Fire And Ice Ch 06 2

Demetrius' mind was spinning, a lot was going on, normally he had everything easily under control but what happened in the past day had completely unnerved him. Even now as he stood in the elevator on the way to his office he could feel her, he could feel Katherine's emotions running in the background. He needed to re-assert his control, it was similar to his experience when his demonic form emerged.

He closed his eyes for a moment and visualized the titanic blue steel walls he used to imprison the demon, to keep it back when he was learning to control it. This time he knew the shimmering blue of angel steel would not help as the power on the other side was too similar, instead of the icy blue colors of adamantite. The steel burst into flame as it changed to the redish-orange color of hellborn orichalcum steel.

He placed the fortification around the sensations that he knew where from Katherine around himself, he had to cut them off if he couldn't control them. They were a liability when trying to blend in with mortals. He gasped in pain as cutting off the sensations felt as if he had lost a limb, he pressed a hand up against the wall as a sensation of deep loss spread through him. Breathing heavily he cracked the shield wall, a split in the defences and allowed a wisp to escape.

The connection re-established but this time, he felt a lot more in control, he stood up straight as the door slid open. He stepped out and walked down the hallway to his office, he looked around carefully he couldn't deal with anyone just yet. Not until he had a chance to settle all of the tangled emotions running through him. When he reached his office door, he breathed a sigh of relief as he pushed it open, he hadn't encountered anyone he needed to speak to.

He shut the door and then took his seat, he groaned as he sat down. The stress had tightened his muscles even though he had a workout the night before, he grinned when he thought about how responsive to his touch she was. He cut that line of thought when it drifted to how good her lips felt around him, he closed his eyes and inspected his wall. The crack he had made was serving its purpose, he couldn't seal off the connection, he didn't particularly want to feel that sensation of deep loss again.

He had to stay connected, but at least now with the connection reduced to a trickle he felt more in control of himself. He had to reinforce his control, if he could do that he hoped Ryan would just consider yesterday a mystery. He knew that you could have an off day, and he would explain that as such to him. He re-checked the wall once again to ensure everything was going to remain controlled, he could only feel the barest brush of her against his mind. It was enough to ensure he could remain focused.

The heat of his much enhanced strength was back to normal, the completion of the bond burned off the raging excesses and now he knew that the excess was for that purpose. Now that he felt he could continue without bursting into flames or feeling drugged he got up from his chair and left the room. He continued towards the large double doors of the boardroom and pushed them open, where Ryan sat with the report files. He walked to the head of the table and took his seat, "Sorry about last night, it was an exhausting day."

Ryan looked up from the folders and said, "That's fine, we all have those days. We have discrepancies here in this paperwork," he paused as if considering his next words. That caught his own suspicions, Ryan had never been cautious around him before. Looking closer, he noticed that he was tense, whatever it was, it was a big issue another thing that needed to be resolved.

"Clarke came over after you had left and gave this folder to me, he says that you are the one diverting funds and shares away from the company. I don't believe that lying sack of shit for a moment, he believes our new acquaintance, Ms. Valencia is some sort of acquisitions expert and she's here to help you facilitate the transfer. He underestimated me, when I looked through both records they're too different, and what really got me was that some of these transfers that he claimed you made were my transactions. I think he's trying to frame both of us for his crimes."

Demetrius smirked, no wonder Ryan hesitated, at least it was only for a moment but he knew he could count on him to bring the truth to him. "So he wants to be the CEO, he wants to make it appear that we're responsible for the latest issues. We have enough now to fire his ass, and we can see what the police have to say about this. Ms. Valencia is coming at lunch time to sign the contract, but I will take this advice under consideration, we don't know too much about her. But I don't think she is a part of this, I've only been in contact with her for a week but I've gotten to know her a little. This is a ploy by Winters to try and shift responsibilities. We need to see if anyone else is in on this plan."

Ryan smirked mirroring his own, "Let's get him in here and we can dispose of him. He won't cause anymore issues for us now then."

Demetrius got up from his chair and walked over to the intercom panel that was fitted up against the door. "Kerry, get Daniel Clarke to come to the boardroom. We have a matter to discuss."

"Certainly, Mr. Drakos," the voice from the intercom came.

He walked back to his seat and sat down, "Let's see what he has to say for himself."

Minutes later the doors opened and Clarke stepped in, "You wanted to see me?" he asked.

"Yes sit down, we have a few things to discuss," said Demetrius.

