Crazy Seduction(erotica)

Henry arrived at work at almost thirty past the hour and saw Roy standing in the lobby. The big redhead gave him a raised eyebrow. Henry aimed a self-conscious smile his way, then paused before walking over to the man.

“Good morning, Henry. Is everything okay?”

“Good morning, Roy. I think I need to have a talk with you, Camila, and Sigrid,” Henry responded.

“Can it wait until after our 9:30 executive meeting? I was sent upstairs to collect you,” Roy said.

Henry’s expression dropped. “Shit! Sorry! It completely slipped my mind. Let’s go.”

The two men took the elevator to the basement level and entered the boardroom just as Camila was about to begin.

“Take your seats, please.”

Henry hustled around the table and took his seat between Frank Caprelli, the Head of Operations, and Rosalind Wingham, the Head of Marketing. He said a silent sorry to both and got smiles in return.

Roy paused to whisper something in Camila’s ear, and she nodded. Then Roy froze before stiffly walking over to his seat.

To Henry’s gaze, Camila looked just a little tense. He saw a curious expression on Sigrid’s face as well.

When he looked to Mahati, the woman was staring at him and jolted a little when their eyes locked. She quickly looked away. Her dark complexion reddening further. He raised a curious eyebrow, but she refused to look back at him.

“Now that we’re finally all here let’s get started,” Camila began. “I have a special announcement before we get into the minutes of the last meeting. You may have seen our special guests in the office yesterday. We had the Directors of the NSA, the FBI, and the CIA with their Senior Technical Advisors in to review a new firewall application Henry wrote for them.”

“We’re going into the software business?” Frank asked.

“No, just easing the avarice these agencies have for VRL’s firewall. If we give them their own, then they’ll leave us alone,” Camila explained.

Rosalind’s eyes lit up. “Can we use this relationship in our marketing materials?” she asked eagerly.

Roy rolled his eyes as Rosalind received a nod from Camila. The CEO had ensured that right in her negotiations. She looked back to Frank. “I’m not ruling out that we won’t find additional clients for the firewall application. Unless these government agencies want exclusivity. They’ll have to pay for that and pay dearly.

“How are we tracking the income for this new product?” Eve asked. A natural question coming from their CFO.

Camila smiled. “If the initial consumers don’t want to pay for exclusivity, the application becomes a product of VRL with a service contract component. If they want exclusivity, it’s just a service for these clients with a service contract component. I’ll send you the details once the deal is finalized.”

She turned her eyes to Henry. “I received an email from the Director of the NSA, Wallace Granger. He’s asking for you to make a presentation to key members of the Network Security teams for the NSA, CIA, FBI, and a potential new customer, Homeland Security, at their headquarters in Washington. They’d like you to do the onsite training and the initial install. They’re willing to pay handsomely for the privilege.”

Henry made a choking sound. “It’s a seven-minute install process. Training them how to manage the configuration interface only takes another thirty. The Director did it himself! He could demo it for these people!”

“Hey, for an all-expense-paid trip to the nation’s capital, teach me how to do the install, and I’ll take your place!” Akshay Bhatt, their compliance manager, joked.

Henry gave him a grin and a thumbs-up, then pointed to Akshay while he smiled at Camila. She just shook her head with a grin.

“Sorry, Henry. The Directors met you and won’t be fooled by a substitute.”

Henry pouted. “When do they need this done?”

“Could you be available to fly there Thursday morning? You’d fly back that night. The presentation is scheduled for the morning, and they’ll want to take you to lunch afterward. Probably to try to convince you to leave VRL and work for them.”

There was a burst of protest from a number of the other execs, none louder than Eve.

Henry smiled at them as he held his hands up to settle them. “There’s nothing they can offer me that compares to working with you guys. I have no desire to leave VRL!” he assured them.

“It sounds like you could name your price, and they’d pay it,” Frank insisted, still a little disturbed.

“But they wouldn’t have you, Frank. Or Rosalind, Eve, Myron, Noah, Akshay, Roy, Mahati, Sigrid, or Camila. Or all the amazing people who work in your departments that I get to support. It may sound sappy, but I think of all of you as my family. Money is nice, but it doesn’t replace family.”

Rosalind made a sweet noise and stood up next to Henry with her arms out. He blinked in surprise, then stood as well and gave her a warm hug.

Frank jumped up next and gave him a hug too.

Henry looked over at Camila in embarrassment for making such a scene, but she gave him a sweet smile.

They retook their seats, and Henry had another question for Camila. “I’m not going by myself, right? You’re going along to work on the contract, yes?”

“You’re not going alone, but it won’t be me accompanying you. This is Washington, DC. We’re sending you to the capital with legal representation. Mahati will ensure everyone plays nice.”

All eyes turned to Mahati, who squirmed under their attention. Then she saw Henry’s relieved and happy expression, and an odd heat bloomed in her chest. She nodded to the others and widened her eyes at Camila, who took the hint.

“Let’s get back to the business at hand.” She took control of the meeting, and they moved on to the mundane day to day items. Henry practiced his skill of staying awake.

Once they finished the executive meeting, Camila asked Henry to stay behind with Roy, Sigrid, and Mahati to discuss the trip to Washington. The rest stood, and Eve strode purposefully around the table with her eyes on Henry and a smile on her lips. The other execs paused to watch curiously. As she got closer, she gestured for Henry to stand, and everyone smiled as they caught on. She pulled him into a hug, and he wrapped his arms around her.

Once Eve released him, Myron and Noah shook his hand, but Akshay wanted a hug. He got one, then they all made their way to the exit. The door closed, and the seal went in place. Camila grinned at Henry.

“I thought the meeting was going to collapse into a group hug session,” she said with a grin.

“You’re injured, and I scented a Were did it. What happened,” Roy rumbled.

Everyone else looked between the two with surprise on their faces.

Camila looked over at Roy and controlled her expression. “Roy, you need to promise me you will remain calm.”

Roy’s face gave nothing away, but he nodded stiffly.Content rights belong to NôvelDrama.Org.

“When Walter Zhao died, the news that VRL no longer has external counsel was released, and several agencies contacted me to let me know they were available. One of them was Carl de Bellisle’s law firm.”

Roy snarled and rose out of his chair but stopped and sat once again.

Camila watched him until he nodded. She nodded as well. “I listened to him and let him know we were already pursuing other options.” She gestured to Mahati.

“Last night I had a business dinner with Carl–”

“Where?” Roy asked tensely.

Camila sighed. “Yes, he was here in New York. I wanted to hear his latest pitch so I could get a handle on what he was up to.”

“THE BASTARD IS AFTER A TERRITORY GRAB!” Roy snapped.

“ROY!” Camila snapped in return.

The big man was struggling to remain calm.

“I’m worried about your ability to keep your shit together in your new state. Can you lead?” Camila said, point-blank.

Roy’s head snapped back as if she’d slapped him. His eyes widened then narrowed as a deep rumble began.

“Roy?” Henry spoke, and the effect on the big redhead was immediate.

He froze, and his expression of rage drained away instantly. He went silent, and his eyes turned to Henry.

“Are you okay?” Henry asked quietly.

Roy shuddered as he shook loose from the grip of the red fog creeping over his senses. He sighed and nodded stiffly. “Yes.” He glanced at Camila. “My apologies for giving in to my anger. Carl and I have history, and he’s always dangerous to those around him. His obsession for expanding his territory puts his pack at undue risk, and those his pack supports suffer for it.” He faced Camila fully. “He injured you. You went to a public place for this dinner meeting, and he became violent?”

Camila nodded.

Roy shuddered and took a deep breath. “He’s making a play for Manhattan.”