by I. T. Lucas
Kian waved a hand in dismissal. “The baby will be born long before the construction is done, so that’s not a problem. And as for security, I can build houses to surround mine and have the Guardians move in there.”
Anandur cast another glance at the slope, then looked at his brother. “What do you think, Brundar? Did our boss catch the snob bug from his cousin?”
Brundar shrugged. “It’s a good idea. Callie wants to open a restaurant. We can convert Kian’s old house into one.”
“After all that work?” Anandur waved at the construction. “That’s wasteful. Instead, let’s build a proper restaurant on the eastern slope. It can be a new hub for the people to hang out in. The café is already overcrowded, and we are getting nearly fifty new members.”
“Kalugal and his men are not going to be granted clan membership,” Kian clarified.
He still wasn’t sure how that was going to work. Until now, those who’d mated clan members had been granted automatic membership, but that wasn’t going to work with Kalugal’s men, mainly because his cousin objected to it.
Kian wasn’t thrilled about it either. That was one of the issues they still had to work out.
“I’m not talking about getting a share in the clan’s profits.” Anandur rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. “But who are they going to answer to? You have to be the one in charge of security.”
“Naturally. In everything else, though, they are going to keep the same social structure that they have now and answer to Kalugal. But you are right about the extra traffic at the café. I like the idea of having a new place for people to hang out in, but who is going to work in the restaurant? It’s not like our people want those kinds of jobs, and we can’t employ humans.”
Anandur shrugged. “Maybe Callie can hire some of his guys? Kalugal said that he barely has work for all of them, and now that he has Guardian protection, he doesn’t need them even for that. I would love to take Wonder out to dinner in a gourmet restaurant without leaving the village. Do you think that Gerard would be upset if Callie copied his recipes?”
Brundar snorted. “He would sue her.”
Kian had no doubt about that. Gerard wasn’t the giving type, and if he allowed Callie to use his recipes, he would want a major cut in the profits.
If he allowed it at all.
In the past, Gerard had made a big fuss about serving some of them at major clan celebrations. His stance was that whoever wanted to sample his exquisite fare had to pay the obscenely expensive membership fee he demanded for the privilege.
“Forget about Gerard. And as for Kalugal’s men, after the move, he will most likely keep them on the same security detail as before.” Kian felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket and pulled it out. “Speak of the devil.” He walked over to the nearest bench and sat down. “Hello, cousin. Are your ears burning?”
“Why would they?”
“Because I was talking about you with Anandur and Brundar.”
“Really? What was the topic of your conversation?”
“Your current security detail and whether you are going to keep it even after moving into the village.”
“There is plenty of time to think about that. I just approved the final building plans, and your contractor tells me that his part of the project is going to take at least three months, if not more, and then we need to put in the greenery and all the rest of William’s camouflage tricks.”
It was incredibly fast for such an ambitious project, but since no bureaucracy was involved, it was possible. Heck, if the contractor brought additional crews, he could finish the eastern slope development at the same time. And given that the architect was done with Kalugal’s plans, he was free to undertake the new project. Perhaps Syssi would want to assist him and design her future mansion.
Well, not a mansion, just a bigger house. As it was, they were pushing the boundaries of what William could hide with all of his camouflage tricks.
Kian stretched his legs in front of him. “I’m just glad that the water, power, and sewage systems don’t need upgrading. I designed them with future expansions in mind.”
Kalugal chuckled. “Making grand plans seems to run in the family.”
“Why? What are you planning?”
His cousin kept claiming that he was only a businessman, and that he was only interested in making money and acquiring promising startups that would make him even more money in the future.
But Kian doubted that.
He was willing to bet that Kalugal had some ambitious long-term plans he was working on. Otherwise, why the secrecy? Keeping his business private had been the major obstacle to the unification, and Kalugal had agreed to move into the village only after that was solved.
“I found a great deal on a private jet, and I wanted to check with you if I can house it in your hangar.”
“How big is it? And why do you need it? I offered you free use of the clan’s jet for your trips to and from the Bay Area.”
“You did, and it was very generous of you, but you know me. I like doing things in style.”
Kian grimaced. “Indeed. Did you buy it already?”
“Not yet. First, I wanted to check with you about the availability of space in the hangar. I would also need to borrow one of your pilots until one of mine learns to fly it.”
“What model is it?”
“It’s a Gulfstream GIVDP. It can seat thirteen passengers and two crew members. It’s nearly brand new, and I can get it for the bargain price of five million dollars. It’s beautifully outfitted, so I don’t even need to make any modifications.”
“Why do you need a jet that big? The bigger they are, the costlier the maintenance. The smallest jet would suffice for your trips to the Bay Area and back.”
“I’m aware of that, and it was the third thing I wanted to ask you. Can your people maintain it for me? I’ll pay for it of course.”
“No problem, but why such a big bird? I mean other than your need to have better toys than mine.”
Kalugal chuckled. “That’s not it at all. I want to fly all of us to Scotland in style.”
