Her Dragon Lover

Her Dragon Lover - Chapter 4

"What happened?" Ara asked weakly.

"Jo and her boyfriend had bad plans for you. Fortunately, they were apprehended." Emyr summarized the story. He was not telling everything to her.

"I remember drinking some juice and then nothing," she insisted softly.

"You were drugged." He was compelled to tell the truth.

When Ara was sixteen years old, she caught her stepfather mixing powdered drug to her coffee. She did not tell her mother because of her three half-brothers. They might separate if she squealed. She just went away and never came home.

From then on, Ara did not trust anybody to handle her drink or food.

But because she felt guilty, she let her guard down. She drank the orange juice...

And now, Ara was sipping the hot tea prepared by a stranger. A Mrs. Cleeve who worked for Emyr Viceroy. He tasted the tea before offering the cup to her.

She glanced at the man in front of her. She had trusted him instinctively.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine now, sir." Ara felt revitalized when she finished her tea. Her earlier dizziness was gone.

"Are you strong enough to have dinner with me?"

"Dinner? What time is it?"

"It is too late to have lunch so we'll have an early dinner," Emyr murmured gently.

Ara was overwhelmed because Emyr Viceroy was her boss. He was treating her like an equal.

"Sir..."

"During working hours, you can call me 'sir.' But you've not yet begun so call me 'Emyr,' Ara."

"I definitely cannot do that," she said firmly. "You're my boss. Period."

"You're stubborn, Ara. But I like it," Emyr chuckled softly.

Ara flushed pink. There was something intimate at the way he spoke to her. Gently. Softly.

"Are you flirting, sir?" She wanted to know.

"Of course, no."

She breathed easily.

"I was trying to show you that I'm attracted to you, Ara."

Her breathing became constrained again.

"I am going to work for you. Please, do not make it difficult for me," she begged breathlessly. The salary was too attractive for her to let the job go.

"Or else?" Emyr asked while staring at her face.

"I will be forced to resign, sir," she expressed humbly.

There seemed a war happening inside his head. It was several seconds before he decided to retreat.

"Okay. I will not flirt with you anymore. Please, do the job you're here for, Miss Gray," Emyr voiced seriously.

She sighed with relief. "Thank you, sir!"

"Now... will you have dinner with me?"

Ara was momentarily nonplussed.

"I will discuss your duties and I will show you the office you'll be using after dinner," he continued steadily.

"Um, okay..."

"I'm glad you're feeling fine, Miss Gray," Mrs. Cleeve greeted her cheerfully.

"Thank you for the tea, ma'am," Ara replied respectfully.

"Please, call me 'Mrs. Cleeve.' Everyone does!" she giggled happily. "Dinner is ready at the Venice Dining Room, Sir Emyr."

The Venice Dining Room meant like dining al fresco. The small place was surrounded with a thin and man-made stream. They could hear the sound of swiftly flowing water. The sun was setting while they eat pasta and garlic bread.

It was a romantic setting. Candles were burning around the small and round table for two. There was a vase with a red rosebud in it.

Ara was uncomfortable at first but Emyr was true to his word. He did not mention his attraction to her anymore. He discussed her duties as an encoder of a special manuscript.

"The manuscript is special because it is ancient. I don't know if you could read some parts of it properly. Or if you could decipher the words. I just want you to type the words or letters as you see them. Okay?"

"Yes, sir." Ara was eating sparingly.

"Then, as I mentioned earlier, you will submit them to me for re-reading. That should be around five, when I got home from the office. Then, you will enter the typed papers in the specially-built vault." Emyr wiped his mouth with the napkin from his lap. "You can ask any questions, Miss Gray."

"I have no questions, sir." She denied her curiosity.

"Oh, by the way, the word processing you'll be using will be erased by the time you have printed a copy. The ink is also special."

"Maybe, tomorrow. I have some questions about the manuscript, sir."

"Good evening, my friend!" A voice that was as acrimonious as the owner greeted Emyr ingratiatingly.

Ara turned her head to look at the newcomer. She felt an instant antipathy against him but she hid her reaction. She stared blankly at her plate.

"Axis," Emyr inclined his proud head. "You arrived early."

An old man came running after him.

"Sir Emyr, Mr. Griffin insisted on entering the threshold!" He was out of breath.

"It is okay, Old Ponso. Mr. Griffin is here now. I was expecting him to arrive later," Emyr articulated steadily.

Old Ponso was still frowning when he bowed out to his master. "You have need of an extra chair, sir?"

"No, but you can kindly show Miss Gray her office as I shall be busy with Mr. Griffin."

"Miss Gray? I'll introduce myself to you, Miss Gray. The name's Axis. Axis Griffin. How do you do?" Axis bowed before Ara before extending his hand to her.

"Um, how do you do?" Ara glanced at Emyr's dark expression. "Excuse me!" she said hurriedly without taking Axis' extended hand.

She followed Old Ponso without a backward glance.

Old Ponso kept rumbling about a young imbecile who kept on popping up at the mansion and wasting his master's precious time.

Since Ara was not in a position to comment, she kept silent.

The office was spacious. The desk was wide and made of hardwood. The computer and big printer were connected already. There was a vault at the center.

"This vault will go down in its resting place at night. Like now..." Old Ponso seemed counting the seconds. "See? At exactly six o'clock, the vault is locked and under the ground!"

"The office seemed ready for a while, Mr. Ponso," Ara commented curiously. "Everything couldn't have been installed yesterday!"

"Yes. The master had it ready for at least a year but he couldn't find the right person to man it. Now, he has you, Miss Gray!" Old Ponso announced gleefully.