Direct and to the point, that summed up Zeke Lautner pretty well.
“I’ll stick,” I assured him. “I think I knew I’d end up back here one day.”
“Where are you staying?” Ben asked.
“Hotel.”
“Not very stable accommodations.”
“Just temporary. Once I figure out my plans, I’ll look for something more permanent.”
Ben nodded, glanced over at Zeke.
A second passed before Zeke pressed a button on the telephone system. “Dale, come in here.”
There was no please, no polite request in his voice. A simple command.
“Yes, Sir,” Dale said quickly.
A second later, the door opened and a young man stepped into the room. He glanced from Zeke to Ben to me, then back to Zeke.
Ben was the one who spoke up. “Could you show Mr. Cavanaugh around? We need a few minutes to chat.”
“Absolutely.” Dale smiled when his eyes came to rest on my face. “Mr. Cavanaugh, if you’ll please come with me.”
There was the polite tone. I figured someone had it.
I pushed to my feet.
“I’ll catch up with you in a few,” Zeke said curtly.
Figuring I’d been dismissed and not exactly sure how I felt about it, I followed Dale out of the conference room. He closed the door behind us, then motioned toward a set of double glass doors.
“I know you, don’t I?” I asked Dale.
Dark brown eyes swung over to meet mine. “Yes, Sir.”
I grinned. “You’re Jordan’s boyfriend.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Relax, Dale. I don’t bite.”
He chuckled, but his shoulders visibly relaxed as he began giving me the rundown of how the company had recently renovated their space, expanding from one floor to two. Gave me a glimpse of the break room, pointed out the coffeemaker, and insisted it was what got him through the day.
“I don’t drink coffee,” I admitted.
He looked baffled, as though that wasn’t even possible. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.”
“Wow.” He stopped, pointed. “Jordan and Jane occupy this area.”
Three offices ran along the left side of the hall. I gave a quick nod to Jordan when the man looked up from his computer. He offered a smile but kept talking into his headset.
Dale started walking; I kept pace. We stopped again when he pointed toward a semicircle of offices surrounding an open seating area. “Landon, Langston, and Luci are here.”
I noticed one of the three doors was closed. The two that were open were empty.
“I think they’re in a meeting,” he said with a chuckle. “The rule around here is to knock.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh, yeah. Otherwise … well, let’s just say, you have to have an open mind to work here.”
A soft cry from the office with the closed door had me understanding exactly what Dale was referring to.
“Good to know.”
We made our way down the stairs. “Mr. Parker, Mr. Snowden, and Addison are on this floor. Zeke recently took over that office.” He nodded toward an open door. “Edge’s office is there.” He pointed toward an office with the lights off. “He’s rarely here, but he has one.”
“Yours will be down this way.” He led the way past Edge’s door, stopped at the office next to it. “As you can tell, it’s a blank slate. Once you’re on board, Addison can help you get set up.”
Assuming I was going to be hired, of course.
“The private conference room is also on this floor,” he explained, motioning back toward the staircase. “They have their Monday meetings in there.”
“And Zeke’s team?” I inquired. “Where are they located?”
“Due to the need for … um … privacy,” he began, looking over at me, “they’ve decided to put most of the employees on a separate floor. Keep this more for executives, partners, and their secretaries.”
I’d been involved in the lifestyle long enough to know what he meant by needing privacy. Based on the noises coming from upstairs, it appeared these people didn’t have an issue mixing business with pleasure.
“I manage the outer office,” Dale explained as we made our way back toward the stairs. “The big bosses mentioned hiring a few secretaries slash assistants to help out, but they haven’t moved on that yet. I think they’re waiting to fill the spots.”
He went on to explain Trent Ramsey’s role, heading up their new talent division. I also learned that Case Rhinehart had recently been hired to manage the gym expansion on the second floor, as well as that Braxton McBride would be the head chef at the restaurant they were adding on the main floor.
“Do they own the entire building?” I asked.
“They do.” We continued up the stairs, down the narrow hall. “The upper floors are residential, and they lease the space on several of the lower floors to other companies. But with the expansion, they’ve been reacquiring space as leases expire.”
Edge had mentioned how Chatter was expanding in many directions. He’d actually used the word exploding to describe the events currently taking place. Apparently, Justin Parker was looking to take the company to another level. Why he’d waited so long, no one seemed to know. While Chatter PR had global offices, they’d managed to remain relatively small in structure. When Edge had mentioned the position, he’d told me how they were focused entirely on filling positions at this point, growing in an effort to ease the strain on the top level.
We made it back to the reception area and Dale continued to ramble, as though he was scared to stop talking. “There’s a valet out front, plus a sandwich shop on the main floor. I’m usually in the office at seven thirty, everyone else coming in around nine.”
The door to the conference room opened and Ben stepped out. He walked right up to me, held out his hand. “Zeke would like to see you.”
“Thank you for your time,” I told him, shaking his hand.
Ben grinned, gripping my hand firmly. “In case he has a difficult time relaying the information, we’d be honored for you to come on board. He’s got the details for you.”
