Vann glanced up from his workspace over to Sean. The man spent entirely too much time on the phone or looking at a computer screen rather than his drawing board. Something wasn’t right. Not to mention the fucker was an insolent son of a bitch who tried to use his management position to keep everyone in check, occasionally exiting his office and barking out a few orders like a temperamental Chihuahua.

Vann had learned quite a bit during the last two weeks and seemed to get along with the others in the department, all of them rock stars in their own right. Drayton had a solid team, and all of them wanted to make sure the company succeeded. Vann’s focus strayed to Li, sitting behind her wall of computers.

She had taken the initiative and pulled a few modifications from the archive, rendering some sketches Ty Calloway had designed the prior year for aesthetic upgrades. If the renderings passed that test, then she coded all the dimensions and calculations in a file for Zoe to input into her clay monster machine. The computer would then automatically carve the rendering out of a chunk of clay that held the form, density, and every detail of a final piece, but in clay. Zoe would finish off the details and add them to the clay version of the existing car model, for a true, life-size version of the car with the projected change. Milo then analyzed every aspect for functionality or usability that would need to be addressed in a revision.

They had followed this process with ten different possible modifications. Only two had survived the process and were considered ready for production if Sean couldn’t come up with a new model.

The entire department had done this without Sean’s knowledge or direction. The team had worked on things, and the clay beast was a noisy fucking machine, but the man kept himself locked away in his glass cave, without even bothering to ask what they were doing. These people were working to help the company. To help Dray. To ensure he wouldn’t fail. Not that fucker in the glass office.

Asshole.

Vann rose from his seat and walked over to Li’s desk, casually stealing glances over to Sean’s office to ensure he wouldn’t interfere. He knelt by her desk, hidden from view. “Hey, you got a few minutes.”

“For you, my dragon slayer, I will always make time,” she said, holding back a grin.

“Smartass. I have a pic. I need your opinion on a couple of things.”

“Sure.”

Vann pulled out his new smartphone and tapped his finger on the screen and swiped. He still couldn’t believe how a phone could be like a mini computer. He brought up the gallery and swiped until he found the photo he wanted. “I have a pic of a model sketch. I need to see if the model can be tweaked.”

“This is one of Sean’s designs,” she said in a low voice.

Vann nodded. He had taken a photograph of the sketch from one of the folders in Drayton’s office. “You have the dimensions of the motor, right? Good,” he responded, when Li nodded. “How tough would it be to widen the body style on this same sketch to fit the dimensions of the new motor? I don’t know…stretch it. Or is it more complicated than that?”

“He had me render that one already.” Li pulled her graphics tablet in front of her workstation. Within minutes, she had located the wireframe rendering of Sean’s sketch. “How much do you want to widen it?”

“Just three inches.”

She held down buttons on the tablet and slashed the pen back and forth across the surface. “Won’t work.”

“Tell me why?” Vann asked, resting his elbow on the edge of her desk and his chin in his palm.

She pointed to her monitor and looked over to him. “The way he has the fenders. The wing shape of it. Widening the model to fit the motor would cause the fenders to exceed the legal width permitted for lane sizes. So the car wouldn’t be street legal.”

Vann frowned. The fender curve was part of Sean’s signature style and appeared in every sketch he had seen. That was why Sean couldn’t produce a sketch that would accommodate the motor. Widening it, as is, wouldn’t work, and narrowing the winged fenders would give it one hell of an awkward shape, definitely not elegant, high-speed exotic but more like funky clown circus. The only thing missing would be the little horn. And Sean obviously couldn’t stray from his style stamp—or chose not to—in order to make this work. He’d had a full year to try that route.

Vann blew out a frustrated breath. No fucking pressure. “Do you have any of his other sketches rendered?”

Li brought up another window and browsed to the file directory. She quickly called up another wireframe model bearing a slightly different door design. Yet, it shared the same modern, oddly shaped fenders… Sean’s obvious signature. “Same problem.”

“Try adjusting that part of the frame.” He pointed to a segment of the wireframe, and Li tweaked the detail as requested. That didn’t work either. They pulled up a different wireframe of another of Sean’s concepts, and repeated the process, trying to modify different elements of each design to accommodate the motor dimensions. They even attempted to place the motor in the rear of the car, but nothing worked. None of his models would work with Drayton’s new motor.

