by Measha Stone
Bradley eyed him with concern. “Man, don’t worry about that right now. Kendrick will figure something out if you really don’t want his girl here. For now, go home. You look beat to hell.
"We need to deal with the manager position." Alex looked at his watch.
"After the auction. Here, these are the checks that need your Hancock."
"I'll look at them tomorrow." Alex stood from his desk. "I need a drink, and to find Alyssa."
"She's not here yet," Bradley commented as Alex rounded his desk. "Brandon got a call from her that she'd be late. About ten she said."
Alex pulled his phone from his back pocket. No calls or messages. He hadn't told her he'd be in the club, maybe she ran into traffic on her way back from Elgin. "It's nine. I'll get started on this pile of crap then." He retook his seat.
A knock on the door interrupted Bradley's smart-ass retort, and Alex called the intruder forward. Kimberly, another waitress, peeked her head in. "Sorry, Alex, but there's a call from downstairs. Some woman is demanding to see you, but she won't give her name."
"Why not?"
"I don't know, but Conner said she looks pretty upset."
"I'll handle her. You just do your thing," Bradley offered, heading toward the door. "Go ahead and let her up, I'll wait for her at the elevators. Probably one of Alex's long-lost loves who just can't live another day without him."
"Oh, fuck off," Alex half barked as Bradley shut the door behind him.
Just as Alex sat back in his seat and began to glance over the first month's account ledger, another knock on the door interrupted him. He called for them to enter, and in walked Stephen.
"Hey." Stephen gave him a curt nod as he shut the door behind him and took the five steps toward the desk.
"Hi." Alex kept his tone firm, which wasn't hard to do considering the mere presence of the man tensed every muscle in his body.
"I heard about your dad," he said, his expression soft and malleable. Alex couldn't get a good read on his intentions, but Stephen didn't leave him guessing. "Alyssa told me you're thinking of getting him to sell his house and move down here. I think that's a great idea. Easier to help him out if he's closer to you. I know when Alyssa's mom was sick, it made it a lot easier for her to be closer to her."
The mention of her mother stiffened Alex's spine. Stephen spoke as though his father and her mother were in the same class of people. Did he even know what hell Alyssa had endured growing up with a neglectful, unfit mother?
"Anyway, I wanted to offer any help you may need with the sale. I'm a broker." Stephen pulled a card out of his back pocket and held it out to Alex. He placed it on the desk when Alex made no move to take it from his hand. "I may not know his area very well, but I'm sure I can help, and hey, I'll cut my fee for you."
Alex fought the urge to put his fist through the asshole’s face. "I'm not sure what is going to happen with my father. Right now, we're just getting him healed up before any big decisions are made," Alex found himself saying, against his better intentions. When had Alyssa been talking with Stephen?
"Of course." Stephen turned as though he were going to walk out, but then changed his mind. "I know we don't know each other, but I want to say…Alyssa is a great girl, beautiful and smart and all that, but she has some deep scars. She doesn't get close to many people, and those she does, she usually keeps them at arm's length, you know? And…" he paused as though he struggled with the decision to continue on, "well, her mom taught her plenty of tricks. I'm not saying she's put them on you, she's not really that type, but she grew up learning how to get what she needed from men. Your dad's been a great help to her since she was a kid, and now she has you to take care of her. I think it's great, but still, you know, makes me wonder a bit."
Alex wondered what temperature blood needed to be before it actually boiled and began to cook a person's insides. Stephen’s tone may have been laced with concern, but the words were venomous and rotten.
"Makes you wonder what?" Alex's tone wasn't hiding anything. Stephen needed to tread lightly.
"I don't know. Hey, I'm just an old friend. But I remember when she and I were together as a couple. She hated taking orders. She loved the bedroom games, but taking it out of the bedroom? No way. Couldn't follow a simple command and was always fighting for her idea of freedom. And now, I see her with you, and she's all soft…her submissive side shows. Just weird. Makes me think she has other reasons."
