When the Devil Knows Your Name
1133 Words
“And you are…?” Dorian’s calm voice was laced with a hint of danger.
Kyle looked behind, finally noticing the altercation quickly stepped in to mitigate; nothing was going to ruin his day today. “Oh, don’t mind him. That is Jason Smith, our… COO.” He spat the end bitterly.
Dorian nodded and glanced down, noticing Jason’s arm was placed slightly behind him as if protecting the little kitten behind him. Suddenly everything clicked in his head. This man must be her boss and he was in love. A deep knowing smile set on his face and he gave Jason a cursory nod before following Kyle into the meeting room.
***
Jason, always hyper-aware of his surroundings, heard Connie’s small gasp and felt her shift behind him. At that moment, he looked into the elevator and found Dorian’s face light up. Jason felt his muscles tense and a sudden possessive urge overtook him. The moment Dorian tried to sneak a look at Connie, he instinctively stood in front of her to keep her hidden.
The moment they locked eyes, he could sense sparks igniting in the air between them, both dominant personalities refusing to give way. Jason knew who Dorian was and what he was capable of, but that didn’t matter. Connie was his.
When Dorian walked away, a sense of unease hung in the air. Jason felt his hair stand on end and his instincts whispered the premonition of trouble yet he could only mutter two words:
“Let’s go.”
***
After a quick meet and greet. Kyle led the meeting presenting the partnership proposal with enthusiasm. As he finished, many of the senior executives and directors looked impressed while others kept a blank expression, waiting for further development.
Johnson smiled, “Does anyone else have any questions or comments?”
Kyle raised his brow at one of the executives and he coughed, “I think the proposal is well thought out. Since we have all the parties present, why don’t we put it to a vote to pass?”
A small murmur broke the silence.
“Shouldn’t we think about it some more?”
“Why are we deciding something so important so quickly? What’s the rush?”
“Why wait when it’s a good thing? We ought to move quickly before Brown Inc. finds another partner.”
Jason sat quietly and made a mental note of all the people who spoke in favor of the proposal. Either they were incompetent or kept a snug position in Kyle’s pocket. Whatever the reason, they would be weeded out in good time.
“Let’s discuss this internally. I would hate to waste Mr. Brown’s time sitting around listening to our debate.” Johnson spoke authoritatively, immediately shutting down the current discourse.
Dorian smiled, “Certainly. It has been a pleasure meeting you all and I do hope we can come to an agreement in the near future.”
Like a snake, Dorian had been watching Johnson’s expression from the start of the meeting, he knew Johnson didn’t want anything to do with Brown Inc. If anyone dug hard enough, they would know Dorian’s ties with the underworld, it wasn’t a huge secret and he understood the stigma behind it. Still, Brown Inc. was a legitimate company, at least for now, so even if Kensington Corporation were to partner with his company, they would not suffer in the near term. It could be a symbiotic relationship… but that was not Dorian’s style. Like his underworld dealings, he liked to swallow his opponents whole and slowly dissolve them. The general public did not know of this though. He had to plan everything and strike everyone at once so no one could escape his grasp. It didn’t matter if Kensington Corporation signed the partnership agreement or not, once Brown Inc. absorbed enough companies, it would be able to stand on its own against Kensington.
“Well then, let me have someone see you down…”
Dorian shook his head, “No need, that secretary right there will do just fine.” He gestured at Connie who sat wide-eyed next to Jason.
Before Jason could speak Kyle laughed good-naturedly, “Of course! You,” he pointed at Connie dismissively, “it’s an honor for you to escort our esteemed guest. Why are you dallying?”
Connie took a shaky breath and nodded weakly, “Yes, sir.” The way Dorian looked at her, made her think of a snake licking her with its forked tongue, she couldn’t help but shudder. Standing up she felt a tug on her hand and looked down, baffled to see Jason’s hand holding her wrist.
“Who are you to order my personal assistant around?” Jason gazed cooly at Kyle, not letting the latter preserve any dignity in front of the guests.
Kyle's face flushed with anger, “Don’t be rude, Jason! Our guest made a minor request, it’s not like we’re sending her into his bed.”
Connie’s face flushed at the disparaging comment and she lowered her head, feeling the eyes of many people point at her. She hated this kind of attention. If the ground could only open up and swallow her right now…
It was Jason who saved her once again. “I will escort Mr. Brown down myself. I have some other things to discuss, if I may?” Jason made eye contact with Dorian and again they had a silent standoff.
Dorian grinned, “I’d be delighted.”
The two men stood at the same time and started walking. Connie didn’t know where to go so she followed Jason meekly. Jason noticed how close she stuck to him and his lips tugged upwards ever so slightly.
When Connie pulled forward from the group to push the down button for the elevator she heard the melodic baritone voice behind her.
“Go to the office and prepare the paperwork for my next meeting.”
Connie frowned slightly, there wasn’t another meeting today. She turned and met Jason’s warm gaze then realized he was sending her away. She gave him a grateful smile. “Yes, sir,” and mouthed a ‘thank you’. Hitting the up button they stood together for what seemed like forever, waiting for the elevators.
Finally, the one going down came first.
As everyone loaded into the elevator, Dorian stepped in last and turned to smile at Connie, “We always seem to nearly miss each other. Next time, I hope we spend more time together, Ms. Tran.”
Connie’s eyes grew wide as the elevator door closed on Dorian’s smiling face.
Connie placed a hand on the metal name tag pinned to her chest and grimaced. It was never a good thing for the devil to know your name.
- Writer
