Raashh Decisions (Xxan War Book 3) (4 page)

“This way, Ms. Patterson,” Karl instructed. He led the way to an elevator.

It opened as they reached it, and a child that looked to be about twelve years old exited and headed for the shuttle at a trot, a riot of bright blond curls bouncing around his face. He wore jeans and a t-shirt with high-top tennis shoes and sunglasses. He was thin but muscular.

Karl turned to him with a smile. “Just a moment, Arren.”

“Okay.” He hopped into the shuttle and disappeared from view.

Joy watched him, confused by the interaction.

“Raashh’s younger son,” Karl explained.

He’s not hairless.
She hadn’t known first-generation crossbreeds had hair. Arren didn’t have a light dusting of hair, either. He had a full head of golden curls that many girls would die to possess.
Or to run their fingers through, if he was a little older.

“Board the elevator. Celeste will meet you. Good luck, Ms. Patterson.”

“Thank you.”

He loped away almost before she could get that much out.

Joy stepped into the elevator. She snapped her head up as the engines started ramping up again. Karl was securing the door, which meant the child was piloting.
Is that even legal?

The elevator doors closed, and it moved smoothly downward. Moments later, it opened.

Joy’s smile faltered a bit at the sight of the man standing in the doorway, muscular arms crossed over a broad chest. He stood at least two and a quarter meters tall, bald, imposing, and wearing sunglasses indoors.

She raised a quaking hand. “Mr. Raashh, thank you for inviting me. I’m Joy Patterson.”

****

“Karl says they’re coming in now.”

Daveed heard Arren’s shout of excitement. He didn’t doubt the boy was on his way to the roof for the flying lesson Karl had promised him.

He didn’t understand why their
seir
spoiled Arren as he did, though he suspected Raashh saw his dead mate in his younger son’s face and was uncharacteristically soft on him for it. The old buck had never been soft on Daveed. That much was certain.

“On my way,” he grumbled. Daveed rose and buttoned his suit coat, then headed for the elevator. Just in time to see Arren disappear into it.

He couldn’t wait to meet Joy Patterson. Everything Daveed had learned about her had roused his interest further.

The elevator returned with the lady in question aboard. She focused at his chest level, then her head tipped back and she looked up into his face. Her smile went stiff. It eased again, and she raised her hand.

“Mr. Raashh, thank you for inviting me. I’m Joy Patterson.”

Daveed hesitated before he took her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles. Women seldom invited a male’s touch in such a manner.

Especially the touch of a Xxanian male. I will not waste such a gift.

“Welcome to Spice Industries, Ms. Patterson. May I escort you in?” He offered his arm as his
Hauaa
had taught him to.

Her cheeks darkened in a blush. “Yes. Thank you.” She took his arm and accompanied him down the corridor toward his workroom.

“Was your flight in pleasant, Ms. Patterson?”

“Joy,” she invited.

His heart skipped a beat in excitement.

“Lovely. Thank you. Karl made sure I was comfortable.”

A niggling of jealousy ate at him, and Daveed pushed it away. “This is our design department. You understand that the job would be here and not in Oregon, where you currently live?”

“Yes.”

“We would, of course, relocate you.”

By her easing muscles and exhalation of air, Daveed guessed she was relieved to hear that.

He ushered her into his office. She sucked in a startled breath and surveyed his workspace. Daveed took pride in her reaction.

“Your office will be here.” He motioned to the adjoining door.

Joy looked up at him, seemingly confused. “
My…
I thought I was here for an interview?”

Daveed smiled. “Xxanian Dominants are decisive. Your designs are a perfect complement to the vision I have for Spice Clothing. That a given, I fully intend to offer you the position.”

“Of…of Assistant Designer? You’re serious?”

“Is there a problem?” It seemed there was.

She hesitated a moment, then answered. “I entered the contest on the off chance you might like my style and choose to offer me a lesser job in the company. I supposed…”

“Yes?” Daveed prompted her.

