Dragon Fixation

by Amelia Jade

  She got out of her car, thoughts of Andrew still lingering on her mind. Was she developing a crush on the big shifter? It seemed unlikely that he would be interested in her that way. Every shifter she knew went after the thicker women. The ones with breasts and hips and curves. Things she didn’t possess. Even the strip club in town had altered the women it called in to work there, catering more toward shifter preferences, since they made up so much of their business. No, it was no secret anymore what type of women shifters preferred.

  Karri wasn’t like them. She knew she had a face that many considered to be pretty, but she simply didn’t have any feminine wiles, or attributes, or whatever the hell people termed them. There was no way Andrew would be interested in her. Assuming that she was even interested in him!

  Shaking her head to clear it, Karri set her focus on work. Andrew was gorgeous and yes, she hadn’t been able to get him off her mind all morning. But she refused to obsess over him, especially if that meant being distracted while at the office. She didn’t have time for that. If she screwed up, her dad would pull the company from her. Pushing open the front doors, she headed back to her office.

  It didn’t take her long to realize something was up. Looking around, she tried to figure out what it was. Everyone was at their desks, in their offices, doing whatever they needed to be doing. Things were operating…smoothly. Almost too smoothly.

  “Mike…” she said, leaning in to his office before she reached hers.

  “Hey Karri. What’s up?”

  She frowned. “I was going to ask you the same thing. It’s so peaceful…what’s going on? Is my father not in today?”

  Mike almost immediately looked flustered. “Ah, um, no, he’s here. He’s definitely here.” The VP gave her an oddly strained smile.

  “What’s going on?”

  Mike held his look for a moment longer, then hunched forward in defeat. “He’s here, and, umm, he’s showing someone around.”

  Karri frowned. There was more to it than that. “Who’s he showing around?” Her father inviting a potential client into the office to show them how they worked wasn’t all that unusual, though it wasn’t something he did regularly either. Why would that make Mike so uncomfortable?

  “It’s Liam,” Mike said at last. “I’m sorry, Karri.”

  “Liam?” she asked, stunned.

  She wanted to ask why her father would be showing her younger half-brother around, but she didn’t need to. It was obvious. Anyone in the office would see why he was doing that, and they would also know what a calculated insult it was to her.

  He was doing it to help groom him to take over instead of her. That was all it could be. Because of the argument that they’d had the day before, her father had taken the next step. She stood up straight, blinking several times as Mike tried to say things she didn’t care about hearing. Eventually Karri just waved him off and sort of wandered into her office, ignoring the open door across the hallway where she could see her father and Liam sitting in chairs discussing things between themselves.

  She never made it, coming to a halt at her secretary’s desk.

  “Hey Tina,” she said, dazed.

  “Hi, Ms. Blaine,” came the formal reply.

  Tina was a good person, but she’d never resorted to any sort of comfortable camaraderie that much of the rest of the office had adopted. Some days it irked Karri, but today she was too distracted to notice.

  “Ms. Blaine, there’s a—”

  Karri waved her off as she made a snap decision. Steeling herself against what she knew was likely about to happen, Karri turned and marched across the hallway, past Georgina’s desk and into her father’s office.

  “Hi Father, Liam,” she said politely. “What’s going on here?”

  “Oh nothing really,” her father said politely. He was always different when Liam was around. “Just showing Liam around, making sure he knows what’s going on. Just in case you decide not to take over from me eventually, I want him to be ready to step in in your place.” He smiled. “Like an insurance policy, you know?”

  Karri forced a smile onto her face at the not-so-thinly veiled threat. “Oh, well, that’s probably smart. Not that I have any intentions of stepping aside though,” she said firmly, making her position clear.

  Her father nodded, and they understood each other. Karri knew that for a long time he’d publicly said he was going to make her the next owner after he retired. He’d proclaimed it loud and wide…until she’d had a younger brother. By that point Karri was already ten and he’d said it to too many people to back down. To do so would be to embarrass himself amongst his peers and the business community. Karri was thankful that her father cared too much about such things, even if it was also the source of his attitude toward women, which resulted in much of the friction between them.

  It was an odd frame of mind for her father to have adopted, but so far it had mostly worked in her favor when it came to her getting the company.

  “Anyway, I have a lot of work to do,” she said. “Important work.” She smiled and left the office before her father could respond. She’d known for a long time when he was telling the truth, and when he was bullshitting. Right now, he was full of it. Bringing Liam in was no “insurance policy.” It was a reminder to her that if she pushed too hard he would swallow his pride and the damage it would do, and he’d announce that Liam would take over for him instead.

  What he didn’t seem to realize, was that Liam was an idiot. A spoiled rich kid, he had no drive, no visible intelligence, or business sense. If her father put him in charge of the company, it would go belly up in no time, and all the people that they employed would lose their jobs. It was a disaster she couldn’t let happen.

  Pushing open the door to her office, Karri came to an abrupt halt for the second time that day.

  “Tina…” she called from the doorway.

  “I tried to tell you, Ms. Blaine,” her secretary said, bustling up to stand next to her as the both of them eyed the room.

