Chapter 8

The club was packedwhen I arrived. It was only as I went to order a drink that I realized it was Friday night. Of course it made sense there were people at every turn.

After grabbing a beer, I took off to find Tucker. Or maybe I’d find Patrick first. Usually where one was, the other would follow when it came to the club.

“Looking for someone?” A sultry voice purred from behind me. I turned to find a woman in a barely there outfit and a collar at her neck. It was clear she wanted to play.

I shook my head. “Sorry. Not playing tonight and this is a no-go for me.” I motioned toward her collar, then gave an apologetic smile. I never played with anyone obviously marked by signs of having a committed relationship. Collars didn’t always mean that, but I used the simple rule to keep myself in line.

She shrugged before turning to leave. As I watched her leave, Tucker came into view. He had a wicked grin on his face as he laughed.

“Already breaking hearts?” He asked, pulling me into a hug.

“Not intentionally. She was very forward. I figured blunt would do it.”

His laugh was muffled by the cheers of the crowd as a couple took to the stage. Grabbing my arm, he wove us through the room to where the private offices were.

When we slipped behind the door, the noise from before vanished. I could finally hear myself think again.

“That’s better,” he said. “I was going to tell you that Allyn would be fine. She knows that she isn’t everyone’s cup of tea.”

“He got roped in by Allyn already? I thought you said he only just arrived.” Patrick’s familiar voice came from behind Tucker.

Leaning around, I found the other man seated at his desk like a king on a throne. He grinned at me, his gaze already assessing my reason for being here. It’s not like he could see it outright. There was no way to tell without me breaking down the whole thing for them.

“To what do we owe the pleasure, Wes? It’s been ages since you’ve come around,” Patrick asked. “Tucker has missed you dearly.”

My friend went to his husband and sank down onto his lap. I rolled my eyes at them both, then eased into the only other chair available.

“The wedding is off.”

Tucker immediately broke into a cheer. Patrick didn’t. The ever-observant man leaned forward with a sharp gaze.

“She cheated, didn’t she?” He asked me.

At his husband’s words, Tucker stopped abruptly. “Wait, what? She cheated?”

I took a swig of beer, then nodded. “She did. With almost every man in my building and on my payroll.”

Tucker gasped.

Patrick winced. “Everyone?”

“Yep. I’ve got enough video footage to open my own porn video site. She’s been a busy girl.”

“You’ve gotten tested already, I assume,” Patrick prodded.

“Absolutely. And I’m in the process of listing the apartment. I’ll need to figure out which of my other properties I should move to. I’ll need to upgrade the security on them all of course. If I’d had a doorbell camera or something similar, then I’d have caught on to things much sooner.”

Tucker pulled out his phone. “We know just the people to help with the security stuff. NightShade Security is the best in the business. They don’t have a residential division, but we’ll tell them you’re an extension of club business. They’ll have no other option but to agree.”

Patrick and I let Tucker type away on his phone while we both sat quietly. I drank my beer slowly, the taste not doing much for me other than keeping me from oversharing. Not that there was really such a thing here. This place was a fucking sex club. You couldn’t really overshare after seeing your friends fuck in person. Barriers were often lowered after that.

“Ok, done. I’ve got you connected with our contact. They’ll be in touch in the next day or two. What else can we do?”

“Well, as I said, she slept with all my contacts. They all need to be replaced. And honestly, I’m not sure I want to have the setup the same.”

“What do you mean? What was the setup before?” Patrick asked.

I went on to tell them about my team of people. The housekeeper, the chef, my personal assistant, and the driver. I’d had one person for each task. While the driver was something I didn’t need often, it was nice for when I had events to go to or when there were meetings that ran late. The rest was less negotiable. I had to eat. I rarely had time or energy to clean. And even without Danielle’s busy schedule, a personal assistant was handy.

“I’d offer to help you, but my days are already jam-packed.” Tucker tapped his finger on his lip. “I might be able to inquire across our friend groups to see if they know of anyone in need of work. Princess Aster is the central point of everything, so I’ll reach out to him first thing tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?” I asked.

Patrick grinned. “The princess has a regular routine that his Daddy implements. While there are exceptions, you’ll often find he’s in bed pretty early. And it’s best to not wake him up. What’s one more day going to hurt?”

“Nothing really. If I could find someone soon though, they could make the transition with me to the new place.”

Tucker tilted his head. “Transition with you? Are you looking for a live-in position? That’s… different.”

My eyes went wide. “That’s not — I wasn’t implying…”

“We didn’t think you were. But is that something you want? Because it could definitely change the applicants that come along. I’ve never heard of such a dynamic, but there’s a time and place for everything.”

