Bossman's List

by Ashlee Price

  “Are you coming in tonight, Sasha?”

  “I’m really tired, so I don’t think I’m going to be able to work, but I’ll be in to pick up that check.”

  “Make sure you bring Mariah with you, Sasha, or don’t even bother showing up.” I wanted to say something, but I knew that it wouldn’t do me any good. There was nothing that I could do to make him change his mind. I was going to have to convince Mariah to come with me. We needed to get our money from Elie so we could leave. I didn’t trust him to hold on to it, and I was going to need that after I quit.

  Finally hanging up the phone, I moved to knock on Mariah’s door. She was most likely still out, so I didn’t expect an answer. I opened the door a crack to see if she was in there sleeping, but I saw that she was actually getting ready for something.

  “You’re looking hot. Where are you going?”

  “I’m going to go see Scott.”

  “Weren’t you with him last night?”

  “Yeah, but nothing happened.”

  “What do you mean nothing happened?” I knew how much he’d paid for her, so I found it hard to believe that nothing had happened between the two of them. How could it not? No man was going to pay that kind of money just for a girl’s company.

  “Elie put something in my drink and I passed out before we even got to his home, apparently.”

  I just shook my head. I wish I could say that I didn’t believe it, that he wouldn’t do something like that, but the sad reality was that I knew he was capable of that and so much worse.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I guess. I don’t really remember anything from the auction at all. I remember talking to you backstage, but then I was handed a drink and I just downed it. From there, it gets pretty fuzzy pretty fast.”

  “Yeah. Elie is a monster half of the time. Did you try to leave?”

  She told me that she had, but Bruno and Lex hadn’t gone for it. “They said if I tried to run they were just going to tie me up and carry me on stage. I didn’t really have a choice.”

  That was how Elie liked to do it. He made sure that he’d gotten a person in a bind first, and from there it was no holds barred. Then he could do whatever he wanted. I swear, sometimes he must have just sat up at night thinking of ways to make people’s lives a living hell. He’d done it to me, and his creativity was formidable. It made him far too happy to mess with us girls the way he did.

  “Well, I’m glad it was Scott that won.”

  “Me too. I can’t imagine what would have happened to me if it had been anyone else. No other man would have been as well behaved. He put me to bed and I woke up with my clothes intact.”

  That was hard to believe, although I did know a few clients who I thought could manage it. It wasn’t hard to see that a man like Elie would have taken advantage of her, but it was good to hear that not all men were like that. In this business, it was easy to think that way and forget that there were in fact still good men in the world. I’d always had a good feeling about Scott.

  “I’m glad, too. I always liked him, although he never liked me that well. So where are you going with him tonight?”

  “Just to his place, I think. I’m going to give him what he paid for.”

  “Elie wants to see you.”

  “Yeah, I know. He’s been calling me all day, but there’s no way that I’m talking to him. I’m not even going to think about it. Tomorrow I’ll go and see what he wants from me. I need to get that money and then I’m going to quit.”

  “Me too. I’ve been thinking about it all day. I talked to him earlier and he was looking for you.”

  “Did he sound mad?”

  I shrugged. He was pissed, but she didn’t need to know that, not yet. I would tell her in the morning after she’d had a good night. She deserved one after everything that Elie had put her through.

  “Have fun. We’ll go together tomorrow. Better in numbers.”

  “Do you think we should just act like everything is fine and then just not go back in or what?”

  I personally wanted to tell him off, but that probably wasn’t the best idea that I’d ever had. It was better if I just let it go. I was going to have to temper my mouth, now and tomorrow.

  “Well, we’ll talk about that later. Tonight, just have fun. Don’t think about Elie and the club. Go have a good time and tomorrow we’ll take care of the rest.”

  “Thanks, Sasha. I don’t know what I would do without you. This has been a hard month.”

  I had to agree. Her ex-boyfriend getting shot and then just the auction itself had been a big mess. It was not hard to see that just one month at the club involved a lifetime of drama.

