Teya left Jericho with Neo. Her brother was going to show him around the casino and what he did during the day, maybe some of what surrounded them on Fremont Street. She knew it would take a little while, but Jericho would find where he fit in. She had no doubt. He was quickly learning to navigate the world as it was now and would soon find his place in it.

The elevator dinged and the door slid open. Teya stepped out and glanced around at the empty waiting area. She appeared to be the first one in, even Meredith, the receptionist, wasn’t at her desk yet. Stepping past the reception desk, she headed for her office.

“Good morning.” Rachel’s voice startled her as she’d been looking at the floor and thinking about the day ahead. She looked up and found Rachel already seated at her desk, her computer running in front of her.

“Oh.” Teya jumped and lifted her head. “I’m sorry. I thought I was alone. Good morning, how are things?”

“So far so good, but we’re just getting started.”

“What do you have that needs my attention?”

“Just a couple things.” Rachel stood and followed Teya into the office. “Erin sent me back some proofs for the new ad campaign, as well as some unprinted and unaddressed invitations to be used for the cross-Fraction party. I’ll print them out and bring them in for you to review. Also, I’ve received some of the expenses for your birthday party that I need approval for.”

“I wish we didn’t have to do a birthday party.” Teya sighed.

“I know you don’t like it, but the Fraction expects it.” Rachel checked a list in her hand. “I only have a few more things to double check and it will be all taken care of.”

“And the date on that again?”

“It’s this Saturday night.”

“I thought so, but I wanted to be sure.” Teya turned and stared at the mural on her back wall for a moment. “The plus side is that it will be a perfect opportunity to introduce Jericho to the Fraction.” Turning, she faced her friend with a sigh. “I hope they can accept him, because the longer he’s here, the less I’m willing to give him up for them.”

“Give them a chance. I think most of them just want to see you happy and won’t care what he is,” Rachel said. “Of course, there are a few who will bitch that he’s not a dragon. On the other hand, at least he’s not a vampire or a were.”

“I hope you’re right.” Teya gave a small laugh. “I guess worrying about it between now and then is a waste of time.” She pulled out her chair and sat down. “We might as well get started. The sooner we start, the sooner we’re done, and I can go back to Jericho.” She knew she was grinning like an idiot, but she didn’t care.

“No problem. Give me five minutes to get some things printed out and I’ll be back with what I need you to look over,” Rachel said over her shoulder as she left.

Later, after Teya had reviewed the ad campaign and the budget for the birthday party, she was looking over some of the Fraction’s finances when her intercom buzzed.

“Yes?” she asked after pressing the button to let Rachel hear her.

“Sloan is back. He says you said to let him know today what his clan in Wales said about your conditions.” It wasn’t a question, but Rachel’s voice lilted at the end as if it were.

“I did. I’m sorry. I meant to let you know and forgot. Do I have time to see him now?”

“You have nothing scheduled for another hour and a half. Do you want me to send him in?”

Teya straightened the papers on her desk, stacking them and putting them in folders. Then she minimized everything on the laptop set to one side so it only showed her desktop photo of a thunderstorm over the desert. Setting the folders aside, she double check to make sure there was nothing visible that could compromise Fraction security then hit the button on the intercom again.

“Send him in.” Teya waited until the office door opened then stood and met the tall, blond man halfway across the room. “Thank you for coming back.” She extended one arm and shook his hand before walking with him toward the desk. “Have a seat.” She motioned to the pair of chairs in front of the desk before returning to her seat. “I wasn’t expecting you to have answers so quickly.”

“Honestly, I wasn’t, either.” His deep voice was rough, as if he’d spent a long time screaming and had damaged his vocal cords. He watched her with pleasant, pale blue eyes. “After we met yesterday, I called and informed the clan leader of your stipulations, the most important in my mind being that they not force anyone to come, as well as your recommendation that they outline what they were looking for and ask for volunteers. I didn’t forget the others, though. No one of Alpha status. Beta through Omega are acceptable.”

Teya nodded for him to continue. She’d set the stipulation of no Alpha dragons be sent because it would only cause more tension as they tried to control the situation. It would defeat the purpose of the entire trip. Negotiating with an Alpha is next to impossible unless you have equal or higher status, and negotiating the parameters and limitations of a dragon tourism program, for lack of a better term, would require a great deal of negotiation, she had no doubt. This was a project she intended for Neo to handle, since he was a very good negotiator, as well as the fact that since he managed all the dining facilities in the MesoAmerican. He knew how much having visiting dragons in Vegas would help their business. Pitting an Alpha against Neo would be asking for the program to fail before it had even started. Not that Neo was a pushover. He wasn’t, but he was a Beta, content to assist and manage without being in charge and having all the responsibilities and liabilities of being an Alpha.

“They have a few stipulations of their own,” Sloan continued. He was the go-between many clans used to begin contract negotiations with Teya, as well as other clans. Heck, even other Fractions used him for some of their negotiations. He was a natural mediator. Sloan was originally from Oslo and one of the few remaining Nordic dragons. Teya had often wondered how he managed to survive in the heat in Vegas, but this was where he’d chosen to settle. He was an asset to the Fraction, so Teya didn’t want to upset him by asking too many questions.

“Let’s hear them.” Teya had expected them to come back with conditions of their own. Sloan pulled out his smartphone and touched the screen a few times.

“First, they will agree to send a Beta if you agree that you will not be doing the negotiating, that you assign the task to a Beta of ours.” He glanced up at her.

“Done. That had been my intention all along.” She glanced down at the notebook she had pulled out to make notes on then back to Sloan. “Next?”

“Second, they want permission to send a security team with their emissary.”

“That’s reasonable. I’ll say that that will be up for negotiations, pending the determination of who they choose to send.”

“Very well.” He made a few notes.

The two of them went back and forth, discussing the conditions that the Welsh clan had put forth. She made a few notes, as did Sloan, and an hour after he arrived.

“It looks like we’ve gotten everything here addressed. I’ll go back to them with your responses and let you know what they have to say.” He stood. Teya mirrored the movement and stepped around the desk. Reaching out, she shook his hand again.

“Great. I’ll be waiting for their response. Thanks for coming in.” She walked with him to the door.

“Thank you for taking the time to see me.” He waved at Rachel and left, going back down the hall toward the waiting area. She waited until he was out of sight then turned to Rachel.

“Has anything new come in while Sloan was here?”

“No.” Rachel checked the clock. “Your next appointment is in twenty minutes, but she’s not here yet.”

“All right. Let me know when she gets here or if anything else comes up. I’m going to try to finish the purchase orders before then.” She turned back into the office and pushed the door closed as she went.