Chapter 13
The meeting had gone well. It hadn’t taken long to convince the company to come on board with her plan and to sign the contract. Janet was feeling the blissful swell of success and she was enjoying every moment of it, enjoying the sensation of success and everything that came along with it. Janet felt the happiness bubble up inside of her, threatening to overwhelm her.
She had done it! Not only had she just struck up a fantastic deal with the company which would secure the success and future of her own business, but she had changed a few things too.
One of the things that had stuck with her when repeated attempts had been made on her life, was how desperate those people must have been. People didn’t often kill just for the sake of it. This was an organized group of desperate people, hoping for a change and Janet was determined to fix things.
She would not give into their demands and she wouldn’t keep putting her life on the line either. So she had come up with a whole new plan. She was determined to move away from the use of blood diamonds or any diamonds mined unethically, in any way. She was driven to make sure that she and the company were not associated with exploitation. Any mines owed would be turned into fair trade mines, and they would be moving in a new direction too.
She was determined to overhaul her part in this system. There would be a focus on lab grown diamonds and other ethical stones, and a shift towards the manufacturing side of things aiming to give back and improve sustainability.
Janet refused to shut down her company. She refused to lay down and die, but she was determined to right the wrongs of the past and make sure that anyone working for this company, in any way, shape or form, would be treated well and ethically.
She had sprinkled talk of this through her speech and the board of directors had seemed to like the social aspect and the publicity that this would bring. That wasn’t her core aim, but Janet was happy to go along with it.
It wasn’t until she was home, that the elation started to give way to exhaustion. Fang helped her into the hotel room and she sank onto the couch. She was still absolutely buzzing with success, but it was blanketed by her tiredness, which seemed to seep into her very bones. She was exhausted and there was no way around that.
Fang slid onto the couch beside of her and Janet smiled, feeling grateful for his presence. She knew that she needed to address the elephant in the room, or, at least, the dragon. She glanced at Fang, still marveling at the change that she had witnessed in him.
She tentatively took his hand. He seemed to be anticipating this talk and he squeezed her hand, “You want to talk now, or later?” There was quiet concern in his voice, “You must be exhausted.”
“I want to talk now.” Janet sounded sure, because she was. She knew what she wanted out of this conversation and she was holding out hope for a little bit more on top of that. She took a deep, settling breath.
Fang nodded slowly, “So, what do you want to know?” He was smiling, a quiet smile, that was confident and sure and worried, all at the same time. Janet found it endearing.
“Just…how?” She laughed, a small sound, unsure of herself, “I just want to know your story, I suppose.”
Fang smiled, and nodded slowly, “Honestly, it’s complicated…” He sighed and rubbed his face, “I’m not the only dragon out there. There’s quite a few of us, but we all keep it hidden, obviously…” He gave a wry smile.
Janet nodded in understanding and Fang continued, “I grew up in America. I love it there, but I exposed myself as a dragon while I was travelling through the West coast.” He winced, “Look, I probably wasn’t in any major danger- no one would have believed them anyway…but…” He shrugged, “I suppose I got spooked. I had only gotten the job at the security company and I didn’t want to blow it. The first assignment that came up as out-of-country, I grabbed it.”
He leaned back a little against the couch, “That was years ago, of course. I’ve stayed here ever since, trying to keep my head down. I don’t change into a dragon very often, but I didn’t see another option when you went missing.”
Janet felt awe and warmth burning in her chest. He had done this for her? He had risked everything just to keep her safe, when he certainly didn’t have to. She felt affection for him rise inside of her. He really did care about her. That much was obvious.
She smiled and nodded slowly, “Thank you, Fang. I mean…you saved my life. More than once.”
Fang shrugged, but there was a warmth in his eyes, “Of course I did.” He frowned, “You don’t seem worried by this.”
Janet shook her head, “No, no I’m not.” She sighed, and smiled, “Honestly, I think that you are my knight in shining armor…if you’ll pardon the analogy.”
Fang laughed, an honestly amused sound. His eyes were sparkling as he lowered his head to look at her, “Janet, you’re really something else. You know that?”
Janet smiled, amusement burning in her eyes, matching his, “I know that I’m happy you’re here.”
She reached out and grabbed his hands, “Don’t go again.”
Fang softened, “I won’t.” He took a deep breath, “I just wanted you to be safe, from me, from the guys who are after you, from everything….”
Janet smiled, “I can take care of myself, especially if you have my back.”
“I think that I’m starting to figure that out for myself.” Fang was smiling and Janet felt warm all over, like she had just stepped into a lovely, soothing bath.
She smiled and leaned over, pressing her lips against his. Fang pulled her near, pressing her against his chest. She kissed him deeply, feeling the pressure of his tongue, tasting the sweet, smoky taste of him, feeling his hands carding through her hair. He was here and he wasn’t going anywhere.
She felt complete, felt like he had her back and like he was not going anywhere. It was everything that she could have wanted and didn’t even know that she had been looking for. He felt so good pressed against her, comforting and strong all at once.
When she finally broke the kiss, she was breathless and flushed and she could see the smirk playing on Fang’s lips.
“What?” She smiled.
He chuckled and shook his head, a spark in his eyes as he pulled her close, “I guess I’m not just dating the boss’s daughter, now, huh?”
“Oh no, you’re dating the boss.” Janet purred back, the words rolling off her tongue, confident and sure.
She was the boss, but she knew that they would make a great team together. She needed him and he was the expert in so many things that she was new to. He was so confident and strong and Janet admired him. He inspired her and she liked to think that he did the same for her.
“Lucky me.” Fang purred in return, voice silky and soft as he pressed a kiss to her neck. And Janet knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she was right where she needed to be.