summons.
“Okay, people,” she said, her voice pure ice. “We were going to make this project as hard on Victor as possible. Roadblocks everywhere, that sort of thing. But that’s not going to slow him enough. So it’s time to get really nasty. To make his life miserable.”
Grins erupted around the table.
“What have you got in mind, boss?”
“We need to find out every project the Drakon family is involved in. And then we slam them with every injunction, inspection notice, stop work order and extra fee that we can, unless Victor agrees to stop playing hardball. I don’t know what his deal is, but I don’t believe him for a second about the downsizing. You don’t make that size of commitment without first knowing that it’s possible.”
The others looked around uneasily. Cheryl understood. This was their first time dabbling in politics. She’d felt that way too when she was more junior.
“Here’s how it works, people,’ she said. “You get me the information. I choose what to do with it, and when. None of it gets back to you.”
“Do you know who we’re dealing with?” Tanya asked uncertainly, looking around at the other two.
“Yes. I realize this is the Drakon family. One of the founders of Plymouth Falls, blah, blah, blah,” she said, reciting stuff every schoolchild was taught. “But right now, I don’t really give a shit. They’re trying to play us, and I will not have it.”
For a moment, Cheryl thought they were going to say no. She wouldn’t blame them, of course, this was a risky move no matter how much she was going to attempt to take ownership of it. But if they did it right then maybe, just maybe, they could salvage some of the original plan.
“You know what, fuck it,” Liz said, surprising Cheryl by being the first to speak up. “I’m in. This was going to be a massive payoff for the entire town. So many people would have benefitted from it during construction, but also in jobs after. This isn’t a little investment. This would have been practically transformative for the entire town. I’m down with not letting this punk ruin it with a snap of his fingers. Let’s fight back, I say.”
Cheryl grinned.
Tanya and Stephen chimed in moments later, both of them echoing the sentiment. They were also just as pissed off at Victor. The loss of the Outreach Center was going to reflect badly on all of them.
She surveyed her team, buoyed by their agreement, and feeling energized by their shared dislike of Victor.
“Let’s get to work.”
Chapter 9
Another meeting.
Another day where he still didn’t have the money. His money.
Victor was fuming by the time he arrived back at the country offices for yet another meeting. This time, he was determined things would go differently. This time, Cheryl would sign the damn documents before he left the building, no matter what it took.
It was with that mindset that he strode into the conference room, shoulders back, spine straight, and eyes ready to stare anyone who argued against him into silence. Victor was on the financial warpath, and he would stop at nothing to get what he felt was his dues.
“Victor.”
That was all it took. One word. Two syllables. Nothing more, and Victor was no longer on the offensive.
He reeled mentally as the floor tilted heavily in Cheryl’s direction. Her entire time was arrayed against him on the far side of the table. Not a single one of them looked uneasy, unhappy, or upset.
What the hell is going on here?
The water dragon steadied himself. Instead of immediately responding and giving her the floor, he stared each one of them down. Stephen, Tanya, Liz, and finally, Cheryl.
None of them flinched from his gaze. Some of their eyes wavered ever so slightly, but not Cheryl’s. Whatever was about to happen, she was going after it full bore, that much was obvious to Victor.
He took a moment to admire the set of her face. It was quite attractive, so focused and strong. Those were traits he could admire, respect even. Traits he wanted in a woman. Cheryl, he suspected, would be quite a lot of fun in bed.
Stop this, right now. This woman is your enemy! Not a bedmate. Get yourself together and stop staring at her soft skin and full lips. No more imagining what the curves of her breasts look like without that tight, restrictive vest and blouse. Enough.
“You have signed the documents?” he asked roughly, declining to offer Cheryl the chance to speak first. He could barely focus on asking his question, because the dragon inside him was going berserk, plastering images of Cheryl bent over the conference table into every corner of his mind.
He could feel his pants growing tighter and fought back with every ounce of mental strength he had to keep any reaction to her from showing.
Cheryl flicked her head and long silvery-white hair went bouncing around in her tight ponytail. Victor nearly lost it. He could only imagine what it would be like to enter her from behind, grabbing a fistful of that beautiful yet unusual hair as he rode her into submission.
She would be his. She had to be. He would break her in bed, and then in the office. Yes, that was how it would have to be.
Victor dropped his bag onto the floor and leaned over the table, feeling blood rush to a dozen places in his body as he stared her down, letting her see his intentions in his eyes. A flare of his nostril. He didn’t care that others were there. They could watch as he broke their boss, made her his own.
Cheryl was looking slightly flustered. He could see the color change in her cheeks. The increase in her pace of breath. Victor could smell her uncertainty, and also her desire. She couldn’t mask that from him, no human could. As a dragon, he was well aware of the effects he would have on her, and now he exploited them to the fullest. Muscles strained against his suit jacket, pulling taut, showing her what she would get.
“We didn’t sign the documents.”
Victor reared back slightly, as did Cheryl, both of them looking a little relieved. What was he thinking? Trying to seduce her here in the office? That wasn’t the proper way to do things at all!
