Her Dragon Protector

Chapter 10

Olivia looked the man up and down carefully before she spoke. “You’re Tyson Emery?”

“I am, and I feel I should be honest with you. I’m sure you know I intended to be at the Halloween party. What you don’t know is my motive was you,” Tyson told her with a smile.

“Me? Why me?”

“Because Nick had been bragging about you and sending me examples of your work. I was going to find out what he was paying you and offer you twice the amount to come work for me.”

Olivia was utterly gobsmacked. She had eeked out a living as a photographer and was ecstatic to receive what she had for pay at Dark Moon Industries. For someone she had never met to say he would pay her twice that, no matter what it was, was nearly beyond her comprehension.

“Why would you do that?” she asked accusingly.

“Because Nick sent me the link to your photo storage. Your photos are a reflection of your soul, and you have a beautiful soul. I was crushed when fog kept me in Chicago, but fate has intervened and brought us together.”

“You believe in fate?” she smirked.

“You don’t? You’re a wolf, and wolves are supposed to be drawn to their fated mates.”

“I believe in it for others, but not myself. Not now, anyway. Even if I find my mate, he will most likely reject me,” Olivia said as tears welled up in her eyes again. “I doubt Nick will ever give up, and he has already said that we will never be mates because I am not worthy of that or being his Luna.”

“That sounds like a long story. Why don’t we sit?” Tyson suggested as he gestured to the bench.

Olivia sat down and began after he joined her. “My wolf has never come forward. I have never spoken to her and have never shifted. Nick knew that. I am also not of ranking blood. He knew that too. As soon as he hired me, he said he wanted to have final approval of everything, which meant we worked closely together often. With that, we became friends, at least I thought so.”

Olivia paused for a minute as she thought about how to tell Tyson the rest. Then, to her surprise, he gently took her hand and held it. The heat from it was like having her hand to a campfire. She looked into his eyes to see them flicker with orange and gold. She sighed before she continued.

“Anyway, I was working the night of the party, but Nick kept telling the servers to give me drinks. Because of my wolf, or lack of one, I got drunk like a human would. He offered to take me home, and since I could barely stand up by myself, I accepted. Everyone who works for Dark Moon lives in the same building, so I didn’t think much of it then. Instead of taking me to my apartment, he took me to his penthouse. I should have left, but I didn’t. I stayed and drank more, and when he made advances, I didn’t say no.”

Tyson quietly asked, “You didn’t say no, but did you say yes?”

Olivia could feel the waves of anger rolling off Tyson as he sat beside her. She was still unsure what he was but could feel his power.

“I did say yes. I might not have used the word, but I remember telling Nick I didn’t want him to stop,” Olivia said as she felt her face flush. “After that night, everything changed. Nick seemed like he was avoiding me. Everyone at work either hated me because of what they thought I did or loved me, thinking I could get them closer to Nick.”

“Yeah, I have found that happens quite often, especially in the corporate world.”

Olivia laughed, “Yeah, anything to gain some power over others. Anyway, a few days before Thanksgiving, I realized that, um…I was late. On my lunch break, I got a pregnancy test, took it, and a, yeah. As soon as I finished my nervous breakdown, I told Nick. First, he asked if it was his, and since I hadn’t been with a man in a year except him, that made it pretty clear who the father was. That was when he told me I would never be his mate or Luna because of my bloodline and wolf.”

“What did he say about the baby?”

“That he had no interest in it or me. That’s when I decided it would be a good time to travel and photograph some of the places I had always wanted to go.”

“You have a good plan, but I have a question. Why did Nick put out the email with the bounty on your head?” Tyson asked.

“Because he apparently changed his mind after seeing my resignation letter. Within minutes of submitting it, he started calling me and didn’t stop. No matter how many times I blocked him, he would call right back from a different number.”

“I can’t help but notice that your phone has been quiet since we have been out here. How did you make that happen?”

Olivia chuckled, “That would be a burner phone and a new number that only four people have, and none of them is Nick.”

Tyson laughed, “Smart, talented, and beautiful. That is a rare combination. Nick should have done everything in his power to hold on to you.”

“Maybe, but my total lack of personality and s*x appeal kind of cancels out the other stuff,” Olivia laughed.

“I don’t know about that. I happen to like your personality, and so far, I have found nothing wrong with your s*x appeal.”

Olivia blushed, “Just wait. When you get to know me, you will understand.”

