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Piper was freed and came to visit us on Dragon Isle, along with Cosmo and Athena. As soon as they walked inside, Cosmo’s wife picked up Michael, the cat, and promptly took him out into a patch of wildflowers to explore and play. Piper and Miranda sat at the kitchen table, holding hands and talking about everything that had happened.
That left me and Cosmo to sit in the living room drinking glasses of wine that weren’t nearly strong enough. I wanted whiskey, and I made a mental note to get to a liquor store as soon as possible.
“You don’t need to worry about them,” Cosmo told me.
“Sounds like you handled everything well,” I told him.
After the arrest, Cosmo turned over all of the evidence that he had regarding Lane and Keith. He’d been right. Lane had been the brains of the operation and had been the one siphoning money, but Keith had been her right-hand man. The evidence, coupled with Miranda and Piper’s testimonies, had been enough to put them both away for a very, very long time.
The legal office had been sold to one of the other attorneys who had been vying for a chance at opening her own office. She’d offered Miranda her old job back, but to my surprise, Miranda had declined. She said she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do yet, but she wasn’t ready to think about going back to Rawr County. Not after everything that had happened.
“I want to offer her a job,” Cosmo told me.
“What?”
“Miranda. I want to offer her a job.”
I looked at Cosmo. I knew that he wasn’t doing this as any sort of favor. He wasn’t that type of dragon.
“Fully remote,” he continued. “Occasional in-person meetings, but no more than one per month. Full benefits. She can name her salary.” Cosmo almost looked bored as he listed off this perfunctory list of benefits that he was offering the woman of my dreams.
“She doesn’t have to work,” I told him. I had money. Yes, my parents had cut me out of their will, but not before I’d been old enough to access my trust fund and start making some clever investments. I had more than enough money for both of us for a very long time. I would support her decision to work, but it wasn’t a requirement.
“Yes, yes, you’re rich. We all get it, Salem.” Cosmo rolled his eyes.
“What’s in it for you?” I asked him.
“I could use someone strong like her,” he told me. “She’s clever. Interesting. Pays attention.”
“I’m sure you have a lot of attorneys like that,” I pointed out.
“I have a few,” he smiled. “But I don’t have a polar bear on staff, and I could use one. I’m not asking your permission. I’m just informing you that I’ll be offering her a position today.”
Cosmo smiled like he already knew that he’d won. He was a clever dragon, and I’d missed him over the past many years that we’d been apart from one another.
I smiled at my old friend. I knew Miranda would love the chance to work with someone like Cosmo. Having a boss who wasn’t a complete prick all of the time would be great for her, and it would allow her to keep pursuing her interests and the things that were important to her.
“You’ll be lucky to get her,” I told him.
“I’m well aware, dragon. I’m well aware.”