Confused, he turned to the speaker.
Liz just stared back at him, then stifled a very fake yawn. It was a message, and a not so subtle one.
Let’s get back to business, shall we?
“You didn’t sign,” he said, sitting down. “Would you prefer we just cancel the project entirely?”
Throwing out that threat was one of his last resorts, and Victor cursed himself for doing it so casually. After all, this was one threat he couldn’t follow through with. The project had to go ahead. Otherwise, Aaric would find out too soon, and then everything would be ruined.
Of course, none of the humans seated opposite him knew that, so they wouldn’t call his bluff. They would be thrown into disarray and horror at the idea of losing the project entirely.
“It might be easier that way.”
Victor rocked back, unable to contain his surprise as Cheryl called his bluff. “Pardon?”
The platinum-blonde smiled tightly. “At this point, it might be easier to just cancel the project. We could find a buyer who would use more of the land, bring in a larger project. Either in construction, or in jobs once finished. It wouldn’t be hard to find something more beneficial to Plymouth Falls than the revised project you’ve given us.”
Victor didn’t reply immediately. This was a bluff. He knew it was a bluff. But he had to find the proper counter argument, to let them know he knew, so that they could move past this. Neither of them wanted the project cancelled. But he wasn’t going to be the one to submit. No human would ever make this dragon submit!
“Indeed, the mayor has told you as much?” he said casually, leaning back in his seat, affecting a very calm, uncaring demeanor.
It wasn’t Cheryl who gave it away, but
rather Stephen. The two women remained calm, their stares unwavering. But Stephen’s nostrils flared at the same time he looked out of the corner of his eyes toward Cheryl. It was a very clear sign of worry.
Gotcha.
“Yes,” he continued. “I’m sure she would be more than thrilled to know that it was her own people who had decided to say no to a project of any size. Remind me, how much new construction has Plymouth Falls seen in the past few years?”
Cheryl’s faced shifted ever so slightly, but it was enough to grant him the win. They knew better. He had them now, and he let a grin slip into place to show it. Victor was gloating without saying a word, but he didn’t care. These humans would never best him.
“If this is the way you wish it to be,” Cheryl said with a very tiring sigh.
“I showed you the documents,” he said, trying to resist the urge to frown. What was that supposed to mean? She was supposed to be caving now. Instead, Cheryl was still acting like she was in command of the room, of the situation. But she wasn’t.
Was she?
“Oh, I know you showed me them. I’ve seen them, I’ve reviewed them. I see just how badly you’ve slashed the budget and the scope of the project. For no perceived reason. You say it’s because the money isn’t there but, I just don’t know that I believe that.”
Victor’s blood cooled. What did she know? “I guess it’s a good thing it doesn’t matter what you believe, now does it?” he asked icily, trying to tamp down his feelings of respect for Cheryl as she continued to stand up to him.
Respect, and more than a little desire. It was attractive, this inner strength. He felt his hand twitching, eager to feel her skin under his touch. To rip the clothes free from her body.
“I only believe what the evidence shows me,” Cheryl said, still with cool aplomb. “I must admit, I’m very sorry to hear of the financial difficulties the Drakon family is going through. I assume then, that we will shortly be receiving revised plans for the other projects?”
Other projects? What the hell is she talking about?
Victor scrambled to understand what she was talking about. He wasn’t involved in any other projects. But Aaric was.
Cheryl couldn’t know that he and Aaric weren’t acting in concert with one another, which meant she was fishing for information. Trying to figure out what was going on in his camp.
Well done. You’re smarter than I gave you credit for.
“To afford the other projects, we’ve had to downsize this one,” he said smoothly, as if that was the truth all along. He almost said more but cut himself off, let Cheryl do the talking.
Looking across the table, staring deep into her delightfully light-brown eyes, he watched her struggle to find out where to go from there. She’d almost had him, but he’d neatly sidestepped her attempt at a trap, and instead managed to tie everything up with a bow.
Unless she went to Aaric. That was his only remaining fear. If that happened, everything would fall apart.
Which meant he had to play ball at least a little, to keep her attention focused on him, and on how to win more concessions from him, instead of how to figure out the best way to enact a scorched earth policy on all of the House Draconis projects.
Things had just gotten more complicated. A lot more complicated.
“Shall we get down to discussing the new plans?” he suggested. “I’d like to start moving forward with construction.”
There. Show her that he still wanted the project to go ahead. Give her the opportunity to salvage something from it.
As he hoped, Cheryl latched onto that lifeline. She nodded slowly to herself, and then at the others.
“Very well. Let’s talk about them.”
Victor began spreading them out across the table, doing his best to keep his face neutral. He’d just won…hadn’t he?
So why do I feel like she’s just waiting to drop another bomb on me?
The feeling didn’t go away as the meeting went on either. If anything, it got worse. Much worse. She was planning something, and he didn’t know what.
Chapter 10
“Why didn’t you tell him?” Liz hissed as the door closed behind Victor, leaving just her team in the meeting room.
