Chapter Four

Alex

Somehow, the whole doing my job at the club thing to the detriment of having any kind of a personal life had spiraled out of control. You’d never guess it, but I had an interest in kink and had thought being an owner would make it easier for me to pursue my leanings. In fact…I could not have been more wrong.

As the “supply guy” in the group, I had somehow anticipated my duties taking up a few hours a week, maybe on a Sunday afternoon when I was lounging around after a fun Saturday at the club. Sitting here at my desk, I felt about as disconnected from any kind of “fun” experience as anyone could ever be. With just my desk lamp and the screen light on, the room I’d put so much care into setting up was dark and depressing, but that seemed about right.

I’d even done a little shopping for toys as we were getting ready to open. Most were still in their original packaging. Sad. Not that I minded the extra income we were making a little over a year in. Our original investment would be locked in for some time, but with a steady profit from the growing membership, we had voted to take a quarterly payout.

Still… I hadn’t gone into this because I was looking for an income source. But I was spending far too many evenings locked in my office dealing with emails and putting out fires. When we chose to have the kitchen be more than “tacky bar food,” the health department requirements alone were extreme.

A club with the activities popular in ours had to have very specific areas for food in particular. And we did not want a “restaurant” per se. But we did luck into having one of our partners be a pretty spectacular—and famous—chef. So, we set up some conversation pits of sorts where members could relax and socialize between visits to the stations. We arranged the comfortable couches and chairs around low tables where food could be served, close enough to the floor for them to watch the action but far enough away for the inspector to sign off.

It was complex, but one of our members was employed by the county and able to give us tips so we didn’t make too many missteps. And how that all related to me? It meant that I had to order all the food the kitchen needed as well as other supplies and be sure everything ran as smooth as glass. Our members expected a certain experience, and we each had our own part in making that happen. I brought up another list of items missed from an order and began to compose my email to the party responsible.

“You gonna sit here all night?”

“What?” I peered up from the screen to see Talon lingering in the doorway. “Sorry. I was focused.”

“You work way too hard.”

“So I’ve been told. But if I don’t do my job, we’ll soon run out of those giant prawns you like so much.”

I’d never seen the fire-play expert roll his eyes until now. “You take yourself too seriously, my friend. If this is taking up so much of your time that you do not get to enjoy yourself on the floor, then it’s time for a staffing upgrade.”

“You saying you can find someone better at my job?” He probably could, but he didn’t have to be so plain about it. “Maybe I can do something simpler like sweep the floors.”

He snorted. “A little prickly, aren’t we? I would never imply anyone could do better. What I meant was we need to get you an assistant who can do a lot of helpful work during the day when you’re at your other office. Then you can spend some of your evenings on the floor doing what you like best.”

“Has there been a request for a demo of what I like best?”

“Impact play is always popular, isn’t it?” Indeed it was, with or without me out there.

Taking a deep breath, I let it out in a whoosh, closed my laptop, and stood up. “Come on, then. Not promising or even suggesting I’ll do a demo tonight. But I will have a drink and chat with the nice people. Satisfied?”

“Smug.” He smirked at me. “C’mon, friend. Never say I didn’t save you from yourself.”

“I’m just annoyed I didn’t think of hiring someone before you did. Why do you have to be so smart?”

“Can’t help myself. You didn’t even see my fire demo.”

“Yeah, I heard you finally did one.” We’d always had this sort of a relationship, bantering, teasing, a far cry from the intensity with omegas and submissives who looked to us to meet their needs on many levels.

Although, I did have to say that the few times I’d seen Talon outside the walls with his mate and baby, he revealed an ability to love at least as strong as his dominance. What must that be like? I couldn’t imagine. I’d only ever felt an attraction like that to one person, but he fell in love with someone else long ago.

I followed Talon out into the hallway, but before we got to the public area of the club, he was waylaid by a staffing issue and had to send me ahead. He promised to meet me at the bar in fifteen, so I headed there and planted myself on a stool that opened just as I arrived. Music pulsed around me, the crack of whips, cries, and moans, the real sounds of our club. My soul awoke at the cacophony of pleasure and pain, reminding me why I took on this place. It had been just a “job” to me for too long, when that was never the intent.

The bartender set a single malt in front of me without being asked. The beers I had last time I set foot out here were good, but whiskey would always be my go-to. I picked it up and took a sip, rolling it around in my mouth. We had top shelf for our members, and some paid for a bottle up there, but my collection hid in a cabinet under the bar and only senior staff even had a key. “Thanks, Frank.” I spun the stool to face the club floor. From here, I could see several of the stations, bound submissive omegas stretched out on the spiderweb or bent over the spanking benches. The dungeon monitors, volunteer members all, were watching closely to make sure all was well. It took experience to tell the difference between consent and non—which was strictly forbidden. As well as pain chosen or not. Since we were all membership, and a forfeiture of the rather large deposit put up for the membership would be the result of rule breaking, we didn’t have a big problem.

As I relaxed, grateful for my friend who had my back, my gaze landed on a face I never expected to see here. I’d checked in with him a few times since Emile died, but since West never encouraged me to call again, I’d fallen out of the habit. An alpha was attempting to chat him up. Seeing his pale cheeks and uncomfortable posture, I was off the stool and on the way to his side in a flash.

“West, you got here.” I took his arm and steered him away from the other alpha. “I have been waiting.” Since he didn’t argue or dig his heels in, I had to assume I’d gauged his discomfort correctly. When we were back by the bar, I stopped. “I hope that was all right? I didn’t break up a kink connection.”

He shook his head. “No. It wasn’t anything like that.”

“It’s good to see you. Want to come to my office and catch up?” I hadn’t seen him since Emile’s funeral, and I now realized how remiss I had been.

He shrugged. “I guess.”

I probably had that coming.