Chapter 71

Jasira wasn’t sure what to say.

Her father had warned that she was playing with fire if she tried to use Zeke. She hadn’t really thought twice about seducing him to get what she wanted. The problem was that that night kept playing over in her head.

She’d had several lovers before him, so she wasn’t an innocent. Zeke looked so young that she thought she’d give him a night to remember, but he had turned the tables on her. He wrung her out, hung her up wet and left her wanting more.

The fact that, because he had magical abilities and he knew what she was after, didn’t really penetrate her mind until much later. She wanted to berate him for using her but knew she was just mad at herself.

She had done the chasing despite her father’s warning. Zeke had just let her catch him. As her father would say, their deal was quid pro quo. Now, he wanted a return on his investment. He had delivered his side of the bargain.

The problem was that she had already sold the design.

“Jasira, is there a problem?” Zeke asked as he stepped away from Travis and towards her.

“Um, yes, I need a bit more time. It wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be,” she lied as she stepped back from Zeke.

She moved over to the table and put the tray down. They all followed and picked seats as Jasira fussed over the placement of the treats on the table and then poured Zeke his customary coffee.

Once seated, Travis said, “Jasira, you told me you had finished the designs days ago.”

Jasira’s guilty actions as she sat and didn’t look at her father had Travis responded with concern, “Why are you lying to us, Jasira?”

Zeke looked at Jasira from across the table, “Time to confess.”

Angrily, she retorted, “What are you on about? I just need more time. The calculations for the extendible wings have been a nightmare. I need to double-check them.”

She dropped her eyes and reached for her glass of wine. They all noticed that her hand was shaking.

Travis looked at his daughter with concern. He’d always had a knack for picking up on people telling him lies and half-truths. He was as much concerned that Jasira was lying to them, as to why she thought she could get away with doing it in his presence.

Travis gently berated his daughter, “Jasira, what did you do? You have a legally binding contract with Zeke.”

“No, I don’t. We didn’t sign anything,” she spat at her father.

“Jasira, verbal contracts are binding when witnessed and recorded by a lawyer or attorney. Zeke asked you to design a ship to his specifications. A time limit was agreed upon, as well as your payment. He handed over confidential data, as agreed, to help you.”

“Dad, it was just for a school project. My design was mine to do with as I pleased,” she pleaded.

She looked around the table but received no sympathy. Carly and Lindsay were happily serving themselves. Zeke just looked mildly amused at her predicament as he sat back, holding his coffee and watching her dig herself deeper.

Travis shook his head. “No, the moment you agreed to be paid for the work, Zeke became your client. Come on, Daughter, you are not that stupid. I have gone over contract law with you, and you aced that subject at Uni.”

Jasira became belligerent and waved angrily in Zeke’s direction, “The designs were mine. He insulted me by offering me peanuts for them.”

Zeke responded with raised eyebrows, “A hundred thousand Sols upon receipt and two percent of the revenue from their sales, if I liked your design, is not peanuts, Jasira.”

“Plus, you were simply altering my design to create yours. That is also a critical point. You didn’t design from scratch. You can never get your version patented nor registered.”

“The moment the buyer tries to register the design with UNSEC and the SSC so they can build them, they will be arrested for intellectual property fraud and theft, and so will you.”

“No, you gave me your designs. I didn’t steal then. You said I could use them,” she cried and pointed to her chest as she spoke.

“And, what did I tell you when I gave them to you?”

Jasira pursed her lips tightly and crossed her arms over her chest. She refused to answer.

Travis touched her arm, and she shivered when he said, “You will tell the truth. Answer all of Zeke’s and my questions. What did Zeke tell you when he gave you a copy of his designs?”

They could all see Jasira fight the compulsion. Finally, she ground out, “He said that I had to guard them with my life. I wasn’t to show them or my designs to anyone until he approved my design.”

“I was also to remove all copies of his originals and give him all my notes if I didn’t meet the deadline or he didn’t believe that I needed more time. If he did, believe me, he’d give me an extension.”

“Did you agree to his stipulations?” Travis asked forcefully.

Exasperated, she spat, “Yes, of course. How else was I to get his design specifications?”

“Did you plan to rob me from the start?” Zeke asked with his deceptively mild voice.