Page 5 of Dragon Charmed

Tessa told her inside voice to pipe down as she counted to ten. “Charles is the best in the business. Yes, he is a perfectionist, but he isn’t the only one who isn’t seeing the sparks I know you can deliver.”

Kayla’s pouty lips turned into a frown. “Where is Katrina?”

Tessa sighed. Of course she was pulling the go-over-your-head card. “You can talk to Katrina if you want. But we’re already running behind, which means this shoot is going to cost more money. Katrina doesn’t like to lose money. This is about selling clothes and a brand. I’ve seen what you can do, and so has Katrina or you wouldn’t have been chosen for this campaign. So let’s deliver our best and wrap this up, okay?”

Kayla’s eyes narrowed. Were they in for a meltdown at this point? Nope, Tessa wasn’t dealing with this anymore. She took a step toward the model and leaned into her space so that she could have an up-close-and-personal with her.

Tessa lowered her voice. “Kayla. Here’s the deal. You could have a successful career in this industry. But you aren’t at the diva level yet. You haven’t earned it. So let’s get through this shoot and sell this brand. At some point in the future, you can throw a tantrum if you think that is the best way to do business. But you don’t have the clout now to pull it off.”

Kayla gaped at her.

“You ready to get this done so we can all head for home?”

Kayla nodded and Tessa nodded in return before stepping out of the shot and motioning to Charles. Within thirty minutes, they had wrapped things up and Tessa was driving down the highway, leaving behind fashion-induced delusions of grandeur.

Tessa used to think the fashion industry was the most outrageous part of her life. And that was the case until her best friend, Megan, fell in love with a sexy, rich male who also happened to be a dragon. Yep, a dragon. Tessa stopped herself from laughing at the notion. Buttoned-up Megan had a one-night stand that led to her winged soul mate and amazing daughter.

After Tessa wrapped her head around the fact that dragons actually existed (and it took some time), she was happy for her friend…mostly. Not that she had a thing against dragons—more against rich men.

She’d had her fill of men whose large wallets didn’t make up for their small personalities and, well, other small things.

Unfortunately her looks had attracted men over the years, and they had made assumptions about her. That being pretty meant lacking intelligence—who came up with that bullpucky?—and that their money somehow meant they could own her. Which meant they were the ones lacking intelligence.

Tessa pulled through the gate and down the winding driveway to the gigantic house that Megan now called home. It was Megan’s husband Eric’s family home. Their family had led the dragon clan for centuries. ’Cause Megan couldn’t just fall in love with an everyday dragon. She had to fall in love with a member of what Tessa dubbed the royal-dragon family.

A family that had suffered a tragedy when Eric’s older brother, Adam, had been killed, leaving the clan leaderless. Eric’s younger sister, Sienna, had stepped up and taken over ruling the clan, and Eric now helped with the family aeronautics business.

Tessa parked her car in front of the stairs leading up to a whopping front porch. Marcus, the clan’s security chief, met her at the door with a smirk on his face.

“Hello, old man.”

His smirk morphed into a grin. “Nice to see you, Tessa. Are you here to cause trouble?”

“Of course.”

He nodded. “I’ll alert the guards on duty.”

She mock-glared at him. “Let them try to stop me.”

Marcus chuckled. “Megan’s on the deck. I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.”

Tessa headed to the back of the large house—mansion, really—and through the restaurant-grade kitchen before opening the door to the deck. Her best friend was sitting on a lounge chair overlooking the amazing valley that backed up to the house.

“Happy birthday, Megs! How’s it hanging?”

Megan grinned at her. “After having Arabella, more than I care to admit.”

Tessa burst out laughing. “You don’t pull out the one-liners often, but when you do, they’re worth it.”

Megan chuckled. “I’ll leave the witty repartee to you. How was the photo shoot?”

Tessa sighed before sinking onto the chair next to her friend and setting down the bag she carried. “Exhausting. I hate dealing with egos.”

“I’m sure you took care of things with your usual skill.”

“I’ve been compared to a bulldozer before.”

Megan shrugged. “Well, a bulldozer clears away a lot of crap, doesn’t it?”