Before Alex could respond to the asinine accusations, the door to his office flew open and Alyssa rushed in. She stopped short when her eyes met Stephen's, then quickly glanced to Alex, who gauged her expression. Did he note a flicker of worry in her eyes?
"Stephen, what are you doing here?" she asked with a shake in her voice. Alex watched Stephen's expression soften and a sly grin slide over his lips.
"Just offering my real estate services to Alex. I'm sure it's getting hard driving all the way out to the burbs." He swiftly turned to Alex. "Like I said, just give me a call if there's anything I can do." With that, he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room.
"He wants to help you find a place for your dad?" Alyssa turned a confused expression to him. "Paul would never live in the city."
"How did he know my dad was sick and you've been driving out to see him?" Alex's question was a bit harder than he'd intended, but his mind was muddled. He told himself Stephen was just trying to stir up trouble, that there was no validity to his claims. He reminded himself that Alyssa hadn't done anything to earn his suspicion, yet there it was.
"I don't know," she answered, but her eyes averted his. "He's friendly with Bradley, maybe he told him what was going on with Paul." It was a weak explanation.
"You haven't been talking with him? He comes into the club often enough. I've never told you who you could and couldn't speak with."
"I never said you did." Her shoulders straightened and her chin thrust upward. They were on a collision course if the conversation continued down the path it was currently headed. "I came in to see if you wanted to talk to Travis. He's up at the bar demanding the party room, but it's booked in thirty minutes. He's not listening to anything Brandon or I have to say."
He stared at her for a moment, letting his temper cool. There was no reason for him to be upset; she hadn't done anything. "I'll be right there. I hadn't realized you were here yet."
"Just got here. The traffic was horrible coming back from Paul's, and I had to swing by my old apartment. The landlord called to let me know I had left behind a few things, which seemed weird given how pissed he was when you wiggled me out of my lease and got my deposit back."
"What was it?"
"Just a book." She shrugged. "I better get back out there. Brandon gets nervous when Travis is in a snit like this."
He waited until the door was closed behind her before he took a ragged breath. There was a nagging feeling eating away at his stomach, but he couldn't place it. Again, he told himself Stephen was a jealous asshole trying to stir the pot.
But why did he have the feeling everything was about to fall to shit?
Chapter 30
Alyssa stood in the bathroom on Saturday night staring at herself in the mirror. She'd taken special care with her makeup and hair and dressed in a black mini dress Alex had insisted on buying for her. The slave auction was set to begin in an hour, so she needed to get going on making sure everything was ready, but she took a few more minutes to inspect her appearance.
For the last two days, Alex had been withdrawn and quiet around her. She'd tried inciting his libido the previous night, but he’d slipped from bed and mumbled an excuse about looking over some reports before going to sleep. Feeling dejected, she had laid back on the pillows and worried over his change of heart. Only a week ago, he'd slipped behind her while she was brushing her teeth and yanked down her pajama bottoms, delivered a dozen delicious swats to her ass, and plunged into her deep. Something had changed, but she wasn't sure what. They hadn't had a fight. She hadn't pushed
back on any rules and had finally found a peaceful place within her submission. It seemed now that he had everything he'd asked for from her, he no longer wanted her.
She'd woken up early on Saturday to find him already in the shower. Before she'd been able to pin him down for a conversation, he'd dressed in his usual suit and tie and ducked out of the apartment, telling her he'd meet her at the auction that night.
A larger crowd the usual was expected. Most of the tables had been removed from the main lounge area, replaced with cocktail tables. Due to the nature of the auction, it was decided not to sell any alcoholic beverages. The kitchen was closed down for the event, but a small buffet of appetizers would be available. The entire waitstaff was scheduled, but Alyssa doubted they would all be needed. She'd been to a similar auction back home and found most of the people in attendance had one thing on their mind—and drinks weren't it.
It was near the time of the beginning of the auction Alyssa realized Alex hadn't shown up yet. Worried she'd missed a text from him, she yanked out her phone. Nothing. What was going on?
