realize was that he answered their question with a question.
She had to give him props for not outright lying, but he hadn’t told the truth either. And to use books and movies that had captured the world only seemed to help him sell the non-answer.
“Are you a dragon?” someone yelled.
He looked down at himself. “I look pretty human to me.”
The Dragon Kings could be human or dragon, so again he hadn’t lied. But omission of a fact was as much as lying.
His gaze landed on her for a second time. She wasn’t worried about him noticing her. Not only was she in a pair of jeans and a bulky sweater, but her hair was up, she wore blue colored contacts, and she applied her makeup so that it appeared she didn’t have any on—when in fact it changed the shape of her nose, chin, and forehead.
She waited as Asher took a deep breath. He slowly released it and looked around the room. Maybe it was the way he stood or how his shoulders bunched slightly, but she knew he was about to say something big.
“I’m supposed to be up here talking about our whisky, but I can tell none of you are satisfied with my answers. So let me pose one to you,” Asher said. “Do you believe in dragons?”
There was a multitude of reactions varying from it was absolute nonsense to someone who swore they’d seen one. Rachel listened, but she kept her eyes on Asher.
He laughed as someone pointed out the dragons on the Dreagan whisky. “Dreagan is Gaelic for dragon. We’re Scots who like to acknowledge our ancestors. Of course we use dragons as our symbols.”
A man took a microphone from someone. He cleared his throat, then in a deep German accent asked, “Did Dreagan put out the video?”
“I wish we had,” Asher replied. “It would’ve been a great promotion, but I would’ve done things a bit differently. We obviously didna put out the video because it has drawn attention from media outlets and authorities of every division across all countries.”
“Is it affecting your sales?” asked another man.
Asher shook his head. “Dreagan sells itself. It doesna matter who runs the company or who stands up here answering questions. The whisky is the finest there is, and it proves that year after year.”
Murmurs of agreement ran through the room.
A woman took the mic next. “What are the authorities looking for?”
“Dragons,” he answered.
To her amazement, Asher remained on the stage for another half hour answering some of the same questions again and again. He remained polite and respectful through it all.
No one asked him again if Dreagan was really the home of dragons. His talk seemed to dissuade some who were disappointed he wasn’t a dragon.
She wondered what everyone would think if she could somehow make him shift in front of them. Most likely not even that would hurt Dreagan sales. In fact, it might make the sales double.
When he called an end to the questions, he quickly quieted the upset crowd by offering everyone a taste of two of Dreagan’s most expensive Scotches.
That was her cue to duck into the shadows moments before Asher came down the steps to join his assistant. He blew out a breath, laughing as the small woman fell in step with him.
“Good job, sir,” she replied.
Rachel counted to twenty before she followed them. All day she’d been on Asher’s heels, and he hadn’t even known it. She might not have been able to go into every meeting, but she knew where he was, who he met with, and how long he remained.
He hadn’t eaten a single bite. She’d stuffed half a sandwich in her mouth to calm her rumbling stomach, but all she’d seen Asher have was a bottle of water.
She snorted when a woman practically threw herself in front of him to get his attention. The woman ended up tripping over her own feet and falling on her face.
Rachel had a hard time not laughing out loud. He quickly went down on one knee and helped the woman to her feet, being a complete gentleman the entire time. He didn’t say