Chapter Text
“I still don’t understand why you want me to meet with Daenerys Targaeryn.” Sansa had repeated a version of the same question at least five times that day already, but she hoped that her obvious displeasure would finally draw some real answers out of Margaery.
Unfortunately, her mate didn’t seem fazed. “So you keep saying. I thought you trusted me, dear.”
“You know I do, but…” Sansa began, but Margaery cut her off.
“Then trust me that you’re going to enjoy yourself this afternoon.”
“Enjoy myself?!” Sansa could feel her face reddening, and it took all of her concentration keep her eyes on the dense King’s Landing traffic she was currently weaving through. “I did tell you that Daenerys’ lunatic of a father almost drove my grandfather’s company out of business with his takeover attempts and frivolous lawsuits, didn’t I?”
Margaery patted her on the knee. “You did.”
“And you know that her brother was a degenerate gambler who squandered most of the family fortune at the tables in Bravos?”
“Before being found dead of an overdose in the penthouse of the Titan’s Folly. Everyone knows that story, Sansa. It was on the front page of the tabloids for weeks. Although I still think he might’ve been murdered by that Doreah girl.”
“I wouldn’t rule it out,” Sansa said tartly. “So given all that, what makes you think I’ll like Daenerys? I know she’s made a lot of progress rebuilding her family’s position, but the rumors about how she’s been doing it… her takeover of Astrapor’s energy industry was pretty unsavory.”
“She’s ruthless,” Margaery agreed cheerfully. “So are you, when you need to be. You should know better than anyone that you can’t be a pushover when it comes to business.”
There was truth in that, Sansa had to agree. After her older brother Robb’s death in a car crash, she had inherited his position as the head of the family conglomerate, but it had taken years and some brutal infighting before company’s finances had been stabilized and the board recognized that she was more than just a pretty face attached to an old family name.
It was in that same combative spirit that Sansa refused to admit defeat now. “My father got our company into debt trying to make it more environmentally responsible. Hers was cited six times for oil fires started by unsafe conditions on his ships.”
“Like you said, that was Daenerys’ father, not her. Besides, her mate and I were at school together. Missandei swears the real Dany’s a lot more charming than the hard-nosed alpha she plays on the business shows.”
Sansa raised an eyebrow but she wasn’t surprised by the connection. Unlike her, Margaery didn’t have to work for a living; her grandmother was quite capable of managing the family trust. Still, Margaery did manage to know pretty much every power broker in King’s Landing and maintain friendships with most of them; an invaluable talent that the more stand-offish Sansa had come to appreciate.
“I suppose you know your business,” she finally conceded with a sigh. “And if this joint venture doesn’t sound like a good idea, I can always walk away. One meeting won’t actually hurt anyone.”
“Not unless you want it to,” Margaery replied, with a smile that would have Sansa wondering what she meant for the next half hour.
***
“Why, exactly, are we meeting them here?” Daenerys asked, sweeping her arm to indicate the gilded furnishings surrounding her and her mate. "My offices are perfectly nice and I’m sure renting this place cost us an arm and a leg.”
Indeed, The High Hill was the most expensive hotel in King’s Landing, and her mate had gone and booked an entire suite just for one get-together with someone Daenerys had never even met. Missandei, though, was undismayed, smiling and giving her a pat on the shoulder.
“Margaery thought it would be better to do things this way. If the press sees her and Sansa Stark walking into your corporate headquarters, they’re going to jump to conclusions about what we’re up to. We don’t want them writing about some big deal in the works when this meeting might not come to anything.
“Thus the desire for a low profile. I see her point.”
With a sigh, Daenerys settled down into one of the plush armchairs. She had to admit it was exquisitely well designed, almost immediately soothing the tension that had been running up and down her back for days.
“I’m sorry I gave you a hard time,” she told Missandei. “Really, it’s this latest lawsuit from Astrapor that I’m annoyed at. Just because the old directors didn't like being forced out after the takeover, they think they can drag me into court, wasting months of my time, all for a case they can’t possible win…”
“And there’s the quarterly earnings report coming up as well,” Missandei added. “Don’t worry about it, babe; I understand.”
“Thank you.”
Daenerys leaned up to give her mate a kiss on the cheek, while Missandei sat down on the side of the chair. Her navy skirt had a long slit running along the side, and Daenerys’ eyes were irresistibly pulled to the strip of leg that it left exposed. As busy as she’d been with work lately, there hadn’t been enough time to take care of either of their needs.
On impulse, she slid her hand across the bare flesh, creeping up toward Missandei’s inner thigh. The omega purred at her touch, but just as Daenerys got a first whiff of her sweet scent, Missandei pulled back. “Stop it, Dany. Sansa and Margaery will be here any minute now.”
