Page 5 of Charming the Dragon
“That seems easy enough. Give me the details, and I’ll get started.”
Kai put up a hand. “Not so fast. This is going to be a joint project. She’ll gather the information, and you’ll handle the programming side of things.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll create a secure upload server and, as she adds to it, I can start working on the database.”
Bram shook his head. “This work won’t be conducted remotely. It’s too sensitive.”
Nathan tried not to be offended by Bram’s words. “I’m one of the best at encryption, Bram. No one will be able to access the data.”
“And I believe you. Regardless, she needs to access our old records here. And since you can’t do much until you talk with her about what she wants and needs—and starts providing data for you—we decided that you can show her around the clan, help her locate all the records, and generally be there for any of her questions.”
Nathan frowned. “Why me? You know I prefer hiding away in a corner, behind a computer screen. I’m not exactly tour guide material.”
Bram replied, “Aye, I know. But you’ve been hiding away too much in the last few years. I think spending a little time away from the computer will do you good and still help Stonefire.” He opened his mouth to protest, but Bram beat him to it. “If an emergency comes up, you’ll be back at your desk straight away. But spending time with the human female will not only help you learn what Hayley wants faster, it’ll get Denise off your back too, right?”
Denise was his stepmother. He loved her dearly, but she was a bit of a matchmaker and meddler for her children. And even if she hadn’t given birth to him, she was as much his mother as his birth one had been before she died.
His dragon spoke up.And this setup will help you practice being around females again, too.
Don’t get any ideas, dragon.
Someone has to. I’m tired of using our hand.
Ignoring his beast, he focused on Kai and Bram. “I don’t really have a choice in this, do I?”
The corner of Kai’s mouth kicked up. “Not really. You can do this, or I’ll put you on Tech Support duty again.”
Nathan groaned. While he knew not everyone was comfortable around computers or technology, he most definitely didn’t have the patience to teach someone how to use it.
His dragon spoke up.It’s not really a contest, is it? Spend time with a pretty human female or spend our days telling people to turn off their computers or phones and then back on again.
His beast was right about Hayley. He’d seen her before, and while a little disheveled, it didn’t detract from her curves or lovely brown eyes.
His dragon grunted.See? Even you noticed her. Let’s take the assignment.
Nathan eyed his clan members. “As long as you don’t expect me to be Mr. Cheerful, I’ll do what needs to be done. How long will this take?”
Bram shrugged. “I don’t know exactly. Maybe months.”
He blinked. “What?”
Bram said, “Finn will be sending down some records as well. Between ours and theirs, it’s going to take some time to go through them all. Yes, you’ll eventually create the database. However, in the meantime, you need to help the human find and sort through the records.”
“Couldn’t some of the other clan members help with that?”
Bram replied, “There are a lot of projects going on right now, some of which you don’t know about. For the moment, you’re the one with both the clearance and the most time to help Hayley.”
He was about to grumble when his dragon spoke up.You wanted something to stave off our boredom. This is it.
He sighed. It wasn’t like he had a choice. “Fine. When will she get here?”
Bram smiled. “She’ll be here within the hour.”
“Wait, what?”
His clan leader nodded. “Aye, we wanted everything finalized before suggesting it to you. Although I’m surprised you didn’t hear about it sooner, to be honest. Your stepmum volunteered a room in their cottage for Hayley to use during her time on Stonefire.”
“Bloody hell, she’s staying with my parents?”
