Page 31 of Always Say Yes to a Dragon

Diego scrubbed a palm over his face. “We can’t display decapitation in a public building. It’s gruesome.”

I tilted my head. “Your highest-grossing movies show violence all the time.”

Diego dragged in a breath. “That’sentertainment, and it doesn’t appeal to everyone. This is a public building where everyone has to feel welcome.” He squinted at the painting. “Also, I’m pretty sure that’s Robespierre getting decapitated. You know, the politician? So maybe it’s not wise to have something like that in a political office.”

I huffed. “No violence, no art. WhatcanI have?” Perhaps Elle would have ideas?

Snuggling up on the couch last night and discussing television had been pleasant. I understood now why “Netflix and chill” was such a popular date night activity. Dragons didn’t snuggle unless it was related to sex, but she’d happily tucked her smaller body against mine. The sensation was addictive, sending both desire and a dreamy sort of contentment through me.

“Do you have any landscapes or still lifes? I think those would work better.”

“Yes. Fine. I’ll bring something in tomorrow.” I unhooked the offending painting from the wall. “Why are you here so early, anyway?”

“Early? It’s nine-oh-three.”

“But you got here at eight fifty-five.”

“Yes, right on time.”

“Your contract says nine. Is this…unpaid overtime?” The words tasted terrible in my mouth.

“I like a few minutes to get settled in before I start work.” He studied me for a long moment, as if trying to decide something. “You know, you’re a lot more obsessive about this than I expected, and not in the way I’d assumed.”

The tips of my wings twitched in confusion. “What?”

He sighed. “My friend works for the City of Sutton, and he says the dragons in charge there do whatever they want, no matter what she or anyone else says. Apparently, they dissolved City Council in a fit of anger shortly after claiming the city, and they refuse to reform it. I can’t quite picture you doing that.”

Yeah, that sounded like my parents. They’d claimed Sutton when I was on the cusp of adulthood, too busy counting down the days until I moved out of their house to pay attention to much else. Only when I’d claimed a city for myself had I learned that their reputation among humans wasn’t as pristine as it was among dragons.

“I would never dissolve City Council. And I would never ask you to go outside of your contract. Anything you must do to ‘prepare for work’ is included in that.” I frowned. “Contracts are sacred.” How did none of these humans understand that? They had a whole profession—lawmen? legalizairs? lawyers!—devoted to drafting them.

Niemrin and I had met a host of lawyers when we were negotiating to claim Kilinis, several of whom were very bold. However, none of them had ever caught my eye like Elle did.

He squinted. “Yeah. Okay. Gotcha.”

I retreated to my office and stared at the proposals Councilor Jasmine had given me earlier this week. None of them had magically transformed into the perfect solution.

I shuffled through them.

She’d be here in a few hours, expecting an answer, but the suggestions she’d given me looked like the opposite of everything I wanted.

One amounted to funding the project entirely by myself. I was a rich dragon, and I planned to fund a large portion, but the entire project was fifty million dollars. I wanted to parcel out my funding wisely, not spend it all at once.

The second was to scale back the project, but that wouldn’t really solve the problem, would it?

The third mentioned the possibility of outside investors but didn’t suggest anyone specific.

Wait, no, at the bottom of the page was a list of potential partners, but all of them were from outside Kilinis. Wasn’t there anyone local?

Yes, that seemed like the perfect idea. Something that would give Kilinis’s residents a real investment and stake in the project. I dove into researching local businesses with enough capital to help with funding. This part, I knew how to do. Sniff out a rich enough investor, negotiate a deal, and ensure everyone followed through.

When Jasmine entered my office, I had most of a plan ready. “We have an offer from Accutrust Bank to partner with us and provide additional funding.”

Jasmine’s eyes narrowed. “In exchange for what?”

“Partial ownership in the buildings and some personal concessions from me.”

“Personal concessions?”

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