Page 36 of Daddy Billionaire Dragon

“Well, I have no intention of claiming Nic or anybody else as my soul mate,” I say, thrusting my jaw forward.

My dragon growls within me. On that last night in Paris when Nic and I made love, I had to do everything in my power to stop my dragon from taking over my mind and claiming Nic as our soul mate. I felt like a jerk after she had given herself to me so unreservedly and freely, but I did it for both of us. She is better off without me. She doesn’t even know I am a shifter yet. No human in their right mind will want to spend their life with a shifter.

That’s not true, my dragon growls yet again. Our mother is a human and our father is a dragon shifter, he reminds me. And so it is with Agate, Amethyst, Onyx, Citrine, he yells inside my head. Once a dragon shifter has found a soul mate, it is especially difficult on the dragon when mate is not claimed. It is difficult for the human as well, but humans can kid themselves better. That does not mean that Nic is my mate. She is not, I quickly insist, further antagonizing my dragon.

Pat notices my struggles with my dragon, but says nothing. I sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose. It seems both Pat and my dragon need to be reminded why I have no intention of taking a mate.

“My dad told me about a Quartz dragon from the Carnelian sub-sect. His mate was killed in a freak road accident a few years ago. There was nothing the poor schmuck could have done to prevent it, but the last they heard, he had thrown himself off the edge of the Grand Canyon. He was so distraught with guilt and madness that he couldn’t shift. What a messy end to a life. I can never imagine what he must have gone through. I can’t put myself in a position where I risk going through what that poor Quartz dragon went through.” I say, collapsing on the couch. This is the first time I have vocalized my fears to anybody.

Pat is looking at me wide-eyed.

“Wow, you have given it a lot of thought.”

“Yes. And I circle back to the same conclusion. Nic and I can never be together. You know how we are all feeling that danger is lurking just around the corner? I am almost constantly feeling it now. And the feeling has intensified several folds. I’m being warned to keep away from her, Pat.”

I am suddenly feeling very weary.

“Look, let’s talk tomorrow, okay? I would appreciate it if you told the others not to ask me about Nic,” I say, looking at him earnestly.

He merely nods, squeezes my shoulder, and starts walking towards the door. He pauses to look at me one last time.

“You know, fate has a way of catching up to you,” he warns before exiting my office.

I can only stare after him with my mouth agape.

But he’s right about one thing—I have hurt Nic and I need to apologize. It’s true that I was forthright with her. It’s also true that she knew where she stood, but I know I have inadvertently hurt her. And I have been an ass ever since we returned. She did not deserve that. Tomorrow morning when she comes into work, the first thing I’m going to do is apologize.

Chapter 17 - Nic

I shut the alarm off and sit up bleary-eyed in my bed. Ever since we returned from Paris, it has been a struggle to make myself go to work and be around Lex. This is probably why they caution against romantic liaisons in the workplace. Well, I have learned my lesson. Never again.

I had promised myself that I would maintain an emotional distance, but it is difficult to do it when you are in love with the person. I can almost pinpoint the minute he permanently withdrew into that shell of his. If I didn’t know better, I would be tempted to think that he is being cold since he got what he wanted and has no reason to be warm and flirtatious any longer. But I know he’s afraid. Perhaps he even feels something more than just lust for me. Perhaps he even loves me—just a little.

Get a grip, I scold myself, blinking away the tears. He doesn’t love me. The sooner I accept it, the better it will be for everybody concerned. But I wish I could just talk to him without it being awkward.

Whatever is going on with Lex isn’t the only reason I am feeling out of sorts. I am very, very sure that I’m being watched. And I’m being watched constantly. I have never spotted my stalker, but I know it for a certainty just the same. I am extremely thankful that Chuck is still picking me up and dropping me off. Before our Paris ‘date’, Lex made it a point to pick me up in the mornings. We would ride together to work, going over Lex’s plans for the day. We would stop to get a coffee sometimes and just talk. I miss his smile. I miss his touch. I miss Lex. I see him at work every day, but our relationship couldn’t be more strained. He talks to me only when it is absolutely necessary. We primarily communicate by email otherwise. How pathetic is that?

I wish Penny were here, but she’s gone to LA for the week to be with her family. I can always call her and talk to her, but I don’t want to burden her with my problems at this time of the year. It is a difficult time for her and her family, even after all these years. I could talk to my mother, I suppose. I have to invite her to the twenty-fifth anniversary party of Druk Technologies anyway.

The twenty-fifth anniversary party is a fortnight away, and it is one of the things I’m really grateful for. It is going to keep all us exec assistants and secretaries very busy, which means I won’t have a lot of time to wallow in my misery.

Finally getting out of bed, I get dressed with enough time for a quick breakfast and coffee. When I go down, Chuck is waiting for me. I am going over my calendar and checking my emails when I have the strangest sensation that we are being followed. I hastily turn to look behind me through the tinted glass, but it is difficult to tell. I have been feeling this ever since we got back from Paris. For the first time, I think that perhaps it isn’t a car that is following us. I feel as if I’m being watched from a height. But that makes no sense.

Throughout the short journey, I keep looking back through the glass, but as always, nothing seems amiss. Chuck has noticed my odd behavior. He even asks if anything is wrong, but I just shake my head.

We soon reach Druk Tech. No sooner have I put my handbag down on the desk in my tiny office when I am immediately called for a meeting with the other exec assistants and secretaries. There’s a lot to be done before the anniversary party. When we emerge from the meeting, it is noon. I head to my office, deciding that I will eat at my desk while I work. I haven’t seen Lex all morning, which is just as well I suppose.

Like all the other offices on the top floor, my office has a view too. Admittedly it isn’t as awe-inspiring as the view from Lex’s or any of the other partners’ offices, but I have a great view of the Hudson River. As with the other offices, the floor-to-ceiling window is behind my desk, which means that I am not gawking at the view while I’m working. I can’t really move my desk, so I often position my chair so that I at least have a partial view when I’m working.

Now as I pore over the papers, my chair is half-facing the window. My head is bowed down over the papers as I circle the actionables from today’s meeting in red. I am totally engrossed in my work, oblivious to the world, but suddenly I feel my skin prickle. From the corner of my eye, I notice something suspended in the air. And whatever it is, is watching me. Blood pounds in my ears and my hands start shaking. I lose my grip over the papers. They scatter all over the floor, but I make no move to pick them up. I am afraid to look up and have my worst fears confirmed.

I try to tell myself that I imagined the whole thing. I mean, who would be mad enough to use advanced technology to spy on me? It has to be some kind of advanced technology, right? What else is capable of suspending itself in the air over a hundred feet above ground level? Perhaps it is all my imagination since I’m already so spooked.

I force myself to look, just in time to see a shadow vanish. I sit back in my chair staring open-mouthed at the window. There was definitely something there. And it looked alive. But it can’t be true. Unless whoever is spying on me is using birds? But what I saw was a lot larger than a bird though. None of this makes sense. I wish I could talk to Lex, but he hasn’t been very accommodating lately.

At times, I wish that I had never agreed to go to Paris with him, had never agreed to sleep with him. But I know that if I were given a chance to do it all over again, I would. He might not love me, but I do love him. I am glad that I had a chance to convey some of what I feel for him, if not through words, certainly by my actions. Why is he being so stubborn? Why isn’t he allowing himself to feel? I’m sure that if he only opened up a little, we will have a different kind of relationship altogether.

I slowly get up from my chair and walk to the window. There’s nothing there now, but I still feel unsettled. I need to talk to somebody before I lose my mind. Perhaps I will go find Lex after all.

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