Page 9 of Power Shift
“Give us a second, would you?” I asked.
Simone sighed. “Whatever gets me out of here and gets my face in a bowl of soup.”
Moira took my arm and led me toward the kitchen doors. Once we were inside, she leaned in.
“Simone looks like she needs to be committed. Maybe we should give her something.”
“I won’t cave on this one.”
“What about one order max on a quarterly basis?”
“Four per year?” I frowned. “Feels like too much.”
“Start at the absolute least you’ll accept. He’ll bargain you down. Can you deal with three?”
I grimaced.
“Two?”
Reasonable as long as my intrusive thoughts didn’t run away from me and make me worry about those visits for the entire year. “Seems doable. Once every six months. No Keep weddings, nothing I have to attend.”
“He’ll bargain for that, too.”
“You really think I should bend?”
“For Simone. Not Caelan. The girl needs bread.”
We laughed. “Alright. Let’s do it for the bread.”
Simone paced back and forth, stopping abruptly when she saw us. “Well?”
“One order per year. No Keep weddings. No events where my presence is required. The previously agreed rates and everything else we discussed prior to your visit stand.”
Simone’s lips thinned, but she held a finger up. “Hold that thought.”
With admirable speed, the Omega’s fingers flew over her cell as she typed a message out, presumably to Caelan.
“Four per year. He agreed to no weddings but wants to reserve the option to have your presence at certain events.” Her eyes glittered with the thrill of a deal, but I was about to disappoint her.
“Two. No weddings. Attendance at one event only, no more than half an hour of my time billed at quadruple the rate.”
Simone’s eyes flickered with disappointment. “Evie. Caelan isn’t bad.”
“No one said he was,” Moira blurted before I could open my mouth.
“Then why are you treating him like he is?” Her fingers flew over the phone keyboard as she typed the message.
“Again, this goes back to personal boundaries and how your Shifter Lord likes to pretend he’s the Lord of the Dance when he gets close to one.”
Moira barked a laugh.
Simone sucked in a breath a second later, slowly shaking her head as she lifted her gaze. “The Lord has agreed to your terms.”
Moira blinked in surprise. “Holy shit,” she murmured.
Simone held up her finger. “Caveat.”
Of course there was. I waited.
