Chapter 23
Rowan
Something was off.
Rowan didn’t like these business trips. He never had. They’d been even worse when he’d had to accompany his father and “learn the ropes” by sitting through the condescending remarks about how he had big shoes to fill.
This was different.
He was unsettled, not uncomfortable. Restless, not bored.
He had been since he’d left Milo at the bar.
It was strange. He didn’t know why he’d been anticipating a bigger reaction to his departure. Or maybe anticipating was the wrong word. Hoping for?
Which was crazy.
He should have been relishing the peace and quiet, not missing the source of the noise in his life.
He did miss it.
The first day wasn’t so bad. There was always some discomfort that went with leaving his hoard and his nest, so Rowan could ignore the nagging feeling as he traveled down and greeted everyone.
He’d been shown around and wined and dined before heading back to his hotel room to rest before the real meetings started.
It was in the quiet he usually found solace in that he noticed the absence.
The family group chat was going off with comments about Ruben’s upcoming performance and who could attend. Rowan ignored it. Instead, he lay awake for too many hours staring at a name in his phone and wishing he was home before finally dropping off to sleep.
The day after was back-to-back meetings, everyone calling for his attention. He tried to give it and to provide helpful insight and feedback, but he could feel himself getting irritated more easily as the day progressed.
Information he knew like the back of his hand escaped him. He stuttered over his words. He even walked into a doorframe, which was clearly his finest hour.
By the third day he was barely hanging on to his temper.
Especially with Harold.
He was a golden dragon and, as such, prized money above all else. It made him shrewd in business, but he often needed reining in.
“The new security systems will increase the hoard room price by two percent, but we believe this won’t massively impact clients. It’s their peace of mind about their hoard, after all, and we project that announcing this will bring in more clients than we lose.” Harold continued to drone on.
Rowan thought of Milo.
Milo who worked three jobs to try and support his hoard. Milo who couldn’t afford another two percent when he was giving everything he already had. How many other Milos were there out there? Dragons usually had generational wealth, but what about the ones that didn’t?
“We should swallow the cost,” Rowan said.
The room rippled in surprise. Harold seemed horrified. “But it will affect our bottom line.”
“But it will show clients that there’s a reason they choose us to display their hoards in the first place. If we can’t guarantee safety, they’ll just go somewhere else. We shouldn’t charge them for something that should be there anyway.”
“From a business standpoint—”
“We’ll pull in more clients over our competition by having good business practices and reliable buildings. We’re not putting the cost on the client. They already pay enough to commission these rooms, and the viewing fee more than covers expenses and generates profits.”
“The budget doesn’t account for this, Rowan. Your father—”
“Trusted me to oversee these meetings. Or are you calling my authority into question?” he asked, smoke leaking from his nose.
Harold was taken aback. Rowan had never been so forceful before.
“Run the numbers again. We’ll discuss it in our afternoon meeting.” It was all he said before he got up and left the room.
Harold would no doubt call his father regardless.
He gritted his teeth and made his way to a park nearby to let off some steam.
Literally. He entered the small glass cubicle in the far corner of the park and closed the door.
He waited for the signal before he took a breath so deep his lungs felt like they might explode.
He held it in, tasting soot and ash on his tongue before pushing all of it out.
The smoke and steam fogged up the little space and the vent system came on, collecting all of it until there was nothing but clean air inside, and Rowan felt slightly more grounded.
He walked out and sat on a nearby bench, pulling his phone out again and looking at a certain name.
He couldn’t call. He shouldn’t call.
What would he even say? Hi, just calling to check in. About what? Surely if Milo had found something out about his dragon he would have sent a text in all capitals with several hundred exclamation marks.
Rowan just wanted to go home.
His phone vibrated in his hand and he looked down, heart hammering, only to see his father’s name.
Fucking Harrold.
“That took longer than I expected,” Rowan said.
Rupert snorted. “He was…perplexed.”
“I’m sure he was.”
“Golden dragons don’t like their money being messed with.”
“Then he can choose another company to work with.”
Rupert seemed shocked. “You’re usually more level-headed than this.”
“It’s been a long few days.”
“I can pack up and head down there—”
Rowan’s stomach dropped. “If you think I can’t handle it.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Then could you let me try it my way?”
He didn’t know where the words were coming from. They strayed too close to the truth he kept covered.
“Of course. I trust you.”
Rowan swallowed. “I’ll keep you updated.”