“As you say.” Daenerys pulled back her hand, although not without a last, lingering caress. Her mate’s mouth fell open and Daenerys shot her a sly grin. “So, how exactly do you know the famous Margaery Tyrell?” she asked as the omega settled into another chair. “I realize you both went to college at the Citadel, but it doesn’t seem like you would’ve run in similar circles.”
“Actually we were in the same sorority. Mostly it catered to the upper crust, but they admitted a few scholarship students every year so they could pretend they weren’t a bunch of rich, elitist omegas… which most of them were. Margaery was actually nice though. She’s one of those people that makes you feel like they care about you, even if you’ve just met.”
“I never trust them. Nobody’s actually that nice, at least not in my experience.”
Missandei shrugged noncommittally. She’d had a hard life, harder in many ways than Daenerys, but it hadn’t embittered her. If anything, her struggles made her appreciate the good that she did find along the way. Daenerys didn’t always share her mate’s sunny perspective, but she appreciated the outlook all the same.
“You might be right,” Missandei told her. “But Margaery and I became good friends, so please try not to be a complete ass to her mate.”
Daenerys arched an eyebrow at her and smiled. “I’ll have you know I can be quite charming.”
“When you want to be.” Missandei smiled winningly. “Now, let’s try and have today be one of those days.”
***
“Here we go,” Margaery said brightly as they got off of the elevator. “The executive floor. And Sansa, even if this deal doesn’t work out, do try to be polite. Missandei’s really a lovely person.”
Sansa hoped that her smile conveyed a convincing sincerity. “I’ll do my best.”
“That’s all I ask. That and that you keep an open mind.”
Although Sansa wasn’t sure what that meant, she nodded in agreement anyway as her mate walked up to the door and knocked. A few seconds later, a pleasant voice asked, “Margaery?”
“It’s me, ‘Dei.”
The door opened to reveal a very pretty omega with tightly kinked brown hair, cinnamon skin, and deep brown eyes. “It’s so good to see you again,” she said to Margaery. The two women exchanged kisses on the cheek before Missandei turned to Sansa, giving her an appreciative look. “Wow, Margaery always did have good taste, but she’s outdone herself this time.”
The compliment caught Sansa off-guard and she quickly responded, “So does Daenerys.”
From somewhere behind Missandei, she heard another woman’s voice, this one more authoritative. “Sansa Stark, I presume. Come in.”
She and Margaery did just that, walking together into the lavish hotel suite where they were greeted by a stunning sight. Daenerys was on television often enough, but video didn’t do justice to the effect of seeing her in person. She made the hotel chair she was sitting in seem like a throne, with her dark suit and skirt the robes of some long-forgotten queen, and her platinum blonde hair forming a golden crown.
Still, Sansa was never one to back down from another alpha and so she drew herself up to her full height and kept her admiration out of her voice. “Daenerys Targaeryn. I’ve heard a great deal about you.”
“All good things, I hope.”
Sansa smiled slightly. “I assume you have someone to read your press clippings to you.”
“Only occasionally. I try not to worry too much about what the papers have to say.”
Sensing the tension in the air, Margaery interjected, “I believe you had a proposition for my mate.”
“Actually, it was Missandei’s idea,” Daenerys said, probably because she didn’t want to concede too much eagerness. “Missandei, could you bring me that folder from the table?”
Missandei did just that and as Daenerys flipped through its contents, Sansa watched both of them closely. There was no denying the aura of authority that the alpha radiated, but Missandei didn’t seem like the type who was cowed by her mate. There was something playful about her expression, a sly look that reminded Sansa of her own omega.
Speaking of whom, Margaery chose that moment to say, “It was something about drilling rights as I recall.”
Daenerys looked up from the file. “Ah, yes. It’s come to my attention that there may be significant oil reserves located beneath some of your family’s timber farms. Missandei thought that we might contract with you to explore there.”
Sansa sat down in one of the room’s other chairs and folded her hands across her lap. “It’s true that we’ve had indications of oil outside of White Harbor. But I’m not sure that Targaeryn Consolidated Holdings is the right partner to help us drill for it. I know that here in the capital making a quick profit is all that matters, but in the North, the Stark name means something and your company’s environmental record is hardly sterling. Need I remind you of the firestorm on the Trident?”
At the mention of that infamous disaster, Sansa could see Daenerys’ spine stiffen but the other alpha kept her composure. “What happened on the Trident was regrettable, but it took place under my’s father leadership, not mine. I’m sure you have plenty of ancestors you’re not proud of either.”
The hairs on the back of Sansa’s neck stood up, her alpha instincts growling angrily. Especially after the tragedies that had befallen her parents and brother, she was sensitive any slight against her family’s honor. “I hardly think my family’s record can be compared to yours,” she snapped. “How exactly did Aegon Targaryen make his money in the first place, Daenerys? Does it still count as a hostile takeover when you hire mercenaries to blow up your competitors’ refineries, or is it just terrorism?”
