Caden's Dilemma (Indiscreet #6)

by A. C. Katt

  § § §

  “We’ll meet in my office,” Reed stepped out of the elevator onto the second floor. Bull and Caden followed. “I don’t know if Masato told you last night, but we are moving all the offices to this wing and putting all the playrooms in the barns and the new additions. We’re also adding a gym with a juice bar. The idea being that the Doms stay longer and spend more money with additional things to do here. As you know, we have a Doms’ dining room where they can take their subs to eat.” Caden nodded his head.

  “Bear’s even talking about an eighteen-hole golf course. We are becoming a country club for gay deviants.” Bull interjected.

  “That’s a few years in the future. First, I intend to set up a subs’ café where the unattached subs, even those who work for the club, can come in and take a break. We are starting an ad campaign in the BDSM newsletters and gay magazines to acquire more paid subs. I want a place for them to be able to relax and talk amongst themselves away from the Doms.” Reed rolled out a sheet of building plans that sat on his desk.

  “Jim and I have discussed this. All of the subs, those who have Masters and those who don’t should be able to have a place to congregate with their own, with their Dom’s permission. The Masters have the Master’s Bar and the Cigar Room. The subs need their own space. A point brought home by the informal Monday gabfests at my house.” Reed laughed. “I’m not allowed to be anywhere near the house when those meetings take place. I’d prefer Jim move them to the club.”

  “Why?” Bull asked. “So that you can say you know nothing of what they’re up to next? Bear’s always on Junior’s back about what new craziness they come up with, and Bear tries to hold him accountable. Junior tells him, ‘I’m out in the car, what do I know?’”

  Reed gave Bull a long look, “Well, yes, back to business…”

  “The price structure here is not complicated. The Doms pay a twenty-five thousand dollar one-time membership fee to belong to the club. If they own a sub, this fee includes the sub. It also includes the sub if they acquire one after they become a member. Doms also pay two thousand dollars a month dues to belong. We give a fifty percent discount on the membership fee to Doms who serve in the military, fire or police departments. Dues are also discounted by fifty percent.”

  “I know what a deal returning vets get on the membership fees, fifty percent. But what kind of payment plan does ex-military get?” Caden asked. “I’m thinking of several buddies who might want to join.”

  “Dues are discounted fifty percent until they find their first civilian job. Then after the first two years they go up to fifteen hundred dollars a month until year five. After year five ex-military should have found their feet in the civilian world, dues are then the normal two thousand.”

  “Cops and fireman get the same deal only their dues are discounted twenty five percent until they leave the force or the department.”

  “What about the subs?” Masato was a member and Caden was very curious.

  “The subs that join as members pay a ten thousand dollar membership fee and five hundred dollars a month in dues. Since the subs are what bring in the Doms, their fees are much lower.” Red tented his hands.

  “Hired subs are paid a thousand dollars a week, with incremental raises every six months. We haven’t hired a sub that stayed single long enough to take advantage of the pay raise. We have a reputation for quality subs.”

  Caden was thoughtful for a moment. “What do you include in the dues?”

  “We include two meals a month in the dues but they pay for all booze. At the bar, members can only run a tab for the evening but we do not hold tabs for more than twenty-four hours. If you are responsible enough to be a Dom, then you have to be responsible enough to pay your tab as you run it up. Members are cut off from the club if they don’t pay their dues after sixty days.”

  “They also can’t play after having a drink. This is where a juice bar could become a profit center.”

  “Are these areas going to be my responsibility?” Caden asked Reed.

  “As the Director of Security it is your responsibility to deal with recalcitrant Doms who don’t pay their bills or drink before a scene. The bouncers get a list of who is not current on their dues and they are turned away at the door unless they speak to me about alternate arrangements. The bouncers also control access to the upstairs rooms. If one of them sees a member drinking or one of the bartenders reports a member, they notify the desk. Unless five hours have passed since the drink and they’ve eaten, they don’t get upstairs.”

  Reed got up and went to the bar. “Would you like some more coffee?”

  Both Bull and Caden said, “Yes, thanks.”. Reed called down to the kitchen to bring up a carafe of Kona and some cups.

  Caden picked up his glass. “I guess I better order lunch.” Reed chuckled.

  “What about the background checks?” Caden asked, knowing this was a large part of the job.

  “I’ve arranged to have the heads of all three security agencies come in to meet with you and me this week. I intend to turn over security checks for any new members and all of the new employees and the new subs, hired or with a membership, to you within the next month. You’ll get a feel of when it’s necessary to call in Rice, the detective agency. I usually find myself doing that when something seems off in the three security reports, their background is murky or the reports don’t agree.”

  “What are my other duties?” Caden sipped on his scotch.

  “The hired subs have to take on one client per evening unless they are certified as hurt by Jim, Greg or Cisco, our resident medics. They still have to come to work but they entertain the Doms with conversation. If any Dom gets out of hand, in other words, consistently causes more than one sub to safe word, it is your job to look into it and if necessary, ban the Dom from the club. You are basically law enforcement at Indiscreet. You’re going to have to be a hard-ass like Bull. After you, the only recourse a member has is directly through me and a thorough retraining with Bull, where they will find themselves at the business end of his whip to show them what kind of damage they can do if unchecked,” Reed said, idly rolling his glass in his hand.

