by Livia Grant
"So to recap, we'll have the Crushing Stones back again for a concert on that Saturday night. The show will start at 8pm. Doors will open at 6pm and we'll be selling limited VIP tickets in advance at six times the door ticket price."
"Holy shit, that would be $120 bucks," the stage manager, Arianna Esposito, squeaked.
"Yes, and a bargain. Their big arena shows have tickets going for twice that and they'll get an up close and personal view of Cash and the boys here at Runway," Maxine countered before continuing. "We'll pass out the roses to the women and the breath mints to the men as they arrive. Noah, remind us again what you've got planned."
Their head bartender, Noah Garner, piped up, "I've got two thousand glasses ordered for that night with the Runway logo on it. We'll be serving a new drink I've created called a Runway Love Potion and they'll keep the glass as a souvenir."
Jaxson had almost forgotten Chase was in the room, sitting on the couches behind him with Emma, until he piped in, "They are fucking awesome. I think we should keep them on the menu year round."
Jaxson hadn't tasted the drink yet, but he'd been the beneficiary of a pretty tipsy Chase and Emma the week before, when they'd come home frisky as hell after acting as guinea pigs for Noah's experiments for just the right recipe. He could attest that the cocktails had worked as a very effective love potion that night.
"Alright, that's it for now. We'll have one more staff meeting in two weeks to nail down any last minute items. Everyone have a great day and get back to work." Jaxson dismissed them, anxious to get on to the second and more important meeting of the day.
Most of the occupants of the room stood and headed for the door, chatting amicably. As expected, the head of his security – and the only man who had sat completely silent in the first meeting – Spencer Cook, remained behind. Unfortunately, so did Maxine.
As soon as the door closed on the office, Maxine spoke up, "Okay, it's time I find out what the hell is going on around here."
Jaxson had known this day was coming. He'd been dodging her prying questions for weeks. "Maxine, it's best if you just get back to work. It's getting late and I know you have to pick up your kids after school soon."
She grinned triumphantly. “Not today. I told Eric he had to pick them up because I had to stay late for a meeting.”
Blake piped in, “Your meeting wrapped on time.”
“Not that meeting. THIS meeting. The one you guys always have without me,” she glowered.
The serious looking man in the sharp suit, who’d sat silently for two hours, finally spoke. “You’re not invited. Out.” Jaxson’s friend, Spencer, had always been a man of few words. He was used to dealing with women who were the antithesis of Maxine Torres. As a result, Jaxson’s top two employees were like two sheets of sand paper when they got close enough to rub each other.
Maxine didn’t back down, instead she put her high-heeled shoes up on the now vacant chair next to her as if to convey she was settling in for the long haul. She stared Spencer down with her best glare before responding, “I’m the manager of this club. That means I need to know everything that goes on here.”
“You know everything you need to know.”
“Apparently not, since I don’t have a clue what the hell you guys are up to.”
Spencer broke into a threatening smile that Jaxson had seen many times before. “You couldn’t handle it.”
“I’m a married mother of three kids; one a teenager. We have three dogs, two cats, and one rabbit. My seventy-three year old mother lives next door and I’m the president of the PTA. Not to mention, I put in fifty hours a week making Runway the premier club east of the Mississippi. I can handle anything,” Maxine countered with confidence.
“Well, this meeting has nothing to do with Runway, pets, or families, so you are excused,” Spencer answered in his condescending way.
Maxine crossed her arms with a humph, showing no sign of backing down and Jaxson wasn’t surprised.
“Maxine, Spencer is right. It is best if you head to your own office now.”
She changed tactics, turning to look back at Chase and Emma still sitting on the couch to the side. “Why do they get to stay and I don’t? I’m the manager.”
“Of Runway, yes. The following meeting is about another venture we have invested in that is not under your control,” Jaxson argued more sternly.
He saw her eyes widen a sliver, excited she had him talking. “But it is under the same roof, which means I need to know about it. Don’t think I don’t notice you all disappearing down the back hallway every night around ten when you think I’ve gone home for the night.”
She’d hit a sore spot with Jaxson. He hated to admit it, but he’d been trying to sneak down to Black Light without Maxine noticing and it was quite frankly pissing him off. He resented having to curtail his movements in his own club because he didn’t want to make waves with an employee.
I’m the boss, dammit.
“Maxine, don’t forget that you work here. We own the place. Chase, Emma, and I can come and go as we please.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about and you know it. There is something fishy going on around here and I don’t like it. If you guys are selling drugs or running some other secretive underground illegal business, I better damn well know about it. I didn’t sign up to be involved with anything like that.”
Spencer barked an annoyed laugh. “Oh for Christ’s sake, there is nothing illegal going on here.”
“Prove it,” Maxine shouted back.
“I don’t need to prove shit to you. You have your job. I have mine and God willing, never the two shall meet,” Spencer’s voice was rising. Jaxson knew his friend would blow soon if he didn’t get Maxine under control.
She barged ahead with her next argument. “Then why is he even here during the Runway meetings? If I don’t get to come to his meetings, he shouldn’t be at mine,” the manager reasoned.
Jaxson had wondered himself why Spencer chose to come. His friend’s answer only increased the tension in the room.