Sean was never going to have a working prototype designed unless he abandoned his “signature style.” Vann rubbed his forehead and glanced up at Sean, watching the fucker talk on the phone while leaning back in his chair. That temperamental dragon would never abandon his style for the greater good. And Drayton was pushing himself too damn much, trying to find a solution to this issue and a plan to offset the corporate disaster of not having a prototype for another year. Vann had to do something, but the worry and fear kept him in check.

“What are you thinking?” Li asked.

Vann reached for his phone and tapped the screen, pulling up another photograph from the gallery. “Can you do your magic computer thing with this one?”

Li’s eyes rounded. “This is definitely not his. Where did you get this?” she leaned in to whisper.

I drew it in my brand spanking new art studio at home. He scowled. “Don’t ask.”

“Well, I want to know. It’s pretty badass and looks like a damn monster ready to eat up the road.” She cocked her eyebrow and gave him a sideways glance. She took his phone and pressed a few buttons until the sketch appeared in a message on her computer. “Tell me my dragon slayer drew this.”

“Just…do your computer thing,” he grumbled. He liked Li. She was quick to read people and pick up on tiny details most people missed.

“It’ll be a rough rendering, but it’ll be good enough to run a few numbers.” She pressed her buttons and used her stylus across the surface, all the while biting back a smirk as she gave him a sideways glance. Within a few minutes, his design was on her screen in wireframe mode. He inhaled sharply. It looked so…professional. Damn. I did that?

She tapped in a few numbers, zoomed in to an insane percentage, and took a few measurements with the program’s tools. “It works.” She turned to face him, a ridiculously wide grin spreading on her face. “And all of the battery tech fits along the bottom of this model. We’ll need to tweak the height for ground clearance to adjust for the thickness of the batteries, but this will definitely work.”

He nodded, not really sure what to do yet. He wished he didn’t have this fear twisting in his stomach at the thought of taking control and failing.

“What are you guys doing?” Zoe whispered loudly from her spot in the corner. “That’s the biggest smile I’ve seen on Li’s face since we’ve worked together.”

“We’re watching funny cat videos,” Li whisper-yelled across the room. She immediately closed the files on her screen. “I swear, if they start emailing me cat videos on a daily basis because of this, I’m going to scream.”

Vann covered his mouth to hide a grin. He knew exactly what he was going to do the second he got back to his desk.

She crossed her arms and turned toward him, speaking softly enough so the others wouldn’t hear a single word. “I’m guessing you want me to keep this quiet for now?”

“Please.”

She nodded. “Do you have any more?”

He hesitated for a moment but finally answered. “Yeah.”

“Bring them in. We’ll work behind the scenes to get things on schedule.”

Vann scowled. He wasn’t ready for this. Not yet. He hadn’t learned enough to ease this hesitation, and Sean had a lot more experience under his belt.

“He won’t change. You know that.”

He glanced up at Li, hating to admit she was right.

“Answer one question for me.” She leaned back in her chair, waiting for his nod to continue. “Did you draw that sketch?”

He didn’t respond; he didn’t need to. A subtle smile curled the edge of her mouth.

“How long have you guys been together?”

“Shit, Li. You’re freaking me the hell out here.” He speared his fingers through his short hair.

She leaned in close, only a whisper away. “Shaw, your first name is the same as Drayton’s last name. That’s a hint. But after seeing this sketch. It’s no coincidence that this drawing has the same style lines as the released model.” She prompted with a raised eyebrow. “I want to win the office bet and have my dragon slayer take over. So what do you need to make that happen?”

He stared at her, unable to do anything but blink. If she had figured it out, then it was likely others might have too. Or maybe it was because she had seen the sketch.

“You’ve worked with Sean for two weeks. He’s not making progress.”

He rubbed his eyes hard enough to practically pop them out of their sockets if he didn’t stop. Drayton was counting on him. He needed to put his bullshit aside and focus on being there for him and helping him in the one way he knew he could. “I need an honest answer. Is a prototype doable? I know the schedule is creeping up on us.”

Her eyes were going to burn a hole in his brain. She glanced over to Sean’s office for a moment before returning her attention to Vann. “I’ve been working on some new technology. I can cut down prototype development time by a few weeks.”

“How?”

She glanced up at the others, ensuring their conversation remained private. “It’ll cut out extra steps. Right now, I render and code the script for Zoe’s machine. She creates the model and Milo troubleshoots it. Then, we have to do it again. I have to re-render with the changes, and Zoe creates another clay model. We have to do this over and over until it’s right.”

“What’s the new technology?”

Li nodded. “Hologram. I can project an actual-size rendering so Milo can troubleshoot the basics using the projection. That will cut down on at least one to two cycles of clay models.”

