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Chapter 48 : New Arrangements
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Empire of Dominance Chapter 49 : Contract Signing
They were back at the restaurant on the ground floor of Kade’s apartment building only a few hours later for lunch—or for whatever indeterminate meal marked this strange, endless, wonderful day.Raven gratefully accepted a large pour of Kade’s favorite vintage of wine, allowing herself to breathe out at last. Kade had booked them a table by the window: a very visible table, almost like a stage onto the sidewalk. Kade kept his phone on the table, watching push notifications roll in minute by minute as he sipped at his own wine.“So. The Jackal.” She spoke tentatively, reluctant to broach a topic that would bring the whole mood of this victorious moment down. “How did that happen?”“Easily. I reached out to him and told him I had a job.”“Just like that?” She couldn’t help staring. It seemed too easy.“I have my underworld contacts. As you well know.” He didn’t seem at all phased to be discussing this openly and in public. Well, at least in his own restaurant. But then again
Empire of Dominance Chapter 50 : What's Mine Is Mine
Raven reclined in the back room office of one of the most exclusive fashion designers in the city, watching her sketch out another vision of a gown for next week’s gala dinner.“This is your debut among the elite as a serious player,” said the designer, lazer-focused. “I want you to look fucking dangerous.”“I like how you think,” grinned Raven, admiring the sketches upside down. “I look forward to seeing what you come up with. And then terrifying some pampered nepo babies into selling shares in their daddies’ companies.”“I like the way YOU think,” laughed the designer. “I’ll have five options ready for you by Friday.”“Excellent. Then I’ll run—I have a lot of appointments this afternoon.”The black-tie doormen showed her out to her waiting limo. HER limo. She slid into the cool interior, catching the curious glances of ordinary passersby—people who hadn’t even been aware of the massive transformation in the financial world last week, or if they had been, hadn’t been overly
Empire of Dominance Chapter 1 : First Day Disaster
“You aren’t listening to me,” said Raven, trying to swallow back her raw anger. She knew she was right about the inconsistencies she’d found in the data. And she knew it was important. Raven was a risk analyst: a specialized, every-second-counts sort of job where she made sure a given company’s money—in this case, huge amounts of money—were being managed safely, tailoring investments and predicting the market. And still, her direct supervisor barely looked up from his desk. “It’s your first day, honey. Don’t try to walk before you can run.”Raven could literally hear her teeth grinding. “I know what the data says.”“Watch your tone with me, miss. It’s five o’clock—Go get yourself a drink and celebrate your first day.”“But—”“We’re not discussing this right now.”She tried to make her angry rush look like a purposeful stride toward the elevator, but honestly—the whole day had been a wash. She didn’t care who knew it. Raven couldn’t believe how many
Empire of Dominance Chapter 2 : Alerting the Captain
Raven tried to breathe normally, but the air already felt warm and stale, and she was at the end of her patience. She couldn’t help it. She made a low, frustrated growl that was halfway between a curse and a groan.The handsome man looked at her, actually looked at her, for the first time.“Rolling blackouts,” he said matter-of-factly. “Just about all the emergency power goes to the servers, of course. They’ll get to us eventually.”Raven laughed. The man looked surprised.“Sorry,” she said again. Why was she apologizing so much? “‘Eventually’ just seems to be the flavor of the day. Someone will take a look at that report ‘eventually.’ We’ll return your email ‘eventually.’” She sighed. “Let’s hope the building services are more responsive than the management.”The man’s dark eyebrows rose questioningly. “I’m curious. What do you mean?”Raven pushed the emergency call button, not that it would do any good. As cool and disinterested as her reluctant companio
Empire of Dominance Chapter 3 : No Room for Error
When Raven stepped out into her new office space the next morning, the sun was barely peeking over the horizon, lighting up the grid work of city streets outside. This office was a different world than the drab bullpen of the day before. Instead of a maze of uniform desks with flat fluorescent lighting, there was an entire office, just for herself, with a window overlooking the skyline. Her name was already on the nameplate on the door. Still, it all didn’t feel real.She was dressed to match the change in circumstances. No more sensible blank-slate first-day outfit. She’d put time into her hair this morning, scheduled a manicure after work yesterday, and ensured she appeared composed and pristine. No one would doubt that she belonged here by looking at her. And she would make sure they knew that she did when they saw her work.Raven wasn’t cocky, but she was certainly confident. If you put an earnings sheet in front of her, she could decode it to dig out the company's narrative
Empire of Dominance Chapter 4 : Death to the Scheme
*Kade’s POV* Kade Sinclair had all his attention focused on the documents Raven Cannon had brought to him. He read them twice, three times, and then a fourth until every detail was committed to memory. At last, he set the folder down and breathed out a long, settling sigh to bring his mind back into focus.There was no doubt Raven was absolutely correct. In a single workday, she had uncovered a patient but clumsy scheme that was operating under his nose — in one of his major subsidiary companies — for at least two years. It may have taken that long for the pattern of transactions to become apparent enough to be caught. Maybe. But he didn’t have that kind of leniency, not with himself or anyone else. This was a breach of his defenses, and it was unforgivable.At the end of Raven’s notes was a list of suspects—not that she called them suspects, per se. They were the operators within the company who COULD have authorized and orchestrated the transactions at such a high level.
Empire of Dominance Chapter 5 : Anything for You
Sharon, Andre, and Raven all arrived at work around the same time, just after sunrise, one week after Raven had started her new position.“Morning,” she smiled genuinely at them as they approached.“Morning,” Sharon echoed back, holding out the coffees she’d brought for Andre and Raven.“Is it Friday yet?” Andre fake-whined dramatically, making the two women laugh.Raven liked her coworkers very much, and she had the strong impression they liked her too. Already, they’d fallen into a comfortable pattern with each other, arriving around the same time in the morning and sharing a quiet warm-up to the day, chatting and getting themselves situated.Then the real work of the day began, and they buckled down in their separate offices until the catered lunch was delivered. Their relationship was less as casual coworkers and more as comrades in the trenches. The work they were doing was serious; they all knew that. At the same time, they all understood that they were under the sa
Empire of Dominance Chapter 6 : Dangerous Passion
As Leo Baugh bought her her second shot, Raven knew going undercover might be going a bit too far.She was wearing her tightest, reddest party dress, resurrected from her undergrad days, only a few months before. It was easy enough to get into Leo Braugh’s company calendar via the official intranet, to find out he was heading to this club and when.He had no idea who she was, of course. Up until two weeks ago, she’d been a nobody barely dipping a toe in at the lowest rung of his company. And now, she, Sharon, and Andre barely saw anyone other than each other, Megan, and Kade at work.Kade. She tried not to let her mind wander back to the serious weight of his stare… the way it rooted you, commanded you. Or maybe, she should let her mind drift to him. After all, she was doing this for him. For his approval.Leo Braugh, senior associate at Kade’s own company, slipped an arm around her waist, letting his sweaty palm wander lower to her thigh. She let him. He was getting drun
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Empire of Dominance Chapter 50 : What's Mine Is Mine
Empire of Dominance Chapter 49 : Contract Signing
Empire of Dominance Chapter 48 : New Arrangements
Empire of Dominance Chapter 47 : Repairing Relationships
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Empire of Dominance Chapter 42 : The Server Room
