Fisher (Prince of Tigers, #3) - Kathi S. Barton Page 0,13

on an entire family of the greatest tigers ever born.”

They talked for a little bit more. But she was exhausted and needed to work in the morning so she could get paid. Leaving out some sugar as well as a plate with some honey on it for Peter, she made her way to her room and got into bed. It was going to be a long morning tomorrow. There were also things she needed to tell Fisher. So much good could only mean to her that the other shoe was about to drop. It was the way it usually went for her.

Tomorrow she had to call a company she’d been dealing with for the last thirty days. They weren’t paying her. On top of that, they were going to sue her if she turned off their programming. For the first time in a while, Piper felt as if she could take them on and come out on top. It was a heady feeling being able to feel this good because a man and a faerie had stepped into her life at the correct time.

Chapter 3

Benson avoided talking to the programmer company for seven days before he had no choice but to talk to her. His fucking secretary had put the call through, and he’d answered it. Because Denise had worked for his father-in-law, he’d had to keep her on until her retirement.

Miss James, owner and operator, had thought since he was part of a big company, she could make threats to him about paying the bill. Well, that hadn’t worked out so well for her, now had it? She told him, literally, that she held all the cards and he’d better pay her. He knew that to be nothing more than a threat too. Telling her she had better not turn off the programming she’d installed for him, he leaned back in the chair and waited for her to tell him he could have a little more time to pay her. If he ever did. Benson didn’t pay for things if he could get by with it. That was the main reason he was as rich as he was.

He’d been able to take his father-in-law’s little company and turn it into a very profitable one. Of course, he’d always thought Franklin was a sap. Giving some of the people working for him time off with pay when they needed it. Paying bills on time, even if he had a net term to pay after so many days. That had been a real money maker for the business, Not paying his bills until the smaller company simply gave up on it. He was quite proud of himself for that. His wife didn’t feel the same way, but what she didn’t know didn’t hurt her. It was the way of the world to keep secrets from a spouse.

“You’re trying my patience, Mr. Alexander. I told you when you had me write the program and then install it that there were things I would do to my program if you didn’t pay on time and in full. I’m not going to allow you to take any more advantage of me.” He told her he was a man with power. “Are you? So, what do you think will happen to you and your money if I were to simply turn everything off? That would include your Internet, you know. It’s all hooked together. I’ve explained to you that there isn’t any way to retrieve the information you have stored on my program. Not to mention, you signed the waiver that states that if you’re late on your payment, I have full rights to take my program back.”

“Are you threatening me, young lady? I’ll have you know that I eat little people like you for breakfast. You’re not going to do a damned thing. And you’ll waive the extra fees you’ve been tacking onto the bill since the tenth of last month. That is if I decide to pay you at all.” No comment. He loved it when he could render people speechless when he spoke to them. “Now, here is what you’re going to do. You’re going to take your little ass someplace and chill out. There won’t be any more of those threatening calls, nor any more messages telling me I’m in violation of our contract. I’ll make your little company a laughingstock if you so much as turn one computer off. Do I make myself understood? I’m a name around the