Page 4 of Sublime Target

Jerik stiffened, anticipation coursing through him.

It was her.

The woman he was supposed to meet and win over.

She stared back at him, perfectly realistic and yet intangible, for he knew she was just a projection.

Her expression was the most discouraging thing.

The holo-recording showed a woman who was cool and disinterested. Her glossy black hair was tied up in a neat bun, and her face was made up with the various paints and pigments some humans used to enhance their appearance. She wore a simple suit of plain colors—grey, black, white.

Wherever she was when this was taken, she clearly did not want to be there.

He couldn’t read anything else from her. She was like a stone wall, cold and impossible to breach.

She was beautiful, though.

This was the one Mavrel had narrowed it down to? How was he supposed to convince this impenetrable female that he was the best possible mate for her?

For he knew that he could make any woman happy. He would indulge her and protect her and give her immense pleasure.

“Could always abduct her, I suppose,” he muttered softly.

“Er, I suggest that you do not.” Mavrel sounded a little testy. “A fearful and unwilling mate would be a terrible thing. It’s bad for the mating process. Scientifically. We will reach out and make contact with her first. There are at least a thousand better ways to approach her.”

Jerik raised his hands. Why were folks always so edgy around him? “Mav, I’m talking shit, all right? I’m not going to do that. I told you already. I’m gonna trust the process.”

The tech let out a sigh of exasperation. “Well, if you want to do it right, I’d suggest you go and get some mating advice from Iskar, Ikriss, or the First Division guys. Even the prince could tell you a thing or two.”

“Since when did you know so much about the mating process?”

“I observe, Sir. A lot.”

“Fine. I’ll leave the initial contact to you. Tell me her name, at least.”

“Cla-rissa Lee.” The pronunciation rolled awkwardly off Mavrel’s tongue. “She’s fairly standard as far as humans go. Works in some sort of service job. Executive assistant, whatever that means. She owns a dwelling under debt with installment payments and has one brother and one sister, both mated and with their own offspring. Not rich, not poor, standard Federation education. And she is not currently seeking a male.”

“Then why did you pick her out? Surely, it’d be easier to gain the cooperation of someone who is actually looking for a mate.”

“Well, here’s the thing. We have access to some of the Federation’s Network logs. And it seems she has searched for information on our kind quite frequently on the human databases.”

Jerik stared at the woman’s lovely, unreadable face. “And was the gist of her searches good or bad?”

Mavrel gave him the most infuriating shrug. “Like most things, it was a bit of both.”

THREE

Clarissa Lee sat at her desk and stared out the window, stealing a moment away from the insanity.

It was a gorgeous day on Sydney Harbor. From the thirty-seventh floor of Garner Tower, she had a priceless view of the harbor. The water shimmered under the bright morning sun. Boats drifted lazily across the surface, occasionally buffeted by the wake of large passenger ferries. Drones zoomed through the pristine blue sky, slipping under the unmistakable coat-hanger arc of the Sydney Harbor Bridge.

It was a multi-million credit view. It wasn’t hers, though. It was a view she could only enjoy day after day because she worked here.

She’d worked for Garner Corp for the past five years. And it was only by accident that she’d found herself in the position of Executive Assistant to one of the richest men in the Oceanic Republic.

Cooper Garner.

Wealthy. Powerful. Knew how to command a room.

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