Page 14 of Lahaina Noon (Modern Legends of Dragons & Shadows #1)

Chapter 14

N oise. That’s what Bridget heard when she walked through the glass front doors of the building. She was expecting the usual quiet hum of workers in an office. Instead, off to the right, she saw a gaming room where it looked like a gaggle of college kids were having a battle on a large screen in the middle of the room.

Cheers and groans erupted as she saw one young woman who looked a lot like Liam turn and high-five the crowd behind her while her opponent held his head in his hands, a sign of utter defeat. The crowd behind him gave him equal amounts of conciliatory encouragement and jeers for losing. It seemed good-natured and fun.

One of the kids saw Vaughn and Bridget and waved, “Hey, Drake!” he called out, causing the others in the room to turn and look. “You missed it! Siobhan just destroyed Sam on CW4! It was EPIC!” he shouted. This caused more cheering and laughter until some of them noticed Bridget.

“Yo, Drake, who’s the babe?” one of the other kids said, causing everyone to quiet down and stare at her .

Vaughn put his hands in his pockets and strolled over, gesturing with his head for Bridget to follow him. “Bridget,” he said calmly, “This young man with no manners is Collin Chester, one of our brightest developers.”

Collin gave her a cheeky wave.

Vaughn continued, “For the rest of you, who are no doubt wondering, the lovely woman you see here is Ms. Bridget Ridgeway. I’ve invited her here today to show her what we do in hopes I can convince her to join our team in charge of VR Integration.”

Bridget turned to Vaughn, trying not to show the confusion that was inside her to the group assembled before her. A job? Was he talking about a job? That’s not what she was expecting when he brought her here. Honestly, she wasn’t sure what to expect anymore but a job was the last thing she had thought of.

“Great,” muttered the victorious young girl that Bridget remembered had been called Siobhan. “Just what we need, another corporate yuppie trying to stifle us. Does she know anything at all about gaming? She looks like someone’s mom,” she said with a sniff.

Everyone in the room immediately quieted down and stared at Siobhan like she had grown two heads. For all their casual approach, it was obvious she had crossed some line or unspoken boundary.

Vaughn’s smile was brittle, and Bridget recognized it from the day before when he had faced Melissa Payne in the conference room.

Fearing for the young lady’s safety, Bridget quickly intervened. “Well, how very perceptive of you,” she drawled in a sweet voice, enhancing the southern twang in her tone. “In fact, I am someone’s mom. A very bright young man who adores the products you make here. Not only that, but I’ve raised him to be a very respectful young man who knows how to address people in a position of authority and to be a decent human being. I’m giving lessons to anyone interested.” She looked Siobhan up and down.

“Honey, I’ll give you a few for free, since you seem to be… a difficult case. Bless your heart.” She grinned at the girl, enjoying the stunned look on her face before the crowd around her burst into laughter.

Some good-natured slapping on Siobhan’s back occurred before she finally grinned and said, “You’re alright, Bridget,” and held out her hand.

Bridget shook the girl’s hand and winked.

Vaughn shook his head in defeat and pulled her away from the group, promising to bring her back after they’d had time to talk.

They walked towards a back hallway with regularly spaced glass doors that allowed her to see that many of the offices were filled with bean bag chairs, mismatched furniture and computer set-ups that would make Gabe drool. Most of the spaces were filled with action figures and posters of various gaming advertisements. Stickers covered many of the surfaces, and something that passed for music blasted from some of them. It almost looked like a college dorm.

She could see people of all ages, genders, and dress styles working away at what looked like a foreign language on many of the computers. Some of the crowd from the gaming area drifted back into their own spaces, donning headphones, and getting back into whatever world-domination plot they were cooking up.

Bridget was overwhelmed; Vaughn thought she could work here? She didn’t know the first thing about programming, and certainly not in the style of working these people were apparently accustomed to. He continued down the hall and around a corner where she began to see more traditional style set-ups and ‘normal’ looking work occurring.

Maybe here, she thought, working as some sort of administrative assistant. Although if that’s what he had in mind, she would politely decline. She was not interested in a pity job just because she had lost hers the day before. Wow, it was only yesterday that I learned about shadows and dragons. Feels like a lifetime ago. She mentally shook herself and looked around her, assessing the shadows.

Vaughn gave her a curious look, then seemed to understand what she was doing. “Don’t worry, dear,” he whispered in her ear. “This space is warded; these are just normal shadows in this building and my home. Your home, too, as soon as Liam finishes gathering the necessary parties.” He smiled to reassure her and led her to a large corner office with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Like the other spaces, the front of the office was all glass. Unlike the other spaces, he had the ability to make them opaque, which he did as he walked in and shut the door. He leaned against the door, taking in the sight of her. She was walking around, studying the view and the large glass and chrome desk in the middle of the office. It was so unlike his staid and stuffy office at Chesapeake.

She was trying to reconcile the two sides of the man, or was that three if you counted the dragon, when he came over and pulled her to his body, putting his lips on hers in a hungry, demanding kiss. She sank into his warmth, eagerly kissing him back. When he finally let her go, she stood there with a dreamy smile on her face.

“Mmm,” she hummed. “You are so good at that.”