“That’s entirely unnecessary. We can use the clan’s larger jet for that.”
The snob probably thought that it wasn’t fancy enough for his taste.
“At some point, I also want to take Jacki around the world. The cabin of the GIVSP is large, and it can be easily divided into two sections, a sitting area and a bedroom.”
It seemed like his cousin had made up his mind about buying the jet.
“I’ll check with Charlie if it can fit inside the hangar and if he’s willing to be your pilot for now. When you take Jacki around the world, though, you will need to have your own crew.”
“Are you sure you can’t sell Charlie to me? I’ll pay handsomely for a good pilot.”
“I would give him to you for free, but after a couple of days, you would be begging me to take him back. He has a nasty attitude.”
They were both teasing. Well, Kian was. Sometimes it was hard to tell with Kalugal.
During their negotiations over the past month, he’d discovered that his cousin had a dry sense of humor but was surprisingly easy to work with. Most of the details had been worked out already, and other than the clan membership, only a few minor issues remained. Kalugal had already purchased a fancy office building in the city, and now he was even getting his own jet.
“I see. Then keep him. But I need the answer about the hangar ASAP. The seller is waiting for my call.”
“I’ll check and get back to you.”
“Much appreciated, cousin.”
3
Sari
Sari walked into her office. “We need to prepare eight guest rooms.” She held up her phone. “Kian just gave me the final count.”
The number of arriving guests had kept changing over the past six weeks, mainly because of Kalugal’s indecision about who he was bringing with him. In the end, he’d decided to entrust his and Jacki’s security to Sari’s h
ands and to only bring his second-in-command with him. Naturally, that meant Edna as well, but since she and Rufsur had been instrumental in making the unification happen, their participation in the ceremony was not up for debate.
Her assistant nodded. “I prepared seven, and that’s all we have. There are no more vacant rooms other than the two in the towers. Who is the poor sod you are going to stick in one of those? Can you imagine climbing all those stairs several times a day?”
“It’s a good exercise. But I was under the impression that we have more available rooms.”
“Nope.” Her assistant shook her head. “That’s all we have.”
Miranda was in charge of housing, and unless they were running out of space and needed to add another wing to the castle, her assistant didn’t bother her with details of who got which room and how many were still available.
Sari started pacing. “Six of the rooms need to be large enough to accommodate couples, one needs to be a fancy suite for my mother, and one regular room for Alena.” She grimaced. “Alena will either get the tower or share a room with Annani.”
“Stop stressing. Annani and Alena are going to stay in the same suite they stayed in last time. Alena was perfectly fine with sleeping on the living room couch.”
“I thought that you were going to assign it to Kian and Syssi.”
“I would have done that if your mother wasn’t coming, but since she is, Kian and Syssi will have to make do with a regular room that is only a bit larger than the others. And since it’s Kalugal and Jacki’s honeymoon, they are getting the princess suite that we prepared for Nathalie and Andrew. The others will have to be happy with smaller rooms.”
Sari sat down on one of Miranda’s guest chairs. “Good call on both. My brother and his wife are not expecting luxury. Kalugal, though, that’s another story. After he heard that we live in a castle, he expects to see a palace.”
Miranda chuckled. “He’s going to be disappointed. It’s just a drafty old castle that got upgraded with plumbing and electricity.”
“We did the best we could with the existing structure. The only way to get it really modernized is to tear it down and build a new one.”
Miranda sighed. “That would be nice. Every time I turn on the faucet in my bathroom, it sounds like bagpipes are playing, and then I have to wait ten minutes or more for the hot water to arrive.”
Sari nodded. The plumbing needed more work, but bringing professionals to the castle was difficult. The nearest town was more than an hour's drive away, and they had to thrall the contractors.
“When I was in the village for Kalugal’s wedding, Kian offered me to move everyone there. I was tempted for about a second and a half.”
“Why not?” Miranda’s eyes lit up with excitement. “In today's world, there is no need to have two centers. Everything can be done over the internet. Even meetings don’t have to be face to face.” She smiled. “And I would love to meet some of these immortal bachelors you keep telling me about. It’s not fair that only Kian’s people are getting them.”
“I know. But I can’t contemplate leaving Scotland. This is our home.”
Miranda snorted. “I have absolutely no problem leaving. Here, it’s beautiful for about two months out of the year, and the rest of the time it’s miserably cold and dreary. It’s always sunny in California. I would love to move there.”
“I’ll think about it.” Sari pushed to her feet. “I’ll be in my office if anyone needs me.”
“Are you accepting phone calls?” Miranda asked. “Or do you need some quiet time?”
“You know my schedule better than I do. Do I have any conference calls coming up today?”
Miranda brought up the scheduling application on her screen. “You have a three o’clock video call with Vincent about ramping up the window production. That’s the only one.”
“Good. I might even put my feet up and daydream a little.”
“Dream about the village.”
Sari smiled. “I might do just that.”