  Her office was filled with flowers. Four different bouquets sat on her desk and the other table in the office.

  “They arrived about half an hour ago. Maybe forty-five minutes now,” she corrected as Karri continued to stare.

  Roses, daffodils and daisys, wildflowers she didn’t recognize and more.

  “Who the hell sent them?” she asked. “I’m not expecting any flowers.”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Was there a card? A message? Anything?” she asked, leaning over to take in a deep breath, her nose filling with a dozen different aromas that instantly made her smile.

  “Nothing at all,” Tina assured her.

  Somewhere deep within her a spark of hope flared. A sliver, really, like the kind that slid into your finger and defied all the best tweezers to remove. So small and nearly undetectable, yet unignorable as well, it appeared. Could it have been Andrew that sent them? Perhaps as an apology for missing their morning jog?

  No. Now you’re just stretching reality. You might want them to be from him, but the odds are they’re from someone else. Maybe from your dad, his way of making up for the fact that he’s giving the company to Liam.

  That would be more appropriate, but she knew it wasn’t true. It was either Andrew’s way of apologizing, or she had a new mysterious admirer. Two in one week seemed highly unlikely, but Karri wasn’t willing to fully believe they were from Andrew either.

  Glancing over her shoulder as her father came out of his office, she knew she’d have to make up some sort of excuse about the flowers. Maybe she’d taken up gardening or something. If he found out that she was receiving flowers—or any sort of attention from a shifter—he would likely disown her on the spot.

  Not for the first time that day, month, year, or even decade she lamented his archaic mindset, though she understood his feelings toward the latter issue, even if she didn’t agree with them, thinking he was being stupid about it. Still, it was best that he didn’t know about Andrew.
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  There’s four bouquets of flowers in your office. He’s going to know.

  Good point. She couldn’t avoid that. But he didn’t need to know that they were from a shifter.

  “What’s this all about?” he asked, standing behind them. “Something wrong with your office, Karri? Do you need to move out of it?”

  She almost snorted at the blatant suggestion that she vacate the office, ostensibly for Liam to then occupy it. No shame. Her father had no shame. Sometimes she forgot how much of a child he could be. He was acting ridiculous.

  “Nothing is wrong with the office, Father,” she said, not bothering to hide all of her frustration. Without another word she moved into the office so that her father could see what had caused her and Tina to pause at the doorway.

  “Did you take up gardening or something?” he asked, eying the flowers.

  Karri rolled her eyes. Even she’d discarded that excuse as being so flimsy it wouldn’t stand up to anything. Especially considering she didn’t know half the flowers that were in the bouquets.

  “No, Father.”

  “Oh, a secret admirer then.”

  “It would appear that way. There was no card attached.” The second the words left her mouth Karri realized they were a mistake.

  “Do you know who they’re from?” he asked.

  Karri had to lie to him now. If she said she didn’t know, then her father would go snooping. He would find the flower company that had sent them, and bribe or bully whomever he needed to until he found out who it was who sent them. That would be unacceptable.

  Thinking fast, she came up with a plausible response that would both satisfy his curiosity, but also make him happy. “I believe they’re from Jacques,” she said, trying not to grimace. “We had an excellent time together the last time I visited Corbin Bay.”

  Jacques owned a business that did a decent amount of work with them. Her father liked him a lot. He often went on about how Jacques had his life together, how he was the perfect match for her, that they would be an excellent pair. Personally, Karri thought Jacques was an arrogant asshole.

  “Jacques? That’s fantastic!” he exclaimed. “I’m so happy for you, Karri.” He practically beamed. It pained her to know that he was excited over a lie, but she’d not seen him this proud of her since she graduated college with a 4.0 GPA. “I’m glad to see you’re coming to your senses and finally dating someone that has their life together, who has a plan.”

  She almost vomited at her reply. “Yes Daddy, I’m trying.”

  He gave her another look and then smiling to himself, headed off to do something. Probably find someone to yell at; he did that when he was happy. Or sad. Or bored. Or Angry. He yelled a lot.

  Still, if it helped placate him about the day before and ensured he didn’t go snooping or anything, then she was happy. Though she didn’t recall saying that she and Jacques were dating. He’d assumed that.

  I hope he doesn’t say anything to Jacques. That could get ugly.

  Tina gave her a smile and got back to work, so Karri closed the door behind her, settling into her office chair, looking at the flowers once more. They were nice and everything, but they didn’t answer one crucial question.

  Why had he sent them, instead of coming himself?

  Chapter Nine

  Andrew

  At exactly four and a half minutes before five in the morning he coasted to a halt at the foot of the drive up to her property. His eyes glanced at the property boundary. Should he go on up, or wait for her down here? The question bounced around in his head over and over, but ultimately the decision was taken away from him as he heard the door open.

  A minute later Karri came jogging down the driveway, coming to a halt as she saw him standing there.

  “I honestly did not think you’d be here,” she admitted.

  “Good morning to you too,” he teased.