  “But I don’t want to see them if they can’t be rehabilitated.” Bull put his drink down on Reed’s desk.

  “It sounds like you take the welfare of the subs seriously.”

  “We have to,” Reed said. “If we have no subs, we have no club.”

  “I’m going to be keeping a closer watch on the Dungeons and the bouncers who work in that area,” Bull said. “If there are any discipline problems, I’ll bring them to you, but it’s your job to deal with them. All of the bouncers report to you but are directed to respond to orders from Bear, Reed, Jim and myself. If they don’t we’ll lay that at your door for the man to be disciplined or fired.” He took a sip of his drink and looked at Caden.

  “You’ll have the most problems with bouncers responding to Jim’s orders because he is a sub. But it’s your job to reinforce the notion that Jim is also a part owner of the club and responsible for all the back of the house personnel including the kitchen and wait staff, plus the hired subs. Anyone who works for us that crosses or disrespects Jim gets suspended without pay. He is that important to the operation.” Reed stated firmly. “And I’m not saying that because he’s my sub.”

  “Jim completely runs the back of the house. He helps the chef and the kitchen help, he plays Mother Hen to all the service subs and some of the paid subs, he plans all of the events, in other words he’s irreplaceable.” Bull took another sip of his coffee.

  “All in all we have a staff of fifty including the wait staff, the kitchens, bouncers and subs. We run two shifts and the number of members and staff is growing quickly and will grow further as our reputation spreads. We already have people coming down from Manhattan and up from Philadelphia. Because of the top-of-the-line service we provide, the club has a lot of overhead, which is why the dues are so high and likely to go higher. But in order to rem
ain the preeminent club in the area, this is how we need to run things.” Reed finished his drink.

  “One more thing, all employees and members sign a confidentiality agreement that forbids them to discuss Indiscreet with anyone but other members.” Reed handed Caden a sheaf of papers.

  Reed indicated that Caden should look the agreements through. “It includes outing other members or revealing their aliases. The only person who has that information now is me, and in three months I’m going to turn that information over to you. It is on our state-of-the-art networked system. The network and the files are password-protected and encrypted to prevent hacking. The passwords change every day and you will find yours on your desk every morning.”

  “Brian has helped us with the IT and the program that runs the club is proprietary. The kind of thing we need to run the system doesn’t lend itself to hotel and restaurant software. The system takes room reservations and the bouncers punch in a code when the room is thoroughly cleaned and free. The rooms are sound-monitored. Despite member objections, we are installing cameras. Although our clients sign agreements that state they do not hold us responsible for anything that happens here, we want to make sure nothing does. We had an incident where a member gagged a sub and he couldn’t safe word. The bouncers are good and when they heard signs of real distress they went in, and the sub was fine. The member was removed permanently from the club’s roster.”

  “Our security firms take turns sweeping this place for bugs once a week. We take the members’ security very seriously here. The papers that I just handed you are the non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements in addition to the rules and regulations of the club. Please sign it, and Bull and I will witness your signature. Memorize the club rules.” Reed’s face was dead serious. “If any of the bouncers witness an infraction that they can’t handle or that needs to be kicked higher up, it goes to you.”

  Caden read the agreement and signed it.

  “We have a lot of fun here but we take what we do very seriously,” Reed continued. “We provide our membership with a safe, comfortable place to indulge their kink and to be with others who share the lifestyle. The membership has to know their secrets are safe in this place. Now I’ll stop being long-winded and let you start work.” Reed turned to Bull. “Bull is going to transfer the employee files to you immediately for you to go over plus any pending applications already in the process or that need to be put in the funnel. Any questions?” Reed looked at Caden expectantly.

  “I’m sure I’ll have some shortly as I absorb what I’ve learned so far. Bull, as soon as you transfer the files I’ll begin. I gather my passwords and access to the networked system is included in this packet.” Caden stood. “I better get to work. Masato showed me my office Friday night. He’s coming in at seven to do a scene, and maybe I’ll have dinner with him after the scene. I’ll be in my office until then.” Caden stood.

  “By the way, all of the employees are comped a meal during their shift. Management is comped two meals because they generally stay longer. You don’t have to pay for your meals on Friday anymore. If you do happen to give a sub a contract, he gets your meal privileges too.” Reed came over and shook Caden’s hand and Bull followed suit. “Welcome to Indiscreet.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  By seven, Caden was more than willing to go downstairs. He’d thought that they were paying him the large salary as a gesture of friendship for Gary and Danny, which was one of the reasons he was reluctant to take the job, but today he learned he would earn every dime. Reed didn’t seem the type, but he was a hard-headed businessman.

  Caden had reserved a room for his scene with Masato tonight with Bull much earlier in the morning. He heard the club had excellent tools but he brought his favorite flogger just in case. Most of his implements bought over the last ten years were in storage. Once he found a house big enough to hold a dungeon, he would give up his storage locker.

