Leonard Dreyfuss, the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Bach Industries, smiled without any warmth. "Which part?"
"The last thing you said." Because it couldn't have been what he thought he'd heard. Chrys had been called into the board meeting since Dionysus, known to the humans in this decade as Dion Bach, had been declared legally dead earlier in the month despite the fact his body had never been recovered. Chrys was one of the few who knew the truth. Dionysus was dead. Killed by Echidna in a ploy to free the Titans and her husband, Typhon, in order to take over Olympus.
Leonard clasped his hands in front of him and repeated, "The Board is naming you the new CEO of Bach Industries, as nominated by Mr. Bach himself in the circumstances he should be deemed unfit or should he pass away unexpectedly."
That was what Chrys thought he'd said. He opened his mouth to protest but thought better of it. Of those on the board, only four satyrs were ever members: Chrys, Eneas, Melancton—who had resigned when he turned his back on Dionysus—and Theron. However, Theron was a huge problem that went beyond any possible protest he might have if he were informed of this meeting he hadn't attended. A meeting he couldn't attend because, without a thyrsus or a set of Arcadian panpipes, he couldn't take human glamour. Melancton or Theron were more likely of being named CEO than him.
Obviously, this decision was chosen as a safe option should things fall through with the others, and with Theron not showing up for work and Melancton gone, here they were. Dionysus had never been particularly fond of him. What's more, Chrys had been an informant to Hermes and the Arcadian satyrs for several months. Had helped orchestrate Calix's escape—though, for the life of him, that whole situation was a complete blank. He suspected Hermes or Pan or someone had altered his short term memory, and he was not amused. He understood, appreciated it in some way, but definitely did not like having his memory tampered with.
"Well?" Dreyfuss asked, steepling his fingers on the edge of the table. "Do you accept?"
Chrys glanced around at the men and women staring at him along the glass table. Eneas sat directly across from him, not meeting his eyes. A slight flush colored his neck, and though the dark-haired satyr had a masterful poker face, it was obvious he was angry. Jealous maybe. He didn't know what to do. Taking the position would be way more trouble than it was worth. Angry Boeotians wouldn't think he deserved it. Theron might try to challenge him. And should the truth of his duplicity come out, things would get ugly. Fast.
Then again, a lot of good could come from having access to Dionysus' resources. Like stopping Theron, for instance, before he found Calix or caused more trouble with that vial of Priapus' blood. This was an opportunity that could do way more than pad his wallet. He could help people. Help his own people. Get Nestor and Pan space and resources to assist in the research and testing being done to beat this curse through scientific means.
"Yes," Chrys said and nodded. "I accept."
The remainder of the meeting wrapped up in short order. Eneas didn't stay to chat, but stormed out toward his office, typing on his cell phone. As the others exited the room, Dreyfuss opened his briefcase, which had remained closed for the majority of the meeting. Beyond him, through the floor-to-ceiling glass panes, the city of Atlanta hustled and bustled down below. The summer heat was gone with late October finally bringing cooler air. Hopefully, it would stay chilly through the fall. North Georgia couldn't ever seem to make up its mind with its fall and winter temperatures. At least it was warmer than when he was working at the offices up north.
"Before you go moving into Mr. Bach's office," Dreyfuss said and retrieved a small metal box from the briefcase. "I'm to bequeath this to you."
Chrys strolled over and accepted it, opening the lid. Inside was a portable hard drive. A note with a username and password was stuck to the top. "What's on it?"
"All of the information on Mr. Bach's…otherworldly interests and clients."
"Ah." This took him aback and he almost dropped the box. "So you—"
"Know?" Dreyfuss laughed dryly and smoothed his deep blue tie down his chest then ran a hand over his gray hair. "Yes. We worked for a Greek deity, and you and some of the others are satyrs. I know about it. I keep his interests secret as well as I can and help him keep tabs on things I think he should know about. Speaking of which…" He stood and slipped a hand in his pocket and brought out a small key.
