Drayton sat at his desk Monday morning and rubbed his temples, hoping the headache would subside. Sean was grating on his last nerve, and the only solution in his mind at the moment was to fire him. But doing so would leave him with an insanely steep learning curve and a stalled department. Mia said Drayton was a control-freak who micromanaged things, but the situation in the design department—the one department he had completely delegated to another skilled professional—proved exactly why releasing control was a mistake and he needed to oversee every detail of the company himself, regardless of how exhausted he was.

The company was the only thing in his life where he had control. And there was no way in hell he’d let it slip.

He rested his elbows on his desk and brought his hands together, steepling his fingers. Maybe he should just cut his losses. Even though Sean was a leader in the automotive design field and had received global accolades for his creativity, he hadn’t produced a workable design during his twelve-month employment thus far. And one year of design time equated to at least three to five years of model release sales.

“Why don’t you just put a backup engine in there? You can reduce the size of the motor. That would lessen the housing dimension requirements and the backup engine would provide the supplemental boost. And we could use any of the dozen sketches I’ve already designed.”

“I don’t want to deal with the mechanical variables of both the motor and an engine. I tried that with the first model, and it generated too many issues during the track testing so I axed it before the full release. I’m not taking a step back and adding an engine now. We’ve branded ourselves as an electric car and that’s who we are.”

“But it would solve the problem.”

Drayton took a deep breath, clenching his jaw to bite back the stream of insults he wanted to voice. “Adding an engine would make it a hybrid.”

“But it would solve the problem,” Sean mumbled.

“It would solve your problem, not mine. I’m not compromising on the power of my motor because you can’t design a model to fit it.” Drayton took a deep breath and closed his eyes, tuning out Sean and his bullshit excuses. Why the hell couldn’t Sean just stretch the damn design to the necessary width? He opened his eyes and pressed the intercom button when his phone buzzed. “Yes, Mia?”

“Shaw is here.”

“Send him in.”

“We’re in a meeting,” Sean said in a tone that couldn’t disguise his irritation at the intrusion.

Drayton needed a solution and Vann had a way of seeing things from a different perspective. Besides, he wanted to have Vann step in and take control of what was rightfully his. He desperately needed a solution to this problem and had to find a catalyst to push Vann to take control.

Vann walked into the room and stilled, his focus ping-ponging between Drayton and Sean and back again. “I can come back later.”

“No.” Drayton motioned him to step forward. “I want your input.”

Vann reluctantly stepped forward.

“I don’t understand how someone from the mail—”

Drayton raised a stopping hand, biting back the rage threatening to break through his weakened facade of patience. “I warned you once before. I strongly suggest you don’t push me again. Shaw is a problem solver and we need a fresh perspective. He’s working in the mailroom at the moment to get his foot in the door but don’t mistake that for a limitation of his knowledge or skills.”

Sean stilled. He glanced at Vann and frowned as he approached.

“I want you to brief Shaw on the situation. I want to hear if he has suggestions on a solution.”

Sean grabbed the folder he had set on the desk and withdrew a single sheet, containing the dimensions of the motor Drayton had designed. “Drayton provided me with these motor specs.”

Vann took the sheet, his eyes shifting quickly from left to right as he scanned the page.

“The problem is, the motor doesn’t fit the design,” Sean clarified.

“No,” Drayton said, trying to contain his temper and frustration. He quieted for a few moments to steady his tone. He hated the simmering anger thrumming through his body and resented the little manipulative shithead that always seemed to trigger it. Because of this man, he was losing control and failing the company, the brand that represented Vann’s and his joint efforts, and every single person who worked in the building or waited to buy one of their models. No one would think of Sean, the designer, as the failure. Drayton would be branded with that label if they couldn’t produce a working prototype for this next model year. He looked up to Vann, silently pleading for support.

Vann straightened to his full height, almost as if he had received the telepathic message. He turned to face Sean, hovering over him by a few inches. “Drayton designs the motor. You’re the car model designer, right?”

“I’m the department head and the lead designer.” Sean crossed his arms and scowled, obviously not welcoming the challenge. He took a step back when Vann stepped forward and reached for the folder.

Vann thumbed through the other sheets in the file and back to the motor specs. “And these are your sketches?”

Sean nodded, a smug smile spreading across his face.

“They don’t look wide enough to fit the motor spec on this sheet…unless the scale is off.”

“The motor is too wide,” Sean said defensively.

Drayton pinched the bridge of his nose. “It’s only three inches wider than the previous model.”

“But you need to take into account that adds inches to the overall width of the body style.”

Drayton flattened his palms against the desk, resisting the instinct to fist his hands. “Yes. By. Three. Inches.”

“It’s too wide,” Sean said. “It doesn’t allow for a workable design.”