She’d kept this quiet. In all the files and documents he had read during the last two weeks, there wasn’t a single mention of holograms being used during the prototype stage in the company.

“Shaw, I’m not a gambler and I refuse to bet on something I won’t win.”

He ducked his head and chuckled.

“You can do this.” She leaned in closer. “We can do this. I know we can. But we can’t with him leading the team. Something’s…not right.” Her lips thinned as her eyes slid toward Sean’s office.

“I need to think on it a little more.”

“Bring me the other drawings while you’re thinking on things. Your lines are more freehand than his, so the wireframe renderings will take me a little bit longer so they’re precise.”

“Should I use a straight edge or—”

“No. You keep doing it the way you’re doing it. If they all look like this one, don’t you dare change a damn thing.”

He chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.”

“It’s really good, Shaw. I think this one’s better than the first model. Definitely more attitude.”

He stared at her for a moment before nodding in acknowledgment. He slowly rose from his kneeling position and casually worked his way back to his corner. He hated this hesitation and doubt. He wasn’t ready. Yet.

He couldn’t risk failing the company, the team, or Drayton.

 

 

 

Vann stepped out of the elevator and tugged the collar of his polo shirt. Even after two weeks of random visits to Drayton’s office since starting his internship, he still felt naked and out of place walking around the executive floor without his mail cart. He waved back at a few employees who spotted him on his way to Mia’s desk and made a mental note to check in with them on how their kids did during finals week and how Val was doing with her physical therapy sessions.

“Hi, Mia.”

“Hi, Shaw.” She crossed her arms on the desk. “We all miss having you stop by every day.”

He wouldn’t deny he liked knowing he’d left an impression with the staff. A positive impression, especially since he liked them all so much. “Sean’s riding my ass in the department. It’s tough to get away.” He shoved his hands in his dress slacks and offered a smile. “Is he busy?”

“He just finished a two-hour meeting and has a conference call scheduled to start in about five minutes. I’m sure he’d love to see you. Go on in.”

“Thanks.” He strolled down the short hall to Drayton’s office and knocked.

“Come in.”

He walked through the doorway and shut the door behind him.

Drayton glanced up from the papers on his desk, a tired smile spreading across his face. “Are you really standing there right now?”

Vann crossed his arms and subtly flexed his muscles the way he knew piqued Drayton’s interest. “Why don’t you come over here and find out?”

It obviously didn’t take much of a nudge to get Drayton out of his chair.

Vann licked his lips, imagining the flex of Drayton’s thighs under those dress slacks as he approached. He closed his eyes when Drayton’s hands possessively ran along his biceps then down to cup his ass. Vann gasped and uncrossed his arms when he was pulled forward, flush against a wall of lean muscle.

Fuck, he loved it when Drayton showed that dominant, demanding side.

Vann gripped Drayton’s square jaw and pulled him into a fierce kiss, refusing to hold back an ounce of want or need. A growl rumbled deep within his chest when Drayton responded with equal desire, exploring his mouth with the same feral desperation.

Drayton pulled away from the kiss, releasing Vann’s bottom lip from between his teeth before he finally spoke. “We can’t start something we can’t finish.”

Vann licked his swollen lips, still savoring the lingering taste of the kiss.

They pressed their foreheads together, their breaths mingling with each heavy exhale. He wanted nothing more than to lose himself in that moment and ignore everything around them. He fisted his hand in Drayton’s shirt, needing a little balance as he tried to settle his heartbeat.

“End of day can’t come soon enough,” Drayton whispered in a husky tone, nuzzling the crook of Vann’s neck.

Vann rubbed his cheek against the side of Drayton’s face, enjoying the scrape of the stubble against his skin. He loved finally having Drayton all to himself in the evenings at home. He pressed a chaste kiss to Drayton’s lips then took a step back, needing the few inches to control his starved libido.

“I wanted to ask a favor,” Vann said, walking over to the sitting area in Drayton’s office.

“Anything.”

“I want to hire Ben. Since I moved into the design department, we haven’t found anyone to fill my spot in the mailroom. I heard a few people complaining about not getting their mail so I want to make sure it doesn’t start snowballing into a bigger problem.”

“And you like Ben and want to help him.”

He chuckled, knowing Dray would see right through his motives. “Yeah. Is that okay? I’ll make sure he stays on top of things.”

“Sure.”

“I’m not sure if it would be a problem with the halfway house rules and us working at the same place.”

