Chapter 1

Uncomfortable would be a good word to describe how Sean felt at the moment. Underage would have fit his situation even better. Decadence was shown lavishly about the dining hall; velvet curtains, silk hangings, tasteful paintings, and enormous crystal chandeliers hung everywhere to give the whole place the air of decadence and "old money". It was a GenenCorp shareholder's meeting to celebrate the company's breakthrough success in the pharmaceutics industry and Sean had been invited. He may be one of the largest independent shareholders at the decadent dinner, with up to thirty-four percent of the company's stock but he most definitely did not belong.

Sean was twenty-two years old.

So, to repeat what he was already thinking, he was very uncomfortable. Fact of the matter was he wasn't all that social a person. He went out little, preferring the company of a good book to most people he knew and never was into the wild party seen that many of his college buddies favored. He hardly thought of himself as anti-social, far from it, he enjoyed a good conversation or better yet a good debate on society and its morals, but he was a loner.

And so, Sean sat in the far corner of the room sipping an excellent vintage of cabernet sauvignon while he watched and listened to other shareholders boasting about their other investments while at the same time hiding how they play the market. It was disgusting. Sean could tell right away that most of them didn't have a clue as to what they were doing and simply stumbled across GenenCorp's stock by pure luck, a total shot in the dark to spend their leftover play money on. Sean knew the company had potential from the start. No insider info on this venture. He had been closely monitoring the company since it first built itself from the ground up, observing closely what went in and what came out. As he had predicted, GenenCorp's stock skyrocketed within a year and instantly Sean went from a scrounging college student with a BS is biochemistry to a millionaire. Of course none of his friends knew that, Sean's living habits didn't change. He still lived in the same two-bedroom apartment for the past three years while he worked on his graduate's degree in biochemistry and whittled away the time at his computer, monitoring stocks and reading. It was his idle hobby of watching the market that landed him with over six million dollars worth of stocks. To say he was ahead of schedule to retire early would be an understatement. If he so chose, Sean could retire right now and simply continue day trading.

So why was he here? He thought idly to himself. Sean wasn't so sure himself. A part of him thought it might be exciting to dress up and rub elbows with the rich and maybe find out any tidbits of useful information about GenenCorp from the board of directors that should be floating around. But there was more to it then that he supposed. He wasn't quite sure what else it was that drew him to the meeting but there was more than a need to get out every once in a while. Sean took another sip of his wine as he continued to scan the crowd. He always did that; old habits die hard. Then again, he never did try to stop himself from observing a room; he simply did it. He just didn't notice he subconsciously did it until he was thirteen. Sean popped a cracker with caviar in his mouth just as she sat down next to him and he nearly choked.

Seemingly out of nowhere a woman with raven-black hair in a stunning black dress that hinted at some very sensual curves pulled up a chair beside him and sat herself down. She wasn't very tall, only 5'4" judging by how she sat beside him, but she carried herself as if she were at least six-foot. She didn't look a day past thirty, but considering the crowd he was in Sean would roughly guess she was closer to thirty-two. She coolly pulled a fluke of champagne from the tray of a passing waiter and took a light sip. Sean didn't know what to say, too flabbergasted by the fierce intelligence that flared brightly behind her soft brown eyes, so he sat there dumbly, put on his poker face, and then turned back to watch the crowd, not wanting to make a major faux pas and scare the woman away. He did, though, continue to watch her from the corner of his eye.

Just as she did with him.

"I know this is awkward but I need your help," she said in a voice that was as enchanting to hear as she was to look at. She took another sip of her champagne as her eyes swept the crowd. Then Sean saw what she was looking out for and the only thought that ran through his head was, Oh shit. Breaking through the crowd was a man that was roughly 6'2" and at least two hundred pounds, all muscle, with a dark scowl on his face and he was heading straight for them. While Sean did stay in shape from hiking in the nearby hills and going to the gym whenever he could he very well knew that he looked very average when it came to physicality. At just 5'9" and a hundred and eighty pounds Sean definitely was not a Mr. Universe. Why the raven-haired woman chose to sit by him, he had no idea. Under the table he could feel the woman's manicured nails digging into his thigh as she calmly looked at the charging bull that stormed his way toward them. Unfortunately for Sean, he was never one to turn down a plea for assistance. He dropped his hand under the table and reassuringly held the woman's hand. She slowly let go and snuck a quick look at him, smiling in relief. Under other circumstances, Sean would have said something to break the ice but as it was, the hulking man was towering over the woman and was staring darkly over the both of them.

"Well hello, Charles," she said in an endearing tone. Her eyes flashed daggers. "How wonderful to see you. Tell me, how are the Twins? Are they keeping you happy?"

The tall man's gaze grew even darker and looked about to explode in fury. "'They' are fine, Elizabeth" he spat out between clenched teeth. "There seems to be a bit of a problem with the papers we signed last week."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. It would appear that you now hold all the shares of GenenCorp. That is, all the shares that I bought."

"Now, Charles, you and I both agreed on those settlement papers years ago. And those shares became mine the moment you signed them. No point crying over spilt milk, dear." Her endearing smile and tone disappeared. "Your loss."

Charles' eyes hardened and his muscles bunched up as his arms rose to throttle Elizabeth.

"I suggest you do nothing rash."

It was the first words Sean had said all evening. Elizabeth and Charles both stopped what they were doing and looked at Sean. "As you can see, Elizabeth and I were in the middle of something when you barged in here. And I would take great offense if you said or did anything that would cause her any duress." It was Sean's turn to give a challenging glare. It was true though. He was never the kind of person to stand idly by while someone else was in trouble when he could do something to help. He supposed he got that annoying habit from reading too many fantasy novels.

"You, stay out of this," Charles said while he pointed a meaty finger at Sean, "Elizabeth, you are coming with me. Now."

Sean looked over at Elizabeth to see her respond. She didn't say anything but looked at him with pleading eyes, her fingernails dug into his thigh once more. That was all the reply he needed. "I'm sorry... Charles is it? Well, I'm sorry but it would appear Elizabeth does not wish your company at the moment." He stood up and lifted Elizabeth's arm slightly signaling her to stand as well. "Now, if you'll excuse us. I believe..."

Chapter 2 »