I thought over it for a moment. It didn’t sound absolutely terrible. In the last couple of years, I’d gotten used to living with Danielle. Changing homes, ending an engagement, and revamping my life was going to take a lot out of me. A companion could help with that.

Though would they really be a companion if I paid them? For a true friend, I’d need someone I didn’t pay. Or maybe a pet. It’s never something I thought I’d want. My brother was the one obsessed with animals. He even became a veterinarian simply to indulge in his love for all types of creatures.

Speaking of Robin, I needed to text him soon. He was a worrier. If there was some type of bad news about the city, he assumed I was in the thick of it. It didn’t help that he lived in the most rural area possible with a damn near nonexistent crime rate.

“I’m open to the possibilities,” I finally replied after giving it some heavy thought. “I wouldn’t mind having someone around all the time. At least then I’d know my place wasn’t being missed. If they could also fill the roles I needed handled, then it would be a win-win.”

They didn’t look as if they believed me all that much. I would have been offended if it weren’t for the fact that I barely believed myself.

I was faking it until I made it. There was no other choice.

The morningafter my meeting with Tucker and Patrick, I woke to find multiple texts on my phone. I slipped on my reading glasses, then looked over who had reached out and for what.

Tucker:It was so good to see you last night! We need to do it again soon. Keyword - SOON. You hear me, mister? Don’t make me get Daddy to tell you.

Tucker:*heart emoji*

Unknown:My name is Pruitt Stark from NightShade Security. I received a message from our client requesting services for your home. Please reach out to me at your earliest convenience.

Unknown:Hi there! Tucker reached out to me about you needing some help. I’m Princess Aster, and I might just have the perfect person for you. Can you call when you have a chance? Thanks bunches! *monkey heart eye emoji*

I stared at the screen for far too long after. It was a toss-up for who I wanted to reply to first. Curiosity told me it should be Princess Aster since he already had someone in mind. If that person turned out to be the best fit, then they could reach out to the NightShade people to coordinate everything else.

Tucker was my business to handle, so I shot him a quick text to say thanks for his help and to promise I’d visit again soon.

From there, I proceeded to the text from Princess Aster. He’d specifically asked for me to call when I had the chance. While I knew most people hated phones these days for anything more than texts or social media, I felt refreshed for something different.

I decided to just do as he requested. I didn’t need to read any further into it.

The line rang twice before a delighted voice answered. “Hello?”

“Princess Aster?”

He giggled. “The one and only. You must be Wes.”

“I am. Your message mentioned you might have someone who”s a good fit.”

“Yes, I do. Give me a second to get somewhere private.” There was a bit of noise in the background as he went wherever he needed to go. I could hear several other voices as he moved, though none clear enough to make out.

When he came back to the line, it was much quieter. “Ok, I’m good now. I hadn’t expected you to call so early. You must really need the help.”

“I do. Did Tucker tell you any of what happened?”

He hummed. “Not really. He just said you needed someone to manage your life. Like a Tucker 2.0 for home only. This isn’t for an office. It’s a personal hire, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct. I was engaged. It ended recently due to… reasons. Those said reasons are also why I fired all my staff. I’d like to replace as much as possible in one person if I can.”

“Are you trying to make someone overwork themselves?” He asked bluntly.

“No! It’s more that these jobs alone don’t keep one person busy. Like the cooking isn’t all that critical since I tend to eat out two times a day. And the housekeeping isn’t a deep-clean situation. It’s more like light dusting and then making the bed every now and then. I wouldn”t want the person to feel overwhelmed at all.”

“And the personal assistant role? What do you need that for?”

“Well, to be honest, that one is more to help keep me on schedule. My job requires I work with dates and numbers all day long. By the time I clock out, I don’t want to do the same at home. If I could have someone who was there to back me up, then I figured I wouldn’t be able to ignore things to the point they pile up. They’d also occasionally help me with scheduled events and work trips, depending on time.”

Princess Aster made a noise that could have been one of sympathy to my plight or absolute judgement for thinking I could fit this all into one individual. Honestly, I felt it could go either way.

“I think the person I have in mind will actually fill the role perfectly. They’ve also gone through something hard recently. Honestly, it’s been ongoing for a while now. They could use a good break. Are you the person who can give it to them?”

I wasn’t sure what he meant. If they needed a good break, then yeah, I totally could be the person depending on how things went. I decided to answer him the best way I knew how.

“You know I’m a member of the club, right? Patrick vets everyone to gain access. I’m not some shady guy looking to take advantage of anyone. I know too well what it’s like to trust someone and have them throw it in your face.”

Princess Aster chuckled softly. “This is either going to go horribly or it will be the best thing ever. Can you meet him today? I’d love to connect you as soon as possible.”

“Sure. Tell me the time and place. I’ll be there.”