“Not here,” she said, standing. “Can you guys handle this?” she asked, gesturing at all the papers.
“Of course,” Liz replied for the others. “But where are you going?”
“To do something very unprofessional, and potentially career harming,” she said, walking around the table.
“And where would that be?” Liz wanted to know.
“To threaten a member of the Drakon family,” she said, following Victor out of the conference room.
She could hear the others gasp but ignored it. They’d talked about their plan and agreed they would all back her up, but Cheryl couldn’t let them take that risk. This was something she had to do herself. Insulating the others was the right thing for her to do as the boss.
By the time she reached the parking garage, Victor was already heading up the ramp in a black SUV. She had to hurry or risk losing him, which would nullify everything. Breaking out into a jog as best she could in a skirt and loose flats, Cheryl raced to her own car.
The tiny little eco-hybrid hummed to life and she went up the ramp after Victor, doing up her seatbelt as she accelerated… and she abruptly hit the brakes as she nearly rammed the back of his car once the ramp leveled off. He was still waiting for an anomaly in Plymouth Falls to pass him by: traffic.
She chuckled, thanking the half-dozen cars that had blocked his exit and made her mission so much easier.
She followed him out into the road, dropping back several car-lengths, doing whatever she could to not look like she was tailing him. The chase didn’t take long to come to a conclusion, however, because no more than three blocks away, he pulled off the road again at a spot she knew well.
Leblanc.
Cheryl had taken several clients out for meals to the only fancy restaurant in town. It made sense that he would go there. She’d encountered members of both the Ursa and Canis family there before as well, and it seemed to be the one place in town where they actively showed their faces. Anywhere else was a random occurrence as far as she could tell.
Cheryl followed him in, but instead of pulling into the valet entrance, she went and parked her own car. Better to not let him see her at all. Not until he was inside and settled. Then she could truly ambush him, and hopefully for once, catch the big man off-guard.
Though I suspect what I’m going to tell him will be a surprise.
Even if it wasn’t, she couldn’t wait to see his reaction. There was something going on behind the scenes that he wasn’t telling them, and she thought she’d figured it out. It was time to see if her theory was right.
“I’m here to meet someone,” she said at the questioning look from the host before he could open his mouth. “Victor Draken. I believe he’s already here.”
The host nodded quickly. “Of course. Please, go on in. He’s sitting right over there.”
She smiled and strode into the restaurant, eyes scanning the tables and booths in the direction the host had pointed. There he was, sitting at a booth at the back right, facing the door. So, he would see her coming. That was unfortunate, but couldn’t be avoided.
Steeling herself, Cheryl walked across the floor, ignoring the looks she got from a number of the other male patrons. It wasn’t easy, however. For the first time in her life, she felt like a model on the runway. They were all staring at her, and she could see more than one appreciative nod in her peripheral.
What the hell is going on here? Did Victor know I was following him? Did he put them up to this?
A shiver went down her spine. Was this what it was like to be conventionally attractive? To get stared at all the time?
It was…nice, but also rather unnerving.
Then she saw Victor looking at her, and abruptly, everything calmed. She appreciated his gaze. Liked it when he star
ed at her, even.
Then his face shifted and went dour and glum, and the feeling was gone in a heartbeat. Ignoring her previous thoughts, Cheryl schooled her face into a blank slate and slipped into the booth across from him.
“Hello, Victor.”
He rolled his eyes. “You followed me here?”
“I did,” she agreed, raising a finger to stop him from replying. “What I need to say couldn’t be said in there. My team has no part in this.”
“Please go away.”
“No,” she said calmly. “No, I don’t think I will.”
“How lucky of me,” he said monotone, implying the exact opposite sentiment.
But yet, despite his words, his eyes never moved from her. They stayed focused, unwavering. Intense. Interested. There was a hunger there, different from what she’d felt walking across the open floor.
Back there, it had been unabashed lust. She could imagine them wanting to take her and carry her back to their room.
Not Victor. He wanted to take her right here. Right now. On the table. Cheryl wasn’t sure how she knew, just as she wasn’t sure how things had morphed from hatred to lust between them since the first meeting. It was all so very confusing. She did still hate him, it was just that she also found him very physically appealing. Very.
Focus. You’re not here to run your hands over his muscles or feel his stubble between your thighs. You’ve got a very distinct purpose. Focus on it!
“We’re going to talk, whether you like it or not,” she snapped, suddenly tired of his constant dismissal of her, and also her own internal desire to get his attention in other ways. Enough was enough.
“Must we? I thought we just did enough talking. I was there for two hours. Why couldn’t you have said whatever you had to say then?” he complained.
“You think I’m stupid,” she said, a growl entering her voice that she’d never heard before. “But I’m not. So, I’d appreciate it if you’d stop treating me like I am.”
“What you are, is annoying, and preventing me from getting lunch,” he said as the waiter approached, ordering a glass of wine and some food. “No, nothing for her,” he added before Cheryl could speak. “She’s already full of herself.”