Demetrius watched as he walked around to a chair and pulled it out to sit in it. He smiled to himself, Winters was tense. Similar to what he had felt from Ryan earlier, "We've noticed discrepancies in the stock files, money going places that weren't authorized. Sales and trading of shares that also hadn't been authorized and it all traced back to you. Made even more suspicious by the fake files you gave to Ryan. Now Daniel if you wanted to set someone up, you wouldn't write up fake documents that also appears to incriminate the one you're giving them to."

Ryan leaned forward in his chair and said with a hint of menace in his voice, "I never really considered the possibility of Demetrius being a traitor, these files are much too different. As if you wanted to make an impact, it could have possibly fooled others but not me. You underestimated me Mr. Clarke. Especially considering you also tried to frame me for your corporate sabotage, you will get what is coming to you,"

Demetrius looked to Ryan, he couldn't blame him for being upset with being raked into the plot. But he had never heard Ryan be so aggressive before, it was strange but then he was strange the previous day. He would allow this to slide for now, but if it continued he would likely have to question him. He could only be so careful.

"We at least have the evidence to prove your guilt, I never trusted you, I always felt something off about you. I guess I was right," said Ryan.

Demetrius smirked, he could feel the anxious tension coming from him in waves, "You'll probably be hearing from the police, there is enough evidence here to have you charged with a few offences at least."

He got up from the chair and walked over to the intercom, "Kerry get security to escort Mr. Clarke out of the building. He no longer works here."

Silence from the intercom came for a few moments before it crackled, "Yes... Mr. Drakos,"

Demetrius grinned as Clarke looked to Ryan as if shocked, maybe he thought he'd get away with it, but he had failed. He had been a part of corporate takeovers in the past, even if he had succeeded he didn't have the drive to remain there. Winters slowly stood up from the chair as his security came into the room. "Take Mr. Clarke to his office, he has ten minutes to pack up his stuff before you take him to the carpark. He's not to come back into the building."

"Yes sir," the guards grabbed his arms and escorted him from the room, when the doors shut he turned back to Ryan.

"That was entertaining, I wonder how he thought he would run the company," said Demetrius.

"Helios Investment had a vested interest in this company. They wanted our investments, Clarke was supposed to get rid of us so they could launch a takeover bid," said Ryan.

"If they want a fight, we can give them one. As they're prepared to play dirty, we should hold nothing back. What do they have in assets? It could make a fine boost in our profits."

"Resources mostly, they wanted us for our shipping investments. They have a lot of coal, iron and oil but not much in the way of shipping. If they could take over our assets they would control our shipping interests and they would no longer have to pay out as much money for transport," said Ryan.

"It sounds like a good reason for restructuring, we could get rid of more of the zombies. After Clarke's display the others might also be causing trouble." Demetrius sat back in his chair and thought for a moment. Things didn't add up, Ryan did things silently, he always knew what he was up to. But Ryan never told him anything until he was sure it was going to work, he had heard of Helios Investment last week wanting to acquire transport assets. But such an announcement from Ryan was out of character, he wouldn't have expected him to say anything for at least another week until he was certain of all the facts.

"A good plan, when should we deal with this?"

"Next board meeting, take three days to plan out everything then we know where we're heading. What have you got on for today?" he asked.

"Ms. Rodgers is coming in to continue her investment terms, she could still get any of her assistants to do it for her. She doesn't actually need to be here for all these details," said Ryan.

Demetrius smirked, "She's been after you for the last two weeks, she just wants to get into your pants."

Ryan jerked up in his chair, "I'd rather not be cougar bait thanks, she's an aggressive woman that's for sure. I like them softer than that."

Demetrius grinned at that assessment, it was good to see the tension slide from him, "You don't know it until you've tried it."

Ryan looked at him mouth agape, "When did you do that?"

"My father's secretary, was a fun time for a while. Experienced women can be such a turn on," Demetrius chuckled as he looked at his watch, he needed to get the documents prepared so he could legitimize the arrangement with Katherine.

"I haven't had any of those kinds of experiences, but you like powerful women though. I need to get prepared for The Cougar, afternoon meeting about 3pm?" he asked.

"Great, I also need to get ready for Ms. Valencia to sign the documents, we have a lunch time appointment," said Demetrius as he got up from his chair as Ryan did the same. "I'll keep you informed about Clarke too Ryan. We'll likely need to get all the evidence together so it can be handed over to the police."

"Ok, we should talk about that at our afternoon meeting," said Ryan as he pushed the doors open.

"Good plan, see you then Ryan." Demetrius strode towards his office, apprehension still burning in his body. He knew something wasn't right, he just didn't know what it was. When he reached his office he opened the door and stepped in then shut the door. He sat down in his chair and groaned, he did have a lot of work to do, it was best he got to it. He could consider his concerns later.