“I doubt it’ll be a problem now,” Drayton said, shaking his head. “Ask Mia to check with Taylor on whatever’s needed and she’ll coordinate it with HR. She’s handling everything with the work program now, so give her the info and let her run with it. If I need to do any paperwork or get some sort of special permission, we’ll get that taken care of.”

“Thanks. Speaking of Mia. She said you just got out of a long meeting and you’re headed into another one. You look a little stressed.”

Vann sat on the small couch and guided Drayton to sit next to him. He wanted to calm the fire burning inside, but that sure as hell didn’t mean he wanted to add that much distance between them.

“I’m trying to expand our distribution, and I’ve also been meeting with a few people about starting a racing team.”

“And they’re not biting?”

Drayton pinched the bridge of his nose. “They are, but everyone wants to see the new model before making a final decision. They’re willing to move forward if they can see a prototype.”

Vann leaned back in the seat and stretched his legs.

“So tell me…” Drayton’s voice trailed off as he stared at Vann’s thighs. He took a deep breath and looked up at Vann. “Is Sean making any progress or is he blowing smoke up my ass?”

“Honestly?”

Drayton cocked his head and half smiled. “Would you give it to me any other way?”

Vann sighed. He loved the ease between them, something he had missed from their childhood years and thought he had lost his chance at having again. And the fact that Drayton was relying on him for something relating to his work? That was something he never would have imagined possible. “I don’t think he’s going to get you your prototype.”

Drayton blew out a heavy exhale.

“That’s just my impression.” Vann shrugged.

Drayton leaned forward and clasped his hands together. “If your best guess is based on how you’re reading Sean, then it’s as good as gold.”

“Dray—”

Drayton turned to face him and raised his palm. “Don’t talk yourself down. You have a very sharp skill for reading people. I know it and you know it. This is me you’re talking to, so let’s cut the crap.”

Vann leaned forward and rested his elbow on his thighs. “I can’t put my finger on it, but too many things just don’t add up.” Vann chewed his bottom lip and lowered his brow. “There’s no sense of urgency. He’s too laid back about things. And he spends a shit-ton of time on the phone, which doesn’t make sense at all if he’s supposed to be focused on step number one, which is getting a working drawing.”

Drayton absently nodded.

“I don’t like anyone messing with you, and that’s the vibe I’m getting from him. Something’s not sitting right with me, and I’m pissed I can’t pinpoint it.”

“Because you’re in the middle of things. You always said it was easier to see things when you were outside of the circles. That’s why you read the guys at school so well.”

Vann raked his fingers through his hair. Yeah, he was too damn close. Not to mention worried as hell how all this would thrust him into a role he wasn’t sure he was ready to fill. “The part that’s killing me is, I’ve already offered him a suggestion on what he can change and he’s disagreeing with me. You’ve got one hell of a team working in that department and they’re all busting their asses, working without his oversight, trying to make sure you have a backup plan for the next release announcement.”

“They are a very skilled team. But I didn’t know they would do that.”

“Dray, c’mon, have you met them? They’re all nosy as hell, but they’re pretty fricken cool. They know their shit and they bounce ideas off each other.”

“In their employment backgrounds, they typically worked alone.”

Vann frowned. “In their employment backgrounds?”

“Yeah. Where they worked prior to their employment here.”

Vann leaned back in his seat, assessing every tiny detail in Drayton’s body language. “Have you met them?”

Drayton shook his head and casually rubbed his hands together.

“Why not?”

“It’s Sean’s responsibility to manage them. I didn’t want to interfere.”

“Um, do you even know who the people are?”

“Of course I do. I hand-picked them.”

“But you’ve never met them?”

“No.”

“Why?”

Drayton looked away.

And there he was, that vulnerable, young version of Drayton. The one who hated being ignored. The one who sat on the bench outside of the club as a kid, upset because he wasn’t accepted by his peers. Vann rose from the couch. “C’mon.”

Drayton stood and followed him. “Where?”

“You’re meeting with them.”

“No.” Drayton stopped and crossed his arms.

Vann rounded on him, standing before him, mirroring his stance. “Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

Drayton sighed. “They’re going to hate me. I’m an asshole.”

Vann chuckled. “No…you’re definitely not.”

“I do know what people think of me here. They all think I’m dogmatic and cutthroat.”

“Then show them who you really are,” Vann pleaded. “If they don’t know you, all they have to go by is what they hear from Sean or rumors about a boss who doesn’t take the time to get to know them.”

“But I do know them.”