"Alyssa!" Tammy, a young waitress who had been hired shortly after Alyssa, rushed up to her with a panicked look in her eye and a pharmacy bag swinging from her hand.
"Tammy! What is it?" Alyssa held on to the shaking woman's shoulders.
"I think I'm in trouble," Tammy whispered, looking around.
"Okay. Let's go to Alex's office. He's not here yet." She pulled the trembling woman into his office and locked the door. "Okay, what's wrong? What kind of trouble?"
"I'm late." Tears began to pool in her eyes as she held up the pharmacy bag. Alyssa took the bag from her and opened it. A pregnancy test sat inside, and she took a deep breath. "What am I going to do?" Tammy took a ragged breath. Alyssa could see it was taking all Tammy could muster to keep from breaking down.
"Well…first, we’re going to find out if you are, then we’ll worry about what to do. How late are you?"
"Ten days," Tammy groaned, and Alyssa did her best to keep her shoulders from sagging. Not a great sign.
"Alex has a private bathroom through that door. Go take the test. We can wait it out together. Okay?"
Tammy sniffled. "I can't believe I was so fucking stupid," Tammy murmured to herself as she walked to the bathroom. "Stephen is never going to take care of me and the baby."
"Wait. Did you say Stephen?" Alyssa's blood went cold. Stephen never wanted kids; he hated the very idea of children.
"Yeah. We had a play date when he first came to town. It wasn't supposed to turn into sex, but things got carried away. I must have missed my pill or something." Distraught, Tammy disappeared into the bathroom while Alyssa plunked herself down in the armchair and seethed. Stephen knew better than to have unprotected sex. But so did Tammy.
The minutes ticked away excruciatingly slow. Alyssa had expected Tammy to come out of the bathroom to wait with her, but she must have decided to stare at the stick the whole time. Not wanting to make the crappy situation worse, Alyssa waited in the office until the door swung open and Tammy flew out with a beaming smile.
"Negative!" She danced. "Oh, thank god. What would I have done?" Tammy finally stopped her spinning to hug her middle. "That was way too close."
"I'm glad it worked out okay, but why are you ten days late then?" Alyssa pushed off the chair.
"Probably stress. This auction has had me in knots for weeks. I signed up to be auctioned off. I'm in the last round of slaves." Tammy took a deep breath. "I'm tired of being alone. I guess I'm putting more pressure on this than I should. You are so lucky to have Alex."
Alyssa's heart twisted at the sentiment. Did she have Alex anymore? Things seemed strained between them. She wasn't positive how he felt. Her feelings hadn't changed, but maybe his had.
“You’ll find him. Promise,” Alyssa replied. Tammy gave her a curious look, but didn’t press further. “We better get out there. Bradley’s office has been converted to the slave’s ready room, let’s go check to see if anything is needed. When is your slot?”
“Toward the end. Bradley said I could work until ten, then get ready.”
Alyssa nodded and walked out of Alex’s office, heading toward Bradley’s when she paused at her name being called out. Tammy went on without her, and Alyssa turned toward the voice.
Twenty feet away stood Kelly, Kendrick, Jessica, and Royce. Kelly wore a canary-eating grin. Alyssa’s stomach dropped. She looked around quickly for Alex, who appeared to still not have made an entrance, and stalked the group of friends.
"What are you doing here?" she demanded from Kelly, who gave a small shrug.
"You said you told her we were all coming," Jessica chastised Kelly, who again gave a shrug.
"Kelly." Kendrick's deep voice managed to get the smile to drop, if only slightly.
"Okay. I didn't tell her. She would have just told us not to come." Kelly gave Alyssa a soft smile. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you by just popping in, but I really wanted to come, and Alex really needs to calm down. We are all literally in the same boat here. There's nothing to be ashamed of."
"He's not ashamed. He's private," Alyssa corrected. "And he's going to kill me." The lounge was quickly filling for the first round of auctioned slaves to be presented.