I smiled. “Thank you again.”
Ben turned toward Dale, giving him a rundown of clients he was expecting later that afternoon, while I stepped back toward the conference room.
Ready and willing to hop on board this train and see where it took me.
FIVE
EDGE
Tuesday, October 23, 2018
I WAS STALKING MY OWN DAMN PHONE, which was possibly a first for me.
Unlike a lot of people, the phone wasn’t my chosen form of communication. I tended to interact face-to-face with most people. Today it seemed as though I was connected to this damn thing with my fucking eyeballs.
It was completely out of character for me. Not only the technology-based focus, but also my preoccupation in general. I was the type who had a plan, mapped it out, followed through. Day in, day out, I held to a rigorous routine that kept me on pace. That was the way I handled my personal and my professional life. Always had.
I didn’t obsess over things.
Certainly not my personal life.
But that had been the case since last Friday night, and it seemed to be getting worse with every passing minute. My lack of concentration had been proven during my lunch meeting yesterday. Although I’d run through my presentation flawlessly, I couldn’t recall much of anything that had happened after that aside from the client hiring me to handle what might possibly be the biggest project of my career. The rebranding of the franchised auto parts business would require a significant amount of my time, not to mention quite a few additional employees to make it successful. I had more than enough shit to do to stay busy, but here I was, waiting, wondering, contemplating.
Not a good time to develop a social life, but hey, why the hell not?
The irritating voice seemed louder today.
The project was huge, one I was eager to get started on, bu
t my thoughts continued to drift anywhere except where they needed to be. Case in point: here I was, staring at my phone, expecting a text message that I doubted was coming. Ever since yesterday when Cav messaged to let me know he was taking Jamie out tonight, I couldn’t keep my mind on anything other than the two of them and what their plans might entail.
I knew they were going to dinner, and I didn’t have an issue with that. Not entirely. It wasn’t that I was jealous, more so that I was … curious. I preferred to be there, in the thick of it, but not so I could oversee their actions. No, that wasn’t my issue. I simply wanted to watch them. I could admit, I was a voyeur. It was one of the upsides of managing a club of this nature. I could get my fill of observing others.
But the idea of watching Cav and Jamie was different. Inherently different. And for whatever reason, I could not stop thinking about it. I was quickly going insane with thoughts of what they would be doing together.
I was just happy we’d agreed to get this underway this week. No way could I go on like this for an extended period of time. My work would suffer. As soon as I spent a little time with Jamie, I would better understand her priorities and be able to map out a resolution. That was what I did. I helped people.
Perhaps help yourself to her in the process.
No. Definitely not. She needed my help, I would help.
Only there was one major problem. I couldn’t proceed until I had a conversation with her brother. I owed it to Zeke to let him know what was going on, what my plan was. He had entrusted me to show her the club and I had. Now I was offering to give her a glimpse into the lifestyle. For educational purposes only. She would observe, experience, write her paper, and move on with her life.
I would, too.
But I couldn’t ignore the fact that I was avoiding Zeke for reasons I didn’t quite understand. Which was only exacerbating my issues, and I got the feeling my priorities were a little out of whack.
It wasn’t as though I intended for anything to happen with her. Sure, I might’ve gotten caught up in it on Friday, but I’d had time to think it through. I wouldn’t act on my desires because I was nothing if not controlled. Zeke wouldn’t have to worry about me getting intimately acquainted with his sister.
Keep telling yourself that. At the same time, keep imagining her naked and tied to your bed.
I thrust my hand through my hair, shaking off the image and replacing it with one of Zeke Lautner, the ruthless Sadist who would kick my ass all over the damn club given the chance.
While I didn’t have to worry about seeing Zeke at the office because I was avoiding the entire building, I did have to worry about him appearing here at the club. Thankfully, he hadn’t yet, so I was still in the clear. From what I’d gathered through the rumor mill, his two masochists were keeping him preoccupied. That was likely the only reason he hadn’t called me to check up on his sister.
When I glanced at my phone for the millionth time, I picked it up and pulled up Cav’s number. I briefly considered calling him. I could ask how the interview went, use that as an excuse to dig deeper into his plans for tonight. Before I could hit the button to make the call, I chickened out and shot him a text instead.
Me: What’s up?
I stared at the screen, noticed the message was delivered, but the familiar dots that would signal a response being typed didn’t appear. With a heavy sigh, I set the phone on the desk, glared at it.
When it rang a second later, I barely refrained from jumping out of my chair, glad no one was around to see. I hit the button to take the call.
“Why are you calling me?” I grumbled into the phone.
“Why are you texting me?”
“Hell if I know,” I admitted, leaning back and forcing myself to relax. “Thought I’d check in.”
“Well, you’ve got about half an hour before I turn off my phone for the evening.”
Yeah, great. “Remember we agreed no sex.”
Cav laughed. “I don’t recall that being specified.”
“Very explicitly,” I growled, my tone going dark. “I know you remember it.”
He laughed again. “You’re seriously worried about that?”
I was, and I had no fucking idea why.