When he couldn’t put it off anymore, Rowan found his way back into the meeting room. Harold was sitting with his arms crossed and a smug smile on his face.
Rowan gave him a placid smile in return and laid his hands on the desk. He found that his give-a-shit meter was officially dead. “So have we crunched those numbers?”
Harold’s smile dropped slightly. “But I thought…”
“Georgia,” Rowan called. The assistant popped her head up, her wide green eyes magnified by her glasses. “Do you have those numbers?”
She flushed and adjusted her specs. “Well…”
“I’ve noticed your notes at the end of the meetings. They’re very impressive. I’d appreciate your input,” he said.
She gave Harold a quick glance before sliding her notes across the table. “I’ve worked out the margins for the current proposal, but…”
“Go on.”
She exchanged a look with Lennie, who nodded at her. “Well the profit margins wouldn’t significantly change if we went with this newer company.”
Rowan pulled it across.
“That company was ruled out. It’s basically a startup!” Harold said.
“A company that has a decade of experience is hardly a startup,” Rowan said as he surveyed the notes carefully. “Why wasn’t this considered before? They’re competitively priced.”
“The current proposal is from an established dragon firm,” Harold said.
Rowan’s eyes went to the info at the top and he spotted the human and dragon founders. He rolled his eyes. Some dragons were so stuffy.
“I want everything you have on this, Georgia. You can lead.”
“She’s an assistant!” Harold exclaimed.
“Which should have been changed a while ago. I’m sure it was just overlooked. I’ll talk to HR to make sure it goes through without a hitch. She’ll be a valuable asset to your team,” Rowan said smoothly.
Everyone murmured in surprise, but there was a pleased air about the room. They were on Rowan’s side with this.
“As long as that’s okay with you?” he asked Georgia.
“Y-yes. Thank you so much!” she gushed after the shock wore off.
“Wonderful. So let’s get to work on this new company and contact them for a proposal.”
“I already got one,” Lennie said quietly, before getting louder and more confident. “Just in case.”
Harold was shell-shocked and Rowan smiled.
“Great initiative. Let’s take a look, shall we?”
The room came alive with new energy as Rowan’s phone vibrated in his pocket. His heart flipped when he saw the name on the screen.
Milo: Are there naked dragons there?
Rowan’s ears went hot and he felt a surge of inexplicable anger.
Was Milo looking for another dragon to get naked with? Why would he ask that?
He tried to keep his cool and not immediately call him up and demand to know what the hell that meant.
Rowan: Why would there be naked people in a finance meeting?
Milo didn’t reply and Rowan was left drowning.
He seriously contemplated getting the next train or bus out so he could just show up at Milo’s house and demand to know.
He was looking at the bus schedules when the meeting wrapped up and Harold approached from the side.
“Well played,” he said, sounding pissed but also slightly impressed.
“I’m not trying to step on your toes or create bad blood,” Rowan said.
“We’ll see how this all shakes out, won’t we?” he said. It was a dare as well as a threat.
“I’m sure we will…right after I kill this person.”
“What?”
Rowan flushed. “Nothing. It was a joke…or something.”
He walked off, swearing at himself but still glued to his phone. Wait…didn’t he drive here? Why was he looking at the bus schedule?
Another text pinged through and Rowan scrambled to open it.
Milo: I forgot my coffee cup
And what was that supposed to mean?
“Mr. Rangecroft?”
He blinked up at Georgia, who was nervously rocking on her feet. She blushed under his attention and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I just wanted to say thank you again,” she whispered.
“Oh, uh, it’s no problem,” he grumbled. “You should have been considered a while ago due to the quality of your work.”
Her blush got darker and her eyes began to sparkle.
Wait. What was going on here?
“Some of us from the office were considering going out for drinks after work if you wanted to tag along?”
Rowan frowned. “You’re inviting me out for drinks?”
She nodded, looking hopeful.
Had Rowan ever been invited out before? Usually people avoided him.
He looked back down at his phone. “I’m sorry, but I think I have to take my friend a coffee cup.”
She looked at him blankly. “What?”
“He said he forgot his.”
“Does your friend live here? You can join us after.”
“He lives back home.”
“Four hours away?”
“Yes,” he said seriously, and actually meant it.
“Let’s get this proposal underway,” Rowan said, renewed, almost insane amounts of vigor and energy swamping him.
He now had a goal.
“And where’s the nearest store that sells Stanley cups?”