He was going to lose his shit. He was going to be branded an assassin who used a stapler to beat the crap out of the company’s head designer.

Vann lowered his brow. “That’s still well within the lane width standards for highway and urban areas. It’s a little tight for some parking lanes, but I can’t imagine someone taking one of these cars for a quick run to the grocery store. I’m not seeing the problem here. Why not make the design wider?”

Drayton cocked his head. Seemed Vann had been doing a little research on his own regarding design requirements and release restrictions. Maybe he was a little more open to heading up the department than he had led on.

Sean vehemently shook his head. “The designs cannot be modified.”

“Why?” Vann asked. “Is there a functional reason?”

“The wider body style is not consistent with the branding of electric vehicles.”

Drayton gritted his teeth. “It’s consistent with our brand of electric vehicles.”

Vann scratched his head. “Why can’t you just draw this same design but make it wider to accommodate the motor width?”

Sean sighed. “It’s far more complicated than that. And I have to take into account what the design team can render from my designs. This isn’t a paint-by-numbers situation.”

It took every ounce of energy to contain the rage triggered by Sean’s condescending tone. Drayton observed every tiny nuance of Vann’s body language. He might not know how to decipher the standard mystery of everyday people, but he knew Vann. And the gears were fiercely grinding in his mind at that very moment. He had called Vann into his office to witness firsthand the stumbling block in the design department and hopefully nudge Vann toward taking control. But Vann was seemingly formulating some plan toward a resolution on his own terms.

“Obviously, this is a very complicated process,” Vann said to Sean. “If there was an internship opportunity in that department, I’d jump on that.” He turned to Drayton and waited, arching an eyebrow, prompting Drayton to speak.

Drayton straightened in his seat, finally picking up on Vann’s plan. He turned to Sean who stood a little too confidently for his liking. “Get with Mia and Natalie in HR to coordinate the proper access for Shaw to begin his internship with the design team.”

“But…” Sean’s smug smile faltered. “He would require clearance and a non-disclosure. And he doesn’t have the experience.”

“That’s the purpose of an internship. To learn. He’s already signed the necessary NDA as part of his employment agreement. So it’s just a matter of granting him the level clearance. Mia can get that squared away once you approve it.” Drayton could approve it, hell, Vann could approve it himself since he was an owner of the company, but somehow, he sensed Vann expected him to play along with this part of the process and keep his true identity quiet for now.

Sean pursed his lips, probably thinking of his own strategy to deter Vann. But there was no way he could recognize that glint of determination in Vann’s eye or know how quickly Vann’s mind could work to prepare for any curve ball Sean might throw his way.

“It’s a lot of work,” Sean finally said.

“I’m not afraid of work and I always welcome a challenge.”

No shit.

“I obviously don’t have a clue how difficult it is or what’s involved in your job or how complex the design process is.” Vann held up one of the preliminary sketches in his hand. “But I’d love a chance to learn from such a talented designer. And I’d be totally stoked to learn a fraction of what’s involved in the process.”

Sean absently nodded, a tiny grin playing in his expression as he turned toward Drayton.

Drayton might not be great at decoding people, but he recognized the signs of hubris. And Sean was swimming in a sea of pride and backstroking toward what he thought was a win.

“I’ll touch base with Natalie to get Shaw the necessary access card changes. I can’t possibly teach him how to be an artist, but he can probably learn more about the steps involved and the process, if he’s diligent, so he can appreciate the intricacies of launching a new model design.”

That same prideful grin remained on Sean’s face as he exited the office and shut the door behind him.

“How badly do you want to throw up right now?” Drayton asked once they were alone.

Vann rolled his eyes. “For fuck’s sake. He’s one cocky son of a bitch who thinks his shit doesn’t stink. What’s his claim to fame?”

“He was one of the designers of the first few hybrid models that hit the industry.”

“The first hybrids were narrow and looked futuristic.” Vann stared at the sketch in his hand. “It’s a good design, but it’s really different from the first model released.”

“The one you designed,” Drayton added.

“Smooth segue.”

“I’m stuck here, Vann.”

Vann walked over to Drayton’s side of the desk and propped himself on the edge. “How bad?” he asked, crossing his arms.

“We have less than a year to release a new model. I’ve been buying some time with a few soft launches of minor aesthetic enhancements on the existing model. But that’s not enough. I have the motor designed and I know…I just fucking know it’s going to be big. Sean is my staff designer. And he’s trying to have me change the motor to fit his sketches.”

Vann snorted a laugh. “Um, yeah. ’Cause it’s his name on the letterhead. Smug little shit.”

