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“I need you to be the boss with this, and you’ll have to cut off other clients who aren’t demons. It’s too complicated, and we know that they’ll use you now to try and get to us and…” I sighed when I felt his desires, sitting back in my chair with a huff. “It’s already happening, right? Who already threatened you or tried to pull shit?”
“Several,” he drawled. “Plus, people are just stupid, and any sort of anyone good with computers or manipulating information, they all assume we do the same everything. I’ve been getting calls and demands to just hack you guys and shut you down like it’s a fucking light switch to turn off. That’s not even my fucking gig. I’m good at manipulating bureaucracies and exploiting cracks in paper trails.”
“I can get you and your team out today and someplace safe,” I told him easily. “That’s not a problem.”
“You can just pull a safe house out of your ass?” he drawled.
Mason burst out laughing before coming over and giving me a hug, kissing my hair. “Sorry, sorry. I know it’s not funny, but it is a concern most people would have, and you have the other problem.”
“Some things fell through the cracks when we were acquiring clubs, and apparently we have over five hundred properties no one was properly taking care of,” I explained to Tracey. “And we’re not sure on that number. The legal department is going over all of the past contracts and—it’s another headache.”
“Sooo, I might be able to help with that,” Tracey admitted, nodding when I simply raised an eyebrow. “One of the people calling for information is a group of twenty demons that’s basically a pack with a leader. I’ve done a lot of work for the leader getting them IDs and such.”
“Okay, how does that help us?”
“They’re contractors,” Mason muttered.
“Do you read minds?” Tracey asked him, not snark and a bit too much curiosity.
“No, just auras a bit,” Mason mumbled, before going back over to his system.
Luckily, Tracey backed off.
“The problem bringing in people we don’t know is people would take advantage of the situation we’re in,” I reminded Tracey. “People screw us over when they see us distracted, try and get information to sell—locations of where we’re stashing important people. All of it.”
“Not this crew. Not the leader. He’s got a good group and runs a tight ship,” Tracey promised. “I don’t help assholes and bad people. You know that.”
“Right, but you also have previous customers threatening you and trying to force you to hack us now,” I reminded him, trying not to have an accusation in my voice.
“Fair, but we both know that people don’t stay nice either. It’s not my fault that a young pup I helped twenty years ago became a huge asshole that I won’t help anymore. Or that someone gave my number out.”
Both points were totally valid and I said as much.
I told Tracey to pack up his people and get ready to move along with a list of demons he would trust to bring in like the contractor guy while I handled things at corporate with the ancients. He couldn’t hide his shock, but Mason told him that I wasn’t kidding, and this was really how fast things moved because there was so much to do. So if he wasn’t ready to go, he had to tell me now.
No, he wanted the help now and knew the place might just be temporary. He just asked it wasn’t in the US and had great internet.
Yeah, we could handle that.
Elijah was actually walking out of the conference room in my department with Lewis and someone I didn’t recognize when I arrived to speak to Lewis first. I raised an eyebrow at that and simply pointed between the two of them before sighing.
“There’s been a development, and Lewis has been working overtime with others to help since you’re not on a current case,” Elijah explained.
“The properties,” I sighed, knowing that Lewis was all over that and had jumped on what Kiera had set all up. “I have something to discuss with you on that and something else. Your director’s idea.”
“Right, let’s step back inside,” Elijah said to the man with him, waving me to join them. “If you can get everything to transfer and who you can spare for his team, Lewis.”
“You’re taking people from my team for something?” I hedged, an edge to my tone.
Oddly enough, Lewis took the question. “We have several that are ready for promotions. They’re overqualified for their positions and honestly, it’s been a bit rough on them that they’ve not been promoted when they’ve done such a good job. But we’ve not had anywheretoput them. Now we can, and I can very easily boss around a lot of newbies to help you on cases and do my job. I enjoy it even.”
“Sorry,” I sighed. “They know it’s not because I don’t value them, right?”
He reached over and patted my arm. “Everyone knows you value them and would go to the mat for them, Jasmine. We all know that. Always. The safety and great pay were always worth more than a better title or promotion. We also know there’s a cap at the company because the top spots aren’t ever going to change. They’re fine, but it’s time to move our people up instead of bringing in new for those positions.”
That was completely fair and I was glad for it.
I went in first and waited for Elijah to introduce us.