  “You know what,” she mused, looking around at the sky. “I think I’m going to have to agree with you. It is a good morning, isn’t it?”

  “So far,” he said, declining to elaborate at her questioning glance. There was no need for her to know how long he’d been up for, or that he’d purposefully worn himself out so that when they went jogging today he would be able to appear more winded than might normally be the case. It hadn’t been hard to pick up on her frustration about that the first time they’d gone jogging. He didn’t wish for her to grow frustrated with him, so he’d taken steps to prevent it.

  “I hope so,” he said.

  Karri regarded him silently for a few moments. “Thank you for the flowers.”

  He smiled. “You got them then?”

  “Yes,” she said with a nod. “They were very lovely.”

  “Good. I felt terrible that I couldn’t make it myself,” he said, meaning every word.

  “Where were you?” she asked.

  Andrew thought he heard some pain in her voice, but it was so faint that he couldn’t be certain. Had she been more interested in him showing up than he’d thought? Andrew had intended to be there, as he wished to spend more time with her, but he hadn’t realized she would be as hurt by his absence as she’d been.

  “I was regrettably detained,” he said, not wanting to explain to her what was going on.

  She didn’t need to know that.

  “Oh.” Her noncommittal response made no attempt to hide the fact that she wasn’t happy about it, but Andrew didn’t relent.

  “I hope you realize that I sent the flowers to show that I truly wished I could be there. And that me being here today shows that it wasn’t some stupid reason that I didn’t make it, like sleeping in or something.”

  Karri smiled. “The thought never crossed my mind.”

  They both knew it was a lie, but it was one he was willing to accept, since it seemed like she was going to allow him to join her.

  “Shall we?” she asked, gesturing down the sidewalk.

  “We shall,” he agreed with a smile, not bothering to keep the smile from his face as they fell in step, moving off down the sidewalk onto whatever course Karri chose for them. Andrew didn’t care where they went, as long as he was by her side.

  ***

  “Are you sure you have time for this?” he asked.

  Karri glanced up at him. “Did you want to bail or something?”

  “What? No,” he said hastily. “I just know that you said you go to work after your jog, so I didn’t want you to be late or anything on my behalf.”

  “That’s nice of you,” she said, smiling and tilting her head in appreciation as he held the door for her. “But I’m a big girl. I know what I’m doing, despite my exterior appearances.”

  It took him a moment to get that she was making a short joke.

  “So the boss won’t yell at you?” He followed her in to the coffee shop.

  “Oh, she probably will. She’s a real bitch after all,” Karri replied, chuckling.

  “Sorry to hear that.” Andrew was kind of at a loss as to what to say. Why was it so funny?

  Finally Karri took pity on him as they waited in line. “I’m the boss, Andrew,” she said. “Mostly at least. Enough that I can make my own schedule fit a coffee run.”

  “Ah,” he said. “Now I understand your earlier comment about the boss being rude. And I agree,” he added with a grin to show he was joking.

  “Careful. She doesn’t take being stood up too well.”

  He slapped a hand over his heart. “Ah, you got me,” he said, giddiness flooding him as she laughed. “Not even with flowers to make up for it?”

  Karri pretended to think about it. “That might help. But you’d have to go a long way. I think a minimum of five bouquets would be a good start. Don’t you?” she asked.

  Before he could respond the line moved and she headed up to the counter. He was still standing there shaking his head when she waved him on up. “What do you want?”

  “Hmm? Oh no, I can grab it,” he said, shaking his head at her offer to pay.
/>   “Like I said Andrew, I’m a big girl. I can pay for my own coffee date.” Her mouth clamped closed after the last word, the double meaning of the word obvious to both of them.

  Not wanting to upset the balance, he ordered the first drink he saw on the lighted menu behind the counter and a donut.

  “A pumpkin spice latte?” Karri asked as she paid for the order.

  “What about it?” He was still trying to accept letting her spend her money on him. It wasn’t easy. From a very young age he’d had it ingrained upon him that as a man he was supposed to take care of all those issues for any woman he cared for. That was…just the way it was.

  Yet that didn’t take into account the dangerous glint he’d seen in Karri’s eyes when he’d tried to take over and pay. She wasn’t going to stand for that sort of behavior…not when she’d already made the offer at least. I’m going to have to keep that in mind. She’s the boss, used to being in charge and is strong-willed enough to move her way up the ladder at her company. That has to account for something.

  He was going to have to treat her differently. Respect was going to be key. Not that he didn’t respect women generally, but he would have to hammer it into his head that she was used to being independent and didn’t struggle for money. Lavishing her with money might actually work against him, he realized. Interesting.

  That almost made it easier though. He wouldn’t have to worry about her being interested in him because of his money—not that she knew he would be considered extraordinarily wealthy by her standards. Standard gryphon longevity meant his parents, and their parents, etcetera, had managed to accumulate a large sum of wealth over their lifespan, and with access to human inventions such as banking and interest, Andrew had managed to turn that large sum into a good-sized fortune. He still didn’t know the specifics, but the person he hired to handle it for him was good, so he didn’t complain.