Chapter 20 #2
“Edi said Lianna stopped by when the door was closed, and she called while I was waiting.”
The phone started to ring again. He moved toward it, but saw the papers on the desk and picked up my presentation instead.
“This is yours?” he asked.
“It is. And I’d like you to look at it without any bias. Critical objectivity only.”
He smiled softly as he kept reading and turned the page. He was still reading when Lianna barged in five minutes later.
“It’s very difficult to coordinate client meetings when you're inaccessible,” she said with annoyance.
“Edi. Did Lianna ask any of you about my schedule?” Konni called without looking up from my presentation.
“No,” Edi called back.
“You’ll be less frustrated about my inaccessibility if you use the right resources to schedule my time,” Konni commented distractedly.
“It’s an after-hours meeting, and we both know that your team doesn’t have a full picture of that. The client for the Riverfront project wants to discuss expanding the scope of the build.”
He finally looked up at her. “That’s sales. Why are you involved?”
“They want to change the products they already signed off on with ones of lower quality to save money to scale the build by twenty more units.”
Konni frowned and sighed. “When do they want to meet?”
“The Nexus. Tonight at six.”
“All right. Tell them I’ll be there with my assistant.”
“Thank you. Do you want to stop at Seventeen Twenty-One for something to eat first? I can order ahead for us.”
I was grateful I hadn’t turned to look at her yet, or my face might have hinted at my thoughts, which were a blend of disbelief, humor, and petty bitch territorialness.
“You were here working all weekend,” Konni said. “Take tonight off. Ms. Elmantas can handle the meeting.”
“She doesn’t know this client, Drake. Do you really want to—”
“She’s more capable than you give her credit for.”
He held out my presentation to her. She closed the distance to take it, and I made a face at Konni behind her.
I hadn’t been ready to share it with anyone else yet.
He winked at me while she read. She made it all the way to the final page, turned back to the beginning, and set it down. When she faced me, her expression was neutral.
“You put that together?”
“I did.”
“Why?”
Because I knew it would annoy her to come up with a solution to a problem she couldn’t seem to solve, but I didn’t say that.
“Because I know the marketing team is understaffed and under pressure to come up with a new marketing idea quickly. Since I like shopping in the downtown area and can see the appeal for something similar, I thought I’d help by throwing more creativity into a limited pool.”
“You’re hoping to what? Stand out? Gain more attention for yourself?”
Konni softly growled, and I quickly stood to distract her from it with a smile.
“No need for more attention. I already have enough of it. I simply wanted to help Steele Corp like Steele Corp has helped me. And since I didn’t write the proposal on company time, I wasn’t wasting resources. Help. Plain and simple.”
“Then why not give it to me?”
“That’s easy. Because you don’t like me, Lianna, and I wanted my idea to have a fair chance.”
Konni covered his mouth with his hand behind her back.
“I’ll leave it to you two to discuss,” I said politely. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Steele.”
“Of course, Ms. Elmantas,” he said, tucking away his amusement that I’d called her out.
I left the office and closed the door, not wanting to hear whatever else she had to say.
Edi, Bomir, and Marius all stood and started clapping.
“Well done,” Edi said, beaming.
“We’ve been waiting so long for someone to stand up to her,” Bomir added.
“Why didn’t any of you?” I asked.
Bomir shook his head. “We don’t have the same clout you do.”
“Clout?” I dismissively waved a hand at that idea.
They continued to grin as we all sat.
“I read the proposal, by the way,” Edi said. “It was really good. I don’t think the marketing department will come up with anything better before the end of the week.”
“She’s going to hate that,” Bomir added over his monitor.
I smirked as I opened the department inbox, glad I’d shown it to Konni first. It would drive Lianna crazy knowing that the person she’d refused to give a chance produced something better than her team.
It didn’t take long for Konni’s door to open and for Lianna to leave without a backward glance. Konni strolled out behind her, his hands in his dress pants pockets, looking the picture of a relaxed man.
“Edi, can you reach out to the lead for the Riverfront project and schedule a meeting at Nexus tonight at six? And book my room at Seventeen Twenty-One for five.” He finally glanced at me. “I’d like to discuss your plan in more depth.”
When he indicated his office, I narrowed my gaze at him.
