by Measha Stone
"Doubtful." Jessica laughed. "I remember one time after he got back from one of those expos. He was telling us all about it. I remember Alex's mom trying her damnedest to pay attention, and seem so interested. Alex and I were nearly falling asleep into our pasta."
"What about work? Have you found a job yet, or are you still looking?" Erin pressed on. Alyssa sipped at her water and was relieved when the waitress showed up to take the orders.
"Do you mind if I make a suggestion?" Alex whispered into her ear when she continued to rake her eyes over the menu in a panic. With all the questions she hadn't had time to look at the menu, and she didn't know what half of it was anyway.
"Yes," She sighed. "Please." Her eyes met his; his were searching her expression. It was just a dinner order, she reminded herself. He was the son of a friend. He was her boss. He was off limits. He was delicious. She coughed and turned away.
She watched him as he made his selection—and hers. A glass of wine was coming her way as well. He didn't give her the impression of a controlling sort of man, but one that was simply comfortable with being in charge, with making the decision. Anyway, she thought, it was only dinner.
Thankfully the conversation began again, and she was not the center of it. Back home she'd had only a few friends, and none of them extremely close. Most of them she knew from a club or munch group and only got together during the times when their attention was focused on their sex lives. The even shorter list of relationships she had had over the years hadn't taken place in public. She was rarely wined and dined. Mostly tied and flogged. She was happy that way. Simple. Keep it simple. No real emotions to get all muddied up when the honeymoon faded and they broke it off. She did most of the breaking off. No need to have them go through the unpleasantness of ending things. Better it come from her. Easy.
Thomas had been the only one of her relationships to continue after the break up. He saw himself as her big brother. Watching over at play parties, club events and such. He'd been all for the move to Chicago. New scene. New beginning.
This group of friends felt so close, so much closer than most families she'd seen. Her grandmother had been the only family she had growing up. Katherine didn't speak to her mother very much, mostly just when she wanted to send Alyssa up to Chicago for the summer. Her grandmother was always kind, always nurturing, always with a kind word and up for an adventure. When Alyssa was scared of going into the water the first time, Grandma had taken her to North Avenue beach. Grandma showed her how it was done by running and diving head first into the chilled water. Soon Alyssa was running in after her, squealing with delight.
She missed her grandmother. Colon cancer had stolen her away when Alyssa was only twelve. When she needed her most. Katherine declared Alyssa old enough to see to herself, and left her alone most of the time. Sometimes she'd be gone for days with a boyfriend, and Alyssa had to fend for herself. Paul never knew about those times, or he would have found a way to have someone stay with her or would come down himself. She didn't want to put him out. He and his wife had done so much for her, she didn't want to intrude into their lives any more than she already had. She owed him a huge debt for all of the times he provided for her when her mother couldn't, or wouldn't.
Looking around the table she could see the content smiles on each of the women's faces. They all seemed so happy. So comfortable. She also had picked up a vibe from both Kendrick and Royce that made her watch them more closely. They seemed to be as comfortable as Alex at being in control. Nothing big, and not anything most people would even pick up on. But she noticed the small shake of Royce's head when Jessica went to order another beer. She quickly changed her order to a soda. Kelly started to make plans with Erin to go on a shopping trip, and Kendrick gave her hand a quick squeeze, stilling her argument when Erin started to make excuses as to why she couldn't make it. She wondered if Alex had seen the signs, if he knew that his friends would most likely be very open to his business and his lifestyle. Considering how close they all seemed, it made little sense for him to keep it all a secret from them.
Alyssa felt at ease with this group. They all seemed to open their arms to her, welcomed her. She leaned back in her chair listening to the humorous banter between Kelly and Jessica and felt Alex's arm on her chair. He didn't move it when she bumped him, instead she felt him casually playing with strands of her hair as the conversation continued. A forward move, something she would have pulled away from normally, but it felt so natural, she simply allowed herself to enjoy it for the moment.
"I'm tired." Erin suddenly announced. "How about we call it a night?" She began to gather her purse. Jonathan stared at her with an odd expression, surprise, shock, irritation?
"Sure. Fine." Jonathan nodded and began to stand from the table. The others seemed to be just as confused as Alyssa as the couple began to scooch their way out of the corner and say their goodbyes. Erin glared down at Jonathan who shrugged and waved her toward the exit.
"That was weird, even for Erin." Kelly remarked once the couple was gone.
Jessica looked over at Alex and Alyssa. "Did she say anything to you?" She asked pointedly at Alex who shook his head in response.
"I barely spoke to her this week. She texted me about the restaurant but that was it." Alex removed his hand from behind Alyssa and straightened in his chair. "She's usually pretty stiff, proper," he said by way of explanation. "It's odd for her to up and leave before dessert, or at least the mention of dessert."
"I hope I didn't make her uncomfortable. My being a stranger and all."
"No. Erin loves new blood." Kelly remarked reaching for her wine glass. "Her and Jonathan are probably having a little tiff. She'll be fine in a day or so."
"Jonathan did seem a bit quieter than usual. Like a pissed off kind of quiet." Kendrick mused out loud. "Probably just the wedding plans."
