Chapter 3

THE BITTER TASTE OF SUCCESS

Veranda, Rogue Rider Mansion, Beverly Hills, California, United States

The fact that Dwayne Stone didn’t want any witnesses for his conversation with Gen didn’t bother her. For one, before Amanda stomped off with Jack and Sully, she admitted that she had the entire Rogue Rider Mansion bugged and would know what he said. Gen had laughed at this, but Dwayne didn’t, probably knowing that it was true and worried about what the house manager had overheard.

When they were alone, Dwayne turned to face Gen directly—staring down at her with obvious disdain. She didn’t know exactly what his problem was, but she sensed his hostility for her ran deep. At some point, the pair needed to have a real heart-to-heart to find out why he couldn’t stand her from the very beginning. For now, she was simply going to try and survive his wrath.

“Your exam,” Dwayne began, his beady, dark eyes narrowed on Gen. “You passed.”

She let out the breath she’d been holding, feigning relief. In truth, she knew that she had since Amanda found the answer key and filled in the test for her, only missing enough questions to look legitimate. Gen didn’t believe in cheating, but she also knew that Dwayne wasn’t playing fair. He kept changing the rules, putting more obstacles in her way to stop her from completing training. Oh, and also, she needed to stop a bank heist and had to use taking the test as an alibi.

Gen sighed. “Well, that’s good news. I really studied and actually learned quite a lot. The assignment turned out to be very helpful, teaching?—”

“I don’t care,” he cut in.

She gave him a look of confusion. “But sir, wasn’t the objective to educate me? And since the assignment, you’ve started requiring the other Rogue Riders to learn certain curricula.”

He shook his head. “That’s because they are a bunch of imbeciles who screw up half the cases they are assigned. Under Sophia’s leadership, they’ve all gone soft, not putting in enough effort. I’ve decided that if they have so much time to lounge around here, then they’ll spend the energy learning. My hopes are they decide to get out in the field instead, using their fists over their brains.”

“Interesting strategy….” Gen averted her eyes, trying to hide her disapproval of such a method. If anything, Amanda was right and the Rogue Riders were simply following their leader. He had no respect for anyone and so they didn’t either. There was either too much direction on cases or not enough. It was only self-directed riders like Jack and Sully who made much progress, keeping criminals in check. The others were still as out of control as they were when Sophia was their leader, but differently so.

“I don’t know how you managed to pass such a complex exam after only a short period of studying,” Dwayne continued bitterly.

“But you’re glad that I did, right, sir?” Gen dared to ask.

He flexed his jaw, looking on the verge of exploding. Instead, he shook his head. “There were some strange events on the night of your exam that reeked of your involvement. Someone resembling you was seen in a place of interest.”

“Where?” Gen asked, pretending to be surprised.

“It doesn’t matter,” Dwayne hissed, shaking his head. “I’m simply going to ensure that your next training exercise keeps you busy and for an extended amount of time.”

“But, sir, you’ve already assigned me six hundred training hours and thousands of magical creatures to catalog,” Gen argued.

“Yes, and as we’ve seen, you find ways to shortcut those tasks,” he replied.

Gen couldn’t argue with this. Jack and Sully reported that Gen was shadowing them most days, even if she wasn’t, knocking out those hours. And thanks to Bermuda Laurens, the magical creature expert, Gen had already observed fifteen hundred animals. When Dwayne found that out, he assigned her another fifteen hundred magical creatures to observe.

“This time, I’m going to help you fill in your giant gap of knowledge on technology,” Dwayne began with a sly grin that looked all wrong on his face, like a deadly snake smiling. “I’ve set up for you to intern at an advanced special effects studio in Hollywood.”

Gen blinked at him in confusion. “Special effects? What exactly does that mean?”

The evil delight in his eyes spread over his face. “That’s exactly why this assignment is important. You want to be out there managing criminals but you don’t even know how to use a phone. Your stupidity about the modern world is a hindrance that’s going to get you killed and cause more problems for me.”

“I wouldn’t want that, sir,” Gen muttered dully.

He ignored her, continuing. “This advanced special effects studio creates graphics and computer-generated imagery.”

“You mean they make the visuals on television that aren’t real?” Gen asked, realizing how complex this assignment was going to be.

He nodded. “Yes, genius. You’re going to be required to learn about all the complex cutting-edge technology that this studio offers.”

“Wouldn’t it be best to start me with something simpler?” Gen countered. “Like how a phone works?”

“No,” he spat at once. “You can figure that stuff out on your own. You seem to try to make quick work of everything I assign you, so this time, I’m going to ensure that it requires your full attention and attendance.”

She caught the glint in his eyes and thought he probably knew that she wasn’t actually fulfilling all her shadowing hours in person. Gen didn’t want to get Jack and Sully in trouble, so she decided not to argue it.

“What do you want me to do?” Gen asked, swallowing down her pride.

“You’ll start an internship at MystTech Creations where you’ll have to report to a supervisor who doesn’t care that you’re a Beaufont,” he explained. “You’ll be required to complete forty hours and only when you’ve fulfilled their objectives will you be done.”

“And then I’ll be done with training and assigned a case, sir?” Gen asked, hope in her voice.

He shook his head. “Then, we will see what else you need to learn.”

Gen worked to keep the irritation off her face. She simply nodded, knowing that she’d continue to work cases behind Dwayne’s back. Currently, her and Emperor’s main goal was investigating Charlie Sloane and finding out what the corrupt Commissioner of Los Angeles was up to and why.

“Okay, sir,” Gen said, injecting enthusiasm into her voice, knowing that would only piss Dwayne off more.

“Now, get out of my sight,” Dwayne said, glaring at the breakfast buffet, his anger flaring. “And tell Amanda to stop making such lavish meals for you. They are wasteful and you’re not worth the effort.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Gen said, wishing that she wasn’t being given special treatment but grateful for it. And right then, she was pretty pleased to see how it irritated Dwayne. Now, she just had to ace this new internship and give him no reason not to put her in the field, working a case.