“Door stays open, or I’m not going in.”
Either Bomir or Marius gave a soft, choked laugh.
“Of course,” Konni said, unbothered by it.
I didn’t trust his easy agreement until I was sitting in the chair across from his desk with the door wide open.
Instead of sitting behind the desk, he leaned against the front of it, his crossed ankles close to my feet.
“Are you comfortable going to Nexus in what you’re wearing, or should we stop for something else first?”
“I don’t think there’s time.”
“Edi, clear my afternoon,” Konni said.
An afternoon of shopping with Konni sounded like a dream, even as I shook my head. We already had people watching us, and I didn’t want to give them more opportunities for public pictures.
“What I’m wearing is fine. What about the proposal?”
He smiled, sighed, and crossed his arms.
“It’s perfect. You have an eye for detail and an understanding of how to sell a concept through visuals and solid description. Even though I can’t find anything not to like, I’m still giving the marketing department a chance to come up with something better.”
“Good. Steele has a reputation for excellence. Settling for anything less would tarnish it.”
He chuckled softly. “Lianna said something similar about your work. Why do you think she doesn’t like you?”
“You’re not that blind, are you? She’s never said a nice thing to or about me and has treated me as less than human several times.”
He lost his humor. “If it happens again, tell me.”
“Why?” I leaned toward him and added quietly, “So you can growl at her? Human men don’t usually do that, you know. You might want to tone it down unless you want her and them to know.” I nodded toward the open door.
The man had the audacity to grin.
“They already know. And Lianna’s a dragon too. We grew up together. Our moms are best friends. That’s the only reason I’ve put up with her crap for so long.”
“Oh.”
I wasn’t sure what part of that surprised me more. That the fab trio out there knew he was a dragon. That Lianna, the woman who hated me with what seemed to be every fiber of her being, was a dragon. Or that Konni had been forced to “put up with her crap” because of family friendships.
“And that’s why she’s been harder on you,” he continued. “It’s in her nature to be more prickly.”
I opened my mouth to ask why he wasn’t prickly and remembered what he’d said about female dragons being more violent.
Maybe it would be in my best interest to stop provoking Lianna.
Konni’s gaze darted to my parted lips. “Are you testing me again?”
I snapped my mouth closed and shook my head.
A soft knock on the open door interrupted us.
“Your afternoon is almost clear,” Edi said from behind me. “Only one person is insisting on keeping their meeting.”
“Lianna,” I mouthed.
Konni smirked at me and looked up at Edi.
“Who is it?”
“Ms. Stonestock. It’s the department meeting to go over the weekly project status. She’s concerned that their shift in focus might delay some of the other project deadlines and wants to keep you in the loop.”
“Okay. Have Bomir attend in my place and summarize what’ll be affected. I’ll personally reach out to all the clients with significant delays we can’t make up.”
“Understood,” Edi said.
“I don’t need anything,” I repeated quietly, once he left.
“But I do. Shopping is an excuse for you to walk me through what you saw Saturday to inspire your plan, and I can fill you in on the Riverfront project so you can start thinking of ways we can sell that.”
“Didn’t you just tell Lianna to stay in her lane?”
“She’s the head of marketing. You’re part of the CEO’s office, and we occupy whatever lane is needed to get the contract signed.”
Why did I like that so much? It was like getting a free pass—not to do anything but to be anything. A freedom to grow however I wanted.
He watched me closely. “What are you thinking right now?”
“That you’re really good at keeping your word.”
I could see the confusion in his gaze and stood. After a glance at the door, I darted in and kissed his cheek, then walked out.
This time, the trio didn’t look up. I gave them a speculative glance, then settled in to check the secretariat group email, replying to a few of them and just reading and soaking up the information in the others.
The alarm I’d set myself to remember to make Konni’s coffee went off, and I stood. Over his monitor, I caught Bomir’s amusement.
“What’s that? You want to make his coffee this morning, Bomir?”
He looked up at me in panic. “Please, no. I’ll buy you lunch today.”
“Deal.”
Marius chuckled as Bomir turned to him for comfort. The pair were adorable together, and all three of them were good-looking. K’s Keepers. His little Snack Pack.
Thankfully, Konni was straight.
And mine.