Chrys took it and looked back at the box in his hand. There was no lock on the mechanism.
"It opens the bottom right drawer in the desk. There's a file in there you may want to look at sooner rather than later." He nodded as he gathered his belongings and headed toward the door. "After you settle in, of course."
Chrys glanced down at the hard drive and key, then back around the now empty room. This was really happening. He was CEO of Bach Industries, a multibillion-dollar company that specialized in anything from software to entertainment. Dionysus liked having a hand in as many cookie jars as possible.
As Chrys made his way toward Dionysus' office—one of his offices, one of many all over the US—he could feel the stares of the employees watching him. Word had spread. As his cell phone vibrated in his pocket, he had the feeling, thanks to Eneas, word had also spread to the other Boeotians as well. All he could do was shake his head. Godsdamned gossips.
He entered the elevator and heaved a sigh of relief when he pressed the button for the floor he was going to and the doors closed, leaving him alone and cutting off the stares. He hadn't really suffered from anxiety until he started giving information to Hermes. Now he was a nervous wreck. What was on this hard drive, and what if he opened the drawer and found a big fat file about his very own espionage? Was this all a trap of some sort?
The elevator halted and the doors opened on the top floor. He passed a receptionist's desk that was currently empty and suspiciously clean of any personal items. What happened to Sarah? Fired when there was no boss, or quit due to fielding inquiries? There was no telling. He would need a new receptionist. The office door had been unlocked ahead of his arrival, and he stepped inside and looked around.
Though he'd seen the place a thousand times, he couldn't believe this was his office now. The back wall was nothing but windows overlooking the city. The wooden desk in the middle was massive, and along the walls, stone pillars held plants that gave the place a pop of color. It was an amazing office.
Chrys set the box containing the hard drive on the desk and plopped down into the plush leather chair. Then, he stuck the desk key into the drawer and unlocked it. Two folders sat on top and he pulled them out. Underneath, a few more cases like the one he'd been handed took up the rest of the space. He'd have a lot to go through. For now, his curiosity about the folders outweighed the daunting task of sorting through a bunch of digital files.
The first folder contained information, but no photographs, on the movements of the surviving vrykolakas from Brazil. One of the former Amazons, a queen named Myrine, had taken the new identities and money Pan and Hermes had set them up with and created the Myrina Initiative, an organization that sheltered and assisted abused women and children.
Chrys closed that folder and pushed it aside. It made sense for the women who had been basically mind controlled by Lamia for longer than he had been alive to want to help other women in bad situations. He'd have to look further into what they were doing and see if he could help them in any way.
He opened the second folder and his jaw dropped. Picking up photocopies of news reports out of Brazil, he read the reports of a dragon flying in the sky. An actual dragon. And the location was in the area where the Arcadians had faced off with Lamia and Echidna before going to Greece. Could it be connected?
It has to be.
Now the bigger question remained: was the dragon or Theron the bigger threat?
There was no better way to start the day than with sex. Jacen grinned as London tossed her head back and cried out in ecstasy. Her dark hair fell around her shoulders as he cupped the back of her hea
d and brought her down into a kiss before flipping them over so she lay beneath him.
"And how many orgasms does my love desire for breakfast this morning?" he teased as he took one of her nipples into his mouth.
London giggled and then groaned as he nipped at her tender flesh. "Mmm… Three."
"Scrambled or over-easy?"
"I feel like I'm going to be both of those things if you keep doing…that! Oh!" Her body trembled as he slid a finger between them to stroke her clit. "Jacen!"
As he brought her to her second climax, his phone rang. Glaring at it, he allowed himself to reach his release, spilling inside the love of his life.
"Don't answer that," London begged.
Jacen picked it up and looked at the notification. "It's Chrys again. He might have an update on Theron."
"Fiiiinne."
Jacen laughed and gave her a quick kiss before answering, "Yeah?" He reluctantly let London wiggle out from under him and he sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. He hadn't bothered with a glamour yet for the day. Luckily, his hooves didn't bother her. "Is everything okay?"