  Leaving her room, I could feel that the sinking in the pit of my stomach was only getting worse. I didn’t want to tell her the truth, which was that Elie was most likely going to screw us both over on our cut. He was like that, and since he was already starting to justify it, I wondered how much of it I would end up getting. It wasn’t like we could go to the police about it, and he knew it. He knew he had us over a barrel. He always did. That was his method of domination.

  Let her have tonight, because in the morning we were both going to have to face up to the truth. I was prepared for the eventuality of what was to come. I didn’t know if Mariah was, but she was eager to leave and so was I. To me, it was a good sign. Kimmie was another matter altogether. I agreed with Mariah: I didn’t think she was going to want to leave. Since she had nothing to do with the club or Elie, she wouldn’t have to.

  The day was just too much. I got a wineglass out of the cupboard and a bottle out of the fridge. Mariah left not long after I left her room. She had a glow to her face that was hard to respond to. I hadn’t felt that happy in a long time, and I was envious of her for a moment. I had a feeling that her heart would be crushed, though, so maybe it was good that we were leaving. It would save her the heartache I knew Scott would bring. Men like that didn’t fall for girls like us, not really.

  Chapter 27 – Mariah

  Why was I shaking? The whole way to Scott’s house, my hands were shaking on the wheel. I tried to grip tighter so that it wasn’t as noticeable, but then it just seemed to spread to the rest of me. I wasn’t able to help it.

  It was a happy nervous, but a nervous nonetheless. I wasn’t afraid of what was going to happen. Quite the opposite, actually. I’d been waiting for this night for a long time. I’d wanted it long before I met Scott. I hadn’t known that it would be him, but I was glad that it was going to be. I could have left, taken his money and just taken off like I planned to do anyway, but I wanted Scott to be my first. I wanted to give myself to him in every way that I possibly could. Then I would leave, but I was going to give him something to remember me by first. I knew that I would always remember him.

  Finally I was pulling up in front of his house. Several of the front lights were on, and they lit the place up like it was the middle of the day. I don’t know why that settled my nerves so much, but it did. Sitting in the car for a few moments longer to take a few deep breaths, I checked my reflection in the mirror before I went in. I was still a little jittery, and the more I thought about what was to come, the worse it got. This was one of those moments that I wished I could just turn my mind off.

  I didn’t even have to knock. The door was opened about the time I was raising my hand to knock on it. I was expecting some sort of maid or butler, but it was Scott himself.

  “You look amazing, Mariah.”

  I looked down with a demure little smile. I knew that he would like this dress. He was always telling me how much he liked me in blue. It did something to him, and the slinky silver-and-blue dress I was wearing fit like a glove. It left nothing to the imagination, and the look of barely contained lust was what I’d been trying for. It was exactly what I got.

  “Do you like it, daddy?”

  His eyes flared, and I could tell that he did. He liked me calling him daddy even more. I don’t know why he’d started it, but I was glad he h
ad. It was something that Greg had liked me to call him from time to time. It had just come out, I think, but the reaction was what got me to keep doing it. I liked the change that it made in him, and I liked the feeling that it gave me to say it.

  “I like it a lot. I’m going to like what’s underneath it even better.”

  I tossed my head, waiting for him to invite me in. I think that he’d forgotten all etiquette, because I finally had to just ask him if I could come in or not. His face turned a little red, and I liked that more than I could say.

  “Sure, I just…wow, you look good.”

  I couldn’t help the giggle that left my lips. He was adorable when he was like this. Scott was always so controlled, and he was always in charge, but at the moment that was just not the case. No matter how in charge he usually was, a little bit of silk had him in a shambles. It made me wonder who was the one running this whole affair.

  It didn’t take long for me to be reminded. That momentary blush that I’d seen was something that I was going to pay for.