“I’ve tried to find another designer with hybrid and electric experience in the automotive industry or with specializations in exotic car design, but I keep running into roadblocks along the way. If I’m going to be honest here, I don’t trust anyone else but you to handle this in the long run. It’s your design that started all this, and it should be your designs that continue to be the brand for our company.”

“If you were going to be completely honest, you would have told me you were attempting to play my ass in here to take control.” Vann slowly raised an eyebrow.

Busted. “Okay, yes. But I needed you to know what I’m up against. I don’t know shit about the design part of things. So I need you.” Maybe putting Vann in this situation was a bad move. He didn’t want to risk Vann regressing with all the progress he had made in the last few weeks. He sighed when Vann pulled his hand away from another fierce rubbing of his temples.

“Stop stressing over this.”

“He stresses me out.”

“No, he’s not the one stressing you out. It’s your fear of failure. You want to do right by your staff and your customers and you want to make sure our name looks good.”

Drayton threaded his fingers with Vann’s, enjoying the comfort and peace the contact always granted him.

“I’m not going to let that prick hurt you or the business. I do need to make sure there’s no issue with an unpaid internship here. So we need to check with Matt.”

“We’ll make it a paid internship for whatever’s in place on payroll right now for your mailroom position. I’ll just have HR take care of the necessary job and security transfers. I’ll give Matt a heads-up you’re switching roles to ensure there are no issues with the work program. Don’t worry about that.”

“I’m not sure how much help I can be here or what I can do, but I won’t know until I try.”

Drayton sighed as a surge of relief poured through his limbs. Vann “trying” was the equivalent of a person pushing themselves one hundred and twenty percent. He suspected it was the same reason Vann put up so much resistance to head the department. Creativity was tough to put on a timetable and the fear of failing often weighed heavily on Vann just as much as it did on himself. The peace of mind knowing Vann would step up in some capacity within that department was a balm to his spirit.

“It really hurt that you felt you needed to play me like this,” Vann said, chewing his lip.

“You’re the master at reading people. I figured you’d pick up on it right away.”

“Well, I didn’t. I don’t have my guard up when I’m around you.”

Great. Now I feel like shit. Drayton frowned, fidgeting with a pen on his desk, fighting the stab of guilt. “Sorry.” He peeked up, scowling at the wicked smile slowly spreading across Vann’s face. He scoffed and shook his head. “You just played me. Didn’t you?”

“That’ll teach you who’s the boss.” Vann chuckled. He leaned in and pressed a chaste kiss to Drayton’s lips. “I didn’t realize how badly this asshole stressed you out. Just give me a little bit of time to get a feel for things and get you some intel on what’s going on. And you owe me one hell of a blow job for kissing that prick’s ass and stroking his ego.”

A bubble of laughter rose in Drayton’s throat. He stood and pulled Vann into an embrace, enjoying the warmth and strength of the arms around him. “I’ll give you two.” He groaned when the phone buzzed. “Yes, Mia?” he said, pressing the intercom button.

“I have Mr. Vostco on the phone for you. I’ve already informed Taylor, and he’s on his way up.”

“Thanks, Mia.”

“I have a few mail rounds I need to do.” Vann gave him a lopsided grin before finally turning and walking toward the door to leave.

“Thank you.”

Vann stopped and turned to face him. A frown slowly made an appearance before he strode back toward Drayton and grabbed his face, pulling him into a fierce, unmistakably possessive kiss. “You don’t ever need to thank me for being here for you. If you ever need me for anything…” He stopped, taking a few breaths, pinning Drayton with a firm stare.

Drayton’s breath hitched at the desire staring back at him.

“I’m here for you. I wasn’t here before because I couldn’t be. But if you ever need me for anything, know that I’m here now. Whenever and however you need me.”

Drayton traced Vann’s jawline with his index finger, still amazed Vann was finally with him again. “You were always here with me.”

Vann’s hand shot up in the air in a halting gesture. “Don’t. You’ve got a guy on hold and your lawyer will be here any minute. Saying stuff like that makes me want to slam you up against that glass wall and fuck you senseless.” Vann crashed his mouth against Drayton’s and pulled his body flush against a hard wall of muscles, branding his lips and body with the heat of his promise.

Drayton moaned when Vann’s grip tightened in his hair, pulling and guiding him exactly wherever Vann wanted him to be.

They finally pulled away from the kiss, barely a millimeter between them. 

“I’m yours, Dray. Never forget that,” Vann said before finally releasing him. He tugged on Drayton’s shirt and neatly tucked and flattened everything into his dress slacks. He then reached up to finger brush Drayton’s hair and straightened his tie. He gave Drayton a lopsided grin before turning and finally exiting the office, leaving Drayton to wonder how the hell he could focus on his upcoming meeting when all he could think about was the promise of Vann’s words and the smoldering heat left in his soul.