  In the meantime, the house he was in wasn’t so bad, the place was painted, the furniture masculine and cozy. It even had a fireplace under the television. The kitchen had all new appliances and tile countertops. If it were his, he’d prefer granite, but you take what you can get. I could bring someone over there. There’s nothing to be ashamed of in that house. It’s small but well looked after. I’ll have to ask Bear about a cleaning service since I will be spending so much time at the club.

  § § §

  Johnny saw Caden come down the stairs and he was waiting for him at the front desk.

  Caden greeted him with a brief kiss on the lips. “I don’t plan an intense scene tonight because I feel we should get to know one another before we go deep.”

  Johnny inclined his head. “Yes, Sir. I agree.” He’s thinking about my welfare and comfort. That gives him a point in the plus column.

  “What are your safe words?” Caden asked as they walked the corridor to the elevator and the second floor rooms.

  “The usual Sir, red for stop, yellow to slow down and green to go,” Johnny whispered.

  “Limits?” Caden asked.

  “Scat, golden showers, and until I know you better, intercourse. Blow jobs are on the table, as are hand jobs at my discretion.” Johnny watched Caden for his reaction. Caden didn’t react negatively to my conditions so I can put another point in the plus column.

  “If you don’t mind waiting in my office, I’d like to change into my leathers. I ran late working and this suit doesn’t take well to properly swinging my flogger.” Masato stayed silent but smiled. Caden smiled and took his arm.

  Caden escorted Masato to his office and sat him on the dining chair in front of his desk. “I’m going to have to get my French wingback chairs out of storage so any guest has a comfortable place to sit. They’re upholstered in royal blue velveteen and should look good in this space. I also have some drapes for the window and a white washed bookcase that also acts as a bar.”

  “Are your things French Country?” Masato asked.

  “Yes, I know people think French Country is feminine, but I like it.”

  I like it too.

  Caden slipped into the bathroom. Johnny heard the shower running. He was quick because he was back in fifteen minutes.

  “I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. I should have known better than to make an appointment on my first day on the job, but I was anxious to see you again.” Another point for honesty. Caden continued, smiling, “I think we have a certain chemistry together.”

  “I agree.” Johnny told him. “I’ve been hoping you’d ask me to do a scene since the wedding.” Let’s see what he makes of that.

  “I’ve wanted ask you but I had to wait until I was in a position to be able to support a sub before I even considered playing. With the job at the club all that has changed.” Caden picked up a gym bag and they left the office.

  Just like I thought, a great deal of pride. I hope he can overcome it for my sake; a point in the minus column. I’ll have to integrate myself so thoroughly into his life that he can’t see being without me no matter how much money I have in the bank. I have three months. I hope it’s long enough.

  “Will you be able to eat afterwards? I’d like to buy you dinner.” Dinner? He’s definitely interested. They arrived at Room One.

  “I asked for this room because Gary says it’s lucky. It’s where he got to know Danny.”

  Johnny smiled. Even better.

  “I’m going to use my own braided flogger. As a rule I prefer to use my own implements. Although I know that Bull makes sure all of the instruments here are sanitized and oiled, I prefer to see to that myself.” Not a trusting soul. Good in general, bad for me since I’m using a semi-alias.

  “Please take a position on the cross. Do I need to tie you down?” Johnny stripped down to his leather jock and watched Caden’s eyes as he folded his clothing. His eyes are shining. He must like what he sees. Thank God I use the home gym every day. He stepped up to the St. Andrew’s cross that was set up near the left hand wall. “No, Sir, I can hol
d the rings and use the foot sleeves.”

  Johnny positioned himself on the cross, grabbing the rings and slipping his feet in the footholds.

  “I want you to count each blow. I intend to give you twenty strikes. I think you can take that as I’ve heard you played with Bull and he doesn’t hold back.”

  Johnny faced the wall so he couldn’t see Caden’s face. “Twenty is fine for the first time, Sir. I’m ready to begin.” Johnny heard the thud of the flogger as Caden warmed up.

  “Now,” Caden said. The first stroke stung. He has strength in his arms and he was holding back. I’ll be in subspace by the fourth stroke.

  It took only three strokes to put Johnny into subspace but he managed to keep count. Caden almost lost his rhythm when Johnny said, “You’re so beautiful.” Then he mumbled, “I’d let it all go in a millisecond to have you but people…they depend on me. I could love you if you let me.”

  Johnny was grateful that Caden didn’t understand him and thought that his words were just the mumblings of a sub in subspace. All of a sudden Caden stopped and Johnny said, “Green.”

  Johnny knew he’d gone too far. His ramblings came a little too close to the truth. I want to hold him, love him. I’ve watched since August, now I crave, I want. More…

  He felt Caden’s hand on his sore, hot back. Anything so long as he’s touching me. Johnny pushed into Caden’s hand. Caden ran his arms down Johnny’s body, checking it for unintended injury. “More, please.” Johnny wanted to be attached to Caden anyway he could, even by the end of a flogger. I want to be on my knees in front him and give him a blowjob in the Dom’s Bar to show the world how much I care and have cared since Danny’s wedding. I’ve tried to stay away to no avail. Can I have him? Can it be as simple as this?

  Johnny thought he pondered his situation for hours when in reality mere seconds had gone by.