  “Let me get your coat, Mariah. And as much as I like that dress, why don’t you give that to me as well? Might as well have you dressed for the occasion.”

  From that point on, I knew that I didn’t have any control over this situation. I’d made up my mind by coming here tonight, and now I was going to pay for it. It was the kind of paying that I didn’t mind, though. I wanted him badly and I was tired of waiting. I’d been waiting a long time for this moment, this man. But tonight I got the Dom, not the man. I could see it in his eyes. This wouldn’t be just games anymore. This was going to be something different.

  I took my time with the coat, letting it slide off of my shoulders slowly. His attention to me made me feel beautiful, and I couldn’t help the teasing nature that took over me. I wanted him to feel the need I had, and I wanted more than anything to amplify his own.

  “What am I to call you?” It was a legitimate question, because the answer had changed the longer I knew him. I had a feeling of what, but I wanted to make sure. There was no point in getting extra punishments for misspeaking.

  “Daddy. I’m your daddy when we’re alone. In public you can call me by my name, but when it’s just me and you, Mariah, I’ll always be daddy to you.”

  I nodded in agreement, letting the silky material of the dress fall to the floor after I unzipped the side zipper. Now I had all of his attention. “Is this what you wanted, daddy?”

  His eyes flared with my use of my little nickname for him. I was glad that I’d put it out there before. It sounded much better than sir, and the way it made him react was perfect. It put him in a frame of mind that I found sexy as hell, and I wanted more of that.

  “Yes, Mariah. You’re what I’ve wanted for a while. I’m only going to ask you one more time if you’re sure. If you’re here for the auction and the money, I want you to go now.”

  That threw me off. Would he really want me to just leave? I was standing in front of him practically naked and he would really just let me go? I didn’t like to think that was even possible. I don’t know if I could have just walked away. I apparently had a chance to, but my draw to him was too much for me to do something like that.

  “I asked you a question.”

  “I’m here because I want you to be my first, daddy. That’s why I’m here. I can’t just walk away from you. Even now, when everything is up in the air, all I can think about is you and this night. I couldn’t leave if I wanted to, my legs wouldn’t let me.”

  The dark eyes that had pinned me in place were hard to avoid. It was in my nature to look down when confronted with them. The intensity was almost always too much to handle straight on.

  “Look at me, Mariah.”

  I did as he asked. I always did what he asked. When I was with him, it was as if my mind didn’t want to work as well as usual. I couldn’t keep my brain on one track. It kept going to another track that seemed to get me in trouble. As we talked now, all I could think about was the hardness in his pants and what it was going to feel like inside of me. I was obsessed with the thought, and if I’d had a chance, I would have stopped the charade and told him to get on with it. The anticipation and the wait were starting to grate on my senses.

  “After tonight you’re going to be mine in all ways. Things are going to have to change.”

  I nodded my head, still not able to really meet his gaze head on. It was just too much, and I couldn’t help the shaking that started deep in my core. It wasn’t because of the cold, but the heat coming out of his eyes so fiercely.

  I could imagine the changes he wanted. Mainly it would have to do with the club. Sasha had told me before that this was what a man from the club would want. He would want to own me. The sad part was that he already did. He owned my body for the night, but he’d taken my heart as well. That was something that I wasn’t going to get back.

  “I understand, daddy.” I didn’t agree, but I did understand.

  “God, I love it when you call me that. Come on, it’s cold here by the door.”

  He must have noticed my trembling, but I knew that it was only going to get worse the closer we got. The cold had nothing to do with it. It was because I couldn’t stand the wait any longer. I just wanted to finally be a whole woman. I wanted to finally know what I’d been missing for all these years.

  We walked through the large house and he took me upstairs. I thought we would go back to the bedroom. That was where we’d been last time, but we kept going down the hallway and passed it. The door was cracked just a little bit, and I could see candlelight in there. Were we to go there later? I just wanted answers that I was never going to get. He wasn’t worried about setting my mind at ease. I was rather sure that he liked me this way. He liked when I was about to jump out of my skin in anticipation.