As soon as she closed her office door behind her, Sari’s smile wilted, and she let out a sigh.
It was important to keep an upbeat attitude in front of her people, but she could drop the charade when she was alone. The truth was that she’d been a little under the weather lately.
More like for the past three years.
When Kian and Amanda had found their true-love mates, Sari had hoped that the Fates were finally smiling upon her clan, and that soon she would meet the male that was meant for her.
But she was still alone, and so were her people. For some reason, the Fates were smiling favorably only upon her brother’s arm of the clan and ignoring everyone in Scotland and Alaska.
Why was that?
What had she done to anger them?
She could think of a few things, deeds she wasn’t proud of, but then Kian hadn’t been an angel either. As leaders, they had to make hard choices from time to time, and some of those decisions were bound to be mistakes. They were the descendants of gods, but their ancestors hadn’t been perfect either.
Even Annani, who was the most positive force for good on the planet, had her share of dark deeds that she kept secret from most of her people.
Sari was only privy to a handful, but Alena probably knew about every transgression that their mother had ever committed.
She was a little envious of her older sister. Why did Annani trust Alena more? It wasn’t as if Sari would run around telling everyone what she knew. It was not in her nature to betray anyone’s trust, and especially not the trust of her family.
Sari was a good daughter to her mother, a good sister to her siblings, and a good leader to her people. Didn’t she deserve a true-love mate?
Her eldest sister deserved one as well.
When Kian had invited them to the wedding, Sari had hoped that one of Kalugal’s men would catch her eye. Regrettably, none of them had that special something she was looking for, and Alena hadn’t fared any better.
Sari had spent most of the wedding getting to know the men, but even though they were all handsome, each in his own way, she couldn’t see herself falling in love with any of them.
Was she even capable of romantic love?
4
Kalugal
For the meeting with Professor Levinson, Kalugal had chosen a conservative Mercedes as his mode of transportation. The professor knew him as Kajeck Zolotovsky, a Russian millionaire with an inquisitive mind, and that required keeping up appearances in accordance with the character.
“That’s the address.” Welgost pulled up next to a modest one-story bungalow. “It would seem that Stanford is not paying the distinguished professor well enough.”
Kalugal had to agree.
After investing so many years in his PhD and then many more in research and teaching at a prestigious university, Professor Levinson should have been able to afford a better house.
Then again, given the inflated Bay Area prices even this seventies-era old place was pricey, and as a bachelor, the guy didn’t need anything bigger.
“Do you want me to come in with you?” Welgost asked.
“No, thank you. I have nothing to worry about from the professor, and he lives alone.”
Welgost grinned. “Thank you. I’d rather watch a movie than listen to you two philosophizing about stuff that I don’t care about.”
“You are supposed to be my bodyguard and watch the house. But that’s okay. As I said, I don’t expect any trouble.” Kalugal waited for Welgost to open the door for him, not because it was standard protocol, but because of the need to maintain appearances in accordance with the Kajeck persona.
The shroud had been on from the moment he’d entered the car, so all he had to do was put on a smile and ring the doorbell.
When David opened the door, Kalugal’s fake smile turned real. The guy was even more handsome than he’d remembered.
Sari was going to love him.
Perhaps.
Brin
ging her the human as a present was a crazy thing to do, but ever since Kalugal had met Sari, an inner voice kept insisting that David Levinson was the one for her and that it was his job to make it happen.
The bizarre urge to play matchmaker was so far removed from his character that the Fates must be behind it. Not that believing in divine intervention was something that Kalugal indulged in either.
The only other time he’d heard a distinct inner voice whispering in his ear was when Kian had shown him the new plots. But since the messages had been more aligned with Kalugal’s way of thinking, that voice had most likely belonged to his own subconscious. Except, there had been something off about it. It had been male, but the wording hadn’t been Kalugal’s, and the undertones conveyed an urgency that he hadn’t felt.
Stranger still, Kian had heard a voice too.
Perhaps Edna had been right and standing in the heat and the glaring sunlight had messed with their brains.
“Mr. Zolotovsky.” The professor offered Kalugal his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you again.”
Kalugal shook what was offered. “Please, call me Kajeck.”
“Then you must call me David.” The professor led him to his study.
As they passed through the small living room, Kalugal paid attention to the small details, noting that the place was tidy, and that there were no dirty dishes in the kitchen or clutter on the counter.
The guy was neat, which he was sure Sari would appreciate. No woman wanted a slob for a lover, let alone a mate.
“Please, take a seat.” David pointed to one of the two armchairs in his study.
“Thank you.”
The chair’s leather was worn out, and the cushions were sunken, but it was still comfortable.
“Can I offer you a drink?”
“Just water, please.”
“Of course.”
As the professor left the study, Kalugal thought fondly about similar offers from Kian. He liked sharing drinks, cigars, and relaxed conversations with his cousin. But since whatever David had in his cupboard would not be in the same league as the whiskeys Kian treated him to, he would stick to water.