He gave her another quick kiss and said “I’ve been wanting to do that since we walked through the front door. I can’t seem to get enough of you.” He let go of her body but retained his grip on her hand as he led her over to his desk and seated her in a guest chair.

He sat next to her in the other chair and smiled. “I have to say, I’m really impressed with the way you handled Siobhan. She’s a real pain in my ass sometimes, but I keep her on as a favor to Liam and his family. I’m their Godfather, their parents are close friends of mine.”

I was right! Bridget thought. She’s Liam’s sister. “But he’s so nice and cheerful,” she said, “And she’s…” she trailed off, not wanting to insult the girl.

“Surly,” said Vaughn.

She nodded and shrugged. “She’s young, she’s got a chip on her shoulder about something, she has time to work that off.”

Vaughn squinted at her. “You’re very perceptive. And you’re good with people. Not to mention your fine attention to business details. I really admired that about you when we were working together these last six months. I knew you were smart. Jack brags about you frequently, you know. You have a great sense of when to push and when to pull back on a project and you really seem to know what a team needs to be motivated. Like back there, I was ready to scold her for the way she spoke to you, but you knew exactly how to handle her. I saw the way your team reacted to you; they wanted to perform well for you. That’s what I need here. I need someone who knows how to corral these various personalities together and help us take this to the next level.” He studied her face to see what she was thinking.

“A farmer,” she mused out loud .

“What?” he asked, surprised by her response.

“You have a group of free-range chickens out there,” she nodded towards the hallway, “You let the chickens wander around the yard, and while they are producing enough eggs, that’s fine. But when you need them to give you a specific egg, you need a farmer to encourage them and feed them the right nutrients without taking away their freedom or making them feel that they are being held back.”

He stared at her and then grabbed her hands. “Exactly!” he said excitedly. “This is why I knew you were what we needed, what I wanted!” His eyes flashed briefly. “I wanted to steal you away months ago but knew I needed to wait until the deal was done. Now I don’t have to wait anymore.”

“Yeah,” she replied drily, “Because I got fired.”

He chuckled, “Side benefit. That means you are available to me, and I don’t have to worry about hard feelings or accusations.”

“Vaughn.” She hesitated. “Look, I really appreciate what you are trying to do here, but I don’t want you to feel you have to give me a job because you feel sorry for me or because we slept together. I can find another job on my own, I’m sure. I have excellent references—” she stopped as he put a finger to her lips.

“Bridget,” he warned, “Stop right there. Do not insult me, because I am not insulting you. This is not a pity offer. Nor is this related to our relationship. Yes!” He growled when he felt her lips move against his skin. “This is a relationship. I do not take revealing my other side lightly, and you, my dear, are not going anywhere. So, I repeat. This offer is being made to you because you have the skills and drive to do what needs to be done. The fact that you are gorgeous and have the most delightful scream when I—”

This time, Bridget put her hand over his mouth. “Do not say whatever you were about to say,” she warned.

He held his hands up in mock surrender, and she could feel his non-repentant smile curving against her palm.

She slowly lowered her hand and stared at him. “Okay, Drake, what are you offering?”

Vaughn gave a nod and leaned across the desk, grabbing a file folder with her name on the tab. He opened it to reveal some official-looking documents. “If you check the dates on these, you will see they were drafted well before I took you,” he paused, “To dinner.” He grinned a mischievous smile.

She glared at him in pretend fury before taking the papers from him. She read through what seemed to be a standard employment contract, benefits seemed affordable and more than fair. Hours were flexible, with opportunities to work remotely, which would help with Gabriel’s senior year, and she checked the date, noting that it had been drafted almost three weeks ago. He was telling the truth. She glanced up at Vaughn; he was studiously staring out the window as if he wasn’t on pins and needles waiting for her response. She looked back down and continued to read. Travel expenses paid, of course, mmm, vacation time is generous too, my own office, and the salary. Her brain seemed to stutter and restart.

“Vaughn,” she whispered, “This is too much.” Her eyes fixated on the very large number on the second page. She looked up at him and he simply met her gaze, no emotion on his face .

“I don’t believe so,” he replied evenly, “Our new VP of Integration deserves to be paid well for her work. She has a very demanding boss with extreme and unusual needs; she should be compensated for that extra work.”

Bridget was suddenly uneasy. “I’m not a prostitute,” she said with steel in her voice. “You aren’t going to pay me to sleep with you.” She was just petty enough to enjoy the shocked look on his face.

“No!” he said hurriedly, “That’s not what I meant at all! I just mean that I’m splitting my time between multiple businesses, and then there’s the whole dragon thing, you know. Sometimes, I have to take time to fully change, and that can lead to awkward questions about where I am and where’s that smoke coming from. Plus, I can be moody,” he finished lamely.

She stared at him for a moment. “Moody?”

He tapped the date on the documents, “Remember, drafted before we became better acquainted.”

Bridget softened; it made sense. The money was almost three times what she made before. She’d be able to get Gabriel that car without dipping into their settlement savings after all. She quickly read through the rest of the offer and looked up at him, biting her lip to keep from laughing at the hopeful expression on his gorgeous face.

“So boss,” she took a deep breath, “When do I start?”