  “After you, Mariah.”

  We stopped in front of a door that I hadn’t noticed before. It was at the end of the hall, and instead of opening into a room, it had rough-cut stone steps beyond it, leading down. The cold was actually starting to get through my body now. Now I was shaking uncontrollably, and I felt his hand on my shoulder, telling me that it was okay. The feeling that came over me as I descended was not comforting at all. There was hardly any light on the stairs, and only when I rounded a corner did I see light in the distance.

  “Where are we going, daddy?”

  I couldn’t help the question. It felt like he was taking me to a dungeon. The air was cool and wet. I felt like this was a place that wasn’t supposed to exist in this day and age.

  “I’ve got a surprise for you, Mariah. I know how you like ancient times and some of their methods.”

  That was about as ambiguous as he could get. He had answered my question without telling me anything. I knew no more now than I had before. He was doing this on purpose, I was sure of it. Scott was trying to drive me a little crazy. What would he do if I made a run for it? Did I want to? The anxiety level peaked as we moved closer to the light.

  “What is this place?”

  There were no more nicknames, no more pretending. I had lost my nerve.

  “You’ve got a lot of questions tonight. Are you having second thoughts?”

  It was there, handed to me on a silver platter. A way out. I was having second thoughts, and thirds and fourths. All I could think about was what the hell was I doing here and how well did I really even know Scott. I loved him, but that didn’t mean that he felt the same way. What was I to him, and where was he taking me? All of those questions went through my head over and over again with no answer in sight. I wasn’t to know those answers.

  “No, daddy. I’m just scared a little. This place is creepy.”

  “You’ll see in a minute, and I think you’ll change your mind. I want you to be comfortable, Mariah, but no more of this. You have to make your decision once you see what’s behind these doors.”

  The doors in question were in front of us now. There was a keypad on one side panel. I couldn’t even imagine what was beh
ind them that would justify that kind of hardware and security, but I knew I was about to find out. The shaking that had started upstairs culminated in a teeth-chattering violence inside of me. It was so loud in my ears that I hoped Scott couldn’t hear it. Why was I so nervous? I’d known what this was going to be before I came, but I couldn’t have readied myself for the way I felt right now.

  “I’ve already made my decision, daddy.”

  That was apparently all he needed to hear, because he was putting in a code and opening the doors without another word. That was what I wanted, but I didn’t know what to expect. Scott was always giving me new experiences, and I was nervous about what this one was going to be.

  It didn’t take long for my concerns to go into overdrive. I didn’t even realize that I hadn’t moved until I felt his hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay, Mariah, most of it’s just for show.”

  That was not as big of a relief as he probably thought. What was for show was not leaving the best impression on me. This was something that I was interested in, but not right now when I was barely wearing underwear and in a basement with my Dom. It didn’t seem to be a good scenario, and I had to wonder what he had all of this stuff for.

  “Show me what you’re drawn to.”

  I looked around at the different bondage and torture mechanisms. Most that were ‘for show’ as he put it were far too old to be operable. At least I hoped they were. I felt some giddiness inside of me looking at them, and my hand touched the deep wood of an old wooden stocks set-up.

  “This.”

  Scott grinned, and it made me look away. He didn’t need to say anything to make it clear that he was pleased. “We’ll have to try that out in a little bit. But I thought we could start with something that you were more familiar with.”

  My eyes went to where he directed them. There were many sets of chains and cuffs on the wall, made of old metal that went with the rest of the room’s motif.

  “It’s your choice, daddy.”

  “I know, Mariah. Come here.”

  I did as he asked. There wasn’t a thought in my mind not to. I wanted him to be happy; I wanted him to be pleased with me. And before I knew it, Scott was pulling me to him and kissing me on my lips. I loved the way he felt, and I heard a soft whimper from between my own lips as he kissed me where I stood.