"Which is why I wanted to get her out shopping, away from all those decisions and arguments. But no, you won't let me."
"That's enough," Kendrick silenced her by sliding a grape tomato between her lips that he had swiped from her plate. Alyssa looked to Alex. Surely he noticed that exchange.
No reaction. "Be back," he said instead and pushed away from the table. Alyssa watched him make his way through the tables toward the restrooms. Suddenly, she felt very much on center stage.
"It's nice to see him so relaxed." Jessica smiled across the table at her. What did that mean?
"Yeah, it's about time." Kelly nodded in agreement.
Kendrick must have noticed the panic on her face because he chimed in. "Let's not get carried away."
"Don't mind these two hens." Royce piped in as he motioned a waitress for the check.
"Your bill has already been taken care of." The waitress smiled down at Royce, who laughed in response.
"It was my turn, that bastard knew it." Royce shook his head and looked behind him, searching the room.
Alyssa spotted Alex standing by the front door with his phone to his ear. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but his brows were pinched together, and his lips thinned as he spoke. When he clicked off the call, he shoved the phone into the back pocket of his jeans and took a deep breath. Then another. His expression relaxed and he returned to the table with a grin. "Sorry. Work." He stood beside Alyssa.
"Tonight?" Royce looked at his watch. "The Finelli account?" he asked, and Alyssa knew right away that it was not his day job that caused the irritation she witnessed.
"Do you need to take care of it now?" She pushed away from the table. "I can make my way back to the hotel with no trouble. You should go if you need to." She placed her hand on his forearm as she spoke in a hushed tone. His eyes met hers, and she swallowed hard.
"No. No, it's okay. I'll walk you back. Not a big deal." He looked over at his friends who were wide-eyed, staring up at them. "I'll see you guys tomorrow for the game, right?" Royce and Kendrick both nodded in silence.
"What game? Since when do you watch sports?" Jessica asked Alex.
"It was really nice meeting all of you," she said with a polite smile.
"Wait!" Kelly waved a hand in the air and reached into her purse. After scrambling for a few moments she pulled out a business card. "Here." She thrust it up at Alyssa who took the card from her hand. "If you feel like getting out of that hotel room or want to go get some lunch or something, just give me a call."
"Thanks." Alyssa tucked the card into her small purse and was quickly ushered out of the restaurant with Alex's hand on her back.
The streets were packed with cars and cabs all trying to inch their way to the next intersection. Honking and hollering filled the space between Alyssa and Alex as they made their way down the street.
"Alex." She finally shouted and stopped walking, forcing him to do the same. He turned to her and immediately his brows went up in surprise. "What's wrong?" she demanded.
"Work. It's nothing." He shook his head. He blinked when she folded her arms over her chest and tapped her foot. She would stand there all night if need be, she wasn't going to let him just walk away all pouty.
"Work? Which work?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
He stepped to her, the toes of his loafers touching the tips of her sandals. She didn't back away, she remained completely still. He lowered his head until their noses were near to touching. "I had a girlfriend once who liked to stand like you are now." She forced herself to remain neutral. "Do you know what I did to her? When she crossed her arms like this, demanded things, and tapped her toe at me?" His hot breath kissed her cheeks as he talked.
"No. What?" She asked in a hushed tone. A little push, although she was unclear to even herself what she was pushing for.
He looked at her, his breath coming in heavy bursts, his jaw firmly set. After a moment of her remaining where she stood, staring the way she stared, he cursed and stepped back. "It doesn't matter." He turned and continued walking.
She didn't know what was eating at him; the evening had been so pleasant. She also wasn't sure what he was going to say. What sort of punishment had he dealt out to his bratty girlfriend? She didn't know, but part of her really wanted to find out.
Chapter Five
Mentally, Alex chastised himself for getting irritated with Alyssa, and then getting in her face, making such a threat. What was wrong with him? Having only met her officially hours before, he couldn't explain why he felt the way he did. Her actions were bold, true. But his were just as much so, if not more.
Playing with her hair at the table? He'd never felt so intimate with a stranger before. It was as though she simply clicked into the scene with him. She'd been so open and friendly with his friends, which wasn't hard to do given their personalities, but she hadn't shied away. Not even when he stepped to her, she didn't look frightened, or worried. She simply let him blow his steam. She even pushed him a bit, too. Something he would never tolerate if she were under his protection.
She's an employee! He tried to remind himself. And a friend of your fathers! He felt her by his side and halted when she put her hand on his arm, pulling him to a stop.
"Hey, what is it? Did I do something? I didn't mean to, whatever it was." She readjusted her purse strap on her shoulder. He felt like a dick.
"No, no. You were fine, perfect. I just need to get to the club. Two waitresses called off and Travis and John have shown up with their entourage. They are two owners. Whenever they're in the club they take up more staff than we can spare tonight."
"Oh." She gave a slow smile. "Is that all? Not a problem. Let me just make a wardrobe change and grab a cab." She turned from him and left him staring off at her.
"No, you don't have to do that." He caught up to her. She gave him a shrug and sped up her pace. "Alyssa." He lowered his voice and just as he'd hoped she caught the message in his voice. She paused and turned to him. "You've been drinking." He pointed out.
