Patchwork pixie, p.21
Patchwork Pixie, page 21
Emmy sighed, “What if I said no?”
“I would ask for my meal to be served here.” His eyes glittered.
“Well, while I enjoy eating while standing, I think talking to people is best done while seated.” She looked at Ruby. “You are good?”
“I am good. And really warm.” Ruby smiled. “Do you need a ride home?”
“No. We will see her home.” Bynard smiled. “All very politely, I promise.”
Ruby nodded. “Right. Emmy, call if you need anything. Anything at all.”
Emmy paused, nodded, and then slid out of the booth where Bynard was waiting. He smiled brightly and walked her over to where Lebor was waiting.
Rayden grinned. “And now another is settled.”
“But is there ever a time when a mate hates the dark Elite she matches with?”
Marshall spoke slowly, “I have heard of one case. He never even saw her true form. He had her ejected from his event, mistaking her for a crazy fan. She hasn’t been seen since. No one even knows her name.”
Ruby winced. “That’s rough. What if she found her other mate?”
“I suppose that he would try and contact their third,” Marshall mused.
“What if she fits with a different pair and the nice one of her original set is left alone?”
“Uh, I don’t know. Why are you asking this, Ruby?”
“I have been watching relationship dynamics and wondering if the dark Elite ever experience minor disasters.”
Rayden nodded. “I am sure that as the sample grows, it will be more apparent that we are just men in search of our females.”
Marshall said slowly, “But if someone has been so stupid as to reject a mate, I am guessing that nature would provide a replacement somehow. She would not give that kind of power and make it unable to be used.”
Ruby shrugged. “You never know. It might just be a lesson to us. Not all dark Elite are created equal.”
They had lunch, and despite the servers being excited that the owner was there, they weren’t pestered into a coma.
Marshall got a call and spoke quietly. “We’ll pick it up from the office.”
Ruby looked at him. He smiled and said, “The company has decided to free you from your contract. Their official offer is at the office. You pick it up, and you are free to resume working at any of the companies who are making offers.”
Lebor was at their table in a second. “Consider this a bid for your skills, sister.”
She laughed. “I have the offer from your company. Get back to seducing my sister. Wow, there is a sentence I never thought to utter.”
He grinned. “Here’s my card. I will talk to you tomorrow.” He handed it to her, and she put it in her purse.
“Of course, brother.”
He laughed. “I like the sound of that.”
She waved him off, and he went.
Marshall chuckled. “Family gatherings are going to be fun. Our contract is nearly ready for us to sign, by the way.”
“Contract?”
“Legal definition of our grouping, discovery of assets, order of inheritance. Last names of any children produced. That sort of thing.”
“Wow.” She smiled. “In that case, we might want to finalize things.”
Rayden patted her thigh. “I am pretty sure that we already have.”
Ruby looked from one of them to the other. “Huh. I wonder if I can get my lawyer to look over it for hidden clauses.”
Marshall nodded. “Dante drafted it, and Ark looked it over, but you are welcome to have me go over it with you.”
His air of studied innocence was amusing, but there was a tingle in her mind that said if she took too long, she would end up bent over a desk. She smirked. She didn’t have any other plans for the day or night or week.
It was nice to have some time off. This was a first, and she was going to make sure that she took a regular vacation in the future. Rayden seemed like the kind of guy to take summer vacations, and Marshall would go where she went. That was finally settling in. She had men she trusted and wanted to spend time with. Ruby grinned again. She was just going to have to keep testing how she felt and let them know if it changed. Odds were that they could redirect any irritation or dissatisfaction. They were very good at paying attention.
Epilogue
Ruby sat at the head of the boardroom table and looked around at members of foundations and large businesses in town. “Okay, so what you are all saying is that the pledged donations for the next season have exceeded our needs, and you want to create a movie so that folks can watch it all year round.”
Ruby sighed and rubbed the back of her head. “And since I own all the rights to it, you want a novel and a script written for it. I wrote the kids’ book. That’s it. So, I have interviewed a few writers and have picked one who can turn the project around quickly. So, I am leaving it to the council to find a director and someone who can cast characters.”
She smiled and nodded at the author with her sweatshirt hood pulled over her head, hunched in the corner clutching a laptop.
Persephone held up a list. “We have some directors listed, and casting will be done as soon as we have the script. Ford hasn’t done a movie, but he is so flattering to the female subject that we are trying to get him to say yes. My brother-in-law is going to make some collectibles for it.”
The folks around the table offered different contributions.
Ruby looked at the author, and she was fading to the point she was barely visible. She waved at her, and the woman got up and left. Keres was writing all the details out, and Ida was already on the list for costumes.
Ruby kept paying attention until they had a pile of offered resources. She got the file from Keres and smiled. “Well, good first session, everybody. Thanks for all the possible sets, costumes, craft services, and all the support items already lined up.” They just needed a script, a cast, and a director. A phone and camera company were ready to offer their equipment for a trial by fire.
Ruby looked around. “I guess if we can find a cast and director, we are doing this.”
The sixteen people beamed at her, and they all filed out of the boardroom that Ark and Marshall had offered.
Grey hung back and walked with her. “Ready for tea with Leon? He’s excited to show off the bump.”
“Uh-huh. He’s excited.”
Grey grinned. “We may be a little excited. It’s a little girl, and it’s Derrik’s.”
“I knew it was a little girl, but the group participation was a nice touch.” She walked toward the elevators and saw the spectre by the call light.
Ruby casually took her friend’s hand, and she firmed up. Grey jumped. “Sorry, miss, I didn’t see you there.”
Ruby’s friend squeezed her hand, clutched her laptop, and pressed the button to the main floor. They parted ways on the main floor, and Ruby’s heart broke. Being rejected by a mate was no joke, and now, she knew what happened. Her friend was fading away, and only the occasional touch of an Elite kept her solid enough to communicate. If Ruby ever found her ex-mate, the guy was going to find his balls in his throat. She really hoped she never met him.
Author’s Note
As you can imagine, I am having fun in this series. I promise to leave it for a while in 2024, but that is then, and this is now. Now, I am enjoying the process.
Thanks for reading,
Viola Grace
About the Author
Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.
An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around, and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.
In real life, she is now engaged in beekeeping, and her adventures can be found on the YouTube channel, Mystery Bees Apiary. Just look for the cartoon kittens.
Viola Grace, Patchwork Pixie
