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it looked at and hopefully fixed, but not in time for tonight.
Best,
Faye
Well, damn. He smiled. He hadn’t been expecting that. It was always nice when someone surprised him in a good way. No, the audio situation wasn’t optimal, but she would be able to hear him so they could work around it for now. It would be similar to him commanding silence from a submissive or gagging her.
He hurriedly went about getting something together for dinner, while at the same time planning what he was going to do in a few hours. He’d just sat down to eat when his phone rang. He looked at the display. Luke.
“Hello?” he answered with a frown. He couldn’t think of a reason why Luke would be calling him.
“Master Neal,” Luke said, “I’m so sorry to interrupt your evening, but I have a situation. You know I wouldn’t bother you otherwise.”
Club business. That couldn’t be a good sign. “What’s the issue?”
Luke sighed. “Anna Beth.”
Of fucking course it was Anna Beth. He cursed the day he’d decided to go to the club and played with her. “What now?”
“One of the staff has information that she’s been going around telling the subs you’ve played with before that the two of you are together, but you can’t go public because of her job. She’s threatening anyone who expresses any interest in you.”
“What the fuck?” Surely Luke was making this up. “I don’t even go to the club that often.”
“I know, but the fact is, she’s causing trouble and dragging you into it. I don’t believe her, but some people are accepting what she’s telling them.” Luke took a deep breath. “I can deal with her myself, but it’d send a stronger message if you could come down and be part of it as well.”
Simon closed his eyes, knowing what the answer would be but having to ask the question anyway. “When?”
“She’s coming tonight at eight.”
It had to be eight. Of course it had to be. “I had plans, Luke.”
“I understand. I’ll take care of it.”
But he shouldn’t have to. Yes, he was the club’s owner and manager, but Anna Beth was a problem because of Simon. “I’ll be there,” he said, forcing each word out.
“I truly appreciate it.”
“Yeah, no big deal.” Except it was. He hung up after telling Luke he’d be at the club by seven forty-five, and then he wrote Faye.
Faye,
I am so sorry. I’ve had an urgent issue arise that I have to take care of tonight. We’re going to have to reschedule. Tomorrow night, same time?
Apologies,
SirSimon
In less than two minutes he had his answer.
I’d love to take care of any issue you have that’s come up, but I have the feeling my help isn’t needed in this instance. Maybe next time . . .
—Faye
He chuckled at her sense of humor and again bemoaned the fact that he was going to have to spend his time taking care of Anna Beth instead of experiencing what had the promise of being a very enjoyable video chat with Faye. He’d have to make it up to her at some point in the future.
However, even with the promise of a future video chat in the back of his mind, Simon arrived at Luke’s club in a foul mood. It was a Thursday night and the crowd was heavier than a normal weeknight. In some ways that was a good thing; it meant there would be more witnesses. On the other hand, the very fact that there would be more witnesses meant that Anna Beth would be even more upset. Not that he cared; he would have nothing to do with Anna Beth after tonight.
Not for the first time, he went back over the last scene they’d had together. He’d started out slowly. He’d played with her before, but it had been a long time and he’d wanted to get a feel for what she could handle before he did anything too extreme. It’d quickly become obvious, to him at least, that Anna Beth was not a masochist.
Yes, she’d begged him for more. She’d said she wanted it harder, but he had enough experience to know when he was being lied to. Worse yet was the way her body flinched. It wasn’t a movement of acceptance and need for the pain he gave, but rather a shrinking away.
It’d made him feel even worse than when he’d started in the lifestyle. He decided then and there the situation was too fucked-up for words. Unfortunately, Anna Beth wouldn’t use her safe word, so he’d decided to end things with the whip. He went light on her. Too light, really. And he made sure she got off. But that was it. He’d walked out of the room they’d been in and realized it was the first time he’d ever played that he didn’t get hard during the scene.
And now the chit was telling people they were exclusive?
What the ever-loving fuck?
He nodded to the doorman.
“Good evening, Master Neal,” the man, whose name Simon couldn’t remember, said. “Master DeVaan is expecting you. He said to tell you he’d be waiting at the bar.”
“Thank you.”
Normally, after he arrived at the club, he would stop by the locker room. But this was no normal night and he had no reason to stop there. He pushed open the double doors leading to the main area of the club.
As expected, there were a good number of people in attendance, but he didn’t stop to talk with any of them. He wanted to get this over with as soon as possible. He looked over the crowd at the bar until he spotted Luke.
The club owner had his back toward him, and at the moment, his attention was focused on the lovely blond woman at his side. Simon recognized Meagan Bishop, who was not only Luke’s submissive, but also the newest morning news anchor for the local television station. Their heads were close together and they appeared to be discussing something intently.
They didn’t move apart when he walked up to them, and it wasn’t until he cleared his throat that they stopped whispering.
“Sorry for interrupting,” he said when the two finally looked his way.
“Master Neal.” Luke slid off the barstool. “Thank you for coming. I apologize again that you had to change your plans.”
“Nothing that won’t keep,” he said.
“Meagan was just telling me about a conversation she overheard in the ladies’ locker room.” He nodded toward her. “Tell him what you told me, sweetheart.”
Meagan was frowning, which wasn’t like her at all. Not only that, but something lurked behind her expression that gave Simon the chills. “I was in the shower area, but no one knew I was back there because I wasn’t exactly showering.” She cut her eyes to her Dom.
“She was cleaning the tile floor,” Luke explained. “When she gets stressed, she stress-cleans. She also turns into a brat. The shower needed cleaning and I needed her to stop being a brat. Win-win.”
Meagan didn’t look like she so much agreed with the win-win part. “Anyway, I was out of sight, but I could still hear the conversations in the dressing rooms. One of the unattached subs, Gennie, started talking. Said you were part of an online group and that lately you’ve been out of pocket more than normal because you found an online play partner.”
He gritted his teeth. Now they had a bigger problem than just Anna Beth. Seemed as if Gennie needed a refresher course in basic confidentiality. He glanced at Luke.
“I’ll deal with Gennie,” Luke said with a wave of his hand. “There’s more.”
“Turns out, she was talking with Anna Beth,” Meagan continued. “And Anna Beth told Gennie that if she found out who the whore was you were seeing behind her back, she’d hurt her.”
Simon was at a loss for words. None of what Meagan said made any sense. Why would Anna Beth insist they had a relationship? And what the hell was she doing threatening a woman she didn’t even know when there was nothing at all between her and him?
“That right there is enough to get her kicked out of the club,” Luke said. “I don’t allow any type of threat made of that sort, joking or not.”
