Page 190 of Masters of Pleasure
“Well, we have another switch.Possibly.”Olivia’s lips quirked, which meant she had an opinion on the subject but wouldn’t share in the interests of not influencing anyone else’s thoughts.“Q would like to sign up for the submissive class and explore that option as well.”
Law and Julie took a moment to absorb that statement.
“Interesting.He definitely has dominant qualities, but I could see where he might enjoy the other side,” Law said thoughtfully.
“Where’s the problem?”Julie frowned.“Unless you think he has an underlying motive for signing up?”
“No, I think he’s genuine in his desire to explore both sides.”Olivia sighed.“The problem is he’s indicated a strong desire to work with a female dominant, and since he’s straight, that probably would help give him the best indicator whether or not he has a submissive side, but the only female top who signed up to work with the class this session is Samantha.”
Oh.Oh.
Law and Julie exchanged grimaces.Even if Law hadn’t talked to Q recently about what seemed to be an escalating prank war between the two of them, it had been obvious in the Dominance class they had some kind of issue with each other.On the other hand, if Q wanted to explore his submissive side with a woman, the club would do their best to honor that, and if Samantha wanted more practice as a top, they would do their best to help her as well.He could understand why Olivia found it to be a quandary.
“Law, I need you to talk to Q, and if he’s onboard, then Julie, I would like you to talk to Samantha.”Olivia made a face.“I would do it, but at this point, I think both of them would be more comfortable with each of you and more likely to be truthful.I can call in some favors if we need another Domme to step in and help with Q, so it’s not entirely on Julie’s shoulders.”
“I can do that,” Julie said, and Law nodded after a moment.
His initial instinct said Q would balk, but he deserved the right to make the decision for himself.Not to mention, even though he’d been annoyed about his car being covered in post-its, he really hadn’t wanted Asad scening with Samantha.
In some ways, it reminded Law of the way kids teased each other because they didn’t know how to deal with a crush.
“I’ll talk with him.”
Before anyone could say anything else, there was a knock at the door, causing all three of them to frown.Olivia looked past them at her boyfriend, and Law turned his head to see Luke’s reaction, but he looked as puzzled as the rest of them.
“Were you expecting someone?”she asked.
“No,” Luke replied as he got to his feet and headed to open the door.He swung it open, standing far enough to the side, they could all see who was there.
All of them were taken aback when they saw one of the bartenders from downstairs, Shane, standing awkwardly, holding a vase full of a dozen red roses.
“Shane?”Olivia blinked, taking in him and the roses.
“Um, this was delivered downstairs for Julie Kim.”Shane met Julie’s eyes.“I knew you were having the meeting up here, so I figured…”
“Right, of course.”The obvious question of how someone would know Julie was here had them glancing at each other.Olivia got to her feet, making a sweeping motion with her hand.“Bring them in.”
“Is there a card?”Law asked, also getting to his feet.Julie followed more slowly, her expression blank.
“Yes.”Shane set the vase down on the center of Olivia’s desk, Luke close behind him, so they were all crowded in.He pointed, and Julie paused for only a moment before plucking the card from among the roses.
The office was silent as she opened it, all of them staring at her.Law didn’t know why it felt ominous.Maybe because Julie didn’t work here.So, how did someone know to have flowers delivered to her here at exactly this time?
“What does it say?”Olivia asked, too impatient to wait for more than a minute.
“It says, ‘I think you’re beautiful.’”
“That’s it?”Law frowned, leaning sideways to see it.Wordlessly, Julie handed him the card.
That was it.No name, no signature, and the message was printed rather than handwritten, so no clues there, either.
“Huh.Looks like I have a secret admirer.”Julie leaned forward and gave the flowers a sniff.Whether she was pleased was impossible to tell.“I wonder how they knew I was here.”There was some skepticism in her voice, which made Law feel even more justified in his own unease.
“Please, it’s Stronghold and Marquis.”Luke snorted.“It’s amazing anyone can get anything done without everyone knowing about it.Like Law and Iris’ date tonight.”
“You and Iris have a date tonight?”Julie asked, turning to him in surprise.
“Ah, I’d better get back to work.”Shane zipped out the door, which reminded Law that the bartender was the reason everyone knew about his date.Well, Iris was the real reason since she’d been talking about it in front of Shane, which she’d only done because Law had texted her while she was at Marquis.So, it wasn’t really anyone’s ‘fault,’ but he could still blame Shane for being part of the gossip train.