“I need to know everything that goes on in this building.”
“And I don’t?” Maxine countered. “And what’s with that anyway. Blake here is head of security. If anyone needs to know what is going on everywhere in the building, it’s him, not you.”
“Which is why he is allowed to stay.” Spencer’s normally unreadable face was turning a bit red as Maxine continued to challenge him.
“Just tell me what is downstairs and I’ll leave.”
“You couldn’t handle five minutes down there.”
“What, you have a built-in torture chamber?” Maxine chuckled.
“Something like that.” His reply startled her into silence.
Jaxson had had enough. “All right you two. You are both important to our success here. I think Spencer is right, though, Maxine. I can assure you there is nothing illegal going on. I think you’ll be happier staying in the dark.”
“And I know I won’t rest until I know.” She changed tactics. “He sat silently for my meeting. All I’m asking for is the same courtesy. I want to sit silently during his meeting.”
Tit-for-tat. That was the game she was playing. Spencer’s eyes lit up with a dangerous twinkle at the thought of shocking his counterpart.
Jaxson relented. They were barely a month in and Maxine was already acting like a sleuth. They might as well cut her in on their little secret. “Not one word out of you, got it?”
Maxine made a show out of pretend zipping her mouth and then turning an imaginary key before tossing it over her left shoulder and then returning her arms into their defensive crossed position.
Spencer glared at her for a few long seconds before turning his attention to Jaxson at the other end of the long table. He didn’t bother getting up to move closer to the other occupants in the room, instead electing to remain removed as he often did.
“You’re really gonna put up with her shit?” he challenged Jaxson.
For
some reason, Spencer’s aggression bothered him more than Maxine’s. “She’s no more of a prima donna than you are. You both can be a pain in my ass, but I hired each of you because you are experienced and the best. So the answer to your question is, yes. Yes, I’m putting up with her shit because she’s right. While Black Light is a secret, as the manager of Runway, Maxine has the right to know what is going on below her club.” He paused, turning to pin Maxine with a threatening glare. “But she better keep in mind that what she is about to hear is one-hundred percent confidential. It is not to be discussed with anyone outside of this room. Not her hairdresser, the other employees... not even her husband. She’s a smart lady. I don’t need to remind her of the NDA she signed when she took the job.”
Keeping her mouth closed tightly, she nodded her agreement to Jaxson’s warning.
Spencer didn’t like it, but he proceeded. “Fine. We’ve wasted enough time. If she loses her shit over this, it’s not on me.”
“Duly noted,” Jaxson reassured him. “Continue. What have you and the guys cooked up for Valentine’s Day?”
“Hold on.” Spencer pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and punched in what looked like a short text message. Within ten seconds, the door to the office opened and four men in leather pants and black T-shirts shuffled in. They halted briefly at the sight of Maxine in the room, but recovered quickly, taking the seats around the table recently vacated by the managers of the Runway teams.
Jaxson saw Maxine’s eyes fill with surprise, but to her credit, she held her tongue.
Spencer opened the plain manila folder in front of him, taking the top sheet out, and began to fill them in. “We’ve come up with an excellent idea that’s going to get the place packed on Valentine’s night. We’re going to setup a mixer game of Valentine Roulette.”
The dungeon master paused dramatically giving the occupants of the room time to assimilate what he’d said.
Chase stood and pulled out the chair next to Jaxson at the table, taking a seat as he questioned Spencer. “Roulette. As in Russian Roulette?”
Blake looked at him, annoyance in his eyes. “Yeah, we’re gonna off the participants until the last man is standing. Nothing like killing participants to drive up membership.”
The newest men in the room broke into snickers at Chase’s expense, which annoyed Jaxson.
“Explain. Now.” He knew how to talk to Spencer. The snickers ended abruptly.
“We’ll have a private sign-up period starting next week. Dominant and submissive club members will be able to read the rules and decide if they want to sign up and consent on-line in advance. The night of the party they will be randomly paired up to scene with one person. They won’t know who they will play with in advance and they can’t refuse their play partner without using their safeword which will disqualify them.”
Jaxson was intrigued, but he had a lot of questions. “So, how do they get paired up?”
“We’ll have two large roulette wheels, just like in a casino only the first one will have the names of the submissives on it. The Doms will draw numbers to see who goes first and one by one, they will go up and take their chances spinning the wheel. They play with whomever the wheel names and then we take her name off the wheel and the next guy spins. Rinse and repeat until they are all paired up.”
Chase interrupted. “So, is it just a singles night?”
“Not at all. If couples want to play, they can, but they are committing to most likely playing with other partners. Couples not wanting to play will be spectators... voyeurs... We’ll have small cocktail tables setup throughout the club and we’ll serve top-end champagne and appetizers. We’ll sell tickets over and above membership fees as a special event since the club is normally closed on Tuesdays.”
Jaxson suspected he knew what the other roulette wheel was for. “And the second wheel? They spin for their scene?”
Owen, the dungeon’s Master Shibarist answered him. “Exactly. Each participant will be allowed to put three things from the wheel on their hard limit list when they sign up. If they roll something on either of their hard limit list, they can spin again. If not, they have to play the scene they roll for a minimum of thirty minutes before they can take their chances by spinning again.”
