14. They would pay for that.
FOURTEEN
They would pay for that.
Days flowed into one another, and when I wasn’t carving stakes, Ben chased me around the ship armed with a stick.
The stick scared me far more than Jeremy Breckenan ever could. When Emerick’s right hand man caught me, he taught me the consequence of failure in a rather painful fashion. My brothers observed, armed with suggestions on how I might avoid my next beating—and how Ben might better beat me.
They would pay for that.
After my sixth round with the stick, I did the sensible thing: the instant I was out of sight, I transformed into a cat and retreated to a safe space.
Hiding under my father’s bed might earn me a scolding, but as he’d opened the door at a scratch and let me in, I figured I would enjoy my extended lifespan while it lasted.
My father went back to working on his laptop, likely overseeing one of his many empires.
“It’s convenient you showed up, actually.
I have picked your dowry project. It went up for sale this week, and the offer I pitched was tentatively accepted.
While the stones aren’t quite purple, it’s the only mine in the world producing tanzanite.
That is sufficiently rare for the growth of your personal empire.
I will need to do a great many reforms on the mine operations, but this is fine.
I’ll handle that before I toss you the reins and you have your own operations.
Before you complain, I do this for all my children.
Now, the amethyst mine I purchased was on the cheap side.
It’s not quite played out, but it’s no longer suitable for mass commercial sales.
This is fine. It should have plenty of material left for the brood’s use.
The sapphire mine will be your real money maker.
Purple sapphires rarely make an appearance, and those will go to your brood while the rest of the stones will fund the rest of your operations.
It should be a solid investment; the mine is a newer find and is nowhere near tapped out yet. ”
I sighed at the thought of my father rampaging for more things I didn’t need, likely trying to make up for getting me to adulthood alive.
As I couldn’t hold a conversation while a cat, I wiggled out from under his bed, transformed, and sat at the small table with him. “My brothers joined forces with Ben, and if anyone knocks on your door, I’m hiding under your bed again.”
“Self-preservation is an important skill to learn and refine,” my father replied, his gaze locked on his laptop’s screen. “There is a diamond mine up for sale, but it would take a great deal of work to make the conditions humane. It’s a human rights disaster right now.”
“If you can’t fix it, find new work for the employees and close it,” I suggested.
“It produced a hundred carat red diamond last year.”
I whistled. “That’s impressive. But if it’s that bad of a human rights violation, closing it and redirecting the workers elsewhere might be wise.”
My father made a thoughtful sound. “There are six villages associated with the mine, and they’re all in poor shape. I suppose I can make that brother of yours earn his keep. He’s done village reforms before.”
“Which one?”
“The younger one. He’s a little too altruistic at times.”
I rolled my eyes at my father’s complaint.
Once I had opened my eyes to the truth, I’d put the rest of the puzzle that was my father together in record time.
My brother wasn’t the altruistic one; my father was, and he likely believed he couldn’t show that truth to anyone, himself included.
I would worry about that problem another day.
“If Eugene is willing to work on the reforms on these mines, then reform the mines and help the local communities. I will enjoy observing when Emerick’s head implodes because he needs to add my empire to his empire. ”
While chuckling rather darkly, my father shrugged. “It’s just a little inconvenience. I’m sure he’ll survive.”
“I approve of this sort of evil, and I encourage you to engage in more of it. What has you hiding in here hunting for mines of all things?”
“I have no desire to observe young things making fools of themselves over a woman. If Breanna wishes to enjoy the show, that is her choice, but I decided I tired of it after an hour and left the young things to do as they do. Unfortunately for the young things making fools of themselves, Breanna is attracted to competency, and none of them are displaying it. Ben? Now he is displaying plenty of competency, apparently. You were, before you decided to flee, putting on a good show.”
“I see you have eyes everywhere on this ship.” I narrowed my eyes. “She’s eyeing Ben ?”
“It doesn’t hurt that Ben asked for the best locations aboard to beat survival skills into you.
I simply made sure members of my brood were around to offer rescue should rescue be needed.
Breanna has been observing so she can learn what is expected of young vampires learning their trade. It seems Ben is her type.”
“Interesting. Is that going to cause problems with her team?”
“Everyone on her team respects Ben, and while they are young and amorous vampires, Ben holds higher rank than them. Social rankings among vampires can be quite tricky, but everyone is aware of Ben’s personal background. If he proves to be interested in her, the partnership will be respected.”
“But what about the matrons?” I groaned at the thought of having to deal with the matrons, who were already plotting and planning the end of Ben’s life as a single vampire.
“I have already taken the liberty of speaking with them regarding the situation. Should they hit it off, they will help to train Breanna, understanding her relationship with you. It will be fine. They’re more worried about your ceremony with Emerick at this stage—and your mother’s ceremony with Clarke.
If anything, the ceremony with Clarke is an even larger draw than yours.
For good reason. Clarke has been alone for a long time.
Your mother will keep him on his toes, and he is emotionally available.
I was not. And in truth, she was not either. ”
“I sucked away all your emotional availability.” I snickered at the thought of having been a vampire in more than one way as an infant.
“I’m fine with that. I just care about if Mom is happy.
Oddly, I might even care if you’re happy.
Eventually. I will indulge in some tormenting of your person just because I can. ”
My father chuckled at my commentary. “Unlike your brothers, you did not get the luxury of tormenting me when you were a child, so it seems fair that you get to have your chance now. I will be continuing the Harlem project for vampires to have a solid place to live should things continue on their course, but I will manage those with the help of the older broods. This is not a slight against you nor your spouse, of course. You’ve had more than your share of trauma regarding the Harlem properties, so I am hoping to redirect you to more pleasant pursuits.
Cleaning up those mines and helping the local villages should work well for that.
You can build your brood’s wealth and improve the lives of many people. ”
“I don’t understand how anyone can do that to another person,” I admitted in a disgusted tone. “The idea of profiting off the destitution of others angers me.”
“Many of my enterprises have been done to improve the lives of others. Think about your work before joining your husband’s brood, Pepper. What never happened at my corporation?”
I considered his question, frowning. “There was very little complaining about the work environment. I mean, some people bitched, but those people were lazy. They never complained about the benefits or pay. There were complaints about the stress, but isn’t that normal?”
“It is. And many of those complaints were staged. The more vocal of the employees are somehow attached to my brood and did as they did to orchestrate the illusion everything was normal—well, as normal as a corporation like mine can be. That part was a challenge, and I’m grateful I can return to how we operated before you were born.
For the most part, nothing will really change for my employees; they just won’t have to hide certain realities from you anymore.
” My father closed the lid on his laptop.
“Truth be told, I was just reviewing what has been done by the negotiators. The tanzanite mine is the true jewel of the lot due to rarity. The others will be nice and bring your brood prestige and give you more places to employ your vampires. With you around, your brood will see strong growth. Your husband will not be pleased if he can’t engage his youngest vampires in meaningful work—and it’s better for them to have things to do. ”
I could understand that. Before I’d fallen in with Emerick, I’d struggled with my lack of purpose.
Eternity dragged when there was nothing to do or a goal in life outside of bringing about the downfall of my enemies.
“Let’s say Breckenan attempts to intercept us at sea. How would he pull this off?”
“Poorly and with many casualties. He’d use modern pirating tactics without realizing this ship is equipped with weaponry specifically designed to deal with piracy. Would you care to see the arsenal?”
I regarded my father with wide eyes. “We have an arsenal?”