Dura gave him a disapproving look.
“I know, you raised me better than to leave my dirty things all over the place,” he agreed with her wordless comment.
“What should I tell Mr and Mrs Reiyroris?” Dura wanted to know.
“Tell them I’m away on business, it’s hardly a lie,” he uttered behind his tusks. He had every intention of staying away from the corporate building for a few days, hiring himself a hotel by the beach. Relaxing in the summer sunshine while he worked on turning this terrible business around. What was it called, something silly like Ohlala? The corner of his mouth flickered into a grin, relishing the challenge that lay ahead. Finally, getting to prove his Matriarch wrong. That he could succeed in his business adventures and that he’d make a fine partner to take over Merloft when she was ready to hand over the baton to him.Regardless of whether that was what he wanted from his life or not.
“You’re welcome to three days’ leave, and I expect daily reports,” Dura informed him as he put his hand on the doorknob to depart.
Three days?His eyes widened in the shock of it. Three days to turn an entire business around. A business that had no idea he was even going to turn up on their doorstep and make, most likely, unwanted changes to the way they ran things. Three days were nothing.
“Seven,” he said, without turning around. A week would be ample time to get things underway.
“Four,” Dura relented.
“Six,” Breht pressed the negotiation.
“Five, and I still expect daily reports.”
“Agreed,” he finalised.
There would be no more pushing for additional time after that final agreement, and he left the room with determined confidence. If he couldn’t turn around a profit in that time, then no one could! Already, his mind was afire with how he could change things for the better, what gaps in the market he could tap into and exploit. Soon, Ohpaua would be one of the most successful independent businesses in the region!
He flipped back to one of the photographs—a delicate paua shell necklace, iridescent blues and greens catching the light. He could almost see her hands making it, could almost hear the careful concentration in her silence.
A real challenge. Not some corporate restructuring exercise. Not another test designed to prove his inadequacy.
Something that mattered.
His phone vibrated in his pocket.
He pulled it out. A text notification lit the screen:"I miss you. Rx."
Rosani.
He stared at the message for a moment, then swiped it away. Deleted.
The folder remained open on his lap, Brierley's name visible beneath his fingers.
Chapter 3
Itwasanothergloriouslysunny day filled with hard work, sweat and tears. Brierley's back was aching after leaning over her desk for so many hours, twisting and turning beads into shapes along thin metal wires. After their impromptu pep-talk the previous day, Brierley was glad to get back behind her desk, making bracelets with renewed gusto. Tori had been fussing with one of the displays, trying to make it shine in the brilliant daylight and coming up short as the sun moved across the shop floor.
When Brierley stood up and carried one of her finished pieces over and put it down, her friend gave her a look that told her to drop dead, “Don’t put it there!” Tori shrieked, “It’ll mess up the whole ambience!”
She quickly snaffled the small box up as Tori continued to fuss. A small pair of stud earrings glittered up at her, and she marvelled at their simplicity. They were small, shell shapes made from the vibrant-coloured paua shell, which would sparklein the ears of a beautiful blonde-haired lady. If only that beautiful blonde would walk through the door and whisk them away! They were only a cheap pair, too, so someone would get a bargain.
The familiar jingling of the doorbell caught her attention, and she put on her best and brightest smile for the customer, secretly hoping for blonde and beautiful. Instead, she got broad, green and handsome. Swept back, dark hair. Side shaved scalp. Deep eyes that all her favourite romance stories said you could get lost in. An expertly groomed beard across a strong, chiselled jaw. All matched with a rebellious streak in the form of a septum piercing dangling beneath broad nostrils. Her chest suddenly hurt as her heart skipped a beat. He was a feast for her appreciative eyes, and for the longest moment, she just stared, losing herself in a wistful moment of wishful thinking.
“Good morning,” she finally found her voice. He wasn’t even looking in her direction, but at her wares. That was a good thing, surely? An orc as good-looking as him undoubtedly had a beautiful blonde wife to buy a present for.
“Hi, I’m looking for,” his eyes fell on her for the first time, and she simply gazed up at him, “Brierley!?”
The cadence of his gruff tones didthingsto her. She firmly filed that reaction away for later. The baritone pitch of his voice was so deep and exotic, right until the last.
Did he just speak my name?
Suddenly, she realised he’d spoken her name with every inch of familiarity.
