Chapter 13
THIRTEEN
Thus far, the dragon seemed tolerable.
I emailed Mr. Durant about my former employer and notified him of their offer.
With a maliciousness I usually reined in, I presented an entire essay on the benefits of a hostile takeover of the entire organization, which corporate monsters needed to be removed, and the few gems of talented, kind workers who would be a boon should they remain.
I showcased Mr. Noran as the crown jewel of the firm, as he worked magic with money—magic Mr. Durant would benefit from should he be wise enough to heed Mr. Noran’s council.
In a demonstration of common sense, the Destroyer of Georgia emailed me back with an inquiry on my personal motivations for the corporation.
I considered my options, decided I valued my honesty, and told him the story of a sweet woman who’d been driven to suicide, and that I fully intended on making certain they paid for their crimes during this life and the next.
Ten minutes later, he requested a complete dossier of the company’s operations, including everything I remembered that was not covered by any active non-disclosure agreements.
I smiled at that and took great joy in notifying the dragon that the bastards had not been wise enough to request an NDA outside of ninety days following the termination of my hiring agreement.
In excess of six months had already gone by, and for the most part, I regretted little about my choice to become the taker of a being capable of gobbling down three cities for dinner.
Thus far, the dragon seemed tolerable.
As I had some integrity, I emailed him with a warning that my second floor would soon be occupied by neighbors who were better off with me as their landlord and that he would be invited to the second floor and graciously given permission to use my favorite kitchen.
The third floor would continue to house my bedroom, although I would have a second bedroom on the fourth floor in case I needed to host any guests or roommates.
There was plenty of space for everybody, and I had a few bedrooms available on the second floor suitable for a dragon and his ego.
My plan for the second floor to be solely for guests would be adjusted, but everything would work out one way or another. I would just need to buy some more furniture.
Mr. Durant’s next email gave me pause, as he inquired what it would take to convince me to join him in his castle so he might be able to keep me close at hand.
Perhaps sending an email containing only ‘hahahahahahahahahahahaaahahaha’ was rude, but sometimes, a woman had to do what a woman had to do.
After sending it, without bothering with capitalization, punctuation, or a signature, I shut down my new work laptop, grabbed my cell, and sent the Devil a text warning him I pushed my luck with the dragon.
My phone rang a moment later, and after confirming Lucifer was the one calling me, I answered, “To be fair, I sent him a rather lengthy request to crush that company and I disclosed the reasons why. With luck, he’ll deal with Mr. Noran and give him renewed purpose.
But Mr. Durant might have given me a reason for why they’re after me.
My NDA perished three months after contract termination.
None of the terms in my contract bar me from telling everyone everything about how they operate, and I fully intend on giving that dragon all the intel he needs—and I’m pretty sure other companies like me more than they like my former bosses. ”
“You would be correct. I’ve done my fair share of peeking, and people have noticed the death of your replacement.
She was liked almost as much as you, but she lacked your finesse, creativity, and standards.
Mr. Mortani is not the only one hunting for you as an employee.
I was just wise enough to act first and bring a better offer to the table. ”
“Can you do me a favor? Out of the purest evil in your heart, of course.”
“You have my attention.”
I allowed myself a rather wicked smile. “If Mr. Durant wishes to boss me around, he is going to have to earn my respect and convince me to. I don’t care if he ate three cities. I will not fall to him.”
The Devil made a sound rather suspiciously like a giggle.
“You are biting off way more than you can chew, Crystal. The fastest way to convince a dragon to conquer you is to turn yourself into a prize he wishes to hoard. He won’t be out after the companies if you keep that up. He’ll be out after you.”
“Why would I want a useless dragon conquering me? If he even wants a snowball’s chance in hell of earning my respect, he better be conquering companies, and I’d be rather pleased with him if he started with the one I’m pissed with.
There are a bunch of good employees there, and I don’t want them to share Belinda’s fate. ”
“I am just warning you, he will be nipping at your heels should you continue this course. I’m just saying you should prepare to be conquered. He is a dragon.”
“And I’m a hedge witch. So what? As long as we set up some rules about destruction of property, we can test our mettle against each other.”
Lucifer burst into laughter. “Please just accept the warning that you will be his top priority, and everything he does will be done with conquering you in mind. Now, mind you, there are perks to being conquered. When I’m conquered, my little kitty purrs for me, and there’s nothing better than my little kitty purring for me. ”
“I take it Darlene is in the room with you. Put it on speaker, please?”
“Of course. My darling, Crystal wishes to speak with you.”
“I’m so sorry about your barn,” Darlene blurted.
I laughed. “I’m sorry about my barn, too, but as long as my animals are healthy in their pasture and enjoying themselves, the little shed can store their feed.
It’s not even much work for me. If anything, it’s less.
It is making me want to revamp the barn, when it is rebuilt, to make sure every stall has an outdoor run or pasture access unless I need to stall a horse for health concerns.
I already had that for my horses, but the cattle were more confined. ”
Lucifer chuckled. “There’s no reason you can’t adjust the pasture setup behind the barns to allow for your animals to come and go as they please.
Stalls aren’t cages if they choose to go into it, but I would like to remind you that your animals actually like their stalls.
The material is comfortable on their hooves.
Zenzi is upset her stall is unavailable. She kicked and blamed me!”
“Well, you did destroy my barn, and I do not have a replacement barn yet.”
“I underestimated the amount of time it takes to get the materials you used for the stalls, and I want you to be able to have a dairy carousel so you can provide milk for your neighbors. The pasteurization unit is an issue. I’ll have that in three days, though.
Once all the stuff I’ve ordered comes in, removal of the debris begins.
Darlene took charge of your tack issue, and while you were battling paperwork, she had someone in to measure your horses and order their apparel.
I am pleased to report you have a new racing saddle, and I have taken the liberty of handling your jockey attire and changing your club registration for your new colors.
Malcolm will be taking over the role of your trainer in the background, although he is not being paid for it.
He missed the registration deadline for the year.
He does not enjoy gambling and wants nothing to do with it.
He is now learning how to be a trainer, but there are more than a few trainers, jockeys, and former owners in my many hells who are more than willing to talk shop and teach him to escape a round in the dungeon with my wife.
Helping a woman take the Triple Crown? That may as well be torture for that lot, but it beats the actual torture, and they know what I will do to them should they at all hamper your ability to win.
As such, Malcolm is now your trainer. You’ll keep all your winnings, and I’ll pay him for his work and education.
Next season, if you decide to race again, you can hire him as an official trainer.
You still have the issues of an owner and trainer also being a jockey for this season, but you went into that with eyes wide open, so it won’t be a problem.
I kidnapped Yuless, and he’s learning how to help handle your horse for race days as the groom.
I wanted to provide the assistant starter, but that is something the tracks handle.
I was going to make Darlene be your assistant starter if I could have.
Alas, they take care of that to maintain race integrity.
Ashley is also being trained to help with the grooming, so that garden is being tended appropriately. ”
Excellent. “We’ll get the assistant starter assignments fairly early so they can meet with the horses, learn their temperaments, and so on.
Alligator Bait is a dream in the gate, so it doesn’t matter who my assistant starter is,” I replied, allowing myself a smile.
“If Yuless needs a place to crash, it seems I’m renting some rooms in my house, but he’ll have to share territory with a woman, two dragons, and an incubus. ”
Darlene giggled. “Lucy, handle Yuless. I will handle Crystal.”
“I must insist: if you handle her breasts, you must invite me to watch.”