Chase asked, “How many activities are on the wheel?”
“We brainstormed over twenty activities so far. I think we could come up with a few more ideas, too,” Owen replied.
“What kind of stuff are we talking about here?” Jaxson pressed, curious.
Spencer picked up the top piece of paper from the open manila folder and started reading the list. “Bondage, Anal Play, Pet Play, Water Sports, Electrical Play, Suspension, Whipping Post, Medical Play, High Protocol, Pain Play, Humiliation, Water/Tub, Sybian-Orgasm Torture, Latex Encasement, Fire Play, Age Play, Oral Sex, Breath Play, Blood Play, and Needle Play. We also decided we could put several role-play options on for things like principal/naughty student, royalty, law enforcement. We’ve accumulated a pretty extensive wardrobe for scenes already and will continue to add to the costume options over time. We could even throw a Dom’s choice role-play in there for fun; like a wild card.”
Maxine fidgeted in the chair next to him. He suspected she might be regretting promising to remain silent.
Jaxson’s cock was expanding in his jeans at the mental image of the sexy scenes that could play out on Valentine’s night. He had to admit, the plan was appealing for several reasons.
“I like it. We’ve wanted to introduce more of a variety of activities and try to get the current members to come out of their shell a bit. This could help with that, but some of those activities are heavy duty. What if we get a novice Dom who has to do a complex fetish like Blood Play or Suspension? If they fuck it up, it could go south quickly.”
Spencer reassured him, “That’s the greatest part of the plan. Between my four dungeon monitors, and me, we have all of those activities covered. We’ll each be assigned stations that we will monitor, but also act as a trainer for Doms who are learning new activities. Safety first.”
Jaxson nodded, relieved they had a plan to keep the submissives safe.
Chase challenged Spencer next. “This seems pretty risky for both the Doms and the subs who participate. What incentive is there to get people to sign up?”
“The prize at the end of the night will be one month’s dues free for anyone who finishes the night and who played by the rules. Then the monitors and I can give out extra comp days or weeks for extra good scenes, and we’ll choose one couple to award the grand prize of two months free membership.”
Jaxson wasn’t too crazy about that. “That’s a lot of free membership cash to be giving away.”
“We plan on maxing out at fifteen couples, and don’t forget, I’m sure some of them will drop out when it gets too intense for them. And we’ll more than make up for it by selling the VIP tickets for the observers that night. I think what’s most important is that we continue to distinguish ourselves as the premium BDSM club on the east coast. Black Light is not only secure and confidential, but also focused on providing safe, sane, and consensual play. We’ll be offering training for Doms and subs both.”
Garreth, one of the most hardcore Doms of the group spoke up next. “Don’t forget, I’m also an EMT. I’ll come prepared in case anything gets out of hand with the needle or fire play.”
“Well, you’d better make damn sure nothing gets out of control. It’s great we are prepared for an emergency, but we can’t put subs in danger intentionally.”
Spencer spoke up, out of patience. “I’m counting on the sign up process to weed out anyone who isn’t going to be able to handle it.”
Chase challenged him, “And why is that?”
“Because, it will be a legal document that will scare away anyone not fully committed.”
Up until now, Emma had been sitting quietly through both meetings, but Jaxson heard the quaver in her voice when she spoke up softly to question the plan. “So if
I were to sign up, I could only say no to three of those things? What if I wanted to say no to more than three?”
Jaxson turned and could see the fear in her eyes. He rushed to help her relax. “You don’t have anything to worry about, sweetheart. We’ll be observers that night. I have zero desire to play with anyone other than you and Chase, angel.”
Visible relief passed across her face before she pressed forward with another question. “And what about sex? Are they expected to have sex with their partner who will most likely be a stranger to them?”
Garreth answered her and Jaxson was relieved to hear the respect in his voice as he recognized he was talking to the boss’s submissive. “Intercourse will be one of the things on the list that they can put on their hard list, but if they refuse to have sex then that will leave only two other picks for their limit list.”
Emma glanced his way and Jax could see concern in her beautiful violet eyes. “What is it, sweetheart?”
“I don’t think that’s enough options for hard limits. There are a lot of scary things on that list.”
Jaxson gave her a reassuring nod. He trusted her instincts. “You heard the lady, gentlemen. We bump the hard list choices from three to four.”
“Now, wait a minute. We’re gonna be spinning all night long because there are so many free passes,” Spencer grumbled, careful not to direct his anger directly at Emma.
Jaxson closed the discussion. “There will be four options for submissives to put on their hard limits. Next topic.”
Chase thought of the next controversial question. “What happens if a male Dom gets paired with a male submissive and they don’t bend that way?” As the only switch in the room, Chase had a unique view into the D/s dynamics at play with an event like this.
Jaxson wasn’t thrilled to see the surprise on Spencer’s face. It told him the others in the room hadn’t considered this obstacle, which annoyed him. Just because his employees were strictly male dominants who topped female submissives didn’t mean there weren’t many other D/s combinations. Jaxson, Chase and Emma were proof of that.