"What's that?" Kellen angrily gestured to the tablet in Declan’s hand. Okay, so maybe “very quickly” meant “right now.” What the hell was Kellen’s problem?
"It's my tablet," Declan looked up at Kellen. Surely the man had seen one before. He wasn't living in the stone age. He wasn't that ignorant. Kellen had a huge mansion in the middle of the forest on one of the smaller islands in the area.
"No. No tech." Kellen shook his head sharply.
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me. That sort of thing has recording capabilities."
Alarm bells were going off in Declan's head. Kellen was being even weirder than most of Declan's usual clients, and they hadn't even really started the negotiations yet.
"All technology has recording capability. I have to take pictures of your house. How else am I supposed to come up with the right plan?" Declan took a look around the room they were standing in, wondering what the hell Kellen was hiding. Even with his most uptight clients, he’d never encountered anyone quite like this.
Generally speaking, anyone who hired Monster Brothers Security knew that the company was rock-solid. They understood that the Monster brothers didn’t take shortcuts, and perhaps most importantly, they realized that Declan and his brothers were honorable men who did everything in their power to make sure that their clients truly were satisfied with the work.
"Absolutely not." Kellen seemed firm, but Declan wasn't sure how he was going to get around that. Even if he didn't record anything today, his team needed to use their tools to take pictures, record different positions in the home, and to physically install the software needed to protect whatever exotic animals Kellen was keeping.
Declan shook his head. So that was how it was going to be? The reality was that he didn't need Kellen's business. Monster Brothers Security was doing quite well. He wasn't going to say they were the top security firm in the country, but when it came to the world of shifters, they were undoubtedly the most trusted and the most efficient.
Not being “allowed” to use his tools was unacceptable to Declan, and he realized that this meeting truly had been a waste of everyone’s time, especially his. He’d planned to spend today analyzing the situation and creating a solution to whatever Kellen’s issue was, but without his tablet, he had no way to record the measurements and evaluate the location.
What was he supposed to do?
Record the measurements with a pencil and paper?
Sure, that was technically possible, but it was also wildly inefficient, and it meant that completing this project would take twice as long. Declan would have to charge twice as much because his team would be working twice as long. That simply wasn’t something he was interested in. In Declan’s experience, if a client was this problematic during their first meeting, the relationship was only going to get worse.
And fast.
"Then I'm sorry," he stood and shook his head. "I'm not going to be able to help you."
"That's it?" Kellen raised an eyebrow, and then he sneered. "You aren't even going to try to retain me as a client? That's the worst customer service I've ever seen." Kellen made a weird clucking sound, as if he were a mother hen upset with her chicks.
"You aren't a customer," Declan said calmly. "Today was simply an evaluation meeting to consider whether we would work well together, which we clearly will not. Besides, you've made it clear you aren't willing to work within the requirements I have. If you refuse to allow me to use my tools, I can't possibly assist you in keeping your pet safe."
He put an extra emphasis on the word pet to indicate that whatever it was, Kellen's pet was something he wasn't supposed to have. It was probably a fucking unicorn. Wouldn’t that just be great? If Declan found out that this asshole had captured an endangered creature, well, he’d lose his shit.
Declan turned toward the door without looking back, and he strode out of the office. Waves of irritation washed over him. What a waste of time. Kellen didn't follow him as Declan made his way down the hall and toward the front entryway. The mansion was huge as hell, but Declan wasn't impressed. He knew that Kellen was likely already contacting other contractors who would be willing to do whatever he wanted.
Well, good for him.
But also, fuck guys like Kellen.
He thought just because he was rich, he was entitled to whatever he wanted. That so wasn't the case when it came to Declan. He didn't give a shit
what Kellen wanted. Besides, Declan had plenty of money: probably even more than Kellen. He just didn’t feel the need to flash it around, and he didn’t feel the need to use his money to hurt other people. That was probably the thing that rankled Declan the most about Kellen. The millionaire just seemed like the kind of guy who was wildly greedy and undoubtedly cutthroat.
Declan strode down the hallway and turned right. He kept moving, but he barely noticed the expensive statues and paintings that lined the hall. He had paintings at his home, too. They didn’t mean anything. All the paintings proved was that Kellen had paid a decorator to make his house look nice. Anyone could do that.
When he was almost to the front entryway, Declan turned again, but he stopped just short of running into a small servant girl. Declan hadn’t even known that Kellen’s employees were around today. The asshole had been so wildly uptight about every word exchanged during their conversation that Declan had simply assumed Kellen had arranged for additional privacy. Apparently, he’d been wrong.
He stopped, looking down at her, and the girl seemed to be biting back a scream. She was shaking wildly. Declan could hear her heart racing.
Great.
Now he'd not only fucked up the deal, which he didn't really care about, but he'd fucked up this girl's day. She looked terrified of him, and he hated that he was scaring her. Nobody deserved to be scared when they were just trying to do their job.
"Apologies, Miss," he said. Declan nodded, hoping it would show her that he wasn’t all bad. He just wanted to do his job and go home to his treehouse. It was a simple life, but it was a good one. He had a quiet residence in the middle of Sapphire Island where nobody would bother him. Everyone left the scary dragon alone, and that was just the way he liked it.