Page 7 of Enchanted Hero (The Secret Enchanters #1)
He intertwined his fingers. “I don’t really have a lot of experience with such things. After all, what do I know about magic and mystical events?”
For the briefest of seconds, his eyes lit, not metaphorically, but literally .
She glanced toward the windows. It must have been the sun.
“You do research, look for authentic pieces. It’s what our customers expect and deserve.
” She pointed to the briefcase emblazoned with his corporation name.
“You employ thousands of people. You could assign someone to run it.”
“New Age Treasures intrigues me. I am going to run it myself. With help, of course.” He grasped the catalog.
He was impossible, and so was her choice. How could she leave the company for him to destroy? “If I stay, will you still sell ancient rubber chickens and alien shoehorns?”
The denial was immediate. “There would be no need. I assume you would run it as before, with the added capital, of course.”
Was all this a plan to convince her to remain? As a strategy it was utterly ruthless… and entirely convincing. “If I stayed, would I be your employee?”
“Of course not. I wouldn’t ask you to step down in your own company. We would consider you a consultant.” He lifted a hand. “Would you like to use the fortune-telling ring? It might help you make your decision.”
“Absolutely no–” She stopped as he pulled a ring from his pocket.
Silver in tone with swirling lights, it was far more impressive than its cheap price indicated.
He placed it on his little finger. “You put it on, count to ten and touch the center.” He tried it a few times, and it stopped on red, yellow and green. He handed it to her. “Give it a try.”
She held out her hand to say no, but he slipped the ring on her finger. She sighed, counted and pressed the center. It showed a beautiful blue.
He read the paper. “Blue means you’re going to find an exciting new job. It also says you will warmly welcome strangers.”
“Are you making that up?” He handed her the paper, and she read exactly what he said. She gave it back. “Did you know it was going to turn blue?”
“You saw it change to all the other colors. There was no way to know it would stay on blue.” He lifted a shoulder. “Unless you think I have magical powers.”
She grimaced, but didn’t argue at what was clearly a coincidence. “I’m trying again” She restarted and counted again. It turned blue. Did it again. Then again. And again.
Blue, blue, blue.
She swiped it off and handed it to him. He put it on his finger, counted and pressed the button. It turned yellow. They both looked at the paper.
“You will make an important decision about the future.” She stared at the paper until he pulled it away. “This is going to be a big seller.”
Goodness. “No, it’s not.”
Mischief played on his lips. “It’s not?”
“No.” She sighed. “Well, it wouldn’t have been anyways, but it won’t because we aren’t going to sell it. I’ll stay.” She lifted a finger. “But only until you get matters settled.”
“Of course.” The words were immediate, smooth and not quite genuine. He pointed to a stack of papers. “The contract is on the desk. As soon as you sign, we'll tell the employees the good news.”
Now she understood this man’s success. His prey didn’t even detect him before he struck. She trudged slowly to the desk, to the innocuous-appearing papers that possessed this man’s whims. “Why are you so intent on keeping me?”
“As I said before, it makes good business sense.” Despite their logic, the words somehow seemed hollow, a facade for a hidden truth. Secrets lurked in his gaze, something that wasn’t quite… ordinary.
She reached the cool, crisp stack of paper. “Are you always this ruthless?”
“When I want something, I’ll stop at nothing until I get it.”
She flipped the edges of dozens of papers, each filled top to bottom with legalese in minute print.
She looked through the main points, yet it would take hours to read it all, and she wouldn’t understand much of it.
A lawyer would charge thousands in fees she didn’t have.
He already had her company. What more could he take?
“Sign the papers, Miss Lacey,” he said softly.
She gripped the sheets hard. For her employees and their families, she had to concede. Still, she took her time skimming through it, her last act of defiance before her unavoidable surrender. She froze as she read the terms. “A five-year contract? That’s far too long!”
“Continuity is vital for a company, and of course either of us can break the contract. It’s non-binding.” She exhaled, yet her breath caught as he murmured, “I think that’s enough time, don’t you?”
Enough time for what? She held in the question he was unlikely to answer, returned to the papers.
She started at the salary, which was far higher than she currently allowed herself.
There was a reason she lived in a modest home – she put nearly everything back into New Age Treasures.
“Not that I don’t want a salary, but shouldn’t we invest more in the business? ”
He gave a genuine smile. “This is the first time someone complained the salary was too high.”
If the sight of his ruthlessness had been overwhelming, his warmth nearly slayed her. The smile lit up his face, eliciting an unbidden softening. “New Age Treasures is now part of Stone Holdings. One advantage is you don’t have to worry about money.”
Of course not. He was a billionaire.
Suddenly he was before her, moving so quietly she didn’t even notice until he towered over her. He held out a heavily gilded pen. “It’s time.”
She hesitated another second, grasping the smooth writing instrument with clammy hands. He took the papers and laid them on the desk, open to the signature page. “Sign here.”
She pressed pen to paper, stealing one last glance at him. With a deep breath, she scrawled her name in big looping letters, continuing through all the signature pages. When she finished, he took the pages, folded them neatly and placed them in his jacket pocket.
It was done.
Predatory satisfaction blazed. The future loomed before her, unknown and unwritten, with one new truth. Just as he’d predicted, her company – and everything in it – belonged to Alexander Stone.