Targu Province - Kerrigan's POV
Kerrigan stormed her way through the temple complex. "What the hell does that blasphemer want with Celia anyway? If she doesn't choose him, he will never be able to do anything more than wear the medallion."
A deep growling male voice retorted 'He is a coward who seeks power. He falsely thinks possession grants the wielder power and might. He does not understand the true meaning of the power Celia grants to those she has blessed."
"And what of you, are you of a mind to agree with him when it comes to removing whoever is in possession of the pendant and returning it to the temple?" Kerrigan demanded.
A long pause greeted her thoughts, 'I am of a mind to retrieve Celia and return her to the temple to find a worthy Deinmaar Kendov to guard her. Zadok is not a true Dovari, but his ambition may be used in this instance."
"What if Celia has chosen?"
'Unlikely from what I sensed. Her power was muted and dull, and we have not detected any indication that someone is receiving her blessing to any great effect. She may simply be manipulating events with nudges. We should return to Jinstain soon and continue to track. If Celia can be recovered, it would do much to restore faith in the temple and Dragon Corporation. It is wrong to leave her so vulnerable.'
"Then I guess we are going back to Jinstain. The Prima likely is not going to be thrilled that I am leaving again so soon."
'The Dragon Corp expansion is enough reason for now. Besides, last time we were there, we heard some interesting rumors about spices. Perhaps we should seek out their source. After all most are not willing to name things after me or Celia without our direct blessing. I want to know if that spice is worthy to carry my name.'
"I see, so you are just worried about your own ego. Worried the people have lost a sense of your personality?" Kerrigan quipped.
'If it is worthy, then perhaps we can bring it here to Velyki to remind these soft monks what my wrath truly means. Show them I still have teeth.'
Kerrigan laughed at the image of monks sampling some of the rumored Abrasax's Wrath and writhing on the ground from it. "Might make for an interesting experiment indeed. But Zadok wants me to meet with the Benedict heir again. Will you be with me this time if he tries to make a move?"
'I am awake now. I will guard you as you guard me. But we must find the Dovari this time. You will be safer surrounded by loyal Dovari.'
"That would be great Abrasax, but we are still not even 100% sure where Celia is. How am I to find Dovari who are actively trying to hide from us thanks to Zadok and his purge?" Kerrigan queried.
'They will seek Celia too. Find her, and you will find them.'
"Great, more cryptic nonsense."
'The wings of Celia hint worked out,' Abrasax chuckled.
Conor's POV Jinstain
Conor dressed in his Jackson's uniform shirt and prepared to head out when a gentle purr greeted him from the bed.
"You are still going to work at Jackson's?" Anna asked from beneath the sheets. "We have things in hand here, you shouldn't have to labor like that anymore."
"The exercise is good for me, and for now call it a cover. People love to underestimate someone doing such work. For me, it continues to be an opportunity to meet new people and to view them in a unique light. How they treat the floor staff and other personnel tells me a lot about if I want to be in business with that kind of person."
Anna looked at him and slinked from the bed. Conor had to swallow hard as she passed him. "You missed a button," she smirked as she headed for the shower.
Conor watched her naked figure, admiring the sway of her hips as she disappeared into the bathroom before checking himself again and heading to Jackson's.
The morning started routinely enough, but shortly before noon Conor heard several of the sales team discussing bigwigs coming for a meeting with Mr. Matthews. After the dust settled, Conor was about to clock out for the day when he saw Mr. Matthews rubbing his neck as he watched the executives leave.
"Everything all right?"
"Hey, Conor. For you, yes everything is peachy. For those of us who own a franchise? Eh. We survive." He shrugged.
"I have been in the business ownership side, so if you need to vent, I likely can track better than some of the others."
"Ah yes, I remember reading about your little experiment in the mall a few years back. Ah well. All good things come to an end. Under Mr. Jackson, this was a great franchise. However, after he died, the company went public. It was fine for a few years, but it seems the Benedict Corporation is trying to get their fingers in every pie they can. They now own 20% of the whole thing, making them the single largest shareholder. The next closest is maybe Dragon Corporation with around 10% and then there is a gentleman based out of the capital with stores all up into Targu Province, but I think he only owns less than 5%."
"I had no idea the Benedicts were interested in furniture?" Conor scratched his chin as he considered the implications.
"I think they simply want to own, or at least control, the whole damn kingdom. In the last few years, they have been snapping up everything they can get their hands on. Most wouldn't care, except now they are being sharks about it, and trying to buy out the most indebted franchise owners to get their preferred voting shares for pennies on the dollar. They are offering long-term payouts so they don't have to have the cash upfront to control the same number of shares."
