After several hours in the field Parker dropped Conor off back at Vokrizin.
"I am going to shower and change then head home. Go ahead and enjoy the rest of your afternoon." Conor said.
"Are you sure?"
"It should just be security here today, everyone else is gone for the weekend. I will text you when I am heading home."
"Sounds good sir. Have a good rest of your weekend."
Conor turned and spotted a female guard at the front of the office. He turned back to Parker, "New guard? I don't recognize her."
Parker squinted at the entrance and said, "I don't recognize her either. Colonel Eli said he brought on three new female guards this morning, maybe she is one?" Parker pulled out his phone and flicked open a text from Eli with the images of each guard. He held it out to Conor.
"Maybe... looks like this Second Lieutenant Gabrielle. There is a captain Evelyn Lennox, and a Major Reilynn. I have heard of Major Reilynn. She is a deadly one. I honestly didn't think that one would be seen in the light of day. You only hear rumors and those are mostly ghost stories, even among the special forces."
"A whole squad being recruited together?"
"Possible sir. After all, as long as they are free of their contracts, they will want to stick together, and getting an offer from Colonel Eli is as good an offer as any. Honestly, you don't know how nice it is to work at a company with other Dragoons. It makes you feel like you are a unit again. And security is as close to paid, legal life action as we can get sometimes."
Conor nodded, tapping the side of the car as he headed inside. He nodded to the officer, "Lieutenant Gabrielle."
She startled at his recognition but stood at attention, "Sir, honor to join the team."
Conor noted she didn't salute like Eli and Parker were in the habit of doing when they first greeted him. He didn't mind, but filed it away, "Then you know who I am?"
"I am aware that you are Mr. Brantley, CEO of Vokrizin. I only arrived a few hours ago, so Colonel Eli has not had chance to brief me past that."
Ah, so she only knew him as a businessman. Fair enough. "Very good. I appreciate your service. I will only be in the office for an hour or two. Just a skeleton crew in today?"
"None of the main staff are here that I am aware of sir. There are two janitors. Captain Evelynn is on the Vokrizin landing, guarding that entrance. Colonel Eli also has several personnel I have not fully met yet working the security room and patrolling the rest of the building."
"I see. Quite the team. Well hopefully you all are just here for an easy paycheck. Have a quiet shift." Conor headed up to his office, passing who he assumed was the Captain Evelynn, an attractive girl with light brown hair that was tied in an intricate braid hanging over her right shoulder. She had a matching green uniform to Gabrielle, but with her Captain's insignia. She gave Conor a warm smile and a nod but nothing else before resuming her watch.
Conor sighed as he set down his camera and plugged in the images to his computer. The planning team would have to work up a new design for him based on what he had paced off today but he thought there was a good chance they would be able to incorporate many of the elements the community was looking for in the new community center. This was going to be a massive undertaking and he really hoped the community would rally around it. From what his team was telling him, it would take a small fortune to pull off, close to 25 million dragons by some of the larger estimates now. When he has first started planning this, the numbers had been closer to 10 million.
He rubbed his temples, and powered down the computer. He needed a shower. Monday would be soon enough to review all of the details with the team and see what they could come up with. He walked over to the bookshelf and activated the hidden door. He slid it shut behind him and headed right for the shower
He slipped on the hot water, and quickly undressed, getting in and letting the steaming water wash over him. As he let the steam do its work, he had to admit to himself, the last few months of exercise had done wonders for his physique. He had always been fit, but now his muscles were more defined and toned. He briefly though about Jessica and their early days together. He had to smirk to himself. What would the bitch think now? His thoughts turned to Anna, and he wondered if she would be waiting for him back at the house. The more time he spent working on the community center project the less time she seemed to spend around the house and office. She always had a good excuse of course. Business was booming, clients needed to see properties, new agents needed her help managing contracts. In her line of work, weekends were not sacred and she was known to work late into the night negotiating deals. Conor admired her work but missed having a partner by his side.
He turned off the water, and grabbed a towel, drying himself off as he walked into the suite to find a change of clothes. He tossed the towel on the edge of the bed and looked to his closet to see if he had left any causal clothes to wear home. There was no point in taking one of the suits home today.
A rustle from the bed caught his attention and he spun to see a lump beneath the covers. A wild mess of light brown hair sprawled across the pillow. Hmm had Anna decided to take a nap here? Stranger things had happened. Conor slipped over to the bed and gently climbed up over the lump, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "Hello, beautifu..."
The scent of apple blossom and cinnamon hit him at the same time a powerful right hook smashed into his jaw sending him sprawling in a heap on the floor. A lilting voice that was definitely not Anna said, "Who, who's there?" sitting up, clutching the sheets to her chest.
Conor stared dumfounded as Kerrigan Lokir sat up in his bed. What the hell was she doing here?
In his mind, he heard a snigger, 'Umm, my dear, Conor. Don't forget, you just came from the shower. Don't want to give Miss Lokir too much of a show now do you?'
Conor groaned, and snatched a pillow off the bed before demanding, "What are you doing in my room?" he tried to edge around the bed to the closet, reaching for a robe as Kerrigan tried to rub sleep from her eyes. He noticed her shoulders were bare but her left was covered in thick bandages.
"What? Your room? where am I? who?" her eyes went wide as she took in Conor slipping on a robe. "Why are you naked?" she looked down at herself, "Why am I?"
"The why am I is easy. This is my suite, and I normally take a shower at the end of the day. Hence, I took my shower, and was changing. As for you, there is nothing about you I can explain. I only discovered you about the time you socked me with that right hook. You have some power behind that fist of yours, " he said rubbing his jaw.
"Where are my clothes?" Kerrigan demanded, looking around the room.
Conor glanced around and spotted a small pile near the door. "Ah, here you go. I think these must have been left for you." He handed them to her and stepped back hastily.
She took the clothes but didn't move, just glaring at him, "Umm, leave?"
"Huh?"
"OUT!"
"Oh, right!" Conor quickly turned to leave but then paused, realizing he was still in a robe himself, "Umm, ok. So how about this. It seems we both need to get dressed. I just need to grab a few things and I will go in the bathroom down the hall. This room has a door I can close, and the bathroom has a door too. When you are done you can knock on the bathroom door and we can then talk out in my office. Sound like a plan?"
Kerrigan glared at him again, "You want me to knock on your bathroom door? Shall I join you for a shower while we're at it?"
"Not to come in, though you are welcome to..."
Kerrigan chucked the bedside lamp at him.
He dodged and held up his hands, "Kidding, kidding. Just let me know it's safe to come out. Ok, I am going to grab these clothes here, and you just nock when you are ready. We can talk out in the office." Conor rushed out of the room, quickly shutting the doors behind him, careful to avoid any more flying lamps. He slid to the floor of the bathroom, panting. What the hell was Kerrigan Lokir doing in his suite? How had she gotten in here? And was she injured?