"Well, either way, he needs to calm down." Kelly gave a curt shake of her head. "Oh, I have to go." Kelly managed to get out of Kendrick's grip. "I'm in the first round." With an evil grin, she gave the group a wink and headed off toward Bradley's office.
"Impulsive imp!" Kendrick growled.
"She didn't tell you?" Jessica laughed.
"Of course not. I would have said no."
"It's for a good cause." Royce chuckled.
"I'd rather just write a check. Dammit, that's why she put on that corset dress. I should have fucking known."
"Maybe you shouldn't buy her. You know, teach her a lesson," Jessica teased. Royce gave a loud laugh at the idea, and Alyssa would have joined him had she not just noticed Alex step off the elevator.
"Of course I'm going to buy her. And then I'm going teach her a lesson." The heat was gone from his voice, and although they could tell he was irritated, he also found the idea extremely enticing.
Alyssa watched Alex find them in the crowd. He paused when he realized who she was standing with and took a few deep breaths before his eyes met hers. She tried to convey with her eyes that she hadn’t known his friends would be there, but the anger in his gaze made her own jaw tighten. When he started walking toward them again, his expression morphed into casual.
"Alex!" Jessica greeted him. He may have relaxed his jaw, but his body vibrated with annoyance.
"What are you all doing here?" His lips pulled up in a tight curve. Alyssa tried to lay her hand on his arm, but he swiftly took a step to the side.
Kendrick must have noticed the slight. "Kelly was supposed to warn you. I'm sorry, man." He glanced between Alyssa and Alex. "She didn't tell either of you, so we are completely shocking you. I know."
"Kelly's here?" Alex looked around.
"She's going on the auction block in a few minutes," Jessica said lightly. "I wish she'd warned Alyssa. I was hoping this wouldn't be too awkward. I mean, Kendrick knew about this place. Royce knew about Kendrick…"
"It's fine." Alex's lips pursed. "I'm running late and have a lot to do for the auction." He turned to Alyssa. "Give me ten minutes, then meet me in my office," he said with such a negative force, a wave of nausea hit her. Without another word, he walked past all of them and headed for his office. A tremor ran down her spine.
"Alyssa, I can talk—"
"No, no, it's okay. He's just surprised I bet." Alyssa tried to give a reassuring smile, but the worry didn’t ease from their expressions. "It's okay. Really. It had to happen eventually. He can't keep up with two careers. Maybe now he'll pick one." She searched for the positive—a new skill she'd acquired under his guidance. One she was beginning to worry would only result with her having her heart broken.
/> "I've never seen him so pissed," Jessica whispered as the lights on the makeshift stage lit up. They turned their focus to Bradley as he took the stage to begin the first round of the auction.
"I better go." Alyssa gave another reassuring grin before heading to Alex's office. She felt their eyes burning her skin from behind as she walked tenuously toward his closed door. Everything that had her worrying over the last few days was at a boiling point. He would have to explain what his problem was, and if he was dumping her, he'd better be quick about it.
Deciding to face her future with a sturdy chin and strong back, she turned the handle of the door. If only her legs would cooperate with her plan.
Chapter 31
Alex stared into the garbage pail in his bathroom with despair. Finding his friends standing in the middle of the lounge was the last thing he expected. He'd noticed the guilty look on Alyssa's face before she turned to him with pleading eyes. It was obvious she'd let them in on his secret after he'd explained over and over again why he wanted to wait.
He'd spent the last twenty-four hours trying to get the idiotic ideas that Stephen planted in his brain out. She had never shown any signs of wanting him for anything other than himself. Hell, she hadn't even wanted that at the beginning. But he'd slowly started piecing together the greater picture. Her apartment was crap; he'd taken her in. She protested, but never really fought to find her own place after she moved in. She brushed off the idea of college, yet he'd found several applications in the apartment, and she had told him she was considering going to school after his father had gone on another lecture about her potential. When Alex had offered to help pay for school, she'd pushed off the discussion for later, but never refused the offer.