17. Valentina

17

VALENTINA

N erves bash around my insides as I pace across the dark stone lobby of Hearth HQ. The friendly minotaur security guard smiles at me and nods, big, powerful horns dipping respectfully.

He doesn’t know I have my huge presentation today, but it feels like he’s giving me a little boost when he smiles and examines my briefcase and storage tube. I almost hiss at him to be careful when he pokes around at my mockups. I hold my tongue, though.

The bond in my chest warms and glows with confidence. Alé and Pietro fill me with love from the inside out, and that love pushes some of the nerves away. I wish they could be with me for the presentation, but I’d already asked Evenia to do this privately. If I know anything about my prickly boss, it’s that surprising her with Grand Portal Station in a room full of our coworkers would not go well.

Once the security guard’s done with his investigation of my things, I cross to the elevators and step through a sparkly blue surface to detect any spells or potions. It’s something Evenia’s always insisted on. She allows no magic inside Hearth HQ aside from the building being alive like they all are.

That done, I rush to the elevator and ride it to the top floor where her office is, examining myself in the shiny interior paneling. Kohl lines my eyes, darkening them and lending me a somewhat vicious air. I’ve pulled my long waves high onto my head in a tight, efficient bun. I dressed in a fitted gray skirt and vest with a matching collared shirt that dips low, showing my family tattoos.

Evenia loves a strong look, and I’m counting on that to get me off to a good start.

When the elevator doors open into a shiny black waiting room, I wear a confident smile. Heels clacking on the stone floor, I cross a sumptuously decorated midnight lobby to a desk where Evenia’s executive assistant sits.

“Hello, Aberen,” I croon to the handsome vampire seated there. “I’m here for my ten a.m. presentation.”

The elegant, ancient vampire, who’s also one of Evenia’s two mates, dips his head at me. “I’ll let her know you’re here. Have a seat, please; we’re running a few minutes behind.”

No the fuck she’s not, I want to scream. It’s a power play. She always lets me stew for a solid ten minutes before she allows me into her office. I’ve been her direct report for almost two hundred years. I’m well aware of her tactics.

Instead, I smile and nod, then turn and cross the lobby. I drop into one of the tufted black velvet chairs and set my bag and tube next to me.

Half a fucking hour later, Evenia’s office doors swing open, and she steps gracefully out, giving me a hard once-over. Her other mate, Betmal, steps out with a sour look on his face and a stack of paperwork tucked under one arm.

He doesn’t say a word to her or Aberen as he lifts his chin and heads for the door. I know better than to even look his direction or act like something’s wrong. But the air smells irritated and sour as she waves for me to enter her office.

When I do, she slams the door behind us. Ominous worry fills me. If she was arguing with her mate prior to this meeting, we might not get off to a good start.

“Evenia,” I begin, “we can do this another time if?—”

“Did I say it was a bad time?” she snaps, waving at the empty office. Like outside, everything is dark and elegant. Plush black rug, black velvet drapes, even her desk is glossy black wood, inlaid with her family crest.

There’s no good answer to her question, so I don’t answer it, assuming it’s more rhetorical than anything. I set my bag down on an inky velvet chair in front of her desk, withdrawing my proposal book, my art stand, and a pen and blank notebook for any feedback.

She rounds the desk and sits, crossing one leg slowly over the other with her eyes narrowed. I won’t let her ruffle me and fuck this up, so I quickly set up the stand and attach my illustrated mockups to the top. They’re in order. I’m ready for anything she throws at me.

I send love to my mates, and then I shut down any focus on the bond while I do this. I need this to work—for them, for me, for all the monsters this is a pain point for now.

Leaning forward, I slide my proposal notebook across the shiny desk to Evenia. Nodding at it, I meet her gaze. “Within my proposal, you’ll find all the information you asked for, including a layout of the suggested area for the new haven, as well as all the schematics of the main living area. I’ve aggregated feedback from our top six performing havens in terms of growth and happiness. It’s all there. For today, I thought it might be easier to walk through mockups of Tesoro, a name voted on systemwide by our constituents. But if you’d prefer to walk through the proposal itself, we can do that too.”