“I supposed that there were other contestants with much more experience than I have.”

“Experience is not as important to me as vision. You match the direction I am seeking to take Spice in, and that is the most important factor.” That and the fact that Arren found not a single indication that Joy might be affiliated with or susceptible to coercion from any anti-Xxan groups.

“You’re offering me the job of Assistant Designer?” It seemed she was still having problems believing he was offering her an executive position.

It was time to shock her with the truth. “Actually, you will be the Head Designer of Joy by Spice line, the sister line to the one I head. I trust that would be acceptable to you?”

“You’re keeping my name on the line?”

He raised her hand and kissed her knuckles again. “Why interfere with perfection?”

“You’re serious. Aren’t you?”

Daveed furrowed his brow. Hadn’t he made himself clear yet? “The job is yours, Ms. Patterson. The only question is… How much will you make me pay to secure your services as a designer for my company?”

Her face went scarlet, and she seemed to have trouble forming words.

Knowing he had the upper hand, Daveed took advantage of it like the Dominant he was born to be. “I know what I will do. I’ll offer you more than any other firm would consider proper. Then you cannot possibly refuse the job.”

She swallowed hard.

Daveed leaned down and whispered a figure in her ear. He could go much higher, but he suspected she’d believe anything higher a joke.

She gasped. “That is more than fair, Mr. Raashh.”

“Daveed,” he invited her. “I assume we will be on a first-name basis when we are working together.”

“Joy.” Her hand tightened slightly on his fingers. “I think I should see the contract.”

“Of course.” Daveed left her side, punched the salary amount into the contract Arren had finalized that morning, and collected it from the print tray. The intricacies of legal agreements were something Daveed wished he could live without, but business demanded it. For that reason, Daveed was glad his younger brother was a prodigy in the minutia of legal and contract terms.

Joy sat on the chair he used to design, one shapely leg crossed over the other. She was silent, but her breath heaved in and out at certain points. Daveed tensed every time it happened, certain that Arren had put something in the contract she’d find unacceptable.

At last, she looked up at him. “Do you have a pen, Daveed?”

****

Joy drank down half the glass of wine in a single swallow, containing her need to shout in triumph. She’d done it. She’d signed a contract with a major fashion house.

But not just any contract. I’ve signed a contract as lead designer of my own signature line, produced by said house. And at a huge salary. With bonuses.

She’d come away from the non-existent negotiations with everything she’d ever hoped for and ten times the money she’d expected to be offered at this stage in her career.

Daveed had introduced a budget and advanced the idea of her choosing an assistant designer from the remaining contest entries. By his tone, she guessed he wasn’t sure she would find any complementary designers in the group.

Of course, she had to pack and buy her way out of her lease over the next two weeks before she was due to start work at Spice. Daveed had informed her that the moving service would be at her disposal, whenever she was ready for them. Her packed belongings would be transported by van to the airport and by shuttle to Virginia.

Daveed had arranged for immediate transfer of three months of her salary as a signing bonus to “offset the financial and emotional burdens of her move”. Spice even maintained a secure building, and she’d been granted the penthouse as part of her contract.

He’d made the choice to sign the contract painless for her. The only thing that bothered her about the entire thing was her attraction to Daveed.

Don’t mix business with pleasure. Remember that, Joy. It’s bitten you in the rear before.

****

Daveed sat behind his desk, smiling at the signed contract. The moment he’d met Joy’s eyes, he’d known he had to have her with him in the office.

That had been confirmed for him shortly before she’d left for home, when she’d suggested a change to one of his new designs that transformed a simple dress into a work of art. As he’d believed, her design sense was precisely what Spice needed.

Precisely what
I
need.
Of course, there was no saying Joy would be more than a worker to him. Despite her maddening scent, her body language, and her stunning looks, she might simply be a sensual woman, in general. Her arousal and subconscious invitations hadn’t necessarily been aimed at him.

As always, the choice of mate is the female’s.