"Well, yes and no." Chrys laughed nervously over the line. "Are you sitting down?"
Absently, he glanced at the bed underneath him. The fitted sheet had been yanked off the top corner of the bed again. "Yeah."
The Boeotian let out a long breath, and his next words were said with about as much enthusiasm as a condemned man headed to the gallows. "I was promoted to the new CEO of Bach Industries."
Of all the things Jacen thought Chrysander would be calling about, that was not a single one of them. "Wow… I don't even know what to say…" He shot a glance at London who arched an eyebrow as she looked at him expectedly. "CEO, huh? Wow."
He was at a complete loss for words. Even though they all knew Dionysus was dead, it hadn't fully registered. Having someone replace him in his company brought with it a starting dose of reality…and finality. Immortality was easy to take for granted. The loss of Orestes still hurt. And while he didn't think any of them would miss the wine god very much, if at all, it was difficult to think of him as being dead and gone.
"Exactly. I didn't want this, but I figured it would provide a valuable resource in dealing with things. Which reminds me—I don't have Nestor's number. I want to meet with him and Pan at some point in the next few weeks and discuss setting up a lab space."
Nestor's miracle pills he'd created to curb the lust after learning more about Bremusa and Vander's freaky chemical reaction to each other had been a godsend. A larger, more secure lab would do the satyr good. Who knew what else he could come up with now that Pan was actively using and attempting to understand the syrinx.
"I'll call him and have him call you." He bit his lip and suppressed a groan as London slipped out of the bed and into the bathroom, gracing him with a great view of her ass. As soon as he hung up the phone, he would bend her over and—
"Any sign of Theron?" Chrys' question served as a bucket of ice water. Theron was the monster the curse intended the rest of them to become.
"No. To be fair though, it's not exactly like we can hunt for him in the middle of the night. No glamour after sunset."
Chrys grunted. "It's so annoying how Cyprian is getting away with it these days."
"Yeah… But for how long?" Jacen had a feeling that Cyprian's fame and antics would get him into trouble. Too many humans knew about his curse, and as his band became more popular, too many who didn't were around him all night. He was an exposure problem waiting to happen. Pan wanted him to have his freedom, but the rest of the Satyroi had hidden their satyr form for so long that it didn't seem fair that he was allowed to continue his theatrics the way he did.
"Remains to be seen. Looks like he's going to be here in Atlanta for Christmas, doing a show and a televised program."
Jacen stood and riffled through his closet. "I didn't know you were back in Georgia."
"After Calix…" Chrys cleared his throat. "I couldn't stay there anymore. After I called you, I finalized relocating to the Atlanta office. Board meeting was called today last minute, and here I am…in Dionysus' office. By the way, I may have to leave the country for a few days and will be difficult to get in touch with where I am going."
Jacen snorted as he pulled on a pair of navy-colored pants for work. "Running away already? You didn't even last a day."
"Ha, ha." The Boeotian chuckled, and a sound like ruffled paperwork came over the line. "Something weird is going on where Lamia and Echidna were hiding out in Brazil. I'm hoping it's some new made-up cryptid after all the conspiracies following what happened with the sun and in Greece…"
All humor faded from his thoughts. Echidna, the Mother of Monsters, could have left anything behind in that jungle. "Don't go alone. Do you need someone to have your back?"
"Nah." Chrys didn't sound too confident about it. "I also need to get in contact with Myrine and the vrykolakas. I may see if they know anything about the sightings or want to tag along."
Jacen blinked. That actually wasn't a bad idea, and he didn't know if he would have thought of it. Maybe Chrys taking over for Dionysus would be a good thing. A welcome change. "I can text you their last known whereabouts once I get upstairs and start working. Think you can handle all those warrior women on your own? Vander can barely handle Bremusa."
"She handles him just fine, I bet."
