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She answered the phone, making her voice stay calm as her cell vibrated next to her thigh. It took all of her self-control not to check it while she was scheduling the appointment, but she was determined to remain professional. Plus, it wouldn’t kill Patrick to have to wait for her response. She was not going to do something so irresponsible as checking her text messages while she was on the phone with a patient.
But she yanked her cell out of her pocket the second she hung up.
Heels, yes. Leave the trench coat at the front desk. Come into my office when you get here.
A shiver went down her spine, so intense she looked around fearfully, sure someone must have noticed. Nope. They were all lost in their own little worlds, completely indifferent to the sudden upheaval of hers.
Her phone buzzed again.
How do you respond, Pixie?
Wetting her suddenly dry lips with her tongue, Lexie felt her heart pounding as she typed in her response.
Yes, Sir.
Waiting for 8pm was a form of torture all on its own. Patrick hadn’t wanted to do Lexie’s scene too early in the evening. Making it later gave it a more pressing time limit to end, so he couldn’t be tempted to extend it. It also meant he had far too much time to kill beforehand.
Lisa was behind the bar, Jared was at the door, and the club wasn’t exactly hopping yet. It was always slower on Thursdays anyway, especially earlier in the evening, so Patrick just wandered through, double and triple checking that all the toys he wanted were already set up in the “Office.” Not his own office, although he’d been tempted; he’d signed out the theme room Office for the evening. All new toys too, chosen specially with Lexie in mind. She’d get to take them home at the end of the night.
It gave him a small sense of satisfaction to know that, if nothing else, she’d always have the toys he’d picked out for her.
When he came back down to the bar, Justin and Chris were there with Jessica. She immediately perked up when she saw Patrick, a happy grin alighting her face. Tipping her head back, she said something to Justin, who had his arm around her waist. He looked up and gave Patrick a nod before releasing her. While he and Chris kept talking, sipping on their drinks, Jessica came trotting over to him.
It was all Patrick could do not to raise his eyebrows. Usually she couldn’t be separated from those two, and even though she was friendly with him, he could always tell he intimidated her. She tried hard not to show it though.
“Good evening, Jessica,” he said, as soon as she got close enough, giving her an encouraging smile.
The pretty brunette beamed up at him, for once not an ounce of trepidation in her expression or body language. She was looking particularly pretty tonight, with her soft brown curls falling around her shoulders and her curvy body on display in a tight violet corset and a black latex skirt. Patrick recognized Justin’s particular style in what she was wearing; he and Justin both had a penchant for dressing their submissives.
“Good evening, Sir,” she said. “I just wanted to say I’m really happy you’re letting Lexie into the club now. She’s so excited, and the rest of us are really excited she’s going to be here.”
Now one of Patrick’s eyebrows did go up. He hadn’t been sure what to expect from her, but somehow this wasn’t quite it. He doubted Lexie had put her up to this; it was more likely her naturally friendly inclination and desire to see everyone happy. That was definitely something he’d noticed about her. It amused him to think maybe she was trying to give him some kind of positive reinforcement for what she saw as good behavior. Although, he supposed it could also be a kind of guilt-trip in case he was having second thoughts.
One thing he did like about the subbies of Stronghold was how they stuck together. Not all of them liked each other, of course, but he didn’t tolerate drama in the club. He had been surprised by how many of them had rallied around Lexie last week. That kind of thing was rare. Then again, such a situation had never come up before.
“I’m sure she’ll appreciate the sentiment,” he said, a bit dryly.
Jessica shifted slightly on her high heels, and he wondered if she was getting a little nervous now or if she was just having trouble balancing. “You’re doing the right thing.”
If Justin had heard her say that, he’d probably give her a spanking. She was teetering on the line of being disrespectful.
Crossing his arms over his chest, he stared down at her, watching as she went from an insistent friend to an anxious subbie who realized she’d just pushed things a little too far. As a Dom, he didn’t need her approval on how to handle his sub - and Lexie was his, at least for the duration of her training. As the owner of the club, he needed it even less so. Jessica’s hands fluttered and then slid behind her back, where he was sure they twisted together. He wondered if she even realized how her body language had changed, to that of a submissive trying to show her acceptance of his dominance.
“Have you thought about how Lexie will feel if she can’t meet the standards I need for any woman, any submissive, that I become involved with?” he asked, his voice perhaps a bit harsher than he’d intended it to be. But he knew she’d pass her words on to the other subs, and they all needed to think about how much pressure they were putting on both him and Lexie, when it really wasn’t any of their business. Not to mention, how much they were encouraging her without thinking of the consequences. “How she’ll react? How it will affect everyone else?”
Jessica’s mouth opened and closed, and she frowned, obviously thinking. Her hands still behind her back, chest thrust slightly forward, she swayed slightly on her heels as if his words had struck her. Then she shook her head, looking up at him with liquid brown eyes.
“Have you thought about what you’ll do if she can?”
She quailed almost immediately as his eyes flashed with displeasure. “Back to your Doms, little subbie. Ask Justin for a lesson in minding your own business.”
He like a sassy sub, otherwise he’d never have been attracted to Lexie, but Jessica had just pushed a little too far. She knew it too.
Dropping her eyes to the ground, she nodded her head. “I’m sorry, Sir. It’s just... we’re all worried you’re not going to give her a real chance and then both of you will be miserable.” She peeked up at him, sincere apology in her eyes. “We just want you both to be happy.”
“Apology accepted. Just remember, part of being happy is finding our own way, just like you did,” Patrick reminded her gently. He dropped his arms from across his chest and opened them, Jessica immediately stepped forward and snuggled in. Across the room, he could see Justin and Chris take note. They’d been watching the whole time of course, but they had to be wondering what had prompted the hug. “It’s okay to be a concerned friend, but you can’t push people into a relationship just because you think it’s a good idea. Something you should know better than others.”
More than one person had tried to convince Jessica she was making a mistake by being in a triad relationship with Justin and Chris, pushing her to choose one over the other. Hell, the other guys had all been concerned, especially because it could have seriously fucked up Justin and Chris’ friendship. But, at the time, both of the guys had been determined to have Jessica and just as convinced they could keep their friendship intact. Choosing both of them had done that, but it hadn’t been an easy decision for her.