“Edge, it’s our first date.”
“It’s not a date,” I countered hotly.
“Technically, it is. That’s what you call it when a man takes a woman out to dinner, shares a good meal, some fantastic wine, and sparkling conversation.”
Semantics.
“And yes,” Cav continued, “we agreed. No sex. While I’d give my left nut to feel that woman wrapped around me, I’ve got more control than that.”
Just hearing him say that twisted something inside me. And again, it had nothing to do with jealousy and a hell of a lot to do with desire. In fact, it had me wondering exactly what it was I wanted from this entire situation. From Jamie. From Cav.
While I hadn’t been with a man in years—hadn’t found one I preferred—I had a definite attraction to Cav. Did the man swing that way? Yeah. He did. However, Cav and I had never had that sort of relationship. For one, I couldn’t really see how it would work. We were both Dominants and I knew without question that I was not the sort of man who would allow anyone to dominate me. As for Cav…well, I honestly didn’t know.
“What else you got?” Cav asked. “You talk to Zeke yet? Tell him what’s goin’ on?”
My shoulders tensed again. I leaned forward, placed my elbows on the desk. “No. I’m avoiding him.”
“Figures.”
I could hear the contempt in Cav’s tone. The man did not approve of me dancing around Zeke. I happened to agree with him. I needed to address the situation, but I just wasn’t ready.
“Where are you taking her?” I asked, wanting to change the subject.
“Acadia.”
I sat back, my heart slamming into my ribs. For Cav to take Jamie to Acadia, a five-star restaurant that would cost him a pretty penny, he had to be serious.
“Problem with that?” Cav asked, evidently amused by my lack of response.
“Not at all. What’s the plan after that?”
“Haven’t thought it through that far. Figured we’d start with dinner, see where it goes from there.”
“You’re not giving me much here,” I said, aiming to lighten the mood, but failing since my voice reflected my edginess.
Cav’s voice deepened when he said, “Are you lookin’ for details, Edge? Is this your inner voyeur comin’ out?”
“Perhaps,” I said truthfully, staring at the closed door to my office.
I was met with silence on the other end of the line, but I could practically hear Cav thinking, so I waited him out.
“We need to talk, Edge,” Cav finally said, his voice gruff, deeper than usual.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “We probably do.” I had no idea what that conversation would entail, but I figured we were likely on the same page. Where it went was anyone’s guess.
“I’ll come by your place tonight.”
I sat up straight. “Tonight?”
“Yeah. After my date with Jamie.”
I swallowed hard. I wanted to avoid him but couldn’t. I knew we had some things to address. Not only where we planned for this thing to go with Jamie but also whatever it was he and I had been skirting for years. Regarding the tension between me and Cav … that, I figured, would work out the way it was supposed to. With Jamie, it was complicated. I was attempting to see it as a project, but I was fooling myself. Dominating her was at the very top of my to-do list, so this getting-to-know-you thing was merely a ruse to get where we wanted to be.
However, I had gone along with this plan to give me some time to think, to figure out how to discuss this with Zeke. It wasn’t that I was scared of the man. I merely didn’t want to cause a rift between us. We were friends, and I intended for us to remain friends.
“Edge?”
“Yeah, sorry. I’ll be home around midnight.”
�
��Good. I’ll see you then.”
“If you get there before I do, just let yourself in. And Cav?”
“Huh?”
“I was wondering if you’d be interested in helping out with the upcoming training class.”
I was met with silence, but I waited him out.
“You sure that’s a good idea?”
I smiled to myself. “Okay, let me rephrase. Should Jamie be added to the roster, would you be interested in helping out with the upcoming training class?”
“Of course,” he said quickly.
“I thought so. Oh, and one more thing.”
“Hit me.”
I decided to go all in, see how he reacted. “I’m going to expect a play-by-play of your date when you stop by tonight.”
“Is that so?’
“Yes. And we’ll see where we go from there.”
Cav inhaled sharply, but I hung up, not wanting to get too deep into that just yet. We would have plenty of time to see how it played out tonight.
I set my phone on my desk and stared at it. My dick was rock hard beneath my slacks, but I ignored the damn thing. I had too much shit to worry about right now, mainly the club I was managing and the training orientation that was starting…
“Shit.” I shot to my feet.
The damn thing had started five minutes ago.
When I walked into the training room a couple of minutes later, I scanned the many faces staring back at me. This class would start out completely full, a total of ten students, which hadn’t been the case for the past few classes.
“Good evening,” I greeted, watching the reactions from all the newbies.
The responses ranged from Hey to Good evening and only a couple of appropriate Good evening, Master Edges.
They would definitely be working on that.
“As you might’ve learned,” I explained to the group, looking from one face to the next as I spoke, “we’ve recently modified the four-week course. While it’s still four weeks, we’ve expanded from three days a week to four. You’re required to be here every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday night for four consecutive weeks, during which time you’ll be in the classroom as well as down in the club.”
No one said anything and only one man in the back appeared completely engaged with his eyes lowered only slightly.
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