"A glass of wine hardly constitutes drinking." She laughed and regained her step.
Why not let her step in for the night? They needed another waitress with John and Travis there. They liked to think of the club as their own little playhouse and not the business that it was. Once she punched in, working as his true employee, he would have to stop thinking about kissing her. About touching her hair more, and about how he'd like to take her over his knee the next time she tried crossing her arms over her chest at him.
He stepped into the lobby of her hotel and informed her that if she were going to work, he would take her. She didn't offer any argument but did roll her eyes at him as she pushed the elevator button. A nice long spanking, bare-assed, and with a hard kiss of his belt would cure that eye roll. Again, he chastised himself for his thinking.
"Are you coming up or should I meet you back down here then?" She held the door to the elevator. He took a deep breath and stepped onto the elevator.
"Fine, you can work tonight." He folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall of the elevator.
She gave a laugh. "Why, thank you."
The elevator gave a ding and the doors slid open, she glided out before he could give a retort. A long, hard, spanking. Yes. Definitely.
When their cab pulled up to the entrance, they saw that the line to get into the club wrapped around the corner. Alex scooted out first, giving his hand to Alyssa to help her step onto the curb. Her outfit for her first shift at Top Floor turned a few heads in the line as she tugged at the hem of the leather skirt she wore. There was no set uniform for the club other than to keep to the color scheme of black and gold, as long as the wait staff appeared graceful and professional they could wear what they wished.
Alex immediately noticed the thick curve of her thigh when she put one foot outside of the cab and her skirt crept up from the movement. He focused on paying the cab driver while she righted the black blouse she wore. The top two buttons were merely for decoration leaving her chest bared to the public. It had taken every ounce of self-control he possessed not to peer down the opening while they were in the cab. More than once during the short drive, he thought of dipping his finger into the opening and between the swells of her breasts.
They walked to the front of the line. He nodded to Karl, the bouncer for the evening, and paused to allow Alyssa to walk ahead of him into the club. His eyes narrowed and his jaw set firmly when a young shit toward the front of the line call out to Alyssa, remarking on what he'd like to do to that firm ass of hers. "He doesn't get in." Alex muttered to Karl who gave a smirk and a short nod. The pup would be standing in line all night but never would he see the inside of the club.
"I have my card." Alyssa gave him a confident smile as they approached the elevator that would take them to Top Floor. She pulled the card from a bag that resembled more of a backpack than a purse, and held it up for the sensor to read it.
"Nervous?" he asked as the elevators doors closed and the loud club music was shut out.
"About work? No." She tucked the card back in her bag.
"This probably isn't like the usual bars you've worked in before," he said. He didn't want to make her anxious about the club, but he didn't know much about her.
"I'm sure it will be fine." The confident smile she gave him eased his own worry that she was about to walk into something more than she would be able to handle. Although he didn't know much about her, he got the impression that she could hold her own in any situation.
The doors slid open before he could reply, and she walked ahead of him into the club. Alex caught up to her as Brandon, the shift supervisor, approached her with a relieved grin on his face. "So glad you came in!" He quickly ushered her away before Alex could give any instructions on her training or even say hello to Brandon.
The scrambling of the waitresses on the floor was enough explanation. Travis and John were definitely in house. Alex left Alyssa with Brandon, and headed towards the private room. They would be h
olding their party there.
Several women stood in the room kept for private parties. Each naked and standing to the right of the man that escorted them to the party. John and Travis sat among their circle of friends and looked to be having an extremely enjoyable evening. Travis's woman, his wife, knelt under the table, sucking his dick while he continued sipping his brandy and talking with his friends.
Alex never fully understood men like Travis. He knew in his lifestyle there were many different ways for a dynamic to work within a relationship. He even subscribed to the idea that there was no real right way, that as long as it worked for the couple, it was fine with him. Travis was the first man to ever make Alex rethink his logic. He wasn't kind to his wife, hell he barely acknowledged her unless to get a blowjob from her. He'd seen her mouth full of her husband's hard cock more often than he'd seen her any other way. It wasn't for play; it was for show. He liked to show his dominance, display his power for others to see. It never felt like a give and take between them. Admittedly, he didn't know Travis very well outside of the club—John had brought him into the deal—but from what he saw while he was there, he didn't think very highly of him.
"Ah, fuck." Travis paused a moment and threw his head back, taking a moment to enjoy his wife's mouth.
"Alex!" John called from across the table tipping his glass at him. "Thought you were out for the evening."
"I was. Just stopped in to say hi." Alex forced levity into his tone. Arguing with two owners about abusing the resources of the club wouldn't get him anywhere, and they never cared to listen to reason anyway. Alex was going to have to find another way to get around the two men who seemed hell bent on ruining the one good thing going in Alex's life.
"Damn, baby." Travis put his glass down and his hand disappeared beneath the table, gripping his wife's long blonde hair in a fist. "Fuck, almost." His head tossed back and grunted out several more carnal noises. Alex walked to John, forcing himself to ignore the blowjob happening at the end of the table.