Daenerys visibly bristled, but before she could respond, Missandei stepped in between the two alphas. “I think we’re getting off on the wrong foot here. The point is for us to find a way to work together, not rehash disputes from over a hundred years ago.”
“And you did agree to be nice, dear,” Margaery added, making Sansa cringe. It hadn’t taken her very long to forget all about her promise to her mate, but something about Daenerys seemed to bring out her aggressive side.
Missandei looked over to Margaery and shook her head. “Five minutes in the same room and they’re already at each other’s throats. Honestly, it’s almost like Yara and Ellaria.”
“Who’re they?” Sansa asked; she’d never heard either of those names before.
“This was back in college, before we met. Junior year, Missandei dated an alpha named Yara from a big shipping family out west. She had a whole lot of swagger and a bit of an unsavory reputation to go with it.”
“Oh, Yara was harmless,” Missandei said. “At least if you didn’t cross her. Her uncle Euron was the real black sheep of the family.”
“That guy was a right prick,” Margaery agreed. “Anyway, Yara had a huge feud going for almost the whole time she and Missandei were together with this other alpha named Ellaria. It started because… what was it, ‘Dei? Something about a sailing competition, right?”
“That was it. Yara won the first big race at school that spring, but Ellaria thought she’d pulled some illegal maneuvers to do it, which not only cost her a placing, but got her new boat dinged up. But Yara insisted she did nothing wrong and from there, it got way out of hand.”
Margaery laughed, smiling back at Missandei. There was an easy chemistry between them that might have been just the connection between old friends, but to Sansa, it felt that there was something flirtatious behind it. “Did it ever. Ellaria hooked up with one of Yara’s exes just to piss her off. Then Yara started a rumor about Ellaria sleeping with one of the deans to get into the school…”
Missandei shook her head. “Gods, that was a complete mess. Their mutual friends were forced to pick sides, a car was vandalized, and I swear the two of them nearly got into a knife fight in the dining hall. But in the end, they did work it out.”
She grinned mischievously, and Sansa had to keep herself from starring at the omega’s loveliness. “How could that possibly have happened?” Daenerys asked.
“Oh, that’s the best part of the story,” Margaery said with obvious relish. “I’d heard from an old flame of Ellaria’s that she liked other alphas almost as much as omegas, and a friend at the school clinic let slip the timing of her next rut. I told ‘Dei, and just when it was about to start, she set up a peace meeting between Yara and Ellaria.”
“And then what?” Sansa asked. She was getting an idea where this was heading, but her growing curiosity demanded details.
At this point, Missandei took over telling the story. “At first, it was all mutual demands for restitution and threats, but then I suggested that perhaps a few drinks could helps us work out our differences.”
“After a couple of whiskies, our differences didn’t seem so important, and after a couple more, we started noticing some of our… common interests. Ellaria had this lovely, long dark hair, and when Yara began admiring it, Ellaria said something about Yara’s muscles. After that, well, we were off.”
Sansa could feel herself blush. Margaery had made her far more adventurous since they’d gotten together, but she’d still been raised as a proper lady and hearing this story from someone she’d just met was a bit of a shock. Yet, she didn’t actually mind. The idea of this gorgeous omega and a pair of alphas, the heat between them building… Sansa felt a stirring between her legs that was hard to ignore.
Daenerys seemed taken aback as well, a quiver in her voice when she asked, “And all of you were okay with that?”
“Certainly,” Missandei said. “What omega wouldn’t enjoy having two such enthusiastic alphas at her disposal? As for Yara, she always had a wicked sense of humor. The chance to make her rival scream wasn’t something she was going to pass up. And Ellaria was very open-minded, not to mention creative.”
Margaery laughed. “I’ll say. By the time I stopped by to check on how the negotiations were going, I think they’d had already come up with three new positions and they were working on a fourth.”
Sansa’s head spun as an extremely vivid picture of what that might’ve entailed came into her mind. Her cock was achingly hard as she stammered, “So, what happened with Ellaria and Yara afterwards?”
“They ended up becoming good friends. Even sailed in one of the big national competitions together.” Missandei’s full lips curved into a wry smile. “Plus, they fooled around a few more times, although by then Yara and I had broken up, so I didn’t get to join in on the fun.”
“And you’re saying Sansa and I are like Yara and Ellaria?” Daenerys asked, obviously as thrown as Sansa herself. “In what sense exactly?”
Margaery couldn’t have given the two of them a more sinful look if she was stark naked and in heat. “In what sense do you think? I’m suggesting that maybe you and Sansa have some common interests you might want to explore. Only this time, I don’t think we’re going to need alcohol, and I don’t plan to just watch.”