They laughed as the conversation came to a close, and Jacen ended the call then finished getting dressed as London came back out the bathroom, dripping wet and wrapped in a towel. "Dressed already? I wasn't done with breakfast."
Jacen looked down at the clock on the nightstand. "I have fifteen minutes."
London kneeled on the floor in front of him and unzipped his fly, grinning up to him. "That's perfect. Did I mention I'm an expert at time management?"
She could manage him however she liked.
6
Adonis woke with a start. There, at the end of the couch, Sage perched on the armrest staring at him. She still wore his clothes, the material loose around her slender frame, and the dim morning light behind her cast her face in shadow beneath her dark purple hair. "That is creepy as hell." His voice came out scratchy.
"I can't believe you snore so loudly." She shook her head. "How can you sleep cooped up on this couch? Your legs barely fit on it. And your horns…" Did she ever stop talking?
"Don't worry about me or my horns," he snapped. "And I don't snore."
"Yes, you do. Like a friggin' freight train."
He glared at her, but she didn't seem to catch the hint to leave him alone. In fact, the more annoyed he got, the wider her grin became. That wouldn't do at all. He would not be the butt of her jokes. He wouldn't!
Sage cocked her head to the side. "Why are you scowling at me?"
Really? "Oh, no idea. Some woman woke me up by staring at me and thinks it's funny that I didn't care for it."
She giggled and covered her mouth. Acting all coy.
Women. Three thousand years, and he still didn't understand them. "My mistake. Some little girl."
Her smile faded and she rolled her eyes. "You're a crabby old man trapped in a college boy's body."
And best she remember it, too. Still, the description grated. "Did it at least stop raining?"
Sage stretched and hopped down from the couch. The movement reminded him she wasn't wearing a bra under his baggy clothes. Unsurprisingly, he continued to not have a reaction to something that even before the curse would have gotten a rise out of him. It took all his patience not to let out the growl of frustration eating at him.
"Eager to get rid of me already?"
He bit his tongue to keep from agreeing with that assessment. He'd love it if she'd leave and never come back. He wasn't sure what was worse: not being turned on or a beautiful woman who knew it. His pride was his greatest downfall, and he'd always reacted horribly to humiliation. This shit was embarrassing as hell. But…he couldn't let her leave until he got ahold of Herme
s or found an alternative to get the edge off his curse. He couldn't tell her that though. The very thought of it sent mortification and shame through him.
Sage crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. If possible, he shrank farther into the couch cushions. He hoped nymphs hadn't developed telekinesis. "You're awfully quiet all of a sudden," she mused.
"I was quiet when I was sleeping too."
"Except for the snoring."
He clenched the cushion in a fist. "I don't snore."
"You do."
He gritted his teeth and let out a exasperated sound. "What do you want from me?"
"A straight answer." Sage paced in front of him, waving her hands around as she rambled, "You say you don't want me or can't or whatever, yet you want me to stay here with you, so I thought…" She laughed. "I thought…hey…maybe he was joking with me and he wanted me after all, but now you can't answer a simple question on whether you would like me to leave or not? Is this even about the eclipse? Or is this some weird hostage situation I willingly walked right into only to discover when it's too late that I can't leave?"
She stopped suddenly, eyes widening, and asked, "Didn't dudes used to think capturing a nymph meant they had to marry them? Oh, my goddess, are you Hades-ing me?"
"Am…I… What?" Adonis sat up and rubbed his temples. "Little girl, it would please me beyond belief to break this curse and use your body in every way you'd like me to in order to do it, but it can't happen. I am not kidnapping you to force you to be my bride. For gods' sake. And what the fuck is Hades-ing?"
"Hades-ing. You know, like when Hades snatched Persephone and dragged her to the Underworld as her bride and tricked her into eating pomegranates." Her expression made it clear she thought him incredibly slow on the uptake.
Was this a third curse? Had to be. There was no way the Fates hated him this much. Or Gaia if that was a part of why this happened, which he doubted.
All Hallows' Satyr (The Cursed Satyroi Book 5) Page 5