“I will take that bet,” Tyson grinned at her. “I can see you shivering even with my coat around you. Let’s go in, sit down, and get you warmed up while we eat and get to know each other better. I need to introduce you to the guy who drug me out here and is the reason we finally got to meet.”

“Can I trust him not to contact Nickolas?” she questioned, her concern evident.

“You can trust him. He is the same to me as a Beta is to Nicholas. He also knows if he ever does anything to go against me, I will reduce him to a pile of ashes where he stands.”

“That would definitely be an incentive to be loyal,” Olivia laughed.

Tyson stood, gently pulling Olivia to her feet as he did. He let go of her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her tight into his side, ensuring his coat was snuggly around her. He looked down at her to see she was smiling at him. His breath caught in his throat when he saw her gray eyes sparkle with the corners crinkling in a genuine smile. He returned her smile before he began ushering her to the door. As soon as they stepped inside, Devon let out an exasperated growl.

“About time! I ordered our food, so it should be ready soon,” Devon told him as he leaned back and looked at the pair with a raised eyebrow.

Tyson guided Olivia into the booth first, sliding in after her to put her securely in the corner, safe from anyone who would try anything. Tyson was smiling as he watched his friend’s eyes shift back and forth between him and Olivia.

Tyson introduced them, “Devon, I would like you to meet Olivia Cook. Olivia, this is Devon Wright. He tries to keep me out of trouble.”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Olivia,” Devon said as he shook her hand. “I am a huge fan of your work. As for keeping this guy out of trouble, I do try, but there isn’t enough time in the day to do it.”

“You are a fan of mine?” Olivia questioned as she glanced at her booth to ensure her things were how she had left them.

“I am. I was stuck on the plane with Tyson on Halloween. When I asked him why he was so angry about not being able to get to the party Alpha Jerkface was having, he told me that it was to steal you away from Dark Moon. That was when Ty showed me your work. Since then, I have purchased a few of your prints from your website to put in my house and one in my office,” Devon said.

“Wow, I don’t know what to say. Thank you,” Olivia grinned.

“Say you will come to work for us,” Devon told her.

“I would,” Olivia said as she paused to look at Tyson. “But I have yet to be given a formal offer. Plus, I’m not sure that either of you wants to deal with the trouble that Nicholas will cause if he finds out I work for you.”

Tyson told her, “You let me worry about Nick. I have put that pup in his place more times than I can count, and I will do it again if need be. Consider this a formal job offer. Will you work for Emery Technologies at twice what Nicky was paying you?”

Olivia asked, “You don’t know what Dark Moon paid me. So why would you offer me twice the amount?”

“Because I think you are worth it. You have an eye and talent for capturing nature that was being wasted by Dark Moon,” Tyson explained. “My company makes a point of not only being environmentally friendly but taking an active part in preserving and restoring it. I believe working together would be beneficial for both of us. So, what do you say?”

“I have a counteroffer, and if you accept it, I will work for you.”

“Name it,” Tyson grinned.

“You pay me the same amount I made at Dark Moon.”

“No deal,” Tyson told her flatly.

“What? Why? It is still far more than I should be paid as an entry-level employee for the company. Paying me twice that is insane. I am trying to save you money you don’t need to waste.”

“Olivia, I have a strange practice in my company and with my household staff. I pay each person based on their importance and value to me, my company, and my home as a whole. Many of the employees that other companies consider menial labor make nearly as much as my engineers. That is because no matter how smart my engineers are or how talented my research and development team is, my company would cease to function without all the people considered to be at the bottom of the food chain in the corporate world.”

“And you think I am that important?”

“I do,” Tyson said with a grin. “You will show everything that Emery Technologies represents. Everything that we are trying to protect and restore. People might not know your face or name as well as they know mine or Devon’s, but what you do will be the face and representation of the company. As far as I am concerned, that makes you the most important person on the payroll.”

Olivia sat gazing at Tyson as she took in his words. He had just met her, yet he felt her importance to his company surpassed everyone. All because of the photographs she took. The one thing she loved doing more than anything, the man beside her considered essential to him and his company. She began blinking to clear away the tears that were threatening to fall.

“Olivia? Are you alright?” Devon asked.

“Um, yeah. I’m alright,” Olivia told him. “I have never been told that what I do is important. I honestly never expected to hear that.”

“Well, it is, and so are you,” Tyson told her. “So, will you say yes or break my heart and say no?”

Olivia laughed joyfully, “Yes, I will work for you.”