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Dexen nodded. “You’re right. He misses you though, both of you.”
I cut in. Time was ticking. “I need to go get ready.”
“Sure thing, vixen,” Peyton said and gave me a kiss. Perry did the same then I was hightailing it to my dressing room. I hated cutting it too close. I worried I wouldn’t get into the zone I needed to be in.
Emerald was inside touching up his stage makeup. “Hey, Ocean, ready for a good night? The crowd is wild. I love it.” He smiled.
“I am.”
Quickly, I stripped out of my clothes and dug out a hot-pink G-string and gray slacks. I had matching gray suspenders, and a pink tie. The mask was a combination of the two colors. The fabric was gray. The edges were lined with pink.
I dug out my pink glitter spray and went lightly over my body with it. Too much and it would be overpowering. I only wanted a sheen, so the lights would play nicely over my skin.
Emerald was relining his eyes with black. “I heard a rumor about you and Perry Altair. Is that why you stopped working for him?” I knew the questions would come. I liked the guys I worked with, but none of us were overly close.
“One of the reasons,” I said. “Mainly it was because I wanted to dance full time. This is much more fun, and the money is good.”
“Hell, you don’t need the money. Let Daddy take care of you.”
I froze mid spray. “He’s not a Daddy. I can take care of myself.” I had nothing against men who wanted a Daddy/boy relationship, but I didn’t desire that. I also hated the idea of Perry taking care of me financially. He would if given the chance. I’d never ask though.
“I didn’t say you couldn’t. It would be nice to have that kind of security though. I heard he was quite the player in college.” He chuckled.
There were plenty of articles out there about Perry’s life from the time he was young, through college, to taking over PJS. Given how wealthy his dad was, Perry was on the local radar from an early age.
“He was, but he’s not anymore,” I said. “He’s got Pey and me. He doesn’t need anyone else.”
A knock on the door prevented the conversation from going further, which was fine by me. I was done talking. Emerald wanted gossip and I wasn’t giving it to him. He wouldn’t be the only one. Other dancers would ask me too.
I put on the rest of my clothes, readying myself for my performance. Not only did I want great tips tonight, but I wanted my men to have to fight not to come in their jeans.
25
PERRY
The pencil cup flew from my fingers, hitting the bookshelf like it had done countless times before. Those pricey pencils of Dom’s fell like arrows to the carpet, a couple landing straight up with their points in the fiber.
I’d just read an email from Greer that said one of his managers gave his notice. It was Thursday and that was the second person we were losing this week. The other was from R&D. Apparently, they were too terrified of JJ and quit. Both Stefen and JJ assured me that nothing happened to warrant the fear. I thought everyone was fine there. Nevertheless, more employees gone.
It was pissing me off to not only lose employees but for this reason. JJ was doing great. Stefen couldn’t stop singing his praise. The people in their department, who actually worked with JJ, loved him. Sure, he had a commanding presence, but he was a nice guy if they would bother to look past the preconceived notions they had of him. Granted, I wasn’t much better. I worried about shit hitting the fan too but so far, we were good. JJ had proven he was nothing like his dad.
Jordan… I’d received one call so far from him asking how JJ was doing. I didn’t bother mentioning how people quit. That would only piss Jordan off, which I didn’t need. Instead, I focused on the positive. On the impact JJ was having within the company. These were things he could have asked his son but, apparently, they weren’t on friendly speaking terms. They talked when they needed to and that was the end of it.
Carissa poked her head in through my half-opened door. “Everything okay, Mr. Altair?”
“Yes, no. Fuck if I know. Nothing for you to worry about, but thank you for checking on me.”
I had to remember to be nice to her. She wasn’t Dominic. I couldn’t yell like I normally would and expect her to deal with my shit. Dominic would take it all with an easy grace that I missed like crazy. He was happy dancing. Meanwhile, we hadn’t seen him since Monday morning when he went home, and Peyton and I went to work. Tomorrow night, that would change. We’d get him all to ourselves until Monday morning.
God, I wanted to see him. There was a hole inside me without him nearby. This week had been an adjustment. I had no clue I was so attached to Dominic. It wasn’t the work. I didn’t give a shit about him not being here to organize my life. It was his presence. His energy. His everything.
“Would you like a cup of coffee?” Shit, I forgot she was still there.
I forced a smile. “That would be great, thanks.”
If I asked Dominic to get me coffee, he’d probably brew a cup and drink it himself. In front of me. He’d lick his lips, drawing my gaze to them. Of course, I’d have to taste him after that. Tasting would lead to touching, which would lead to coming, and I shouldn’t be thinking about this at work.
I picked up my stapler and launched that next to try and get out of my head. It hit harder than the pencil cup, probably denting the binding of the books it bounced off. The sound brought Peyton to my door.