She eyes the proposal book but doesn’t reach for it. Instead she brings a finger to her chin as her gaze flicks to the mockups. “Start there. I’ll tell you if we need to pivot.”

“Excellent,” I croon, stepping to the mockup.

The cover art is beautiful and took me ages.

“Welcome to Tesoro,” I say confidently, “the haven system’s newest addition.”

For the next hour, I walk her through every mockup. They detail everything from access to the haven for any humans called by Tesoro’s yet-to-be-determined magical artifact, to the school system, to the design of the downtown and separate areas for different types of monsters.

Evenia says next to nothing until I reach the final page, a gorgeous illustration of a statue featuring Evenia and her mates. Her eyes flash when I get to that. Worry fills me, based on the look on Betmal’s face when he left her office. But, if anything, her gaze softens slightly.

“Laying it on a little thick, aren’t you?” Her tone is brusque, but I sense a tender undercurrent.

“Well,” I shrug as I smile, “in our network of over fifty havens, there’s not a single building or statue dedicated to the architect of our system. I don’t believe you’ve ever asked for one, but I thought it might be time for us to show you our appreciation for the home you created for us.”

That’s only partially true. I took Betmal to lunch last week and asked him how to nail this presentation. The statue was his idea.

She rises and rounds the desk, staring at the statue. “I hate this outfit,” she barks. “We’ll have to find something else that makes me look less sensual and more…powerful.” Red eyes flick to mine. “I trust that won’t be an issue.”

“It can be anything you want,” I confirm. Shooting her a wink, I laugh. “Admittedly, I picked this outfit because I’m always jealous when you wear it. It makes your ass look great.”

Nobody else could get away with this level of sass. Nobody. But I’ve learned when and how I can push her.

She snorts and crosses her arms, leaning against the desk. Her smile is thin, but it’s there. “Obviously, I haven’t read the formal report, but this is very promising, Valentina. Well done.”

Pride fills me, and I inadvertently push it to my mates, who cautiously send their love back. I resist the urge to rub at my chest. It’s too early to celebrate.

“There’s actually something more,” I admit, “something that’s been a passion project of mine that I’d love for you to consider.”

She cocks her head to the side, looking precisely like the predator she is. “Oh, Little Dove?”

Before I can lose my nerve, I pull a second stack of mockups from the storage tube. Tacking them over the first series, I resist the urge to see what expression she wears.

I run my fingers over the blank page on top, focusing on Evenia. “One thing I heard consistently in my research, and that we’ve heard in every survey we’ve sent about the haven system, is that inter-haven travel is a challenge.”

“We can’t fix that,” Evenia says in a tone that brooks no challenge. “It’s necessary for the safety of the system.”

“I’ve got a unique proposal for that,” I counter, lifting the first page.

Evenia’s eyes narrow at the illustration, but I barrel on, determined to show her what my idea consists of.

“This is Grand Portal Station.” I point to an illustrated great room with glowing green portal doors around the entire perimeter of the oval. Glancing at her, I force a smile. “We’ve talked about ideas like this several times, but we were never willing to risk placing something like this in any singular haven. However, there’s a giant old building at the Protector Academy. They’ve been wondering what to do with it. My proposal is to create a haven within that building.”

I flip to the next page as Evenia cocks her head to the side, eyes roving over the paper. “I’ve confirmed, from a security standpoint, this could work. Grand Portal Station haven would be surrounded by all the best protectors from our system—twenty-four hours a day of guards. Not to mention, we could easily create a failsafe to move the station haven into a prison cell if it’s ever attacked. And since it would never be exposed to the human world, it would be at far less risk of being attacked by thralls or any of the monsters choosing to live in the human world.”

Evenia points to the drawing of the building. “Talk to me about accessing this haven. How would that work?”

I’ve got her. Fuck. I think I’ve actually got her.

Forty minutes later, she sags against her desk, eyeing me with a surprised, thoughtful expression. “Gods above, Valentina,” she murmurs. “This might actually work.”