Page 23 of Lahaina Noon

She could make out snippets and knew it had something to do with the Shadow Claw. The conversation from last night echoed through her mind. Ancient magic, dragons, some dangerous quest to be undertaken, it all seemed like the plot of one of the video games Gabriel was so fond of. She turned thoughtfully towards Vaughn,Cloud Warrior, hmm, I wonder if…

“Ready to go?” Vaughn interrupted her thoughts and held up the keys. “Let’s see if we can get as much awe and interest as Liam did this morning.”

Driving a Lamborghini in Dallas wasn’t all that rare of a sight. There were a lot of large companies in the area and quite a few high rollers. Several YouTubers, young entrepreneurs and quite a few highly paid athletes. She highly doubted, though, that there were any others that were gold with black accents.

“Less ostentatious?” she hissed at Vaughn’s profile as he laughingly turned in the driveway of their destination.

As he whipped into his reserved spot, she noted that the employees she could see around the area were not paying him any attention, theymust be used to the sight. The building was shaded by beautiful old oak trees. It looked like a peaceful place to have lunch, with a duck pond off to the side and lots of benches to enjoy the fresh air.

Unsure how to open the door, she waited until Vaughn came around and opened it with a flourish, holding out his hand to assist her from the car. She took a deep breath and stepped out into the warm, clear morning.

Chapter 14

Noise. That’s what Bridgetheard when she walked through the glass front doors of the building. She was expecting the usual quiet hum of workers in an office. Instead, off to the right, she saw a gaming room where it looked like a gaggle of college kids were having a battle on a large screen in the middle of the room.

Cheers and groans erupted as she saw one young woman who looked a lot like Liam turn and high-five the crowd behind her while her opponent held his head in his hands, a sign of utter defeat. The crowd behind him gave him equal amounts of conciliatory encouragement and jeers for losing. It seemed good-natured and fun.

One of the kids saw Vaughn and Bridget and waved, “Hey, Drake!” he called out, causing the others in the room to turn and look. “You missed it! Siobhan just destroyed Sam on CW4! It was EPIC!” he shouted. This caused more cheering and laughter until some of them noticed Bridget.

“Yo, Drake, who’s the babe?” one of the other kids said, causing everyone to quiet down and stare at her.

Vaughn put his hands in his pockets and strolled over, gesturing with his head for Bridget to follow him. “Bridget,” he said calmly, “This young man with no manners is Collin Chester, one of our brightest developers.”

Collin gave her a cheeky wave.

Vaughn continued, “For the rest of you, who are no doubt wondering, the lovely woman you see here is Ms. Bridget Ridgeway. I’ve invited her here today to show her what we do in hopes I can convince her to join our team in charge of VR Integration.”

Bridget turned to Vaughn, trying not to show the confusion that was inside her to the group assembled before her. A job? Was he talking about a job? That’s not what she was expecting when he brought her here. Honestly, she wasn’t sure what to expect anymore but a job was the last thing she had thought of.

“Great,” muttered the victorious young girl that Bridget remembered had been called Siobhan. “Just what we need, another corporate yuppie trying to stifle us. Does she know anything at all about gaming? She looks like someone’s mom,” she said with a sniff.

Everyone in the room immediately quieted down and stared at Siobhan like she had grown two heads. For all their casual approach, it was obvious she had crossed some line or unspoken boundary.

Vaughn’s smile was brittle, and Bridget recognized it from the day before when he had faced Melissa Payne in the conference room.

Fearing for the young lady’s safety, Bridget quickly intervened. “Well, how very perceptive of you,” she drawled in a sweet voice, enhancing the southern twang in her tone. “In fact, Iamsomeone’s mom. A very bright young man who adores the products you makehere. Not only that, but I’ve raised him to be a very respectful young man who knows how to address people in a position of authority and to be a decent human being. I’m giving lessons to anyone interested.” She looked Siobhan up and down.

“Honey, I’ll give you a few for free, since you seem to be… a difficult case. Bless your heart.” She grinned at the girl, enjoying the stunned look on her face before the crowd around her burst into laughter.

Some good-natured slapping on Siobhan’s back occurred before she finally grinned and said, “You’re alright, Bridget,” and held out her hand.

Bridget shook the girl’s hand and winked.

Vaughn shook his head in defeat and pulled her away from the group, promising to bring her back after they’d had time to talk.

They walked towards a back hallway with regularly spaced glass doors that allowed her to see that many of the offices were filled with bean bag chairs, mismatched furniture and computer set-ups that would make Gabe drool. Most of the spaces were filled with action figures and posters of various gaming advertisements. Stickers covered many of the surfaces, and something that passed for music blasted from some of them. It almost looked like a college dorm.

She could see people of all ages, genders, and dress styles working away at what looked like a foreign language on many of the computers. Some of the crowd from the gaming area drifted back into their own spaces, donning headphones, and getting back into whatever world-domination plot they were cooking up.

Bridget was overwhelmed; Vaughn thought she could work here? She didn’t know the first thing about programming, and certainly notin the style of working these people were apparently accustomed to. He continued down the hall and around a corner where she began to see more traditional style set-ups and ‘normal’ looking work occurring.

Maybe here,she thought,working as some sort of administrative assistant.Although if that’s what he had in mind, she would politely decline. She was not interested in a pity job just because she had lost hers the day before.Wow, it was only yesterday that I learned about shadows and dragons. Feels like a lifetime ago.She mentally shook herself and looked around her, assessing the shadows.

Vaughn gave her a curious look, then seemed to understand what she was doing. “Don’t worry, dear,” he whispered in her ear. “This space is warded; these are just normal shadows in this building and my home. Your home, too, as soon as Liam finishes gathering the necessary parties.” He smiled to reassure her and led her to a large corner office with floor-to-ceiling windows.

Like the other spaces, the front of the office was all glass. Unlike the other spaces, he had the ability to make them opaque, which he did as he walked in and shut the door. He leaned against the door, taking in the sight of her. She was walking around, studying the view and the large glass and chrome desk in the middle of the office. It was so unlike his staid and stuffy office at Chesapeake.

She was trying to reconcile the two sides of the man, or was that three if you counted the dragon, when he came over and pulled her to his body, putting his lips on hers in a hungry, demanding kiss. She sank into his warmth, eagerly kissing him back. When he finally let her go, she stood there with a dreamy smile on her face.

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