“Okay, so tell me about Zoe.” Vann raised an eyebrow, challenging him.

“She’s the artist who works the clay models. She was the second member of the team I hired. She has a degree in fine arts from one of the highest ranked universities in the field and has had her work displayed in three galleries, including one in France. She’s a single mother. Two kids. A boy, Kyle—he’s six—and a daughter, Katie—she’s nine. She joined the team because she wanted to be a part of something creative that affected people in a functional way. And since her son loves cars and she thought the first model was a work of art, she figured she’d come here.”

Vann was surprised—although he shouldn’t be.

“What about Li?”

“She’s the tech who develops the renderings from the sketches. She holds degrees in both fine arts and computer programming. I stole her from a gaming company in Silicon Valley where she developed the entire framework for the virtual reality program.” Drayton lowered his brow. “She’s the one who worries me the most.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because she banked some serious money with her previous employer but left when they attributed her work to another coworker. Had I not been following her career, I never would have known she invented the tech. She’s not here for the money, she’s here because she gets credit for her involvement on whatever project she works on or helps develop. And with the slow development we’ve had, I’m concerned she’ll lose interest and leave.”

“She won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. You know why?”

“Why?”

“Because I’ve met her, and I’ve worked with her. She enjoys it here but hates Sean. And she’s the one spearheading the backup plan for you so you have something for the reveal at launch time.”

Drayton’s lips thinned to a line.

Vann took a deep breath, needing an extra dose of patience for Drayton’s special brand of stubbornness. He wanted the acceptance of his peers, but he couldn’t shake the childhood trauma enough to take that first step and initiate the interaction for fear of rejection.

“What about Milo?”

Drayton sighed deeply. Another one of his tells. Obviously, he knew exactly what Vann was doing. “He’s the junior designer. He’s stellar at playing devil’s advocate, and that’s why I keep him on in that department even though other applicants had greater creativity.”

“Yeah, he doesn’t have much faith in his artistic abilities. I was surprised you had him as a junior artist on the team. He can barely draw a straight line.”

“I don’t know how he does it, but with the last model, he found everything before the model went into testing. Except for one issue, but that wasn’t discovered until the test track time. But he’s like having a full beta team rolled into a single guy.”

Vann cocked an eyebrow. “You know these people. You need to meet them.”

“No.” Drayton stilled, the energy from moments ago evaporating in seconds. “They’ll hate me.”

“They won’t hate you.”

Drayton shook his head.

“Stop putting up that wall to keep everyone out. Sure, some people are assholes, but you’re missing out on meeting some really cool people along the way.”

“I said no.”

“You’re scared.”

“No.”

“They think you’re a unicorn.”

Drayton flinched. “A unicorn?”

“Yup. They’ve never met you so they think you’re some mythical creature.”

Drayton walked over to the window and shoved his hands in his pockets. “This is easier for you than it is for me.”

There was no way in hell Drayton was escaping this. Vann walked over to Drayton’s perch by the window and tugged on his arm so he’d face him. He cupped Drayton’s face, drawing his focus. “I know you’ll always be there to catch me when I fall. I need you to know I’m there for you when you need me. It’s the only reason I’m playing along as Sean’s lackey.”

“I’ll go meet the team if…”

“If?”

“If you let everyone know we’re together.”

Vann planted his hands on his hips and scowled. “That was a cheap shot. You know I hate hiding us. But I need to know I can do this on my own before I’m comfortable enough to do it at your side.”

“Drayton, you have Mr. Beggoni on line two,” Mia’s voice came through the intercom.

“She just saved your ass,” Vann said with a glare.

“And yours.”

Vann glowered then turned and walked toward the door. “I’ll let you know anything new about Sean.”

“You know, all this would be resolved if you just headed up the department.”

Vann sighed and glanced back over his shoulder. “We’re not getting into this again.”

“That’s your department,” Drayton said from across the room. He stalked over to Vann and commanded his attention with renewed confidence. “They’re your team. You know you can do it.”

And that was the problem. Vann wasn’t sure he could balance all that weight on his shoulders. “You’ve got a call waiting. I’ll see you later. I plan on cooking something on the grill tonight. So give me a heads-up if you think you’re running late.”

He leaned in and kissed Drayton before leaving his office.

The only thing he wanted more than flipping Drayton over the back of the couch was the courage to step up to the plate and accept the challenge to run that department. He wouldn’t know for sure until he tried, but hope and fear were a potent combination that often paralyzed him. Too much rode on the success within that department, and failure wasn’t an option or a chance he could risk.