Celeste appeared in the doorway. “I take it the interview didn’t go well?” she inquired.

His smile widened. “It did. A copy of Ms. Patterson’s contract is in the files.”

Joy. She invited me to call her by her given name. But Joy will be an executive of the company; there is no reason to extend that invitation to the secretarial and personal assistant staff.

I should let Celeste know what I need from her.
“She’ll be using the penthouse, so a cleaning crew should be assigned to prepare it. And…flowers when she is expected to arrive. She will need a personal assistant. The adjoining office will need to be outfitted to match mine.”

“In every detail?”

“If Ms. Patterson wishes to change her furnishings, she may. To begin with, the two offices will match precisely.” Joy had liked the design of his office, so assuming she wanted a matching office wasn’t a stretch of the imagination.

Celeste’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t voice whatever she took exception to. “Right away, Mr. Raashh.” She was gone before he could decide if he was overreacting to her expression and the weight in her step or not.

Chapter Two

Joy strode onto the stage behind Daveed, Andre at her heels. The head of PR, Lyle Nelson, was already at the podium, giving the details of the contest Spice had run.

“It is my pleasure to present the winners of the Spice Clothing Design Contest: Ms. Joy Patterson, head designer of Joy by Spice, and Mr. Andre Banna, assistant designer of Joy Juniors.”

He made an expansive arm movement, and Joy and Andre took positions on either side of him while the audience politely clapped. Daveed made his way to Joy’s side. On the screens behind them, the newly-designed logos and a handful of product pictures from their entry videos rotated.

The media in attendance started asking questions immediately.

“There was supposed to be a single winner. Is there a reason two were chosen?”

Daveed answered that one. “I was so impressed by the Joy line, I decided to acquire it and the design services of Ms. Patterson nearly immediately. It might have stopped there, but I’d instructed her to hire any other designers she felt would fit well with the existing lines. She chose Mr. Banna.”

Another spoke up. “So Ms. Patterson asked to award another of the designers in competition with her?”

Daveed waved Joy on, indicating that she should answer that for herself.

“It only made sense to begin my search for an assistant from the existing contest entries. Andre brings something to the mix that had been missing before.”

“And that is?” the reporter continued.

“A children’s line that would appeal to both Xxanian mix and human children. Until now, the Spice Clothing for children line has been primarily
S’suumea
and
S’suuhhea
, designed for Xxanian children. Why don’t you tell them about the Junior line, Andre?”

He spoke up in his deeply accented voice, laying out the range of products the Joy Junior line would offer. The way Andre shifted from foot to foot made it clear that he was much less comfortable with public speaking than he was with designing clothing.

At last, Lyle called for another question.

“Ms. Patterson, how are you enjoying work at Spice Industries?”

She smiled. “It’s a dream come true. I’ve never been in the company of so many highly talented individuals, all working as a team. The feedback makes for a very…nurturing and creative environment.”

Before Lyle could move on, the same reporter launched in with another question. “Have there been any problems?”

Joy was sure her smile faltered a bit. “I’m not sure I know what you mean. What kind of problems could I possibly encounter?”

“As a woman working in a Xxanian company. Have you had any difficulties?”

“A large portion of our workforce is female,” she replied, unsure of what he was hinting at. It wasn’t like there was any lack of women at Spice.

“Forty-five percent,” Lyle offered smartly. “Only two of the female employees are Xxanian, which means the human female employees are well over forty-four percent of our workforce.”

The reporter persisted. “Working so closely with a Xxanian male, are there any—?”

Joy cut him off. “I’m not sure what you’re insinuating or why, precisely, but the answer is ‘no’. I have not had any interracial or interpersonal difficulties with the Xxanian males at Spice. Can we move on, please?”

Lyle motioned to another of the reporters, who asked Andre a question.

Joy tried to focus on his answer, but something about the earlier reporter kept drawing her back. Something about him made her nervous, uneasy…even slightly afraid.