The Arena novel Chapter 41

‘I did it for her.’ Who’s her? The entire way home, I thought about what Tana said. Unless she wasn’t talking to me. But she said it after I thanked her. It doesn’t make sense. I’ve been mulling it over for a month now.

I’m looking over the next petitions for mediation for me to hear. I’ve finally gotten the schedule down to every other week, but it means I take longer to meet on those weeks. It’s still less than it was in the beginning.

As I’m pouring over the petitions, Bastian comes in. “Ced, my financial wizard wants to have a conversation. She says she’s found something but needs your approval to move forward.”

I look up as he flops down on the chair in front of my desk. “Can we do it via phone? I don’t really have time to go to the human city for a meeting.”

“Funny, she basically said the same thing. She’s about to take some time off, so she wanted to meet with us before that. I’ve got a call on the schedule for next week, after your mediations and before her vacation.”

I look up at him, frowning. “I thought you said she’s a supe. Supes don’t take vacations as a rule.”

“She’s a supe that works in a human company. Humans expect people to take vacations, especially people that have kids."

"Good point."

"So, I was wondering ..."

I look up again. “Well, Galen said the other dragon was quite a beauty and I’ve never seen a dragon. I was hoping you might take me the next time there’s an arena takedown. It seems like Troy is always at the arenas when you’re there, so Galen should be able to run the pack. Plus, I’d like to see our Luna.”

“Yeah, next time, you can come. Who knows, maybe she’ll like you enough to stay and talk for a while. So far, unless one of us is saving the other, I don’t get much from her.”

A week later, we’re on the phone with the finance company, a Ms. Blaze, and a Mr. Rime. Fire and ice. It reminds me of the dragons. I need to make time to continue tracking Tana. I had another mountain range I wanted to get to.

“Good afternoon, gentlemen.”

“Good afternoon, Ms. Blaze. My name is Alpha …”

“Mister. Thierry.” Bastian cuts me off. “Ms. Blaze prefers to keep things formal.”

“Very well, I’m Mr. Thierry, Ms. Blaze.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Thierry. I wanted to give you an update on what I’ve found with your financials. For me to proceed, I will need your verbal agreement, and Mr. Rime is here to witness that agreement.”

“Please proceed, Ms. Blaze.”

“As I believe Mr. Dolph has informed you, your accountant is siphoning off a million dollars or more a year from your finances. Not only that, but I am also noticing an increase in that amount over time, and more recently, if the trend continues, the amount could be close to three million dollars by the end of this year.”

I look up at Bastian, growling lowly.

“I understand your frustration, Mr. Thierry.”

“How long does something like this usually take?” Bastian asks her.

“That depends, Mr. Dolph. But, given the circumstances of what I’ve found so far, I don’t think it’s a bad guess to say four to six months.”

I whistle. “Well, let us know when you find something, and enjoy your vacation with your daughter.”

“Thank you. I look forward to speaking to you soon.”

We hang up, and I look at Bastian. “What kind of shifter did you say she was?” I ask him.

“I didn’t. When I asked her boss, he shut me down.”

Hmmm, perhaps …

“Don’t get any ideas. Lots of shifters like to go up in the mountains. It’s one of the few places where we can relax and be ourselves.”

“You’re right. I was just wishful thinking. And since I’m planning a trip to the mountains, who knows? Maybe I’ll finally meet your Ms. Blaze in person.”

I finish packing that night and take off back to the last place I found Tana’s scent. From there, I continue heading east, looking for the next mountain range.