Conor was stunned. If they did that, they could seriously hurt hundreds of people if they later declared bankruptcy or restructured, effectively rendering any payout null and void with the old company. "Is there no way to fight them?"
"Not unless you are Dragon Corp, and even then, I am not sure they have the capital to do anything. But their focus has always been on the west, in Targu province and the Capital."
"Would your store be viable as an independent store?" Conor inquired, that familiar tug nagging at him.
"Sure. There is nothing in our product line that I can't order. The name helps some with advertising, but honestly, I can't afford to buy out the other half of the ownership from that Harden fellow. His Harden Corporations is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Benedict Group these days."
"So, all you really need is a backer who could afford the other 50% of your one store?"
"Kid if you knew someone like that, there are likely another fifty franchise owners across the kingdom that I am friends with who would sign tomorrow. But that is about a 750,000 dragon investment per store! Most businessmen don't have that kind of capital right now as liquid asset."
Conor rubbed his chin, "Have you reached out to any investors, like Dreadnaught investment, or Vokrizin to see if they might be interested in being a silent partner?"
"Vokrizin? I don't know much about them. And I doubt Dreadnaught would consider something a small as this business. I don't know."
"You never know unless you ask them. I understand Vokrizin is looking for profitable ventures. If you brought their senior acquisition staff a proposal, they could likely at least get your offer considered."
"Thanks for thinking about it, Conor. I might just do that. It's a lot to consider"
***
Conor arrived at the Spice Emporium just a few minutes before Cara and Peter. "Well, you two look pleased with yourselves. What's going on?"
Conor watched as Cara's whole face lit up as she gazed up at Peter. "Peter has asked me to go with him on a trip to Targu Province."
"Targu? What are you doing there?"
"I have an opportunity to visit the temple of Abrasax, and there are some amazing spots to take photos out there. It will be a good opportunity to expand AperturePhoto and see what else we can add to the brand."
"Just be aware of your surroundings. Things seem off about the temple."
"Off?" Peter asked.
"Enough so that my lawyer, Mr. Nuri would like to speak to your uncle, Cara. Possibly on a consultation basis," Conor explained.
"My uncle Eli? That bad huh?"
"Eli? Your uncle's name is Eli? I don't think I ever actually knew that. Did he work at the temple of Celia?"
"I think so. Why? That would have been over 25 years ago, before the war with Serret. After that he moved around a lot," Cara explained.
"Just a hunch. If you can, get in touch with him before you leave. Peter, you have Mr. Nuri's contact info."
"Yeah, no problem."
"When do you leave?"
Cara blushed, gripping Peter's hand tightly before saying, "I turned in my notice with Grizlhut. We leave in the morning."
"You are coming back right?" Conor gave Peter a hard glare.
"I promise I will take care of Cara and bring her back in one piece," Peter grinned.
"Well, just be careful. That new prima out there seems to be a real piece of work."
"I will see what I can find out about that," Peter winked before leading Cara away, hand in hand.
A few minutes later, a familiar scent of apple blossom and cinnamon drifted to Conor. When he glanced up, Kerrigan Lokir was standing before his table. Conor took a subconscious step back.
"Miss Lokir! What brings you down here?" he asked hesitantly.
"I hear around town that this shop seems to have some amazing spices. Targu Province tends to be lacking in flavor at times. Some of our chefs only know how to make bland food or very spicy," Kerrigan said as she glances across the salsas.
Conor smiled cautiously, "I think I might be able to find something for you. We are calling this 'Spice of Life', and it can be added to most foods." Conor pointed to several samples that contained the spice.
Kerrigan sampled a few, and with each bite, her eyes lit up, "You have indeed found something amazing. Do you think the shop owner would be interested in partnering with a shop near Velyki so we can get this more often back home?"
"Oh, I believe Mr. Arroz would be thrilled to assist Dragon Corporation," Conor said with a knowing grin as he went to retrieve Mr. Arroz. Even if he didn't want direct dealings with Targu, there was no reason to deprive Mr. Arroz of such a profitable connection!
After a few minutes of playful negotiations, Mr. Arroz bowed to Kerrigan, "It will be my honor to ship these to your local shop. I look forward to doing business with you in the future."
When Mr. Arroz had returned to the back of the shop, Conor turned his gaze back to Kerrigan and asked wearily, "So, Miss Lokir, do you plan to be in Jinstain long?"
"As long as my business takes, this time. There are many interesting opportunities to pursue here, so I suspect I will be in town often. However, I do have another engagement this evening, so until next time," She gave Conor a gentle smile as she slipped back into the crowd.
Conor felt his cheeks warm at her smile, and couldn't help but miss the fading scent of apple blossom. It frightened him how disarming she could be.